Dear Realtors, did you ever face the situation that you purchased a real estate Canva template from a designer only to find the messed-up file after you’ve opened it?

Or, did you ever spend a valuable amount of time and energy happily creating your design, only to lose it by the next time you logged in to your Canva account?

Well, luckily and finally, those days are gone!

In 2021 Canva simplified the template import purchased from the third-party designer. This post will show you how to almost instantly start using your real estate Canva template!

 

What are the third-party purchased real estate Canva templates?

A professional designer can create a design in Canva and share it with anyone via a link.

Most likely, you will purchase that design called template from a designer’s website or some eCommerce platform.

After the purchase, you will receive a LINK that will take you to the designer’s shared template. The link is usually provided in a PDF.

 

Problems with Canva templates

*** This is IMPORTANT if you still use previously purchased Canva templates!

 

Since 2021, that shared link was NOT unique for each buyer instead, it was a single template with a single link that was shared with everyone who buys it.

So, not only did a designer have access to his/her template, but multiple buyers did as well. And multiple buyers could use it as if it was their own.

If anyone took the action of editing that shared template, a designer would have to clean it every time.

Therefore, a buyer had to make a copy of the purchased designer’s shared template to his/her account.

If that important step was skipped or overlooked, those two unpleasant situations would appear. Buyers would eighter find the template to be already used by someone else or they would lose their work if they didn’t make their copy.

Realizing continuous users’ problems (both buyers’ and designers’) with sharing and importing templates, Canva finally released a new way of importing templates.

 

Canva 2021 update

Instead of getting access to the designer’s original shared template in order to make a copy, now buyers automatically receive the link to the already copied and saved template to their account.

Now Canva automatically does the step of “making a copy” for the buyer.

This way, buyers cannot access the original designer’s template and start using it as if it were their own and make changes visible to everyone else.

 

Funny anecdote

As I try to see every situation from a positive perspective, I never ever took the messages such as “What the heck is that? That’s not what I purchased! I want the refund!” personally, because I instantly knew what the problem was.

Unfortunately, until 2021 that was the Canva’s workflow we all had to follow.

I can only imagine my buyers’ reaction when they opened a shared template only to find the layout all messed up. It’s definitely a WT... moment, crickets before a thunderstorm, and CAPS LOCK messaging to a designer.

Who could blame them?

Trust me, I’ve seen some very creative modifications to my templates and not all were made for real estate marketing. Here’s a hint: religious flyer with multiple offers, imagine my reaction when I opened it :D

New easy template import workflow

Let’s see how easy it is now to start working on your Canva template in just a few stress-free clicks. This is the 3 step import process scheme:

 

STEP #1

Access the shared template via the link

After the purchase, open the downloaded PDF and follow the LINK to the shared template.

STEP #2

Use the template

The landing page will open asking you to click on the Use template button.

STEP #3

Edit the template

If you’re already logged into your account, the copy of the shared template will automatically open in the Canva editor - ready for you to start using it!

To avoid future template misplacement, I’d strongly recommend following these 4 tips every time you import a new template. Better be safe than sorry ;)

TIP #1

Rename your template

On the top of the screen, you’ll notice that the file is named the “Copy of...”. Rename your copy as you wish so you can find it in your account.

 TIP #2

Find your template

Your template is already automatically saved in the All your designs folder on your Home page.

TIP #3

Start from scratch

Automatically, the designer’s original shared template will be also stored in the Shared with you folder. From there, you can make as many new copies as you wish.

TIP #4

What I recommend is making multiple copies of the shared template right away, so you’d always have a clean one in the All your designs folder.

Keep in mind that Canva is an online subscription-based tool and designers are not obligated to keep their Canva account active forever.

You only have lifetime access to your copies and NOT the designer’s template. So make sure to save your copy to a safe place (your account). 

 

That’s it!

Master Canva with ease

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