CHAPTER 12
EXPORTING AND SHARING DESIGNS
Downloading Designs
- Click the Share button
on the editor's menu bar.
- Click Download
.
- From the list, pick a file type to download.
- Choose the pages you want to download from the dropdown menu if your design has more than one. Then click "Done."
- Click on Get.
- To buy licensed versions of special elements in your design, click on the "More" icon next to "Try Canva for Pro/Teams for free." Pick the way of payment you want to use, then click "Pay and Download" to finish.
The picture you want is in the download folder that came with your device.
Supported Download File Types
Save your thoughts in the format that lets you do what you want to do with them:
Image
- JPG. Picture files that are small work best. Slide each one to change the size and color.
- PNG. It's best for images and lets you use transparency*. To change the compression ratio, check the box next to Compress file size and move the scale to 0.5x, 1x, 2x, or 3x.
- SVG. The picture quality stays the same no matter what size it is. It's great for making images for the web.
Users of Canva Pro, Canva Teams, Canva for Education, and Canva for Nonprofits can change the quality, the size, the compression, the CMYK color schemes, and the PNG and SVG files that are made clear.
Document
- PDF Standard. Up to 96 dots per inch (dpi) for pictures, text, and graphics
- PDF Print. For printing at 300 dpi, with the choice to choose an RGB or CMYK color scheme and add bleed and crop marks
- PPTX (Microsoft PowerPoint). To use only for talks. For now, downloading as PPTX is not possible for other design types.
- DOCX (Microsoft Word). Only works with Canva Docs. For now, you can only download DOCX for certain design types.
If you get designs as PPTX or DOCX files, they might not look the same when you open them in PowerPoint or Word. It's possible that you need to make some changes or get the fonts you used in Canva and put them on your phone. It is not yet possible to add animations and movies to Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. If you save your design as a PPTX or DOCX file, animated parts and/or movies may not work the way you want them to.
Video
- GIF. For designs with moving elements or those that are animated
- MP4. Videos and music can be used in designs
Sharing Designs via Email or Links
There are many ways to share your pictures made in Canva. You can also tell your team about your thoughts if you have or are on one.
Sharing Via Links from Inside the Editor
People can see all the comments in the editor without logging in if you give them a link to your design that only lets them see comments. Before someone can answer, add new notes, or change the plan, they have to sign up or log in.
Computer
- Get the design you want to share and open it.
- Pick Share from the menu bar above the notepad.
- The drop-down box next to the Collaboration link lets you pick who to share with. With the link, you can share it with All Users, Your Team (only for Canva Teams users), or Anyone. You are the only one who can change the style that is picked by default.
- It lets you pick which type of rights to give: can change, write, or view. You can change the rights whenever you want after that.
- Click on Copy link.
Mobile
- Open the design you want to share.
- Tap the Share button above the editor.
- Click on Share link
.
- You can choose who to share with by using the dropdown menu next to the Collaboration link. You can share with anyone with the link, Only you can access, or Only your team (for Canva Teams users only). The style that is chosen by default can only be accessed by you.
- You can choose what kind of permissions to give on the other dropdown: can change, write, or view. After this, you can change the rights whenever you want.
- Click on Copy link.
Why Are There Unknown or Guest Users in My Design?
Some people with the design link can make changes if you see "guest users" in your design. These people will have animal names and pictures. No need to sign up or log in for this to let people change things.
Sharing Via Links from the Home Page
Computer
- From the Canva home page or a folder, find the drawing you want to share.
- Move your mouse over its picture and click the "More" button that shows up. You can also just click on the idea.
- Click on Share
.
- You can choose who to share with by using the dropdown menu next to the Collaboration link. You can share with All Users, Your Team (only for Canva Teams users), or Anyone with the link. The style that is chosen by default can only be accessed by you.
- You can choose what kind of permissions to give on the other dropdown: can change, write, or view. After this, you can change the rights whenever you want.
- Click on Copy link.
Mobile
- In Projects or your files, find the image you want to share.
- On the image you want to share, tap the "More" button. You can also just click on the idea.
- Click on Share.
- You can choose who to share with by using the dropdown menu next to the Collaboration link. You can share with All Users, Your Team (only for Canva Teams users), or Anyone with the link. The style that is chosen by default can only be accessed by you.
- You can choose what kind of rights to give on the other dropdown: can, edit, write, or view. After this, you can change the rights whenever you want.
- Click on Copy link.
Sharing With Specific People via Email
By using their email addresses, you can let certain people see your ideas.
Computer
- Get the design you want to share and open it.
- Go to the menu bar in the editor after opening it. After that, click Share
.
- People whose emails you want to share your drawing with should be typed into the text field. There need to be commas between them. If you're on a team, you can look for their name and add them right away.
- From the drop-down menu, you can pick whether the person can read, write, or change. You can change the rights whenever you want after that.
- Click Send.
Mobile
- Get the design you want to share and open it.
- Click on the Share button at the top of the window.
- Press the Share link.
- People whose emails you want to share your drawing with should be typed into the text field. There need to be commas between them. If you're on a team, you can look for their name and add them right away.
- From the drop-down menu, you can pick whether the person can read, write, or change. You can change the rights whenever you want after that.
- Click "Send."
Sharing Profile Pictures
Users can choose from designs that have already been shared with other users. You can see who can see your design or folder if you click on your own picture.
- The only person who can see a design or place that doesn't have a picture of you is you.
- If it's shared with more than one person or team, it will have two group shots.
If the design is shared with more than two people, the second personal picture will have a "+" sign next to it. This means that you and at least two other people or groups can use it.
Export Print-Ready Artwork
Step 1: Create Your Artwork
Click on "Create a Design" in the upper right area of Canva's main screen. This is the screen you'll see: you can use a template or start from scratch with your design.

