This guide takes you from a fresh installation of Motionprint Ergo to a completed, exported ergonomic assessment report. No prior experience with the app is assumed.
1. Before You Begin — System Requirements
Verify the following before downloading. The current release of Motionprint Ergo runs on Windows only.
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Operating system | Windows 10 or Windows 11 (64-bit) |
| RAM | 4 GB minimum; 8 GB recommended |
| Storage | 500 MB free disk space |
| Internet connection | Required for licence activation and ongoing validation |
You will also need an active Motionprint licence key before you can use the app. If you don't have one yet, visit the pricing page or request a free trial.
Motionprint Ergo installs as a per-user application. You do not need administrator rights on your machine to install or run it.
2. Download and Install
The installer is available from the Motionprint download page. The setup wizard handles everything — no manual configuration is required.
Go to motion-print.com/download and click Download for Windows.
The installer file is approximately 80 MB (.exe format). Save it to a convenient location.
Open the downloaded file and follow the on-screen setup wizard.
Once setup completes, launch Motionprint Ergo from the Start menu or the desktop shortcut.
3. Activate Your Licence
The first screen you see when you open Motionprint Ergo is the activation screen. Enter your licence key here to unlock the app.
Activation steps
On the activation screen, locate the text field labelled with the key format.
Enter your licence key in the format shown below, then click Activate License.
The app contacts the Motionprint licence server to validate your key and register this machine. An active internet connection is required at this step.
On success, a confirmation message appears briefly and the app opens automatically after approximately 2 seconds.
If activation fails, an error message appears below the input field (for example, "Invalid license key"). Check that the key was copied correctly, with all hyphens included. Contact support if the issue persists.
Device limits
Each licence seat allows activation on up to 2 devices — for example, a workstation and a laptop. The device pool is shared across the licence; there is no per-user device assignment. The number of seats available depends on your licence tier. See the What's Included in Your Licence article for full details.
Working offline after activation
Once activated, Motionprint Ergo stores a signed token locally so you can continue working without a constant internet connection. Here is how the offline grace period works:
| Scenario | What happens |
|---|---|
| Normal use (internet available) | The app refreshes the local token automatically on startup when the token is older than approximately 20 days. |
| Internet unavailable | The app continues to work for up to 7 additional days past token expiry, displaying a reminder to reconnect. |
| Offline for more than 37 days | The app requires an internet connection to re-validate before it can be used again. |
4. Navigating the App
After activation, the main window opens. Take a moment to familiarise yourself with the layout before running your first assessment.
Recommended settings before your first assessment
Configuring a few defaults upfront saves time on every subsequent report. These settings are optional, but worth doing before you begin.
- Settings → General — Enter your company name, upload a logo, and choose an accent colour. Your company name, logo, and accent colour appear in exported reports when branding is enabled. The interface theme (light or dark) affects the appearance of the app only and has no impact on exports.
- Settings → [Method name] — Each assessment method has its own settings page where you can pre-configure defaults such as gender, reference mass, and whether to auto-detect critical moments. Configuring these saves time when running repeated assessments of the same type.
5. Create Your First Report
Creating a report follows six phases, from selecting a method through to exporting the final document. Click Create in the sidebar to begin.
Choose your assessment method from the method tiles on the Create page.
Select your input source and load your motion capture file. The app validates it automatically.
Trim the recording, define lifting tasks, enter task parameters, and add metadata.
Click Process. The analysis runs locally on your machine — no data leaves your device.
Review scores, the 3D avatar viewer, and interpretive findings across three tabs.
Export as a formatted PDF or structured Excel workbook.
Each phase is described in detail below.
Phase 1 — Select an Assessment Method
The Create page displays available assessment methods as selectable tiles. Currently available methods include:
Key Indicator Method for Lifting, Holding & Carrying (BAuA, Germany). Use this method when assessing tasks that involve carrying, lifting, or holding loads.
Revised NIOSH Lifting Equation. Use this method when assessing lifting tasks, especially those involving repetition or multi-task scenarios.
Click the tile for the method you want to use to proceed.
Phase 2 — Select Input Source and Load Your File
After selecting a method, you land on the input source page. Select your motion capture format and load your recording file.
On the input source page, click your input source to select it.
Click the browse button to open a file dialog and select your file. The file is read directly from disk — it is not uploaded to any server.
The app validates the file automatically. If validation passes, you are taken to the input configuration page. If validation fails, an error is displayed and you can select a different file.
