When you're working on multiple book projects, the last thing you want to do is start from scratch every time. The good news is that you can now import page designs and covers from your previous books into new projects, saving you time and effort while maintaining design consistency across your work.

This import feature is particularly useful if you've spent time perfecting a layout or design element that you'd like to use again. Instead of recreating pages manually, you can pull directly from your existing library of completed books and apply those designs to your current project.

How to Import Pages

Getting started with importing pages is straightforward. Follow these steps:

1. Open the new book project in the Designer.
2. Click the Layouts button.
3. At the top of the Layouts menu, you'll see two options:
   • Save Layout (blue button)
   • Import Page Design (white button underneath)
4. Click Import Page Design.
5. Select the previous book you'd like to import pages or covers from.
6. Choose the specific pages you want to import by clicking on them. They'll be applied to your new project with their original layout format intact.

Note: When importing pages, the Designer preserves the original layout format. If the original page is set up as a spread, it will be imported as a full spread. If you only want to import one page from a spread, ensure both the original page and new project are set to Page format.

Understanding Compatibility Requirements

Not all pages can be imported into all projects. Pages and covers can only be imported when both the original book and new book meet specific compatibility standards.

Your books must have:

• The same book size — An 11x9 book can only import pages into another 11x9 book. A 12x12 book cannot be imported into an 11x9 or 8x8 book.
• The same book type — Seamless books can only import into other Seamless books, and Layflat page books can only import into other Layflat page books.

There is one exception to the compatibility rules: you can switch cover types between Softcover and Hardcover, provided that the page type and book size match the original project.

What Works and What Doesn't

To help you understand which imports are possible, here are some clear examples:

Allowed imports:

• 11x9 Seamless → 11x9 Seamless
• 12x12 Layflat → 12x12 Layflat
• 11x9 Softcover → 11x9 Hardcover (same size and book type)

Not allowed:

• 12x12 → 11x9
• 12x12 → 8x8
• Seamless → Layflat
• Layflat → Seamless

Troubleshooting: If the Import Page Design button doesn't appear active or selectable, verify that both your original and new books meet the compatibility requirements above. If they don't, you'll need to recreate the pages manually in your new project.