How to get your design files on every device

Design work rarely happens on one machine. The layered source file is on the studio workstation, the laptop is what goes to the client meeting, and the phone is what you have when someone asks to see the latest logo options over coffee. Source files are large, exports multiply with every round, and copying the whole project to each device fills disks quickly.

This guide covers how designers usually keep files available across computers and phones, where storage and versions become a problem, and how to keep design files in Fabric so they stream to each computer and the exports are viewable on any device.

How designers usually move files between devices

Browser-based tools such as Figma keep the working file in the cloud, so any computer with a browser can open it. That covers work done inside those tools. The assets around it, such as photography, fonts, illustrations, video and exports for print, still live as files somewhere else.

For those files, the usual options are a desktop sync service, Adobe’s cloud storage, or a general cloud drive like Dropbox or Google Drive. They keep files available across machines. With large projects, people often have to choose which folders sync locally to save disk space, then find that the file they need on the laptop is one they left out.

External SSDs are the other common answer, especially for big archives. They’re fast and simple, and they’re also in one place at a time, which makes them easy to leave behind. Exports for review often end up as email attachments or transfer links, which means another copy per round. Design file formats explained covers which formats to keep and which to export.

Step 1: Move your design projects onto the Fabric drive

Install the Fabric desktop app on each computer you design on. It runs on Mac, Windows and Linux and mounts Fabric as a virtual drive. Copy your project folders into it from Finder or File Explorer, keeping whatever folder structure you already use.

Files on the drive take no space on your computer and stream when you open them. A laptop with a small disk can open a project archive far larger than its storage, and there’s no need to decide in advance which folders to keep on each machine. The files live in your Fabric cloud and each computer reads from there.

You can also drag files into the web app or click Upload a file, which handles large numbers of files at once.

Step 2: Open files in your design apps from any computer

Because the Fabric drive behaves like any other folder, you open a source file in your usual design app straight from it, on whichever computer you’re at. Save, and the file in Fabric is updated, so the next machine opens the version you just worked on.

For a studio, the same drive can be shared. A team works from one set of project folders, and freelancers or new hires get access to the folders they need without copying anything. How to set up a shared drive for your team goes through the set-up.

Step 3: View exports and references on your phone

The Fabric mobile app for iOS and Android opens the same library. Keep exported images and PDFs alongside the source files, and you can show the latest round from your phone in a meeting without a laptop.

References work the other way. When you see a typeface on a poster or a color palette in a shop window, photograph it and it’s in your library on the workstation, ready to pull into the next mood board. The browser extension does the same for images and pages you find online.

As each file arrives, Fabric writes a short summary, extracts attributes such as content type, concepts and colors, and suggests tags. You can set up smart collections on top, for example one that gathers every logo export, so the files you reach for most are easy to open on a small screen.

Step 4: Find visuals by color, content or similarity

Design archives are hard to search by filename. Fabric reads what’s visually in images, any text in them, and their colors. Search uses that, so “blue packaging mockup with a bottle” finds the right export from any device. To match a brand color, paste a HEX code or pick it with the color picker.

To find work like something you already have, select an image and run a similarity search. For images it compares composition, color and subject, which helps when you’re looking for every variant of a layout or past projects with a similar look. How to manage brand assets has more on keeping a visual library usable.

Step 5: Get feedback and deliver from the same library

To collect feedback, share the export folder with the client as a commenter. They can draw on an image and attach a comment to the drawing, and you mark each comment completed as you address it. Those annotations are visible on every device, so you can check what’s outstanding from your phone.

For final delivery, publish the folder as a web page. Published links are view only, with downloads if you allow them, and updating the files in Fabric updates the published page.

Frequently asked questions

How do I access large design files on my laptop without filling the disk?

Keep them on the Fabric desktop drive. It uses no local disk space and streams each file as you open it.

Can I open files from Fabric in my design software?

Yes. The Fabric drive works like any other folder on your computer, so you open files from it in your usual apps.

Can my team work from the same design files?

Yes. A team can work from a shared Fabric drive, with roles of viewer, commenter, editor or admin. See team pricing for plans; pricing is not per seat.

Can I find an image by its color?

Yes. Paste a HEX code or use the color picker in search to find images by color.

Can I show design work from my phone?

Yes. Exported images and PDFs in Fabric open in the iOS and Android apps.

How can a client comment on a design?

Share it with them as a commenter. They can draw on the image and attach a comment, without signing up for Fabric.

Does Fabric work on Windows and Linux for design work?

Yes. The desktop app and its virtual drive run on Mac, Windows and Linux.

Can I find other designs similar to one I’ve made?

Yes. Select an image and run a similarity search, which compares composition, color and subject.