Export your work and import it elsewhere

You can take your work out of PlexiDesk in two ways: export the whole workspace as one readable file, or export a single document in a familiar format such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint or PDF. You can bring work in the same two ways.

Before you start

• Plan. Exporting and importing work on every plan, signed in or not.
• An export is not a backup. To keep a copy you can restore exactly as it was, save a backup. See Back up and restore your workspace.

Export your whole workspace

1. Click the gear at the right-hand end of the header to open Settings.
2. Click the Data tab and scroll to Backup & data.
3. Click Export my work (JSON).
4. Choose where to save the file and click Save. It is named plexii-workspace- followed by the date and time, and ends in .json.

PlexiDesk says how many records it exported and how big the file is.

What the export holds

The export is a JSON file in a documented format, which you or another app can read. It holds your desks, documents, tables and their rows, notes, knowledge, decisions, meetings, templates and calendar time blocks.

It leaves out:

• Your Vault. It is never included in an export.
• The contents of files. The export lists your files, and a note inside it explains what to copy alongside it to keep them.
• Things that only make sense on this computer, such as search indexes and browsing history. The file lists each thing it leaves out, and why.

Import an export

1. Open Settings > Data and scroll to Backup & data.
2. Click Import an export….
3. Choose a .json file made with Export my work (JSON).

PlexiDesk says how many records it imported, how many it skipped because they were already here, and when the export was made, then Nothing existing was overwritten.

Importing only ever adds. It never replaces or changes what is already in PlexiDesk. If anything goes wrong part-way, nothing is imported at all.

Export and import documents

Office documents export to the formats other apps open, from inside each editor:

For PDFs and printing, see Export to PDF and print.

Bring files onto a desk

• Turn a file into a widget. Text and Markdown files become notes, and CSV and JSON files become tables. See Turn a file into a widget.
• Fill a table from a file. Import CSV, JSON or Excel into a table widget. See Import CSV, JSON or Excel into a table.
• Add files to Files. Add single files, or import a whole folder. See Add files and folders.

Tips

• Export before you delete your account, so you keep a readable copy of your work. See Delete your account.
• Keep files with the export. If your files matter, copy them alongside the export file.
• To move to a new computer, signing in and letting sync bring your work across is quickest. See Sync your work across devices.

Common questions

What is the difference between a backup and an export? A backup is an exact copy you restore into PlexiDesk, replacing what is there. An export is a readable file you can open elsewhere, or import into PlexiDesk to add to what is there.

It says "not a Plexii workspace export". Choose a file made with Export my work (JSON). Backups (.fbbackup files) are restored with Restore from backup… instead.

Does importing an export twice make duplicates? No. Records that are already there are skipped.

Can I import from other apps? Import files from other apps one at a time: Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Visio files, CSV and JSON. See the guides above.

Related tasks

• Back up and restore your workspace
• Open and save Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Visio files
• Turn a file into a widget
• Import CSV, JSON or Excel into a table
• Sync your work across devices