Importing & Exporting

Beginner

Buildopia's autosave keeps a copy of your work in the browser automatically, and My Builds lets you keep named saves and browse the last 30 autosave snapshots — all without leaving the app. But for long-term storage, sharing across devices, or sending a build to someone else, you need to export it as a file. This guide covers the full suite of save and export options in the sidebar, including the Plan View PNG top-down image export.

Exporting Your Build

The Export button in the sidebar saves your entire build as a .json file. The filename includes a timestamp so exports don't overwrite each other. The file contains:

Your current grid dimensions (Width, Height, and Length).
The current Blueprint Reveal level.
Every block placed in the build, including its position, shape, material, rotation, and colour tint if applicable.

This is a complete snapshot. Loading the file back in will recreate the build exactly — same dimensions, same blocks, same reveal level. The X and Z Reveal slider positions are also saved in the file, so any cross-section view you had set up comes back exactly as you left it when you reload the export.

Good habit: Export before any major structural change or before loading a community build. My Builds' autosave window rolls over time, and an exported file is yours to keep permanently regardless of what happens to your browser data.

Importing a Build

The Import button opens a file picker where you choose a previously exported .json file. Buildopia validates the file before loading — if the file is damaged, incompatible, or not a valid Buildopia export, you'll see an error and your current build won't be affected.

If the file is valid, it replaces your current build entirely: your grid resizes to match the exported dimensions, every existing block is cleared, and the exported build is loaded in its place.

Warning: Importing replaces your entire current build. Export first, or save to My Builds, if you want to preserve what you're working on.

Resource List

The Resource List button generates a breakdown of the raw crafting ingredients needed for your entire current build — the base materials, not the intermediate ones. For example, a block that requires Lumber to craft will appear in the list as the number of Lumber needed, not the number of that block type.

This is the list to use before a big building session in-game: it tells you exactly what to gather or buy, down to the unit, without any guesswork. You can:

Save it as a .txt file to keep as a reference.
Copy it to your clipboard to paste into a note, spreadsheet, or message.

The list is generated from your current build at the moment you click the button. If you add or remove blocks afterwards, click it again to get an updated count.

Material List

The Material List button is similar to Resource List, but shows a count of each finished material rather than raw ingredients. Where Resource List might tell you "42 Lumber", Material List tells you "14 Wooden Wall, 8 Wooden Floor, 20 Wooden Beam" — one line per material, with the number of blocks of that material in your build.

This is useful when you already have crafted materials stockpiled and want to know exactly how many of each you'll need. Like Resource List, you can save it as a .txt file or copy it to the clipboard.

Plan View PNG

The Plan View PNG button in the sidebar exports a true orthographic top-down image of your build. Unlike the PNG Screenshot button (which captures whatever the viewport happens to show), Plan View PNG renders the build fresh from directly above using Three.js — so the output is pixel-accurate regardless of your current camera angle, and every block type renders correctly: slopes, pillars, windows, liquids, and nature items all appear exactly as they do in the 3D viewport.

Before the export runs, a modal lets you configure two options:

Option	Details
Image Size	Choose how many pixels wide each grid cell should be: 16, 32, 64, or 128 px per cell. The modal shows the exact output dimensions for your current grid at each size so you can judge the file size before committing. The default is 32 px per cell, which is a good balance between detail and file size for most builds.
Shadows	Toggle shadows on or off for this export independently of the main viewport shadow setting. The toggle defaults to your current Settings → Advanced shadow state, but you can override it here without changing the live viewport. The toggle is disabled (and shadows are excluded) if Sun-Cast Shadows is not enabled in Settings → Advanced.

Tip: Use Plan View PNG to generate a clean top-down layout diagram of your build — useful as a reference image when building for real in-game, for sharing a layout with others, or for comparing the footprint of different design iterations. Layer Sheets serve a similar purpose but include a per-level breakdown and materials legend; Plan View PNG is a single composite top-down image of the full build.

PNG Screenshot

The PNG button in the top bar (not the sidebar) captures a clean image of whatever the main viewport currently shows. No UI, no sidebar, no overlays — just the rendered build from your current camera angle.

This is separate from a full export. A PNG is a visual record, not a file you can reload into Buildopia. Use it for:

Sharing your build on social media or Discord.
Keeping a visual progress record alongside your exported .json files.
Generating the thumbnail image when sharing to Community Builds.

Tip: Use the camera presets (Top, Front, Side) before taking a screenshot to get a clean orthographic shot, or use a custom orbit angle for a dramatic perspective view. Toggle Wireframe or Flat Material on first if you want a technical-style render rather than the textured look.

Layer Sheets

Layer Sheets are a more detailed visual export — a top-down, level-by-level diagram of your build with a full materials legend. They're covered fully in the Layer Sheets guide.

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