Importing Content

Importing content into a design is one of the most popular use cases for an add-on. For instance, to add content retrieved from a third-party service or directly from the local hard drive. The following sections cover all of the different types of content that can be imported/added to the document from your add-on.

Image Content

The following example demonstrates how to add an image to the current page. The first function shows how to add an image directly from a blob object, and the second illustrates how to fetch an image via a URL to add. Please also refer to the related SDK Reference section and code samples for more details.

Add Image Example

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import addOnUISdk from "https://new.express.adobe.com/static/add-on-sdk/sdk.js";

// Wait for the SDK to be ready
await addOnUISdk.ready;

// Reference to the active document
const { document } = addOnUISdk.app;

// Add image via blob to the current page
async function addImageFromBlob(blob) {
  try {
    await document.addImage(blob);
  } catch (error) {
    console.log("Failed to add the image to the page.");
  }
}

// Add image via url to the current page
async function addImageFromURL(url) {
  try {
    const blob = await fetch(url).then((response) => response.blob());
    await document.addImage(blob);
  } catch (error) {
    console.log("Failed to add the image to the page.");
  }
}
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import addOnUISdk from "https://new.express.adobe.com/static/add-on-sdk/sdk.js";

// Wait for the SDK to be ready
await addOnUISdk.ready;

// Reference to the active document
const { document } = addOnUISdk.app;

// Add image via blob to the current page
async function addImageFromBlob(blob) {
  try {
    await document.addImage(blob);
  } catch (error) {
    console.log("Failed to add the image to the page.");
  }
}

// Add image via url to the current page
async function addImageFromURL(url) {
  try {
    const blob = await fetch(url).then((response) => response.blob());
    await document.addImage(blob);
  } catch (error) {
    console.log("Failed to add the image to the page.");
  }
}

Animated Images

There's a specific method provided in the AddOnSDK to allow you to add animated images (gifs) to the current page as well.

Add Animated Image Example

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// Add animated image(blob) to the current page
async function addAnimatedImageFromBlob(blob) {
  try {
      await document.addAnimatedImage(blob);
  }
  catch(error) {
      console.log("Failed to add the animated image to the page.");
  }
}
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// Add animated image(blob) to the current page
async function addAnimatedImageFromBlob(blob) {
  try {
      await document.addAnimatedImage(blob);
  }
  catch(error) {
      console.log("Failed to add the animated image to the page.");
  }
}

Video and Audio Content

You can also import video and audio content similarly via the addVideo() and addAudio() methods. Please note: the addAudio() method requires an additional MediaAttributes object parameter containing the title of the audio object you're importing. See the example below, as well as the associated SDK Reference for more details. There's also an audio-recording-add-on sample available that you can use as an additional reference.

Add Audio Example

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async function addAudioFromBlob(blob) {
  try {
      await document.addAudio(blob, {title: "Jazzy beats", author: "Jazzy"});
  }
  catch(error) {
      console.log("Failed to add the audio to the page.");
  }
}

async function addAudioFromURL(url) {
  try {
      const blob = await fetch(url).then(response => response.blob());
      await document.addAudio(blob, {title: "Jazzy beats", author: "Jazzy"});
  }
  catch(error) {
      console.log("Failed to add the audio to the page.");
  }
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async function addAudioFromBlob(blob) {
  try {
      await document.addAudio(blob, {title: "Jazzy beats", author: "Jazzy"});
  }
  catch(error) {
      console.log("Failed to add the audio to the page.");
  }
}

async function addAudioFromURL(url) {
  try {
      const blob = await fetch(url).then(response => response.blob());
      await document.addAudio(blob, {title: "Jazzy beats", author: "Jazzy"});
  }
  catch(error) {
      console.log("Failed to add the audio to the page.");
  }

Add Video Example

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async function addVideoFromBlob(blob) {
  try {
      await document.addVideo(blob);
  }
  catch(error) {
      console.log("Failed to add the video to the page.");
  }
}

async function addVideoFromURL(url) {
  try {
     const blob = await fetch(url).then(response => response.blob());
     await document.addVideo(blob);
  }
  catch(error) {
    console.log("Failed to add the video to the page.");
  }
}
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async function addVideoFromBlob(blob) {
  try {
      await document.addVideo(blob);
  }
  catch(error) {
      console.log("Failed to add the video to the page.");
  }
}

async function addVideoFromURL(url) {
  try {
     const blob = await fetch(url).then(response => response.blob());
     await document.addVideo(blob);
  }
  catch(error) {
    console.log("Failed to add the video to the page.");
  }
}

PDFs and PowerPoint Presentations

If you need to import/add a PDF or a PowerPoint presentation to the document, you can use the designated import methods for each shown in the examples below.

