How To Turn A Canva Design Into A PSD File
So, you can’t open a PSD in Canva, but you can turn a design made in Canva into a PSD file. This involves a free third program called Photopea.
Step 1: Download Your Design
Once your design is ready to go, click on the Share button in the upper right corner. When the Options menu opens, click on Download.
When you click on Download, Canva will suggest you download your design in PNG format. DO NOT DOWNLOAD IN PNG FORMAT. This format will collapse all your layers, not allowing you to edit any of the layers individually.
The layers in your design will also collapse if you download your design as a JPG or SVG. MP4 and GIF formats are for video, so avoid them as well. You also want to avoid PDF Standard, as this option will have a lower quality.
The option you want to select is PDF Print.
When you click on PDF Print, an Option screen will pop up. You don’t need to mess with any of these settings. The setting you want to make sure not to touch at all is Flatten PDF. Clicking this would defeat the purpose of trying to turn a Canva design into a PSD by turning your design into a flat image.
Just don’t touch any of the settings and click Download.
Step 2: Open Your Design in Photopea
Go to Photopea.com to use their free service to convert your Canva File to a PSD.
Open From Computer
The second quickest way to upload your design is by opening your design from Photopea itself.
First, on the Photopea Homepage, click on Open From Computer.
Then, locate the file you wish to upload, select it, and click on Open.
Step 3: Check Your Layers
Now that your design is open in Photopea, we need to make sure that all of the layers are separate and working correctly. Sometimes the process of transferring a PDF to Photopea will compress a few layers, so it’s always best to double-check.
With your design now open, take notice of the Layers Panel.
Next to each layer is an Eye icon. This icon tells you that the layer is currently visible.
Now, click on every Eye icon in the Layers panel. Each layer should now be turned off, and you should have a blank canvas.
Once you see a blank canvas, you know that all your layers are working properly. Next, click the box next to each layer to make the layer visible again. You know if the layer is now visible if the Eye icon pops back up.
Your design should now be fully intact on your canvas.
If at any point one of your layers is still visible when you turn off all your layers, it means that one or more of your layers have been compressed by Canva by accident. To fix this, you will need to start over at step 1 and download your design from Canva again.
Step 4: Export To PSD From Photopea.
Now that your design is ready to go, we need to save this document as a PSD.
Go to File > Save More > Save PSD/PSB.
An Options menu will pop up, but you really don’t need to mess with any of the settings. Simply hit Save.
Step 5: Open Your PSD File In Photoshop
Locate the PSD that you just saved on your computer and open it in Photoshop.
In the Layers panel turn off all your layers by clicking the Eye icon next to each layer.
After each layer is turned off, your canvas will be blank. A blank canvas means that all the layers are working properly.
Make sure to turn all your layers back on by clicking the boxes next to each layer.
That’s it! You can now edit your Canva designs in Photoshop.
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