Project Backup (Export & Import)

Beyond exporting a component list, Designer Den can package up an entire project as a single .zip file, then recreate it from that file later. Use it to keep your own backup, move a project between accounts, or hand a copy to someone else.

Exporting a Project

1. Open the project's page (not Edit, the main project view with Launch Playtest Room / Export PDF).
2. Click Export Backup (.zip), choose whether to include images (see below), then Start Export.
3. The export runs in the background, you're free to navigate away, close the tab, whatever. You'll get a notification with a Download link the moment it's ready, wherever you are on the site.

Didn't catch the notification, or want it again later? Open your account menu (top right) → My Exports to see everything you've generated (PDF, CSV, Print & Play, or a project backup), with its file size, and redownload it any time.

Export files live in your account's storage (My Files) alongside your images, and count against your plan's storage quota for as long as you keep them, they don't expire or get cleaned up automatically. If a backup wouldn't fit, the export is blocked upfront with a clear message rather than leaving you with a broken file, free up space from My Exports or My Files, or exclude images (see below), and try again.

What's Included

An export contains your project's design:

• the project's own details (name, description, players, playtime, and so on),
• components, including rulebook pages (a rulebook is just a set of components grouped into a book),
• decks and token stacks (component groups) and how components are arranged in them,
• print-and-play layouts,
• and saved table setups, the layout templates you can load into a playtest room.

It does not include playtest session history, room activity logs, or replays, a backup restores what you designed, not a past game's play-by-play. A few account-specific things are intentionally left behind too: a restored project starts unsynced from The Game Crafter (re-link it yourself if you still want that), gets a fresh Dextrous sync connection if you use one, and any saved setup you'd shared publicly comes back private until you choose to share it again.

Including Images

Images (component art, rulebook page scans, project cover art) live in your account's storage, not inside the project itself, see My Files. That's why the export screen asks separately, and leaves it unchecked by default (a smaller, faster export):

• Include images: every image the project uses is downloaded and packed into the .zip, so the file is fully self-contained. Turn this on if you want a real backup or plan to move the project to another account, it's a bigger file and counts more against your storage quota.
• Don't include images (default): the backup is smaller and exports faster, but it just remembers where each image currently lives in your account. If you later delete those files from My Files, or import the backup into a different account, those images will stop showing up.

Importing a Project

1. From the Projects page, click the Import Project card (shown next to "Create New Project").
2. Choose a backup .zip file and click Import.
3. The import runs in the background. When it finishes, you're taken straight to the newly created project.

Importing always creates a brand-new project under your account, it never overwrites or merges into an existing one, so it's always safe to try. If the backup included images, they're uploaded into your own storage and count against your plan's storage quota, so make sure you have room before importing a large backup.

Related: Exports & Bulk Import · My Files · Projects · Plans & Pricing