Import PDF Example

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import AddOnSDKAPI from "https://new.express.adobe.com/static/add-on-sdk/sdk.js";
  
// Reference to the active document
const {document} = AddOnSDKAPI.app;
 
const mediaAttributes = {title: "Sample.pdf"}
 
// Import a PDF. Note this will be imported as a new Adobe Express document.
function importPdf(blob, mediaAttributes) {
  try {
    document.importPdf(blob, mediaAttributes);
  }
  catch(error) {
    console.log("Failed to import the pdf.");
  }
}
 
// Import a PDF from a URL. Note this will be imported as a new Adobe Express document.
async function importPdfFrom(url) {
  try {
    const blob = await fetch(url).then(response => response.blob());
    document.importPdf(blob, {title: "Sample.pdf"});
  }
  catch(error) {
    console.log("Failed to import the pdf.");
  }
}
Copied to your clipboard
import AddOnSDKAPI from "https://new.express.adobe.com/static/add-on-sdk/sdk.js";
  
// Reference to the active document
const {document} = AddOnSDKAPI.app;
 
const mediaAttributes = {title: "Sample.pdf"}
 
// Import a PDF. Note this will be imported as a new Adobe Express document.
function importPdf(blob, mediaAttributes) {
  try {
    document.importPdf(blob, mediaAttributes);
  }
  catch(error) {
    console.log("Failed to import the pdf.");
  }
}
 
// Import a PDF from a URL. Note this will be imported as a new Adobe Express document.
async function importPdfFrom(url) {
  try {
    const blob = await fetch(url).then(response => response.blob());
    document.importPdf(blob, {title: "Sample.pdf"});
  }
  catch(error) {
    console.log("Failed to import the pdf.");
  }
}

Import Presentation Example

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import AddOnSDKAPI from "https://new.express.adobe.com/static/add-on-sdk/sdk.js";
  
// Reference to the active document
const {document} = AddOnSDKAPI.app;
 
const mediaAttributes = {title: "Sample.pptx"} // only .pptx file types are supported by Express
 
// Import a presentation. Note: this will be imported as a new Adobe Express presentation.
function importPresentation(blob, mediaAttributes) {
  try {
    document.importPresentation(blob, mediaAttributes);
  }
  catch(error) {
    console.log("Failed to add the presentation to the document.");
  }
}
 
// Import a powerpoint presentation from a URL. Note: this will be imported as a new Adobe Express presentation.
async function importPresentationFrom(url) {
  try {
    const blob = await fetch(url).then(response => response.blob());
    document.importPresentation(blob, {title: "Sample.pptx"});
  }
  catch(error) {
    console.log("Failed to add the presentation to document.");
  }
}
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import AddOnSDKAPI from "https://new.express.adobe.com/static/add-on-sdk/sdk.js";
  
// Reference to the active document
const {document} = AddOnSDKAPI.app;
 
const mediaAttributes = {title: "Sample.pptx"} // only .pptx file types are supported by Express
 
// Import a presentation. Note: this will be imported as a new Adobe Express presentation.
function importPresentation(blob, mediaAttributes) {
  try {
    document.importPresentation(blob, mediaAttributes);
  }
  catch(error) {
    console.log("Failed to add the presentation to the document.");
  }
}
 
// Import a powerpoint presentation from a URL. Note: this will be imported as a new Adobe Express presentation.
async function importPresentationFrom(url) {
  try {
    const blob = await fetch(url).then(response => response.blob());
    document.importPresentation(blob, {title: "Sample.pptx"});
  }
  catch(error) {
    console.log("Failed to add the presentation to document.");
  }
}

Exporting Content

Another popular feature available for use in your add-on is the ability to export content. For instance, if you want to allow the user to save/download the current design, (or range of a design), with certain export configurations to their local hard drive. Some examples for exporting content are provided below, but also check out the createRenditions section in the SDK Reference for more specific options and details, as well as the export-sample add-on.

The steps to export content:

• Call createRenditions() to get the renditions based on your export configuration options.
• Convert the blob object returned in the response to a string with the URL.createObjectURL(blob) method.
• Create or update an anchor <a> element's href value with the URL string from the above step.

