--- title: "Save and reopen an Encrust project, with supports and settings" description: "Save a plate as an .encrust project, open it again with supports, hollowing and exposure intact, and learn what undo takes back and what closing asks." url: "https://encrust.app/guides/save-open-encrust-project/" lang: "en" updated: "2026-10-04" --- Getting started · Guide 3 of 6 # Save a project and come back to it Updated October 4, 2026 6 min read Press Cmd+S (Ctrl+S on Windows and Linux), name the file, and the plate is saved as an .encrust project: models, placements, plates, supports you placed, hollow settings, printer, resin and exposure. File, then Open project..., brings it back. Support columns Encrust grew from your points and hollow shells are rebuilt, not stored. ## On this page 1. [Before you start](https://encrust.app/guides/save-open-encrust-project/#before-you-start) 2. [Save the plate](https://encrust.app/guides/save-open-encrust-project/#save-the-plate) 3. [Open it again](https://encrust.app/guides/save-open-encrust-project/#open-it-again) 4. [What the file holds](https://encrust.app/guides/save-open-encrust-project/#what-the-file-holds) 5. [What undo takes back](https://encrust.app/guides/save-open-encrust-project/#what-undo-takes-back) 6. [Keys worth knowing](https://encrust.app/guides/save-open-encrust-project/#keys-worth-knowing) 7. [What closing asks](https://encrust.app/guides/save-open-encrust-project/#what-closing-asks) 8. [If something goes wrong](https://encrust.app/guides/save-open-encrust-project/#if-something-goes-wrong) ## Before you start You need a plate with something on it, as in [Your first print](https://encrust.app/guides/first-resin-print/). The keys below are written for Windows and Linux; on macOS read Cmd for Ctrl. Press `?` or F1 in the window at any time to see the full sheet. ## Save the plate 1. Press Ctrl+S, or File, then Save project. A plate that has never been saved asks for a name, offering `plate.encrust`. 2. Choose a folder and confirm. A name typed without the extension gets `.encrust` added. The status bar reads “Saved” with the path, and the file’s name appears in the title strip beside the menus. A plate that has never been saved shows no name there. Later presses of Ctrl+S write over the same file without asking. Save project as…, Ctrl+Shift+S, writes a copy under a new name and the window follows the new file from then on. ## Open it again Press Ctrl+O, or File, then Open project…, and pick the `.encrust` file. The status bar reads “Opened” with the path. Opening replaces what is on the plate. File, then New plate (Ctrl+N), empties the plate and forgets the file it came from, but keeps the printer and resin you chose and the numbers in the tools. Warning Opening a project or starting a new plate discards the current plate without asking, and clears the undo history. Save first. The prompt described below appears only when you close the window. ## What the file holds A project is a zip file. Inside are `project.json`, a manifest of everything you set, and one `models/.mesh` for each model, holding the repaired mesh as Encrust had it on the plate. | Saved | Rebuilt when you open it | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | | Models, their position, rotation, scale, visibility and plate; the plates and their names | Support columns Encrust grew from your points | | Support points you placed, supports you edited by hand, painted and blocked patches, support groups and their profiles | The hollow shell and cavity: press Hollow again | | Hollow settings, blockers, drain holes and channels | The sliced layers and the Preview | | The printer and resin as profiles, layer height, exposure bands, output format | The undo history | The printer and resin travel with the file as complete profiles, so a project opens the same on a machine whose profile list never had that printer. The Hollow, Drain holes and Cut tools also get back the numbers they were set to. The grown supports regrow on their own once the plate is open. A hollow model opens solid, with its blockers, holes and channels in place, until you press Hollow once more. The shell is left out on purpose: storing it would roughly double the file, and a click rebuilds it. A project from a newer Encrust is refused whole, with “this project was written by a newer Encrust”. A file that is not a project, or a project missing one of its models, is refused with a message naming which. ## What undo takes back Ctrl+Z undoes the last edit to the plate and Ctrl+Shift+Z puts it back, also under Edit in the menu bar. Encrust remembers the last 64 edits. A drag is one edit, however long. A new edit after an undo discards what you could have redone. Undo covers what is on the plate: adding, removing, moving, rotating and scaling models, plates, hollowing, and the support points, edited supports, patches, blockers, drain holes and channels you place. Settings are not on the stack: a changed layer height, exposure or tool number stays changed. Opening a project and New plate start the history empty, and saving does not clear it. ## Keys worth knowing | Do | Keys | | -------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Import a model | Ctrl+I | | Select all, duplicate | Ctrl+A, Ctrl+D | | Remove the selected models | Backspace or Delete | | Deselect | Esc | | Choose a tool, in the order of the rail | 1 Select, 2 Supports, 3 Hollow, 4 Drain holes, 5 Cut and split, 6 Relief, 7 Layers and exposure, 8 Measure | | Prepare or Preview | Tab | | Show or hide Plate contents | \\ | | Frame the view | F | | Settings | Ctrl+, | | Slice | Ctrl+Enter | | One layer or ten layers up or down (Preview) | Arrow up or down, with Shift for ten | | Play the stack (Preview) | Space | The sheet lists a few mouse gestures too: Shift-click adds to the selection, drag orbits, right-drag pans, scroll zooms. The keys are off while you type in a field, so S in a name box is an S. Keys cannot be rebound. ## What closing asks If the plate differs from the last file you saved or opened, closing the window brings up “This plate has changes that are not in a project file.” with three buttons: - Save and close writes the project (asking for a name if it has none) and then closes. - Close without saving closes at once. - Keep working returns to the plate. If you cancel the file dialog from Save and close, the window stays open. A plate that matches its file, and the empty plate the window opens on, close without a question. Encrust checks only when you close. The title strip shows no marker for unsaved work, and there is no autosave or recovery file, so a crash or power cut loses everything since the last save. ## If something goes wrong ### The model is solid again after opening The hollow shell is not stored. Open the Hollow tool (3) and press Hollow. Blockers, holes and channels you placed are back already. ### “This project was written by a newer Encrust” The file came from a newer version than the one you have installed. Update ( [Install Encrust](https://encrust.app/guides/install-encrust/)) and open it again. ### Ctrl+Z does nothing Either the history is empty (you just opened or started a plate), or the change was a setting rather than an edit to the plate. Edit, then Undo greys out when there is nothing to take back. [ Previous Your first print](https://encrust.app/guides/first-resin-print/) [ Next Hollowing and drain holes](https://encrust.app/guides/hollow-resin-model-drain-holes/) ## Read next - [Install Encrust ](https://encrust.app/guides/install-encrust/) - [All guides ](https://encrust.app/guides/) --- Free and open source under AGPL-3.0\. No tracking, no account, no cloud. ## Product [Download](https://encrust.app/download/) [Printers](https://encrust.app/printers/) [Web app](https://encrust.app/app/) ## Learn [Guides](https://encrust.app/guides/) [Blog](https://encrust.app/blog/) [FAQ](https://encrust.app/faq/) [Changelog](https://github.com/vvvlladimir/Encrust/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md) ## Project [Source code](https://github.com/vvvlladimir/Encrust) [Discussions](https://github.com/vvvlladimir/Encrust/discussions) [Report a bug](https://github.com/vvvlladimir/Encrust/issues) Encrust prepares files for machines that cure resin with UV light. It can’t know whether your settings suit your resin, printer or model, so check what it produces before a long print. Provided without warranty, as the licence says. [Privacy](https://encrust.app/privacy/) [Impressum](https://encrust.app/impressum/) [Datenschutzerklärung](https://encrust.app/datenschutz/)