Import & Export

Parallax Designer supports several ways to save, share, and deploy your parallax scenes. All export/import features are in the Project tab under the Transfer section.

Copy JSON

Copies the full project payload as JSON to your clipboard. The JSON contains the complete ParallaxDesignerProject object (schema v3) including scene config, harmonics, all layers with their geometry/motion/background settings, and UI state.

Use this for:

• Backup — Save your project as a JSON file
• Sharing — Send the JSON to someone who can import it back
• Version control — Store project snapshots in a repo

Local asset references

If your layers use locally uploaded images (idb://asset/<id> references), those references are included in the JSON but will only resolve in the browser profile that contains the corresponding IndexedDB records.

Import JSON

Import a project from JSON in two ways:

1. Paste — Open the import modal and paste JSON text directly
2. Upload — Select a .json file from your device

On import, the JSON is validated and normalized through this pipeline:

• version must equal 3 (v2 payloads are rejected, not migrated)
• All fields are type-checked
• Out-of-range numeric values are automatically clamped to their schema-defined ranges
• Layer count above 30 is trimmed from the end
• A normalization summary is displayed if any values were adjusted

Download HTML

Downloads a self-contained runtime HTML file with the parallax engine and your configuration embedded inline. The download includes:

• The full parallax runtime JavaScript
• Scene configuration, harmonics, and layer definitions
• Required CSS and HTML structure
• An embedded in-file handbook (COMMENT block) with editing and optimization guidance
• An IMAGE_OVERRIDES section for quick source swaps by layer ID or layer name

IDB Local Asset Modal

If local browser assets (idb://asset/<id>) are present, export opens a modal with two options:

1. Inline IDB Images (default) — converts local IndexedDB blobs to data URLs for portability
2. Use Blank Placeholders — replaces local IDB refs with transparent placeholders for smaller files

The modal also shows:

• total local asset byte size
• estimated inline output size impact

If no IDB refs are present, the download starts immediately (no modal).

WARNING

When IDB assets are missing at export time, the runtime HTML still downloads, but affected layers are exported with blank placeholders.

TIP

HTTP(S) and relative image paths are preserved as-is. Only local idb:// references are transformed by the export mode.

Summary

Method	Format	Use Case
Copy JSON	JSON clipboard	Backup, sharing, version control
Import JSON	JSON paste/file	Restore a saved project
Download HTML	HTML file	Deploy a standalone runtime parallax scene