How to export and print a floor plan

Choose the file for the job it has to do

Every export in the File menu was made for a different job. A picture goes into a message, a vector file goes into a document you will print or edit, the JSON keeps the work editable, the HTML page is standalone, and the CSV is a spreadsheet.

They sit under a Floor plan heading in the File menu: Export Floor Plan PNG, Export Floor Plan JPG, Export Floor Plan SVG, Export Floor Plan JSON, Export Floor Plan HTML/CSS, Export Room Schedule (CSV) and Print Floor Plan. Set the unit system first, because every file uses the plan's units.

Every one of those files carries the same footer: the level name and the line saying this is a planning aid with typical dimensions, not a surveyed or code-compliant construction document. A reader holding only the PNG still sees the boundary.

• Picture for a message, vector for a document, CSV for a spreadsheet
• Set the units before you export, not after
• Every export carries the planning-aid footer
• The .canv project file is what keeps the plan editable

Note: The exported image covers the whole plan with a margin around it, rather than the part of the canvas you happened to be looking at.

Export a PNG or JPG for a message

PNG is the default for anything read on a screen: a chat message, a slide, a review comment. The export renders at 2× scale, so the lines stay crisp when somebody zooms in and the labels stay readable.

Choose JPG when the file has to be small. It carries the same drawing and footer in a fraction of the space, which matters when the plan goes into an email with a size limit. The trade-off is that JPG is lossy, so fine text can look soft when the image is scaled up.

Neither file is editable. If somebody asks for a change, they send back the .canv project file or the JSON, not the picture, and you re-export rather than patching an image. The App Builder export guide makes the same point for screen designs.

• PNG for anything read on a screen
• JPG when the file size matters more than the fine detail
• Both are rendered at 2× scale with the footer attached
• Pictures are for showing; project files are for working

Note: A picture carries no scale of its own, so export it with the dimension lines on the plan. Without them, nobody can measure anything from the image.

Export an SVG when the plan has to scale

SVG is the right file when the plan will be printed, scaled up, or dropped into a document as a drawing. The geometry is written as real vector paths rather than pixels, so it stays sharp at any size and opens in a vector editor with the wall thickness intact.

That makes SVG the useful middle ground for a landlord or consultant who wants to mark the file up: they can add annotations or take the drawing into their own tool without asking for a different format first.

The same caution applies as with any plan: the SVG carries the planning-aid line in its footer text, so the note about typical dimensions travels with a file that gets reused by people who were never told what it was.

• Real vector paths, sharp at any size
• Wall thickness survives a round trip through a vector editor
• The right format for a marked-up planning document
• The footer note travels with the drawing

Export the JSON when the work continues

The JSON export is the plan data in readable form: units, levels, walls, rooms, openings, dimensions and notes, with every length in millimeters. It is the file to keep when you want to look at the numbers, diff two versions or hand the plan to somebody who works with data.

To take the work back into Canvasola, use the .canv project file from the File menu. It holds the canvas, the mind map and the floor plan together, and Open Project brings it all back when you move a plan between machines.

Because the JSON is plain text, you can keep it in version control and see exactly what changed between two dates. The backup guide covers keeping a project recoverable when you move a plan between machines.

• Readable data: units, levels, walls, rooms, openings, dimensions, notes
• Every length stored in millimeters
• Use the .canv project file to move the plan back into Canvasola
• Plain text is easy to diff between two versions

Export the static HTML page

The HTML export produces one file with the plan drawn as absolutely positioned boxes and labels, plus a small embedded stylesheet. There is no JavaScript in it and no interactivity, which is the point: the file opens in any browser with nothing to install.

That makes it useful for a plan that has to live somewhere specific, such as a folder you email to a contractor or a page on a company site. It also suits a locked-down browser or a slow connection, because there is nothing to wait for.

The static page carries room names, areas and the footer note, but it is a picture of the plan rather than an editable plan. If the recipient needs a change, send the .canv project file as well.

