If you would like to upgrade to a newer long-term support version of Studio Pro, see Moving from Mendix Studio Pro 8 to 9.

Import and Export Objects

Last modified: November 5, 2024

Introduction

In Mendix, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. You can save time by importing modules others have created and by exporting new modules for others to use. The Marketplace provides this functionality on a macro level. You can also use ’s built-in import and export functions to share content between your own apps, import unofficial modules, and share entire projects.

This how-to teaches you how to do the following:

  • Import and export the following Studio Pro objects:
    • projects
    • modules
    • widgets
    • module documents such as pages or microflows

Importing Objects

Importing Project Packages

A Mendix package (.mpk) file can store a complete Mendix project.

To import a complete Mendix project package, follow these steps:

  1. Click the File menu in and select Import Project Package…:

  2. Select your Mendix project package file and click Open. The Import Project Package dialog box will appear:

    You have the following options in this dialog box:

    • Decide whether to store your app in a New Mendix Team Server (recommended), an Existing Mendix Team Server, or Locally on disk
    • Provide an App name (by default, it will be named as it was in the Mendix package file)
    • Determine the local folder where you would like to store your project in Project directory

  3. Click OK, and your project will be loaded in .

Importing Module Packages

A Mendix package (.mpk) file can store a Mendix project module.

To import module packages, follow these steps:

  1. Right-click your project in the Project Explorer and select Import Module Package.

  2. Select your Mendix module package file and click Open. The Import Module dialog box will open.

  3. In the dialog box, choose a name for your module and select whether to create a new module or replace an existing one:

  4. Click Import. You may see a Warning pop-up window that will inform you of any included module dependencies that will be overwritten in your project.

  5. Click OK. You will see your new or replaced module in the Project Explorer.

    You will also see your changes in the Changes section of . In this example, the existing module has been deleted and replaced by the newly imported module:

Importing Module Documents

A Mendix package (.mpk) file can store a Mendix module document.

The package can contain a single example of one of the following:

  • Page
  • Microflow
  • Nanoflow
  • Image
  • Layout
  • Menu
  • Snippet
  • Building block
  • Page template
  • Java Action
  • Rule
  • Enumeration
  • Data Set
  • Constant
  • Regular Expression
  • Scheduled Event
  • Document Template
  • Message Definition
  • JSON structure
  • XML schema
  • Export mapping
  • Import mapping
  • Consumed app service (deprecated)
  • Consumed web service
  • Published REST service
  • Published web service
  • Published OData service
  • Published app service (deprecated)

To import module objects, follow these steps:

  1. Right-click a module in the Project Explorer and select Import document from file…:

    The Import Document from File dialog box will appear.

  2. Select your Mendix package file containing the document you want to import, and click Open.

  3. Click OK to import the object into your module:

Importing Widgets

A Mendix package (.mpk) file can store one or more widgets. You need to place the Mendix package file in your project directory to import it.

To import widgets, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Project menu and select Show Project Directory in Explorer:

  2. Open the widgets folder in your project directory and put your Mendix package file there.

  3. Open the Project menu and select Synchronize Project Directory to synchronize the changes in the project directory:

  4. Add your newly imported widget from the Toolbox or the Add Widget context menu.

Importing Content from the Marketplace

To learn more about importing content from the Marketplace, see How to Use Marketplace Content.

Exporting Objects

Exporting Complete Project Packages

To export a project, follow these steps:

  1. Click the File menu in and select Export Project Package…

  2. The Export Project Package dialog box will appear, which enables you to set the export location and select data to export (if required):

    The Existing snapshot option will only be available when a data snapshot was created earlier using the Add snapshot of data menu option from the Team menu. It is also possible to include a new snapshot based on the current state of the local database. This option is only available after the project has been started at least once.

  3. Click Export to create the package.

Exporting Modules

To export a module, follow these steps:

  1. Right-click a module in the Project Explorer, and select Export module package…:

    If your module refers to other modules in the project (that is, it is not self-contained), you will see a pop-up window warning you of this.

    Select Find usages of other user modules to view the references, or click Continue exporting and you will see the Select Dependencies dialog box:

    Here you can select files you would like to include in your package. This list includes any files in the userlib or resources folders in your project directory. If you don’t want to include these files, you can uncheck the boxes.

Exporting Widgets

Widgets are automatically available in the widgets folder in your project directory as .mpk files.

Exporting Module Documents

Mendix module documents can be exported as a Mendix package (.mpk) file.

  1. Right-click the document you want to export and select Export document to file…:

    The Export Page to File dialog box will open.

  2. Enter the Name for your package and click Save.

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