Pixels supports both shared space documents and local imported projects. Knowing which one is open tells you where your work is saved and whether another person can join it.

Shared Files And Local Projects

Create a document from the Pixels explorer in its intended space and folder when you want it to belong to that space. Reopen it from the explorer or its document link. People still need access to the owning area; sending a link does not change that access.

Opening an imported file or a downloaded project starts a local editing session. Use Save as Layered Project to keep that work as a .vspixels file. Local imports do not acquire space membership or collaboration simply because another shared document was open before them.

Creating and editing currently requires a Coordinator Abo. Document access and app access are separate: being able to browse a file does not necessarily allow editing it.

Read The Save Feedback

Shared artwork saves automatically. Routine painting may be collected for about 30 seconds before a save starts, while some structural changes save sooner. Live collaboration and save completion are different signals.

Use More > Save when you want to save now. Let an active stroke or transform finish, then check the result.

An earlier saved state does not mean that a newer stroke is already stored. For an important checkpoint, wait for the current work to finish saving before closing the document.

Work In The Same Document

Participants can see each other's pointers and receive changes to layers and artwork in the same shared document. Coordinate which area or layer each person is working on, especially during large changes to the composition.

Undo and redo follow eligible edits from your own collaborative session. Do not use Undo as a way to browse every other person's contributions.

The document's Article and Comments panels refer to its accompanying article and discussion. Comments belong to that discussion; they are not pins attached to individual pixels or layers.

Continue After An Interruption

Save or recovery notices can offer Retry saving. If retained work needs attention, the Document recovery section of More provides the available recovery choices for that document.

Resume the retained work you intend to continue. If several retained sessions exist, choose deliberately rather than assuming the latest-looking tab is the one with your changes. Open another session keeps the retained work for recovery; it is not confirmation that those changes have already been saved.

A local retained copy helps recovery in the same browser context. Keep a downloaded project when you also need an independent copy outside that context.

Common Questions

Does Save publish my artwork?

No. Saving preserves the document. Publication of its accompanying article is a separate action; see App Files And Publishing.

Can a collaborator see my local import?

A local import is not a shared document. Work from the same space document for collaboration, and use a project download when exchanging local editable files.

What should I do if the document will not finish opening?

Use its retry action. Wait for the artwork to load before editing. An unavailable document should not be treated as an empty canvas to paint over.