Basic Example

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import addOnUISdk from "https://new.express.adobe.com/static/add-on-sdk/sdk.js";

const response = await addOnUISdk.app.document.createRenditions({
    range: "currentPage",
    format: "image/jpeg",
});

const downloadUrl = URL.createObjectURL(response[0].blob);
document.getElementById("anchor").href = downloadUrl; 

<a href="#" download="download" id="anchor" style="text-decoration: none">
  <sp-button id="download-button" style="display: none">Download</sp-button>
</a>
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import addOnUISdk from "https://new.express.adobe.com/static/add-on-sdk/sdk.js";

const response = await addOnUISdk.app.document.createRenditions({
    range: "currentPage",
    format: "image/jpeg",
});

const downloadUrl = URL.createObjectURL(response[0].blob);
document.getElementById("anchor").href = downloadUrl; 

<a href="#" download="download" id="anchor" style="text-decoration: none">
  <sp-button id="download-button" style="display: none">Download</sp-button>
</a>

Premium Content

While the above is a very basic example, add-ons that call createRenditions to export content should ensure proper handling in the case of premium content. There are a few strategies that can be implemented.

Option 1: Show a Premium Content error with the "Upgrade" option

Display a warning message when the user is not entitled to export/download premium content, and include a button to allow them to upgrade. Please note that you can detect in advance if the user is entitled to premium content (isPremiumUser()) and whether the page contains premium content (hasPremiumContent) in the first place. A try/catch block intercepting the "USER_NOT_ENTITLED_TO_PREMIUM_CONTENT" string in the error message as the primary way to deal with it is no longer recommended.

Example:

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import addOnUISdk from "https://new.express.adobe.com/static/add-on-sdk/sdk.js";
const { app, constants } = addOnUISdk;
const { ButtonType, Range, RenditionFormat } = constants;

const showPremiumContentError = async () => {
  const { buttonType } = await window.addOnUISdk.app.showModalDialog({
    variant: "error",
    title: "Export failed",
    description: "Sorry, we were not able to export your design. Some assets are only included in the Premium plan. Try replacing with something else or upgrading Adobe Express to a Premium plan.", 
    buttonLabels: { secondary: "Upgrade" }
  });

  if (buttonType === ButtonType.cancel) return false; // user is still not premium
  if (buttonType === ButtonType.secondary) {
    // Original flow (don't use anymore)
    // ❌ window.open("https://www.adobe.com/go/express_addons_pricing", "_blank")
    // 👇 Use startPremiumUpgradeIfFreeUser() instead 
    const hasUpgradedToPremium = await app.startPremiumUpgradeIfFreeUser();
    return hasUpgradedToPremium;
  }
}

const isRangeSafeToExport = async (range) => {
  const userIsPremium = await app.currentUser.isPremiumUser();
  const pages = await app.document.getPagesMetadata({range});
  const containsPremiumContent = pages.some(page => page.hasPremiumContent);
  return (containsPremiumContent && userIsPremium) || !containsPremiumContent;  
}

const exportDocument = async () => {
  // 👇 Testing purposes only!
  app.devFlags.simulateFreeUser = true; // Remove this line in production!

  let isSafeToExport = await isRangeSafeToExport(Range.entireDocument);  
  if (!isSafeToExport) {
    const isNowPremiumUser = await showPremiumContentError();
    isSafeToExport = isNowPremiumUser;
  }
  
  if (isSafeToExport) {
    try {
      const renditions = await app.document.createRenditions({
        range: Range.entireDocument, format: RenditionFormat.png
      });
      renditions.forEach(rendition => { /* do your thing w/ the renditions */ });     
    } catch (err) {
      // did someone just add premium content in the split second between
      // our original check? did the user just downgrade?
      if (err.message?.includes("USER_NOT_ENTITLED_TO_PREMIUM_CONTENT")) {
        return await exportDocument(); // try again
      }
    }
  }  
}

document.querySelector("#export").onclick = exportDocument;
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import addOnUISdk from "https://new.express.adobe.com/static/add-on-sdk/sdk.js";
const { app, constants } = addOnUISdk;
const { ButtonType, Range, RenditionFormat } = constants;

const showPremiumContentError = async () => {
  const { buttonType } = await window.addOnUISdk.app.showModalDialog({
    variant: "error",
    title: "Export failed",
    description: "Sorry, we were not able to export your design. Some assets are only included in the Premium plan. Try replacing with something else or upgrading Adobe Express to a Premium plan.", 
    buttonLabels: { secondary: "Upgrade" }
  });

