Export and import
You can save a board as an image, a file you can reopen, or text. You can also bring a saved board or a Mermaid diagram into Tabula.
Export
Open the board menu (the three-dot Menu button at the top right). The Export section lists every format. If you have items selected, the heading reads Export selection and PNG, SVG and JSON contain only those items (plus anything inside selected frames, and connectors between exported items).
| Item | What you get |
|---|---|
| PNG image | A 2x raster image on a white background. |
| SVG vector | A scalable image on white. |
| Board file (.drift) | The whole board with its history, for backup or moving it. |
| JSON snapshot | A readable copy of the board. |
| Markdown summary | Text notes grouped by frame, with votes and poll results. |
| Copy as Mermaid | Mermaid text copied to your clipboard. |
| Cards as CSV | One row per kanban card, for spreadsheets. Shown when the board has a kanban. See Kanban boards. |
Files are named after the board.
PNG and SVG
Images use the light default colours on white whatever theme you are using. Comment pins are left out. Fonts are embedded so text looks the same. If you are offline and a font was never loaded, the image falls back to a system font. Very large boards are scaled down to fit a maximum image size.
Board file (.drift)
A .drift file holds the complete board, including comments, polls and votes, the board's edit history and its pictures. It is the most faithful copy. Use it to back up a board or hand it to someone else.
JSON snapshot
A text file with the board's settings, objects, session steps, comments and polls. It does not include edit history. With a selection, it contains only the selected objects.
Markdown summary
Lists each frame as a heading with its notes as bullets, sorted by votes (shown as "3 votes"), followed by revealed poll results. Only items with text inside frames are included.
The summary writes your text literally: a title such as # heading or  stays plain text and never turns into a heading, an image or a link. To keep it that way the raw .md file may show a backslash before characters such as #, [ or *; a Markdown viewer hides them.
Kanbans are listed too: a heading for each kanban, its lanes below it and the cards as bullets. See Kanban boards.
The summary leaves out what is still hidden from you on the board. During a private writing step it does not list other people's notes until they are revealed, and during a vote it shows no vote counts until the totals are revealed. Counts of a finished vote are included. See Polls.
Copy as Mermaid
Copies a diagram description to the clipboard: a class diagram if the board has UML classes, otherwise a flowchart. Only connectors joining two shapes are included. You can also use Copy as Mermaid in the properties panel for a selection of shapes or classes.
Import
Open a file as a new board
On the home screen click Import file and choose a .drift or .json file. It opens as a new board, zoomed to fit, with the message "Board opened from file". A .drift file restores comments, polls and history. A JSON file restores objects, settings, session steps and polls, and comments if present.
Add a file to the current board
In a board, choose Import a board file into this board in the board menu, or drag a .drift or .json file onto the board. The objects are added to the right of what is already there and the view moves to them. Comments, polls and settings from the file are not added. Imported items get new identities, so importing the same file twice makes two copies.
You need edit access. If the file is not a Tabula board, or was made by a newer version of Tabula, you get a message and nothing changes.
Importing Mermaid
Choose Import Mermaid in the board menu, in the UML drawer under Text to diagram, or on an empty board.
- Paste Mermaid text. A flowchart,
classDiagram,stateDiagram-v2orsequenceDiagramis supported. - Click Add to board.
The diagram becomes editable shapes and connectors, placed to the right of existing content. If the text cannot be read, the dialog shows an error and you can fix it.
Paste text and objects
Pasting plain text on the board creates one sticky note per line (up to 50). Pasting objects copied from another Tabula board (Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V) places them at your pointer.