Project file and import

Saving or moving an entire project is a different action from exporting. A rendered export (PNG, PDF, PSD, and so on) always targets one part; a project file captures the whole project so you can reopen it later. See Projects and parts.

Quick overview

1. Open the file menu and choose to export the project, not a single-part export.
2. The project, its pages, their settings, and metadata, is packaged into one .cardcraft file.
3. Store that file yourself, or send it to someone else.
4. To reopen it, import the .cardcraft file; the project comes back as you left it.
5. You can also import a single image or SVG file to add it to the current part, instead of a whole project.

Detailed reference

What the project file contains

Data	Included
Page objects (shapes, text, images, and so on)	Yes
Positions, sizes, and rotations	Yes
Canvas and page dimensions	Yes
Background colors	Yes
Page labels and page groups	Yes
User info and the selected template	Yes
Special objects (QR codes, icons, patterns, and similar)	Yes, with their settings
Tags, tag groups, and tag assignments	Yes
Which font families your pages use	Yes, by name only, not the font files themselves

Project file versus rendered export

	Project file	Rendered export
Scope	The whole project	One chosen part
Purpose	Reopening and continued editing	A finished result to use or send
Extension	.cardcraft	.png, .pdf, .psd, and so on

See Export a page and PDF and PSD export for rendered output.

Importing

Type	Extensions	Result
Project file	.cardcraft, .ccproj, or a plain JSON form	Restores the project: pages, settings, user info, and dimensions
Image	.png, .jpg, .jpeg, .webp	Added to the current part as an image object
SVG	.svg	Added as an editable, ungroupable vector object
PSD	.psd	Each visible layer is added as its own image object, positioned to match the original file; nested layer groups are flattened into individual layers
PDF	.pdf	Each page, up to the first 20, is added as its own full-page image object, stacked on the canvas; text stays as pixels, it is not selectable

Images and SVGs can also be dragged straight onto the canvas, which is the fastest way to bring one in. A project file is brought in through the import dialog instead.

Version compatibility

Older project files are migrated automatically when you open them, so a file saved with a previous version of the app still loads correctly.

When to export a project file

• Before a big structural change, as a restore point beyond the local version history.
• To move your work to a different computer or browser.
• To hand the whole project, not just one part, to a collaborator.
• To keep an offline archive outside your account.

Storing and sending it

The file downloads like any other, to your browser's downloads folder, so you can rename it, move it into your own backup system, attach it to an email, or upload it to cloud storage exactly as you would any other document.

Keyboard shortcut

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl + S	Download a project file of the current project immediately

Step by step

Back up your work before a big change

1. Before a risky edit, a large structural change, a template swap, an experiment you might undo, press Ctrl + S.
2. This immediately downloads a project file to your device, a snapshot you fully control, separate from the browser's own version history.
3. If the change goes wrong, import that file back in to return to exactly that point.

Create a named restore point on your account

1. If you are signed in, click the Save button in the toolbar instead of pressing Ctrl + S.
2. This does something different: it flushes your latest edits immediately and creates a named version on your account, visible from the project's detail view in the workspace. It does not download a file to your device.
3. Use Ctrl + S when you want a file you hold yourself, use the Save button when you want a labeled restore point on your account.

Move a project to another computer or account

1. Open the file menu and export the project, not a single-part export, see Quick overview above.
2. Move the downloaded file to the other computer, or send it to yourself.
3. On the destination, open the import dialog and choose that file. The project reopens with its pages, settings, and dimensions restored.

Add a single file into your current design

1. Open the import dialog, separate from importing a whole project.
2. Drop or choose an image, SVG, PSD, or PDF file.
3. An image or SVG is added directly as an editable object. A PSD adds each of its layers as separate image objects, positioned to match the original. A PDF adds each of its pages, up to the first 20, as a full-page image. None of these replace your current project, they add into whatever part you are on.

Common tasks

Task	Steps
Take a personal backup before a big edit	Ctrl + S
Create a labeled restore point your team can see	Sign in, then click Save in the toolbar
Move your project to a new computer	Export a project file, import it on the other machine
Bring a Photoshop file's layers into the app	Import dialog, choose the .psd file
Bring a PDF's pages in as images	Import dialog, choose the .pdf file
Add a logo or icon to the page you are on	Drag the image or SVG file straight onto the canvas

Troubleshooting

• Ctrl + S and the toolbar Save button do not seem to do the same thing. They do not. Ctrl + S always downloads a project file to your device. The toolbar Save button, when you are signed in, flushes your work and creates a named version on your account instead, with no file download. Use whichever matches what you actually need.
• A custom font looks different after reopening a project on another device. The project file records which font families your pages use, but not the font files themselves. If a device does not have that font installed, it cannot render exactly as before.
• The exported file looks like a compressed package, not a plain document. That is expected for a project export, it bundles your pages, groups, tags, and project settings as separate parts inside one package rather than one giant file, which keeps a large, mixed project more resilient to reopen.
• A PDF or PSD you imported is not editable text or vector shapes. Both import as flattened images, a PSD's layers stay separate as images, a PDF's pages become one image each, neither brings back live, selectable text or vector paths, only what the page looked like.
• Importing a large PDF only brought in some of its pages. PDF import is capped at the first 20 pages.
• An older .json export only brought back a front and back face, not a full project. Very old, single-page legacy exports use a simpler format than the current project file; they still import, but only restore what they originally held.

Tips

Keep your own backups

Exporting a .cardcraft file now and then gives you an offline copy of your work that you fully control, independent of your account storage. A keyboard shortcut, Ctrl + S, downloads one immediately.

Two different downloads

A project file is for reopening and continued editing later, it is not a finished image. Use export for a finished PNG, PDF, or PSD, and the project file for a backup or to move the whole project elsewhere.

Newer part types

Scenes, slide decks, and video parts are newer additions to the project model. If your project uses them, give your reopened project a quick check after a big import or move, this part of the format is still being extended for full fidelity.

Related

• Export a page
• Bulk and group export
• Version history
• Projects and parts
• Where your work lives