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Guided slicer Pick step: choose a model, printer, and print goal

Guided slicer Pick step: choose a model, printer, and print goal


Pre-release: Guided slicer and its AI assistant are not live yet. This article is available for internal review and may change before release.


The Pick step gives Guided slicer the three things it needs: the model, the printer setup, and what the finished print should do. Getting these right lets the Check step recommend a profile and settings that exist for your machine.


Table of contents


Open the Pick step

Open Cloud Slicer, select Guided, and stay on step 1, Pick. The main Check action remains disabled until the model fits and a usable printer setup is ready. Print remains unavailable until a check result exists.


If your organization requires Guided mode for your rank, the slicer opens here automatically. If Guided is optional, you can switch to Expert mode from the top of the panel whenever no check or slice is running.


Add a model

Use Upload a model for a file on your device. Guided slicer accepts the same supported model formats as Cloud Slicer, including STL, 3MF, OBJ, STEP, and SVG.


Use Choose from My Files for a model that is already stored in SimplyPrint. If your organization enables the Starter Library, you can also search and filter its classroom-ready models and choose an available size.


Guided slicer checks the active build plate. If you add several models, they are measured together for fit and printability. A prechecked Starter Library result is only reused when that library model is the only model on the active plate.


Choose a printer

Choose Auto when you want Guided slicer to select among the printer models available to you. It prioritizes a setup that can fit the active plate and has usable profiles. A larger model can therefore favor a larger printer rather than a smaller machine that cannot contain it.


Choose Manual to pick the printer yourself. If your account has only one printer model, Guided slicer can select it automatically. An FDM data-only or virtual printer can provide a slicing profile even when it is not a connected print target.


The printer needs a compatible machine profile. If SimplyPrint asks you to complete its profiles, open the printer or slicing-profile setup and finish the machine, filament, and print profile selection before trying to slice.


Choose or override the slicer engine

With automatic engine selection on, Guided slicer prefers an official engine that supports the printer brand and has a compatible machine profile. For example, it can prefer PrusaSlicer for a Prusa printer and BambuStudio for a Bambu Lab printer.


The engine name is shown under the printer choice. If your rank has permission to change engines, choose it to open the compatibility picker and override the automatic choice. Guided slicer only uses engines and profiles that are present in your account.


An engine override stays a user choice. Switching back to automatic printer selection also returns the engine to automatic selection.


Tell Guided slicer what the print should do

Select the goal closest to the finished part. The available choices can include a toy or figure, a decoration, something that holds or hooks, a strong part, something for heat, water, or outdoors, or a part that must fit another part.


The goal changes the recommendation baseline. A decoration can favor a finer profile and modest infill. A strong part can favor additional walls and a strength-oriented profile. A fit-critical part keeps its size locked instead of scaling it to make the plate fit.


Account administrators choose which goals are available across the account. If a goal is absent, it has not been made available for your account.


Add written instructions

When AI and written instructions are both allowed, the Pick step can include a short free-text box. Use it for a practical goal that the preset does not fully capture, such as “This clip flexes twice a day” or “The visible front should be as smooth as possible.”


Written instructions are only sent when you opt into the AI check. The local rules check does not need them. Do not enter personal, confidential, or identifying information.


Move, rotate, or scale the model

Turn on Let me adjust the model to reveal the move, rotate, and exact-size controls. Guided slicer keeps these controls out of the way by default so an accidental transform is less likely.


Changing the model after a completed Check invalidates the old result. Run Check again before applying recommendations or slicing, because fit, stability, support needs, and print time may have changed.


If auto-rotate is available and recommended, it is applied only after you accept the orientation row. Guided import does not silently run smart rotation before the check.


Fix a model that is too large

When the active model does not fit the selected printer, the Pick step shows a size warning before Check. For a single model that can be scaled safely, choose Make it fit to scale and center it inside the usable volume.


Review the percentage before accepting. A very small scale factor can remove details, weaken thin features, or change how a mating part fits. Guided slicer does not scale a fit-critical part automatically.


For several models, an exclusion zone, or a part that should not change size, use Expert mode to rearrange the plate or choose another printer.


Updated on: 25/08/2026

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