Export and Import

Export and Import lets you move FlipBooks between sites, back them up, duplicate one as a starting point for another, or store snapshots before making big changes. This article covers the full workflow including bulk export, cross-site portability, and post-import verification.

Where to find it

Two places to export:

  • All FlipBooks list — per-FlipBook row action (hover row, click Export) or bulk action (select multiple, Bulk Actions → Export).
  • Toolkit — FlipBooks → Toolkit → Export for filtered/paginated exports with more options.

Import is always at FlipBooks → Toolkit → Import.

What's in an export

Each exported FlipBook bundle contains:

  • All post fields — title, slug, status, date, author.
  • Every per-FlipBook setting — display, toolbar, protection, SEO, advanced.
  • All hotspots — with their actions, positions, and content.
  • All page videos — with positioning and configuration.
  • Custom CSS — per-FlipBook CSS.
  • All referenced media — PDFs, images, custom logos, hotspot images, page videos, posters, social-share images. Each is bundled with its URL, filename, and metadata.

That last part is the portability magic: the destination site doesn't need to share your media library. Every attachment is sideloaded on import.

Export — single FlipBook

The fastest way to export one specific FlipBook:

  1. Go to FlipBooks → All FlipBooks.
  2. Hover over the row of the FlipBook you want.
  3. Click the Export row action (next to Edit / Trash).
  4. A JSON file downloads with the name tnc-flipbook-3d-export-your-slug.json.

That JSON file contains everything you need to recreate this FlipBook on any other site.

Export — multiple FlipBooks at once

To export a set of FlipBooks together:

From the All FlipBooks list

  1. Tick the checkbox next to each FlipBook.
  2. From the Bulk Actions dropdown, choose Export.
  3. Click Apply.
  4. A combined JSON file downloads.

From the Toolkit

The Toolkit has a richer export interface, useful for large libraries:

  1. FlipBooks → Toolkit → Export.
  2. Filter by status, search by title.
  3. Paginate through your FlipBooks (20 per page).
  4. Tick the rows you want, or use Select all matching to grab every result for the current filter.
  5. Click Export selected.
  6. The file downloads as tnc-flipbook-3d-export-yyyy-mm-dd.json.

How to import

  1. Go to FlipBooks → Toolkit → Import.
  2. Click Choose File and pick the JSON export.
  3. Click Import.
  4. The importer processes each FlipBook in the file:
    • Downloads every referenced media file into the destination site's media library.
    • Creates a new FlipBook with the same settings.
    • Updates internal references to point at the new media IDs.
    • Saves the FlipBook as a new post.

When done, a summary shows how many FlipBooks were imported and any errors.

What happens to attachments

When you import:

  1. The importer reads each attachment URL from the JSON.
  2. For each one, it downloads the file into the destination's media library.
  3. It tracks an old_id → new_id mapping.
  4. After all media is imported, it rewrites every reference in the FlipBook's metadata to use the new IDs.
  5. The FlipBook is saved with all references pointing at the new media.

This means your imported FlipBook references attachments that live entirely on the destination site — there's no dependency on the source site.

Bundles without attachments (legacy format)

Older versions of the plugin exported without bundling attachments. If you have a legacy export file (no attachments section in the JSON):

  • The import still works.
  • Attachment URLs in the file reference whatever URLs they had on the source site.
  • If those URLs are accessible from the destination (e.g. same site, or publicly hosted media), they work.
  • If not, images and PDFs may be broken on the destination.

For new exports, attachment bundling is automatic.

Common use cases

Backup before a big change

Before a major plugin update, a theme switch, or a destructive admin operation:

  1. Export all your FlipBooks (or just the critical ones).
  2. Store the JSON file somewhere safe (cloud storage, version control, etc.).
  3. Make your changes.
  4. If anything goes wrong, import the backup to restore.

Staging to production

Common workflow:

  1. Develop new FlipBooks on a staging site.
  2. When ready, export them.
  3. Import on production.

This avoids editing on production directly.

Template / starting-point FlipBook

If you publish many similar FlipBooks (e.g. monthly magazine issues with the same toolbar, theme, hotspot template):

  1. Build one polished "template" FlipBook.
  2. Export it.
  3. Import it.
  4. The import creates a duplicate.
  5. Replace the PDF/images with new content.
  6. Adjust the title and slug.
  7. Publish.

This is much faster than re-configuring every setting per issue.

Move to a new site

Migrating to a new domain or new WordPress install:

  1. On the old site, export every FlipBook (Toolkit → Select all matching → Export).
  2. On the new site, install TNC FlipBook 3D and activate the license.
  3. Import the JSON.
  4. Update any links on other pages that pointed at the old FlipBook URLs.

Pre-import checks

Before importing, especially on a production site:

  • Confirm you're on the right site. Imports can't be undone with a single click.
  • Confirm the destination site has enough storage. Media-heavy FlipBooks can be hundreds of MB.
  • Confirm WordPress upload limits. If your upload_max_filesize is small, large imports may fail. Either raise the limit or import in batches.

What import does NOT do

  • Doesn't update existing FlipBooks. Every import creates new FlipBooks. If you import the same JSON twice, you get duplicates.
  • Doesn't preserve original IDs. New FlipBook posts get new IDs on the destination. Update any embeds/shortcodes on the destination site to use the new IDs.
  • Doesn't import addons. You need to install the same addons on the destination if your FlipBooks use addon-specific features (Stamper, Lead Capture, Monetize, etc.).

File size considerations

A typical FlipBook export:

  • Small (under 5 MB PDF, no videos): JSON is ~100 KB to 1 MB.
  • Medium (50 MB PDF, a few hotspot images): JSON is 50-100 MB.
  • Large (multiple page videos, large image gallery): JSON can be 200+ MB.

PHP upload limits affect import — if your JSON is larger than upload_max_filesize, the import will fail. Either:

  • Raise the PHP limit.
  • Export in smaller batches.
  • Or import via FTP and use a custom import script.

Bulk export bar (Toolkit)

When you use Toolkit → Export, the bulk-bar is smart:

  • Select all matching doesn't just select the rows on the current page — it tells the server "include every result that matches my current filter, even rows not loaded yet."
  • This works for thousands of FlipBooks without pagination clicks.
  • IDs are resolved server-side, so no need to POST every checkbox.

Filtering during export

The Toolkit Export page lets you filter:

  • Search — by title or slug.
  • Status — published, draft, private, etc.
  • Pagination — 20 rows per page.

Use these to narrow down the export set before clicking Export.

Troubleshooting

Import says "File too large." Raise the PHP upload_max_filesize and post_max_size settings (talk to your host or edit php.ini). Or use the Toolkit Export to break exports into smaller batches.

Import succeeded but attachments are broken.

  • If you imported a legacy file (no attachment bundling), the URLs may reference the source site. The destination needs the same files at the same URLs.
  • For new bundled exports, attachments should sideload automatically. If they don't, check the WordPress debug log for sideload errors.

Import created duplicate FlipBooks. That's the expected behavior — every import creates new FlipBooks. There's no "update existing" mode currently. Delete the duplicates manually.

Imported FlipBook has missing settings.

  • The JSON may be from a much older version. Open the imported FlipBook and re-configure any missing settings.
  • Custom CSS is preserved per-FlipBook; check the Advanced tab.

Export downloads a tiny file.

  • Make sure you actually selected the FlipBooks before clicking Export.
  • For Toolkit exports, verify the filter wasn't applied to an empty result set.

Import says "Invalid JSON." The file was corrupted or modified after export. Re-export from the source and try again.

Next steps

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