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Editor guide

Exports and printing

Every file the editor saves (project files, quote and BOM CSV, the project JSON, STL files for printed parts) and how print jobs work.

What you can save

WhatWhereFile
The whole projectExport in the toolbar<project name>.rack.json
The priced quoteExport CSV in BOM & quotequote.csv
The bill of materialsBOM CSV in BOM & quotebom.csv
One printed partthe download button on its row in Printed partsone STL file per piece
Every printed partDownload STLs (.zip) in Printed parts<project name>-print.zip
The project as JSON textCopy JSON in rackparams.jsoncopied to the clipboard
A model file's credit lineCopy credit in Creditscopied to the clipboard

The files are built in your browser and saved straight to your computer.

The project file

Export in the toolbar saves the project as a JSON file named after the project, ending in .rack.json. It holds the project's name, the time you exported it, and the whole design: every part, its place and values, your measurements, and your quote choices. It doesn't hold the project's history, its link, or who owns it.

Use it as a backup, to move a design to another account, or to keep a version outside Rack Maker.

Importing a project file

To open a project file again, go to your projects and press Import a file in the Open a project card. The file becomes a new project with a new link, named after the name in the file. You need to be signed in.

Import a file also reads a bare project document without the name around it, including the JSON the RackMate TL1 configurator saves, which it upgrades. If a file isn't a project, the message says so, and says what's wrong with it.

CSV files

The BOM & quote card saves two spreadsheets:

  • Export CSV saves quote.csv, the priced quote: item, catalog id, quantity, where, URL, currency, unit price, total, price date and note, then one subtotal row per currency and a count of unpriced lines.
  • BOM CSV saves bom.csv, the bill of materials without prices: item, category, quantity, catalog id, revision, and the values that make each line.

See BOM & quote for how lines, prices and currencies work.

Printed parts

The Printed parts card lists what you print for this build. Its header counts the parts.

Identical printed parts share one row: the same part, made from the same file with the same settings. Each row shows:

  • the part's name and how many to print, such as "×4"
  • the file names, one per piece. Some parts print as more than one piece.
  • the filament it needs in grams, and the material, such as PLA
  • a download button that saves its STL files

File names start with the part's name and include the settings they were made with, so different sizes of the same part get different files.

Hover a row to highlight those parts in the 3D view. Click the name to select the first one.

Printed parts: one row per print job.

Download STLs (.zip) saves every file on the list in one zip, with a print-list.txt that says how many of each to print and in what material. Building the files can take a moment the first time. If a file comes out not watertight, a message names it, so you can check it in your slicer before you print.

The filament figures are estimates that assume solid prints. With normal infill, you'll use less. The total, in kg, also shows in the summary row at the top of the right sidebar.

Parts with no file yet

Printed parts that don't have a printable file yet are listed at the end with "no printable file yet". They still show in 3D and in the quote, but there's nothing to download. At the moment, the printable files are the ones for the DeskPi RackMate TL1 and T0 parts.

If the card says "Nothing to print yet", the project has no printed parts.

When a check blocks printing

Some checks guard printed parts, because a failing one means the part would print wrong or not fit. While such a check fails:

  • the card's header says "blocked by a failing check"
  • the affected rows are red, and their download buttons are off
  • Download STLs (.zip) is off

Fix the check first. If you know better, press Export anyway to allow the downloads, and Hold export to turn them off again.

A failing check holds the print back until you fix it or choose Export anyway.

The rackparams.json card

The rackparams.json card shows the project as JSON, the same design the project file holds. For a DeskPi RackMate TL1 project, it shows the rack's values in the format the TL1's own tools use.

  • Copy JSON copies it to the clipboard. If your browser won't allow that, select the text in the card.
  • Reset to assumptions clears every measurement and puts the rack's own values and every part default back to the catalog's. Ctrl+Z undoes it.
The rackparams.json card.

Model files and credits

Some catalog parts are drawn from model files that people uploaded or linked, each under its own licence. The Credits card lists them for this project, with who made them, where they're from and what was changed. Copy credit copies a ready-made credit line to paste when you share your build. All credits opens the site's credits page.

Model files are managed on the catalog, not in the editor. See Licences and credits and Authoring.

Credits: whose work the project uses, with a credit line to copy.

What isn't there

The editor doesn't export 3MF files, images or a PDF, and it has no print view for the page. To show a design, share its read-only link, which comes with a preview picture.

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