Storylet Studio

Storyworld Import / Export (web)

The web version lets you save a single storyworld out to a .storyletstudio file you can keep on your computer, share with a collaborator, or import back into a different storyworld. Both actions live on the storyworld's Management page, alongside Duplicate, Clear Content, and Delete.

The desktop app doesn't show these actions. On desktop, your project already is a .storyletstudio file, so File > Save As and Finder / Explorer copy give you the same outcome.

Export to file

Click Export to file and the app downloads a .storyletstudio archive named after the storyworld. The archive contains:

  • Every storylet, deck, act, and world property.
  • The storymap: zones, sites, pins, background image bytes.
  • Game Data field definitions and per-entity values.
  • Whiteboard layouts, annotations, and comments.

Use the file as a snapshot before a destructive edit, share it with a collaborator, or move work between deployed environments (dev / main on the web build) or between the web and desktop builds.

Import from file

Click Import from file, pick a .storyletstudio you exported earlier (or one a collaborator sent you), and the app reads it and shows a confirm dialog summarising what will be deleted from this storyworld and what will be created from the file. Confirm to overwrite.

The storyworld's identity is preserved across the replace:

  • The storyworld keeps its current name in this workspace, even if the file's recorded name is different (the file's name is shown in the dialog for reference only).
  • The storyworld's id, organisation, workspace, and creation date are kept.
  • Everything else — every storylet, every property, every pin, every image — is taken from the file.

There is no undo. Use Duplicate Storyworld first if you want a backup of what's about to be replaced.

If the file was saved by an older version of Storylet Studio, the app migrates it forward automatically and tells you that's happened. If the file was saved by a newer version than your build, the app refuses to import and asks you to update.

What if the import doesn't finish?

A network drop, a closed browser tab, or a server hiccup mid-import can leave a storyworld with some collections imported and others not. When that happens, the storyworld's editor is locked and the Management page shows a recovery panel with two options:

  • Retry import — re-runs the import using the file you just picked (the app keeps a copy in your browser's local storage so you don't have to find the file again). Safe to do multiple times.
  • Clear all content — wipes properties, decks, storylets, and outcomes (the storymap structure is preserved) and unlocks the editor. After this you can re-pick the file and import again.

If you've moved to a different machine or cleared your browser's storage, only Clear all content is available — re-pick the file from the Import action afterwards.

What's not in v1

  • Importing a file that contains multiple storyworlds (in v1 only the first one is imported).
  • Cancelling an import once the writes have started.
  • Importing only part of a file (e.g. "just the storylets, leave the storymap alone"). Import is always a full replace.