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Create designs in bulk

Scale your design process and save time with Bulk Create. Instantly generate hundreds of design variations for large-scale projects, from localising marketing campaigns and personalising sales materials to creating custom business cards and event invitations.

How Bulk Create works

Before you start, it helps to understand the core way Bulk Create functions. It works by linking your data (organized in rows and columns) to placeholder elements on your design page.

  • Each column in your data acts as a single, distinct data field (like "First name" or "Profile Photo").
  • Each row in your data contains the information to generate one complete page or design.

Preparing Your Template: Because of this, it's essential to prepare your design template with placeholder elements before you connect your data.

  • For text: Ensure you have a separate text box for each data field you want to connect.
  • For images: Add placeholder elements like frames or grids from the Elements tab.
  • For multi-page designs: You will need to set up the data connections on each page of your template.

Keep in mind, you can connect up to 150 data fields.

This feature is available to Canva Pro, Canva Teams, Canva Business, Canva for Enterprise, Canva Education, and Canva for Nonprofits users on desktop only.

Step 1: Access Bulk Create

You can start Bulk Create in three main ways:

Access from the Editor toolbar

  1. Click on your page background.
  2. Select Edit from the toolbar.
  3. Once the side panel opens, select Bulk create.

Access from the Apps tab

  1. From the editor side panel, select
    Apps.
  2. Under More from Canva, select Bulk create.

Access from a Canva Sheet

If you're working inside a Canva Sheet, you can start Bulk Create directly from the data range you select. Learn more about using Canva Sheets to create designs in bulk.

Step 2: Add your data

You can add data to Bulk create using any of the following methods:

Upload from Canva Sheets

You can start the Bulk Create process directly from your Canva Sheet.

  1. In your Canva Sheet, select the range of cells containing the data you want to use.
  2. From the toolbar that appears above your selection, select
    Actions.
  3. Select Bulk Create.
  4. Select Continue.
  5. From the side panel, choose a design template you’d like to use.
  6. You will now be on the Connect data to your design screen. Here, you have two options:
    • To connect automatically with AI: Click the Auto-match fields button in the side panel. Canva will analyse your design and connect your data for you.
    • To connect manually: Click and hold a data field from the side panel, then drag and drop it onto the design element you want to connect. Repeat for all fields.
  7. Once your data is connected, click Continue to proceed to the final step.

You can select up to 300 rows and 150 columns only. Selections beyond this won't be accepted.

Upload data using Excel or CSV file

Before uploading a file, make sure that your file is in Comma Separated Value (CSV), and Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet (XLSX) formats. Here’s how to save or convert a spreadsheet into a CSV or XLSX file:

  1. Open the spreadsheet with the data you want to use for Bulk create. If you don’t have a spreadsheet yet, you can create one using the spreadsheet programmes mentioned above.
  2. Check that the data is in the correct order and in clearly labelled columns.
  3. If you’re using Google Sheets, click File and then Download. If you’re using Microsoft Excel, click File and then Save As. If you’re using Numbers, click File and then Export To….
  4. Choose either .csv, or .xlsx file option as the document type.

Once done, you can upload your file to Canva.

  1. From the Bulk create tab on the editor side panel, select Upload data.
  2. Select the file with the data for Bulk create.
  3. Once uploaded, if your file has multiple sheets, select the specific sheet on your file.
  4. Add the range where to fetch the data if applicable.
  5. Click Continue.

Import from Data apps

You can also bring in data from connected platforms such as Google Analytics, HubSpot, Statista, or World Bank.

  1. From the Bulk Create panel, find and select the data app you want to use.
  2. If prompted, sign in to your account and grant Canva access.
  3. Follow the on-screen steps to find and choose the specific data set you want to import.
  4. Once selected, your data will be imported into the Bulk Create table, ready to be connected to your design.

Enter data directly

This option lets you build your data table manually, adding columns for text and images right inside Canva.

  1. From the Bulk Create panel, select Enter data manually.
  2. Set up your table structure:
    • We recommend clicking Clear table to remove the sample data first.
    • Click Add text to create a column for text-based information (like names, locations, or promo codes).
    • Click Add image to create a column where you can place images.
    • Repeat this until you have all the columns you need.
  3. Add your data to the table:
    • For text columns: Type or paste your information directly into the cells.
    • For image columns:
      • Hover over a cell.
      • Select the + Plus icon and find and select an image from your media library,
      • Select Done.
  4. To add more entries, click the + Add row button at the bottom of the table.
  5. Once your data is ready, select Done to proceed to the next step.