The recording should capture the portion where the load handling task occurs — it can be trimmed in the next step if it contains idle time before or after. When exporting from MVN Analyze, select MVNX version 4 and ensure all data points are checked.
The app checks the following during validation. If any check fails, an error is shown and you cannot proceed until the file is corrected:
- It contains a
<subject>element. - It has a
frameRateattribute. - It contains at least one normal motion frame with position and orientation data.
Phase 3 — Configure Input: Trim, Moments, and Task Parameters
The input configuration page has four sub-sections. Work through each one before clicking Process.
3a — Trim the Recording
A playbar at the top of the input page lets you preview the motion data. Two trim markers define the active start and end of the analysis window. Drag the markers so the trimmed range begins exactly at the start of the first cycle and ends exactly at the end of the last cycle — this can be a single lifting task or multiple ones if you plan to define more than one. Trimming happens here in the UI — there are no separate preprocessing scripts.
3b — Define Lifting Tasks
Within the trimmed range, mark one or more lifting tasks — time windows corresponding to individual lifts or load-handling cycles. Each task is defined by a start frame and an end frame, set via the playbar. The backend finds the peak risk frame within each user-defined task.
For multi-task assessments, you can define multiple lifting tasks. The app calculates the combined result across all defined tasks.
3c — Enter Task Parameters
The task parameters section collects the values required by your chosen assessment method. Fields that you pre-configured in Settings will be filled in automatically. Common parameters include:
- Load weight (per moment, or shared across all moments)
- Daily working hours and task frequency
- Method-specific factors
NIOSH-specific parameters include reference mass, one-hand lifting toggle, two-person lift toggle, and extended duration mode. KIM-LHC-specific parameters include spatial conditions, adverse conditions, work organisation, force transfer quality, and clothing impairment.
3d — Add Metadata
Enter the operator name, evaluator name, workplace or job title, and assessment date. These values appear on the report cover page and header. Fields can be hidden in Settings if they are not relevant to your workflow.
Phase 4 — Process
Once the input configuration is complete, click Process at the bottom of the page. A progress overlay appears, showing a real-time status message as the analysis runs (for example, "Extracting landmarks…" or "Calculating scores…").
The analysis runs entirely on your machine. No motion data is sent to any external server. The only external contact during normal use is the periodic licence check with the Motionprint licence server.
Processing time depends on the length of the recording and your machine's performance. Most recordings complete in a few seconds to tens of seconds. If your licence subscription has expired, the app will display the relevant licence message rather than proceeding to results.
Phase 5 — View Results
The results screen has three tabs. You can switch between them freely after processing completes.
Presents the complete assessment result in the same structured format as a manual assessment — the primary output page. Scores, breakdowns, and supporting data are laid out exactly as the chosen method defines them, giving an immediate and recognisable overview of the outcome.
Contains the 3D avatar viewer — an interactive, animated visualisation of the motion capture data across the assessment period. Frame-by-frame scores are displayed alongside the viewer, and playback speed can be adjusted. Selecting a moment in the score panel updates the viewer to that moment's frame range.
Presents interpretive findings: which risk factors are highest, which parameters drove the score, and guidance notes. This tab is optional — it can be enabled or disabled in the method-specific settings.
Phase 6 — Export the Report
Click Export from the results screen to open the export window. You can export in two formats:
A formatted assessment report including the score overview, critical moment snapshots, per-moment breakdown, and (if enabled) findings and company branding. Use this for sharing with stakeholders or archiving.
A structured workbook with data sheets for scores, per-frame data, moment definitions, and key parameters. Use this for further data analysis or integration with your own systems.
In the export popup, choose the format, select an output folder, and confirm the filename. The filename defaults to the template configured in Settings (for example, {workplace}_{report_type}_{date}.pdf), and the app remembers the last used folder per method and format.
Your company logo, name, and accent colour (set in Settings → General) appear in exports when branding is enabled in the method-specific report settings.
6. What's Next
You've completed your first assessment and exported a report. Here are a few ways to continue:
- Repeat the workflow for additional recordings, using either the same method or a different one. Each assessment is independent.
- Explore method-specific settings to customise default values for your workflow and reduce the time spent on data entry for each report.
- Visit the Resources page for deep-dive articles on assessment methods, the 3D viewer, report customisation, and licence management — motion-print.com/resources
- Contact support or book a demo via the Resources page if you have questions about the app or your licence.