Design packages and variations

When you buy or download a single design, you rarely get a single file. You get the same design in several formats and sizes, plus instructions, artwork and sometimes a video. CraftKeep keeps all of that together in a design package.

What a design package holds

A design package is one design with everything that belongs to it. For example:

• Embroidery: the design in 4x4 and 5x7 hoop sizes, each as PES, DST and JEF, plus a PDF color chart and an MP4 stitch-out video.
• SVG and vinyl: an SVG, a DXF and a PNG of the same cut design, plus a PDF with layering instructions.
• Laser: a DXF and an SVG cut file, with a PDF assembly guide and a photo of the finished piece.
• 3D printing: STL and 3MF versions of a model, a PDF of print notes and a picture of the printed result.

There is no fixed limit on what a package can include. Every file inside stays individually available, so you can still open, download or export just one of them.

One card per design

Without packages, a single design in three sizes and five formats could fill a screen with fifteen near-identical results. In CraftKeep, that design appears as one card in My Library and one result in Search. Open the card and the Preview/Details panel shows its files, variations, notes and version history, all one click away.

When a search matches a file inside a package, such as an old filename or a phrase in the instructions, you still get the single package card, with a note showing which file matched. See Searching your library.

Variations and shared files

Inside a package, CraftKeep recognizes the role each file plays:

• Variations: the same design in a different size, machine format or material version.
• Shared files: things that apply to every variation, such as instructions, artwork and videos.

This matters when you send files to a machine. You can export just the 5x7 PES variation along with the shared PDF instructions, and leave the 4x4 and other formats behind. See USB and machine export.

How packages are created

You do not build packages by hand. When you upload files, folders or a ZIP, CraftKeep looks at folder names, file names and file details, then suggests which files belong to each design. You can accept the suggestion or correct it before it is saved, and nothing is merged without your say. See Uploading and ZIP imports.

The package cover

Each package shows a cover picture. It might be the artwork supplied by the maker, a technical preview made from one of the design files, or a cover you choose yourself. CraftKeep labels which kind of picture you are looking at, so a maker's photo is never mistaken for a preview of the actual machine file. See Previews and their limits.

Details that travel with the package

A package can also hold the maker, series, source, license notes and your own notes. These details are searchable and help you remember where a design came from and how you are allowed to use it.