Importing and exporting

This article covers both halves of the Designer file lifecycle. The first half is about importing: every way content lands on the canvas, from Add elements to drag-and-drop to deep links from elsewhere in Magnific. The second half is about exporting: the Export panel, the Pages vs Assets distinction, per-element configuration, the four output formats, PDF specifics, the scale and naming rules, and what to do when something fails.

In this article

• The five ways to import media
• The Add elements tabs
• Drag and drop
• Paste from clipboard
• Copying, cutting, and duplicating
• Drop on an existing element
• Deep links from elsewhere in Magnific
• AI tools inside Designer
• Importing into dynamic content
• Size and quality on import
• Exporting: the two ways
• Opening the Export panel
• The Pages tab
• The Assets tab
• The end-to-end export flow
• Per-element export configuration
• Document-level defaults
• Export formats: PNG, JPEG, WebP
• PDF export
• Scale, size and file names
• Troubleshooting exports

The five ways to import media

Everything that lands on the canvas (images, vector graphics, text fragments) gets there through one of a handful of mechanisms. Pick the one that matches where your content currently lives.

The Add elements tabs

If the content is already in Magnific (uploaded earlier, generated by another tool, or part of the curated Elements library), the sidebar tabs are the fastest way to bring it in.

• Images. Your image library: uploads, AI generations from other Magnific tools, recently used assets. Click any to drop onto the active page.
• Elements. Curated vector graphics: icons, illustrations, shapes, decorative assets. Click to drop onto the active page.

The Add elements tabs also support search and category filtering, useful when your library has grown beyond what you can browse visually.

Drag and drop

The simplest way to bring a file from outside Magnific.

1. Drag the file

   Drag a file from your operating system file manager (Finder on macOS, File Explorer on Windows) onto the canvas.

2. Drop it

   Release. The file is uploaded and becomes an element on the page. The drop location determines where the element initially lands.

Supported file types:

• Image formats. Common raster formats (PNG, JPEG, WebP).
• HEIC / HEIF. Converted to a standard format automatically on import. There's nothing you need to do.
• Vector formats. SVG and other vector formats become editable graphic elements.

The drop location on the canvas determines where the element initially lands. After drop, you can move and resize as with any element.

If a file type isn't supported, the drop is rejected and a toast tells you so.

Unsupported file types

If another design tool uses a closed or proprietary format that Designer can't open directly, try exporting it from the original app to a supported format first, or use a trusted third-party converter before importing it into Designer.

Paste from clipboard

Paste (Cmd/Ctrl+V) is more powerful than drag-and-drop because it handles multiple types of content:

• Image from clipboard. Paste a screenshot or an image copied from another app. Designer creates a new image element.
• Text. Paste plain text. Designer creates a new text element with the pasted text.
• Designer fragment. Paste content you copied from another Designer document or page. Designer reconstructs the original elements (text, images, shapes, groups) with all of their properties (typography, color, effects, layout) preserved.

The last case is worth knowing about: copy-paste between Designer documents is structural, not just visual. Copying a group of elements from one design and pasting into another reconstructs the same elements on the destination canvas with all of their properties intact. This is the only way to migrate parts of one design to another without using templates.

This is the only way to migrate parts of one design to another without using templates.

Copying, cutting, and duplicating

Inside a Designer document:

The styles-only shortcuts (Cmd/Ctrl+Alt+C and Cmd/Ctrl+Alt+V) are the fastest way to make multiple elements share the same visual treatment without grouping them.

Drop on an existing element

A useful pattern: drop a new image onto an existing element instead of an empty area of the canvas. Designer recognizes the drop on:

• An image element. Replaces the bitmap with the dropped image. The frame, mask, sizing mode, adjustments, and effects all stay.
• A dynamic content. If the dynamic content is an image and the dropped content is an image, Designer fills the dynamic content. If it's currently linked to a workflow connection, dropping a static image breaks the link (with confirmation).

This is how to quickly swap a hero image in a near-finished design without rebuilding the element.

Deep links from elsewhere in Magnific

Designer is the natural place to continue working on assets generated elsewhere. Several Magnific surfaces offer deep-link actions that open Designer with the asset already imported:

• From the media viewer, after generating an image. Actions like 'Open in Designer' and 'Auto Layers' send the image to Designer and open the appropriate tool.
• From a Magnific creation card. Similar entry points.

When you arrive in Designer via a deep link, the design opens with the relevant element pre-selected and (for tool-specific deep links) the matching tool already open. You can act immediately.

AI tools inside Designer

If the content you want doesn't exist yet, generate or transform it on the canvas:

• Remove background. Strip the background from an existing image, leaving the subject on a transparent layer.
• Auto Layers. Turn an existing image into editable layers.
• Ask Agent on an existing image. Describe a change and generate a new version.

These don't replace import; they augment it. The AI tools in Designer have their own dedicated guide.