• One file with embedded styles and no JavaScript
• Opens anywhere, including a locked-down browser
• Good for emailing or hosting as a fixed document
• A picture of the plan, not an editable plan

Note: The static page is a document, not an app. If the plan needs to change after you send it, send a new file rather than an edited copy.

Export the CSV room schedule

The room schedule is the most useful export for a conversation about numbers. Each row is one room: name, type, width, depth, area, finish and notes. The last row is a total for the plan.

Open it in a spreadsheet and the arithmetic becomes somebody else's problem. You can sort by area, total the bedrooms or paste the columns into an email, and the review guide shows how to check the list against the drawing.

Check the total row against the floor area you measured before you send it. The schedule sums the rooms you drew, so a corridor never drawn as a room shows up as a gap, and finding it in the spreadsheet takes ten seconds.

• One row per room: name, type, width, depth, area, finish, notes
• A total row at the end of the file
• Opens in any spreadsheet for sorting and comparing
• Compare the total with the floor area you measured

Print to PDF through the browser

There is no PDF export button in Canvasola. Instead, Print Floor Plan opens a clean print page in a new window, laid out for landscape paper with the drawing scaled to the page width and the footer note underneath, and then opens your browser's print dialog.

From there the destination is up to you. Choose a printer for a paper copy, or Save as PDF for a file, and set the paper size and scale in the same dialog. The result is a real PDF of the plan, produced by the browser rather than by the app.

Print one page before you print a set, and look at it. A long plan may need landscape, a small plan may look lost on A4, and a plan that runs to two levels does not fit on one page. There is no automatic page splitting, so check what the dialog shows. The complete Canvasola guide covers the rest of the export set.

• Print Floor Plan opens a landscape print page and the print dialog
• Choose Save as PDF for a file, or a printer for paper
• No automatic page splitting, so check one page first
• The footer note appears on the printed page

Note: The print page is generated from the plan, not from a screenshot, so the walls stay sharp and the labels stay in the unit system you chose.

A checklist you can reuse

• Units were set to the system the reader will use
• The export was chosen for the job it has to do
• A PNG or JPG is used for anything read on a screen
• An SVG is used for anything that will be printed or scaled
• The .canv project file was saved alongside the shared files
• The CSV total was compared with the measured floor area
• One printed page was checked before a full print run

Common mistakes to avoid

• Sending a picture and losing the plan. A PNG cannot be edited, so the recipient has nothing to change. Send the .canv project file with it, or expect a second round of requests.
• Using a screenshot instead of an export. A screenshot carries the tool's interface, a cropped plan and the wrong scale. The export covers the whole plan, renders at 2× and carries the footer.
• Exporting a schedule that does not add up. The total row sums the rooms you drew, so an undrawn corridor shows as a gap. Check it against the floor area before sending.
• Stretching a PNG for a printout. A raster image enlarged to A4 looks soft and the small text breaks up. Print from the print view instead, and let the page do the scaling.
• Stripping the footer. The planning-aid line is what stops a plan being read as a construction document. Keep it on every file you circulate, including ones you edit by hand.

Frequently asked questions

Can Canvasola export a floor plan as PDF directly?

No. There is no direct PDF export, and this guide does not add one. A PDF comes from the browser's print dialog: choose Print Floor Plan, set the destination to Save as PDF, and the browser writes the file from the print page it opens.

Which export should I use for a plan going into a report?

The SVG, because it is vector and stays sharp when the document is printed or zoomed. Put the PNG or JPG alongside it for screen reading, and keep the CSV room schedule as the source for any table of areas.

Does the exported plan keep the room names and areas?

Yes. The images, the SVG and the HTML page all draw the room labels and the calculated area for each room, in the unit system the plan is set to. The CSV lists the same information as columns, with a total row at the end.

Can I bring an exported plan back into Canvasola?

Bring the project back with the .canv file and Open Project, which restores the plan along with the rest of the document. The JSON export is the readable data behind the plan, useful for checking the numbers rather than for loading a plan.

This guide is part of the floor plan guides collection. For the wider product tour, read the complete Canvasola guide, and keep the keyboard shortcut cheat sheet open while you work.