Step 2: Find the section that says "Download."
You need to share your art when you're done with your idea. Click the "Share" button in the top right corner of your screen. Press "Download."

Step 3: Change Your Export Settings
Exporting As PDFs
- Click on "PNG" to see the other choices. Your File Type setting is likely to be set to "PNG." The next step is the most important: make sure your file type is "PDF (Print)."
- In this case, you will get the best prints. Note: The "crop mark" and "color mode" options, as well as the output quality, are different between the Standard and Print PDFs. If you're giving us artwork, you don't need to make this choice because Stark doesn't use crop marks. We use flow instead.


Selecting Color Mode
They might need crop marks if you use a different printer. Talk to your printer again to find out what settings it wants you to use. The color choice is an important part of this process, though. When you print your art, it needs to be in CMYK color. The color mode for computer files like this (a blog post or a social media post) is RGB.
NOTE: You can only share your art in RGB if you use the free version of Canva. No problem, our Prepress Team can change the color mode for you. Don't forget that your work may have some small color changes. Bright colors and neons may not look as bright.
The best way to get artwork ready to print is to send it as a PDF. This way, the artwork can still be changed. Based on the graphics (images, text, or other vector graphics) in your art, you may still be able to change it with other graphic design tools.

Do not check the "Flatten PDF" box. To make your art into a single picture, check this box in Canva. You can't change any text or graphics that were in the first version of your art. Also, if you send your art as a PDF and don't flatten it, you can still change the words. But keep in mind that some of Canva's styles are not open source, which means anyone can't use them. If we have to change your art and use that style, there may be an extra fee. No extra charge if you don't want to pay the licensing fees for the original font(s). We can always find a related font for you. When you're done setting up, there's nothing else to do! You can upload your PDF right to your payment after pressing "Download."
Printing Designs
- Open the PDF file that you saved on your computer.
- On your PDF reader, press the Print button or the printer icon. To print, you can also press Command + P (Mac) or Ctrl + P (Windows).
- You can choose what kind of printer you have. Check to see if it can make the picture the size you want.
- Check how your printer is set up. Set your picture to print at 100% scale to make sure it comes out right.
- Press the Print button to print.