# Exporting & importing

Source: https://meptools.com/tools/plant-room-studio/docs/exporting/

Plant Room Studio exports the current layout to several formats, and imports DXF and IFC. What you
can produce depends on your plan.

## Formats

| Format        | Use                                                         | Availability                          |
| ------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- |
| **DXF**       | 2D CAD, one layer per element type (incl. section geometry) | Pro / Team (entitlement `export.dxf`) |
| **IFC**       | BIM interop; round-trips a full Plant Room Studio project   | Pro / Team (entitlement `export.ifc`) |
| **PDF**       | Multi-section report of the plant room                      | Pro / Team (entitlement `export.pdf`) |
| **PNG / JPG** | High-resolution image of the 2D plan or the 3D model        | All plans (watermark on free/guest)   |

## Image export (PNG / JPG)

The **Export Image** dialog renders the current **2D plan** or **3D model** to a high-resolution
image. You can choose:

- **Source** — current view or **zoom to fit**.
- **Size** — current viewport or a **custom** width/height (with lock-aspect).
- **Render quality** — **Low** (viewport pixels), **Medium** (2× supersampling + anti-aliasing),
  or **High** (4× supersampling + ambient occlusion & edges).
- **Background** — including transparent.

## PDF report

The **Export PDF** dialog generates a **multi-section report** of the plant room. Choose which
sections to include:

- **Room summary**.
- **2D view** (current view or zoom-to-fit).
- **3D view** (current view or a saved viewpoint).
- **Equipment list** — a table of Tag, Type, Size, Position, and Clearances.
- **Validation notes** — errors and/or warnings.

You can also set the report **title, project, prepared-by, and revision**, and header/footer text
and logo.

## Watermarks

**PNG/JPG** exports on the **free and guest** tiers carry a **"DRAFT"** watermark. A Pro or Team
plan removes it (entitlement `export.no-watermark`), producing clean output.

**PDF**, **DXF** and **IFC** export are **Pro/Team** features (the File menu shows a **PRO** badge
on lower plans and opens the upgrade prompt instead); DXF and IFC are generated on the server.

## Importing

- **Import DXF** — bring a DXF drawing in as a **background underlay** to trace over. It's a
  reference layer, not editable equipment. See
  [CAD backgrounds](/tools/plant-room-studio/docs/cad-backgrounds).
- **Import IFC** — reopen a Plant Room Studio project previously exported to IFC. It opens as a
  **new, unsaved project** and leaves whatever you had open untouched — it does not overwrite
  your current project. If your open document has content, you're asked to save it first. The
  round-trip is carried by embedded property data: **room, doors, equipment, and placements**
  come back. **Not carried**, and reset to defaults on import: walls (rebuilt from the room
  outline), columns, groups, dimensions, annotations, section lines, saved viewpoints, grid/view
  preferences, placement preferences, and any AutoFit setup.

> Resolve validation **errors** before exporting to CAD or BIM — see
> [Clearance validation](/tools/plant-room-studio/docs/validation).