You can use images in Bulk Create with both Canva Sheets and XLSX files. Please note that image URLs from cloud photo storage are not supported and will be treated as plain text.

To use images correctly, you must embed them directly into your sheet. When embedding, make sure each image is added directly within a single cell, rather than floating over multiple cells.

Step 3: Connect data to your elements

Connect your data instantly with AI

Save time by letting Canva’s auto-match fields that connect your data to your design automatically.

  1. After you’ve entered or uploaded your data, select Done.
  2. In the side panel, click the Auto-match fields button to start the analysis.
  3. Canva will automatically analyze your design. You’ll see a message that says “Analyzing the design…” while it finds the best matches for your data.
  4. Once finished, your data fields will be connected. You can review the connections in the side panel.

Connect your data with drag and drop

If you choose to connect data manually, you can easily drag and drop your data fields.

  1. Provide your data, then choose Connect manually.
  2. Select Continue.
  3. Select a template or Use current design.
  4. Drag a data field from the side panel onto the design element you want to connect.
  5. Drop the field to connect it.
  6. The side panel will update to show the field as connected.

Pro tip: The side panel shows how many fields you’ve connected (for example, “1 of 1 connected”). Select Detach all to reset.

What should I do if the AI connected my data to the wrong design elements?

What can cause this

The AI makes its best guess to connect your data fields to your design, but it can sometimes misinterpret the field names or element types. Manual correction is occasionally needed to get the perfect mapping.

What to do

You have two options, depending on how many connections are incorrect:

  • If most connections are wrong, select Connect manually instead while the analysis is running. This will cancel the AI process entirely, allowing you to connect all your data by hand.
  • If only a few connections are wrong, let the AI analysis finish. You can un-map the incorrect elements individually and re-map them using one of the manual methods (drag-and-drop or selecting an element).

Connect data manually by selecting an element

You can also connect fields by selecting each element individually.

  1. On your design page, select the element you want to connect.
  2. Select Connect data.
  3. Select the data field to attach to that element.
  4. Repeat until all elements are connected.
  5. Click Continue to proceed

Step 4: Preview your designs

Before generating your full batch, you can preview each design to check that your data is connected correctly. This helps you catch issues early and avoid rework.

  1. After you select ‘Connect data’, select Preview to see how each row appears in your design.
  2. Check that text, images, and other elements display correctly for each row of data.
  3. If you spot an issue, select Close to adjust your data connections.
  4. Once satisfied, select Continue to proceed to generation.

Tip: Use the preview to verify that placeholder elements are replaced with the correct data before committing to the full batch.

Preview limitations

Keep these limitations in mind when using the preview:

  • Videos display as a frozen first frame and aren't playable in the preview.
  • 3D elements may not render correctly in the preview.
  • Media replacement in previews only works when using a directly-linked Canva Sheet.

Step 5: Generate your designs and use Advanced options

After you have connected your data, the final step is to generate your designs. You can also customize how your files are created and saved.

  1. Review your connected data fields to ensure they are correct.
  2. After connecting your data, you can select Advanced options (located below the Continue button) to control your output.

Use Advanced Options

You have three settings you can adjust:

  • Output: This controls whether you get one design file or many.
    • 1 design with multiple pages: Choose this to create a single Canva design file. Each row of your data will become a new page within that one design.
    • Individual designs: Choose this to create a separate Canva design file for each row of your data. These individual designs will be automatically grouped into a new folder in your Projects.
  • Name each page using: This lets you name your pages or files automatically based on your data.
    • Select the dropdown menu.
    • Select a column from your data source (for example, "Product Name").
    • Each page or individual design file will then be named after the data in that column.
  • Save in: This lets you choose where to save your new designs.
    • Select the dropdown menu to select a specific folder in your Projects where you want the generated designs to be saved.

After you have adjusted your settings, click Create [number] design (e.g., 'Create 1 design') to finish the process.

Can I edit my designs directly in the preview?

No, the preview is for reviewing only. To make changes, go back to the data connection step and adjust your data fields or template elements. Then, preview again to confirm your changes.

Why do videos appear frozen in the preview?

Videos display as a static first frame in the preview to keep loading times fast. Your final generated designs will include fully playable videos.

Why aren't my images updating in the preview?

If you're replacing media in the preview, this only works when your data source is a directly-linked Canva Sheet. For other data sources, generate your designs to see the final result with all images.

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