Importing into dynamic content

When a dynamic content is empty (not linked to a connection, no static fallback), you can fill it by:

• Linking it to a connection from the workflow.
• Dropping an image or text on the dynamic content directly.
• Pasting content while the dynamic content is selected (paste lands on the selected element).

After import, the dynamic content becomes static. To make it dynamic again, link a connection.

Size and quality on import

• Images upload at their original resolution. Designer doesn't downsample on import.
• Prefer source files over screenshots. A PNG of a logo is sharper than a screenshot of the logo on screen.

A few things that surprise new users

You don't need to import into a specific page. Drop a file on the canvas and it lands on whichever page is currently active. Paste preserves more than drag-and-drop: copying from another Designer document and pasting reconstructs full structure, while drag-and-drop only handles file-based content. HEIC works automatically: you don't need to convert to JPEG first. And deep links open specific tools, not just the editor: arriving via a deep link from the media viewer doesn't just open Designer, it often opens with a specific tool already active.

Exporting: the two ways

Exporting is the act of turning your Designer document into one or more delivered files. The Export panel is where you decide what to export (pages or individual elements), and the per-element configuration in the inspector decides how each thing exports (format, scale, naming).

Designer's export model is built on a single distinction:

• Pages. Entire pages of the document, exported as one file each. Use this when the design is the deliverable: a poster, a social card, a slide.
• Assets. Specific elements you've marked from the canvas, exported as individual files. Use this when only parts of your design are the deliverables, for example a logo and a few icons extracted from a larger layout.

Both share the panel and the formats. They differ in what counts as an exportable unit.

Opening the Export panel

The Export panel opens from the Export action in the header. This option is only available in the standalone version of Designer.

Exporting when Designer is a node

When Designer is used as a node in a Spaces workflow, the Export panel is not available. Instead, use the Export button in the inspector while inside the node, or access export options through Pages when working outside the node.

The panel is a floating overlay that takes over the right portion of the workspace. It has:

• A header with the title, the Pages/Assets segmented control, and a close button.
• A description for the active tab.
• A content area with the items available in the active tab.
• A footer with the action buttons.

You can switch between Pages and Assets via the segmented control. The footer adapts to the active tab.

The Pages tab

The Pages tab lists every page in your document. Each page appears as a card with:

• A thumbnail of the page.
• A label: the page number or the page name (for example, 'Page 1').
• A selection checkbox to toggle whether the page is included in this export.

Above the cards, the panel describes the tab:

Export pages from your document with your default format and size.

The 'default format and size' refers to the document-level export configuration, set in the inspector when nothing is selected.

Selecting pages

• Click a card to toggle its selection.
• Use the footer's Select all pages toggle to select or deselect everything.
• The footer's action buttons stay disabled until at least one page is selected. Hover the action when disabled to see 'Pick at least one page'.

Exporting pages

The Pages tab footer offers up to three actions:

• Cancel. Close the panel without exporting.
• Export PDF. Combine the selected pages into a single PDF and download it.
• Export. Export the selected pages individually using the document's default format.

While exporting, the action shows a progress state ('Exporting…' or 'Building PDF…') with a spinner. The grid is dimmed during the process.

The Assets tab

The Assets tab lists the elements you've marked for export from the inspector. An element is marked by toggling Include in export on it.

Above the cards, the panel describes the tab: 'Export the elements you marked from the inspector.'

Each marked element appears as a card with:

• A thumbnail of just that element (not the whole page).
• A label: the element's name or a fallback like 'Item 3'.
• The file names that will be produced. Each export configuration for this element produces its own file, with the name pattern visible.
• A selection checkbox.

Empty state

When no elements are marked, the Assets tab shows an empty state instead of cards:

No assets marked yet. Mark any element from the inspector to include it in this export.

The empty state offers a short demo video link and a link to this documentation. There's no footer in the empty state; the only way out is the close button in the header.

Selecting assets

• Click a card to toggle its selection.
• The footer's Select all assets toggle selects or deselects everything.
• The Export action is disabled until at least one asset is selected. Hover to see 'Pick at least one asset'.

Exporting assets

The Assets tab footer offers:

• Cancel: close the panel.
• Export: export every selected asset using its own per-element configuration (which may include multiple formats and scales. One asset can produce several files).

A single click on Export can produce many files. The footer shows the count of files selected.

The end-to-end export flow

1. Build your design

   Create the design on the canvas as usual.

2. Decide the deliverable

   Pages (the whole design as files) or Assets (specific elements).

3. For Assets: mark each element

   Select the element, then toggle Include in export in the inspector.

4. Open the Export panel

   Click Export in the header. Pick the right tab: Pages or Assets.

5. Select what to export

   Click cards to toggle them, or use Select all.

6. Pick the action

   Export (per item) or Export PDF (Pages tab only).

7. Wait and download

   Watch the progress complete. Files download to your browser.

A toast confirms completion. Possible outcomes:

Per-element export configuration

The Export panel's Assets tab lists individual elements you've decided to export. The configuration for each element (what formats, what scales, what file names) lives in the inspector for that element.

Exporti