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 |
| Network access | Outbound HTTPS (TCP port 443) to license.motion-print.com, at least once every 30 days |
The licence check is the app's only connection to the internet, and a company firewall or proxy can block it. Ask your IT department to allow outbound HTTPS (port 443) to license.motion-print.com. If your network uses a proxy, the app follows the proxy set in Windows; a proxy that requires you to sign in, or that is configured only through an automatic configuration script, can block the connection. If your network inspects HTTPS traffic (SSL inspection), license.motion-print.com must be excluded from it, because the app checks the licence server's certificate and refuses a substituted one.
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.
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 the download page and click Download for Windows.
Your browser will show a security prompt warning that the file may harm your computer. This is a standard Windows browser warning — click Download anyway to proceed.
Once the download finishes, open your browser's download bar. If the file shows a warning that it "isn't commonly downloaded", click the ⋯ menu next to it and select Keep.
A Microsoft Defender SmartScreen dialog will appear stating it couldn't verify the file. The default button is Delete — click Keep anyway to save the file.
Open the downloaded installer and follow the on-screen setup wizard.
Once setup completes, launch Motionprint Ergo from the Start menu or the desktop shortcut.
These prompts appear because Motionprint Ergo is a relatively new application that hasn't yet been downloaded by a large enough number of users for Microsoft's SmartScreen to automatically recognise it as trusted. The installer is safe — SmartScreen simply flags any executable that hasn't yet built up a broad download history.
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 licence token on your computer, so you can keep working without a constant internet connection. The token is valid for 30 days from its last refresh:
| Situation | What happens |
|---|---|
| Regular internet access | When you start the app and the token is more than about 10 days old, it is refreshed automatically in the background. With regular internet access the 30-day window keeps renewing and you never see a reminder. You can also refresh manually in Settings → License. |
| Offline, up to 30 days | The app works normally. During the last 7 days of the 30-day window, a reminder to connect to the internet is shown. |
| Offline, day 31 to 37 | A 7-day grace period: the app keeps working, but warns that the token has expired and shows how many days are left before it locks. |
| Offline for more than 37 days | The app locks and shows the activation screen. Connect to the internet and activate again with your licence key to continue. |
This offline window is separate from your subscription period. When the subscription itself expires, the app switches to view-only mode for 7 days and then locks until the licence is renewed — see What's Included in Your License.
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 → Reports — Pick an assessment method in the dropdown to set its defaults, such as the reference mass for NIOSH, the load rating table for KIM-LHC, and whether critical moments are detected automatically. Configuring these saves time when running repeated assessments of the same type.
5 Create Your First Report
Creating a report follows seven phases, from selecting a method through to saving the finished project. Click New Project in the sidebar to begin.
Choose your assessment method from the method tiles on the Create page.
Upload a .mvnx file, or select a recording you made live via Record. An uploaded file is validated automatically.
Trim the recording, define the tasks to analyse, 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.
Click Save Project to store the full assessment in your local project library for future reference, filtering, and re-export.
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.
Rapid Upper Limb Assessment. Use this method when assessing working posture rather than load handling — assembly, machine operation, or screen-based work.
Click the tile for the method you want to use to proceed.
Phase 2 — Select Input Source and Provide Your Motion Data
After selecting a method, you land on the input source page. It offers two input options side by side: upload a .mvnx file exported from Xsens MVN Analyze, or select a recording you made live via Record.
On the input source page, choose Upload a .mvnx file or Select a recording.
If uploading, click the browse button to open a file dialog and select your file — it is read directly from disk and never uploaded to any server. If selecting a recording, pick one from your Recordings Database.
An uploaded file is validated automatically: if it passes, you are taken to the input configuration page; if it fails, an error is displayed and you can select a different file. A recording selected from the database skips this step, since it was already captured and verified by Motionprint Ergo itself.
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.
If you'd rather capture data without that separate export step, see Record Xsens Data Live to get started with live recording.
The app checks the following when you upload a .mvnx file. 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, Tasks, 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 task or several if you plan to define more than one. Trimming happens here in the UI — there are no separate preprocessing scripts.
3b — Define Tasks
Within the trimmed range, mark one or more tasks — time windows set by a start and end frame on the playbar. What a task represents depends on the method you chose: NIOSH and KIM-LHC use lifting tasks, each covering one lift or load-handling cycle, while RULA uses posture tasks, each covering one working posture or repeated motion cycle. The backend finds the peak risk frame within each task you define.
You can define more than one. Where the method supports it, the app also calculates a 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 task, or shared across all tasks)
- 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. RULA-specific parameters include the load weight handled in each posture task and a shock flag for forces applied with impact.
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 task in the score panel updates the viewer to that task'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-task 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, task 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}_{current_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.
Phase 7 — Save to the Projects Database
After viewing results, click Save Project in the results tab bar. A save dialog opens where you can set a project title, status (Draft, In Progress, or Completed), and optional tags. Once saved, the project appears in your Database — accessible any time from the sidebar. You can reopen it later, re-export it with different settings, filter your library by method or risk level, and manage project status as work progresses. See Projects Database for the full overview.
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.
- Try live recording — capture motion data directly via Xsens Awinda hardware instead of exporting from MVN Analyze first. See Record Xsens Data Live.
- Explore method-specific settings to customise default values for your workflow and reduce the time spent on data entry for each report.
- Save your analysis to the Database — after generating results you can click Save Project to store the full assessment in your project library for future reference and modification. See Projects Database for details.