Sharing and Exporting
Download your designs as images or PDFs, and share them with your team.
Downloading your design
Once your design is finished, you need to export it to use it outside of Canva.
- Click Share in the top right corner of the editor.
- Click Download.
- Choose your file type (see the table below).
- If your design has multiple pages, choose which pages to include.
- Click Download and save the file to your computer.
Which file type to use
| What you are making | File type | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Social media post or image | PNG | Lossless format. No quality lost on download. Best for images. |
| Poster for printing | PDF Print | High resolution, suitable for professional printing. |
| Document to email | PDF Standard | Smaller file size, good enough for screen viewing. |
| Video or reel | MP4 | Standard video format for social media upload. |
Avoid JPEG for images. JPEG compresses the image and loses quality. When you then upload it to Facebook (which compresses again), the result looks noticeably worse. Always use PNG for images.
Size multiplier for printing
When downloading a PNG, you will see a size slider (1x, 2x, 3x, etc.).
- 1x is fine for social media and screen use.
- 2x is recommended if the design might be printed larger than A4 (e.g. A3 poster, pull-up banner, corflute sign).
- Do not drag the slider all the way to maximum unless you need it. Larger sizes create very large files.
Print bleed
If your design will be printed without a border (borderless printing), the printer cuts the page out of a larger sheet. This means you lose a few millimetres around the edges.
- Keep important text and logos at least 5mm from the edge of the design.
- In Canva, you can turn on a bleed guide by going to File > Show print bleed. A red line will appear showing the danger zone.
Even if you think a design is only for digital use, someone may ask to print it later. Give yourself a margin.
Sharing a design for collaboration
If you want someone else to help edit a design:
- Click Share in the top right corner.
- Click Copy link.
- Send that link to the person (via email, Teams, etc.).
- They can open it in their browser and edit the design directly.
Team vs personal: If you created the design in your personal Canva and want it in your club's team workspace, click the three dots on the design thumbnail, then Copy to another team. Select your club team and it will create a copy there. Work on the team copy going forward so everyone sees the updates.
Quick link sharing: When you send a Canva link, the recipient can view or edit depending on the permissions you set. For view-only sharing (e.g. for approval), change the link permission to Can view before copying.