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Save to & import from the library

Task page for the everyday Asset Library actions: saving a canvas image or generation into a library folder via the save-destination picker, adding a library asset back onto the canvas, copying/pasting and moving assets between folders, and trashing then restoring an asset.

Your library is where renders, references, and uploads live so you can reuse them across projects. This page covers the everyday moves: saving something in, adding it back onto the canvas, copying or moving it between folders, and trashing then restoring it.

When to use

  • You made a render you’ll want again later and want it filed somewhere findable.
  • You want to drop a saved image back onto the canvas as a new layer.
  • You’re tidying up — grouping assets into folders, duplicating one into a second folder, or clearing out what you no longer need.

Save an image to the library

  1. Open the save picker — use the Add to library action on a canvas image, or Save to library on an Are.na block.
  2. Choose the library — pick Personal, or a Studio library if you’re working inside one. The Studio choice only appears when you’re in a Studio.
  3. Choose a folder — the folder tree lets you pick a destination, or leave it on the root row to save unfiled.
  4. Save here — INTERSTITIAL files the image into that library & folder.

Add a library asset onto the canvas

  1. Open the library panel and find the asset.
  2. Add to canvas — open the asset (a plain click opens its inspector) and click Add to canvas. It drops in as a new layer in your current view.
  3. Or drag it — drag an asset (or a multi-selection) straight from the grid onto the canvas.

Add-to-canvas works for images — PDFs can’t be placed as a layer.

Copy, paste & move between folders

  • Move — use Move to folder on an asset (in the context menu or inspector) and pick the destination, or Unfiled (root). An asset has a single home, so moving relocates it rather than leaving a copy behind. You can move a whole selection at once.
  • Copy — choose Copy (or press Ctrl/Cmd+C) to put the asset on the library clipboard.
  • Paste — open the destination folder and choose Paste in the header (or press Ctrl/Cmd+V). This makes a real, independent duplicate in that folder.

Trash & restore

  1. Delete — the Delete action moves an asset to Trash. It’s a soft delete, so nothing is lost yet.
  2. Restore — open the Trash view and choose Restore on the asset to send it back where it lived.
  3. Delete permanently — from the Trash view, deleting again removes the asset for good. INTERSTITIAL notes when another copy still references the same underlying image, so you know the bytes survive elsewhere.

How it works

  • Saving from the canvas doesn’t re-upload. A canvas image already lives in storage, so saving it references the existing file rather than copying bytes.
  • Duplicates share one file. A copy (or a Studio publish / import) is a separate record pointing at the same stored image. The bytes only disappear once every record referencing them is gone.
  • Identical images are stored once. INTERSTITIAL fingerprints each file by its contents, so re-saving an image you already have reuses the stored file rather than re-uploading it.
  • Pasting enforces unique names in a folder. Pasting an asset whose name already exists in the destination folder is blocked — rename it first, then paste.
  • Folder counts stay accurate. Each folder’s badge tracks its active assets, so a move, copy, trash, or restore updates the counts you see.

Tips

  • Leave the folder on the root row in the save picker when you just want it saved and will file it later.
  • Copy, don’t move, when you want the asset in two places — moving keeps a single home.
  • Restore is your safety net — deleting sends an asset to Trash first, so a mistaken delete is recoverable until you clear it permanently.