Previews and what they show

Seeing a design is the fastest way to know you have the right one. Click or tap a design in CraftKeep and the Preview/Details panel opens a picture of it right away, with no download needed.

Three kinds of preview

Not every picture of a design comes from the same place, so CraftKeep labels each preview with its source:

Label	What it is
Technical render	A picture CraftKeep draws from the design file itself, such as the stitches of an embroidery file, the cut paths of an SVG or the shape of a 3D model.
Maker artwork	A picture supplied by the designer, such as a product photo or mockup that came in the download.
Fallback	A clear file icon, shown when there is no technical render or maker artwork for that file.

Maker artwork is often beautiful, but it shows what the designer intended rather than what is inside a particular machine file. The label means you always know which one you are looking at.

Which files get technical renders

CraftKeep aims to cover every major craft:

• Embroidery: stitch renders, with hoop, size and color details where they can be read reliably.
• SVG, laser and vinyl: safe picture previews of cut paths.
• 3D printing: model thumbnails and a view you can turn in the browser.
• Images: thumbnails and zoom.
• Documents and video: in-browser reading for PDFs and text, and poster frames for videos. See PDFs and videos.

Each file format is tested on real files before its technical render is switched on, so quality is checked format by format rather than assumed from the file extension. The supported formats page shows the current status for each format.

When a detail such as a hoop size or stitch count cannot be read reliably, CraftKeep shows it as unknown rather than guessing.

Every file is stored, whatever its type

Previews are a convenience, not a requirement. CraftKeep stores and organizes every file type, including software project files and formats that have no technical render. Those files keep their place in the design package, show maker artwork or a fallback icon, and can be downloaded or exported whenever you need them.

Choosing a cover

Each design package has a cover picture. CraftKeep prefers the maker's supplied artwork when there is one, and can use a technical render instead. You can also pick the cover yourself, and your choice is kept on every device you use. The cover is labelled with its source in the same way as any other preview.

Safe previews

Some file types, such as SVG and PDF, can contain active content like scripts. CraftKeep never runs active content from your files. Previews are made safely and shown to you as pictures. If a file cannot be previewed safely, you see the fallback, and your original file stays safely stored and private.

While previews are being made

Previews are prepared in the background after you upload. You can see whether a preview is still being prepared, is ready, or is not available for that file, and you can keep browsing while it finishes.