Canvas lets you import and export files in many different formats, letting you easily work with colleagues who use different applications and formats. Since the native Canvas format (.CVX) saves all the objects, properties, and effects that your document can contain, it's recommended that you always save your document in this format, in addition to saving or exporting the document in other formats.
When you save or export a document in a non-Canvas format, you should be aware of the capabilities and limitations of that file format, so that you can avoid problems such as lost information and printing errors. For example, some formats support only one type of data (vector, raster, or text), while others support multiple types.
In Canvas you can open a file directly, or you can create a Canvas document and then place one or more files into it. This lets you work on a single file, or combine files of different formats into a single document.
In the Open or Place dialog box, select the file you want to open, then click the Open or Place button.
For some file formats, a dialog box presents options for opening files. Select the appropriate settings, then click OK.
To import image files, you can also use the Image | Import command (see Importing images).
In Canvas, exporting files in different formats is as simple as saving the file in your selected format. Because not all the different file formats support all Canvas objects and effects, it's recommended that you always save your document in the standard Canvas (.CVX) format in addition to other formats.
For example, a TIFF file can save only a single raster image; it does not support text or vector objects. If you save a Canvas document containing vector objects or text in TIFF format, all the objects in the document are changed into an image. If you then open the TIFF file, its contents appear as one raster image, so you can’t edit the original text or reshape the vector objects.
When you save a document in another format, Canvas creates a new file on disk, but does not close the document or change the name of the document in the title bar. If you then try to close the Canvas document (without saving it in Canvas format), a message asks you to confirm that you want to close the document without saving it.
Always save your work as a Canvas (.CVX) document, so you can edit your work later in Canvas if necessary.
For more information about exporting files, see Saving Canvas documents.
When you are saving objects and select a file format that supports images only, Canvas renders the document or selected objects. Rendering creates an image that can be saved in the selected format. The Render Image dialog box has options for rendering (see Rendering objects and images for more information).