Export

QUICK SUMMARY

1. Tap the Export icon to share your drawing in other formats.
2. Choose the export Region and Resolution to suit your needs.
3. Export a Selection when you only want to share a specific part of your drawing.

Exporting in Concepts

1. When you are ready to export your drawing, tap the Export icon in the status bar to open the Export Menu.

2. Choose the Format you want to export to. Please note that due to Concepts' unique Vector-raster hybrid engine, strokes might look different when exported in a vector format. For vector exports, we suggest using the Fixed Width or the Wire brush. Read more about the Exporting Formats.
   • JPG. A lossy raster format.
   • PNG. A lossless raster format.
   • SVG. A simplified vector format.
   • DXF. A vector format usable in CAD software.
   • .concept / .concepts. Concepts' native format.
   • PSD. Photoshop's high-resolution raster format with layer support.
   • PDF, Flattened. A high-resolution raster format.
   • PDF, Vector Paths. A vector PDF format.
3. Choose the Region you want to export.
   • Screenshot exports the area currently visible on the screen.
   • Entire Drawing exports all the lines in the whole drawing into a single file. This can lead to large file sizes.
   • Artboard confines the export to your Artboard's boundaries, for example, A3. You will need to set up an Artboard in the Settings for this option to be visible.
   • PDF Bounds uses the area of the imported PDFs in the document as the export area.
   • Selection export option is the only available option if you have an active Selection. This will only export the strokes you have selected as a single image.
4. Choose additional Options for your export.
   • Transparent. The background will be exported as transparent instead of using your background texture or color. This option is not available in JPG.
   • Paper. Your background paper will be included in the export.
   • Grid. Your grid will be included in the export. Note that you will need to activate the grid in the Precision menu for this option to be available.
   • Use Filters. An SVG export option. This will add the texture images of brushes and the background into the export.
   • Wireframe. A DXF export option. This will export the lines as wireframes.
   • All Layers. A PSD export option. This includes all Layers, even hidden ones, in your export.
   • Visible Layers. A PSD export option. This includes only visible Layers in your export.
   • Original Pages. If you have selected PDF Bounds as your region, you can use this option to include all the pages of a multi-page document.
5. With Output Details, you can control the size of your export.
   • When exporting using the Entire Drawing or Artboard region, you can choose from device-specific ppi settings: 72, 150, 300, and 600 ppi. The larger the ppi, the higher the image quality and file size.
   • When exporting a Screenshot or an Artboard measured in pixels, you can choose to export at 100%, 200%, or 400%.
6. Once you're happy with your settings, tap Export.

Exporting with Drag & Drop

Concepts supports iOS' and Android's drag & drop capabilities. On iOS, you can drag & drop Selections, images, text, and colors both into and out of Concepts with supported apps. On Android, you can drag & drop Selections to supported apps. Images are exported as transparent PNGs.

1. Toggle to enable Drag & drop active selections in Settings > Interactions menu.

2. Using the Lasso or Item Picker, select what you would like to copy to another app.

3. Tap+hold on your Selection. It will pop out from the screen slightly to indicate it is being dragged & dropped.
4. Start dragging your Selection. Swipe upward on the tab with another finger to open another app and choose your destination app.

5. Drag in your Selection. You should see an indication where the Selection can be added.

This feature is not currently available on Windows. Read how to drag & drop selections into Concepts in the import section.

Exporting via Clipboard

You can attach Selections, images, text and colors (iOS) to your device's clipboard, and paste them into email, text, supported document editors and other apps.

1. To copy a selection to your clipboard, start by selecting your drawing, selection, or Object.
2. Tap the Paperclip icon in the Selection popup to add it to your clipboard.

3. Open your app of choice and Paste your item.

For more tips on exporting, read Tips for Exporting Your Designs.

Exporting File Formats

JPG

A standard, lossy compression format is best for quick emails or low-resolution screenshots. You can choose from several different resolutions.

PNG

A standard, lossless compression format for images viewable on nearly any device. PNG format also supports transparency. You can choose from several different resolutions.

SVG

A standard format for simplified vector paths that include point data and colors, but it is limited to a single line weight per stroke and very rough texture support.

SVG formats are different and proprietary, so you can expect to see inconsistencies between vector stroke appearances in Concepts versus other vector apps.

Concepts' specialized textured strokes are not supported across other vector apps. If you intend to export your work to other vector editors, use the Fixed Width or Wire brush for drawing. Hard Mask and Soft Mask strokes will display as white lines, so use the Slice (eraser) tool to trim your line work.

If exporting for Adobe Illustrator, make sure to uncheck Filters in the options.

DXF

DXF (R14) is a CAD format developed by Autodesk that includes vector paths and basic color representation, useful for CAD models and laser/waterjet cutting.

Use the Fixed Width or Wire brush in Concepts for drawing.

Hard Mask and Soft Mask strokes will display as white lines, so use the Slice (eraser) tool to edit line work intended for DXF export.

.concept and .concepts

The Concepts native file format. This format is best if you want to continue editing the file on another device or share your drawing for collaboration. On Windows, you will need to select Save As to export the drawing as a native .concepts file type.

Currently, iOS uses a different native file format than Windows and Android platforms. Currently, iOS can only open .concept files, and Windows and Android can only open .concepts files. We are working on bringing these two file formats together.

You can also export as .concept or .concepts if you want to back up your drawings to the cloud. Read our illustrated tutorial on backing up your drawings.

PSD

Adobe's Photoshop format supports multiple layers in a high-resolution raster format.

PDF (Adobe PDF, Flattened)

PDF is an industry standard, optimized for displaying documents on any screen or platform. This is the raster version that maintains look and feel but loses vector path data. Files can be large if exported at high resolutions.

PDF (Adobe PDF, Vector Paths)

PDF is an industry standard, optimized for displaying documents on any screen or platform. This is the vector version that supports basic paths but loses the textures of your brushes.