  if (buttonType === ButtonType.cancel) return false; // user is still not premium
  if (buttonType === ButtonType.secondary) {
    // Original flow (don't use anymore)
    // ❌ window.open("https://www.adobe.com/go/express_addons_pricing", "_blank")
    // 👇 Use startPremiumUpgradeIfFreeUser() instead 
    const hasUpgradedToPremium = await app.startPremiumUpgradeIfFreeUser();
    return hasUpgradedToPremium;
  }
}

const isRangeSafeToExport = async (range) => {
  const userIsPremium = await app.currentUser.isPremiumUser();
  const pages = await app.document.getPagesMetadata({range});
  const containsPremiumContent = pages.some(page => page.hasPremiumContent);
  return (containsPremiumContent && userIsPremium) || !containsPremiumContent;  
}

const exportDocument = async () => {
  // 👇 Testing purposes only!
  app.devFlags.simulateFreeUser = true; // Remove this line in production!

  let isSafeToExport = await isRangeSafeToExport(Range.entireDocument);  
  if (!isSafeToExport) {
    const isNowPremiumUser = await showPremiumContentError();
    isSafeToExport = isNowPremiumUser;
  }
  
  if (isSafeToExport) {
    try {
      const renditions = await app.document.createRenditions({
        range: Range.entireDocument, format: RenditionFormat.png
      });
      renditions.forEach(rendition => { /* do your thing w/ the renditions */ });     
    } catch (err) {
      // did someone just add premium content in the split second between
      // our original check? did the user just downgrade?
      if (err.message?.includes("USER_NOT_ENTITLED_TO_PREMIUM_CONTENT")) {
        return await exportDocument(); // try again
      }
    }
  }  
}

document.querySelector("#export").onclick = exportDocument;

Please note that startPremiumUpgradeIfFreeUser() allows a more streamlined user experience for upgrading to premium content, compared to the older method of redirecting to the Adobe Express pricing page, which is now deprecated.

Option 2: Provide visual cues in the UI

Developers can provide visual cues directly in the add-on UI to show that users are not entitled to export/download premium content. This can be done in various ways, for instance, by disabling the export/download button, replacing it with an upgrade button, or appending a brief explanation, tooltip, or icon. This would inform users upfront that they are not entitled to export/download premium content, preventing them from facing the warning popup after attempting to do so.

Option 3: Allow preview of Premium Content

Set a renditionPreview intent in the manifest requirements, and add an extra argument to the createRenditions method (ie: RenditionIntent.preview) to generate previews that can still use premium content.

IMPORTANT: Your add-on must not allow these previewed images to be downloaded or persisted on a backend (for any longer than necessary to serve the result back to the user). To that end, be sure that users cannot:

• right-click -> save as: To prevent this, reject the contextmenu event
• drag the image off the panel: To prevent this, you can reject the dragstart event

Note: These behaviors are enabled by default if you use an <img> tag. If you apply the image using background-image CSS, these behaviors aren't added.

Example:

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import addOnUISdk from "https://new.express.adobe.com/static/add-on-sdk/sdk.js";

// Wait for the SDK to be ready
await addOnUISdk.ready;

// Display preview of all pages in the AddOn UI
async function displayPreview() {
  try {
    const renditionOptions = {
      range: addOnUISdk.constants.Range.entireDocument,
      format: addOnUISdk.constants.RenditionFormat.png,
      backgroundColor: 0x7FAA77FF
    };
    const renditions = await addOnUISdk.app.document.createRenditions(renditionOptions, addOnUISdk.constants.RenditionIntent.preview);
    renditions.forEach(rendition => {
      const image = document.createElement("img");
      image.src = URL.createObjectURL(rendition.blob);
      document.body.appendChild(image);
    });
  }
  catch(error) {
    console.log("Failed to create renditions:", error);
  }
}
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import addOnUISdk from "https://new.express.adobe.com/static/add-on-sdk/sdk.js";

// Wait for the SDK to be ready
await addOnUISdk.ready;

// Display preview of all pages in the AddOn UI
async function displayPreview() {
  try {
    const renditionOptions = {
      range: addOnUISdk.constants.Range.entireDocument,
      format: addOnUISdk.constants.RenditionFormat.png,
      backgroundColor: 0x7FAA77FF
    };
    const renditions = await addOnUISdk.app.document.createRenditions(renditionOptions, addOnUISdk.constants.RenditionIntent.preview);
    renditions.forEach(rendition => {
      const image = document.createElement("img");
      image.src = URL.createObjectURL(rendition.blob);
      document.body.appendChild(image);
    });
  }
  catch(error) {
    console.log("Failed to create renditions:", error);
  }
}

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import addOnUISdk from "https://new.express.adobe.com/static/add-on-sdk/sdk.js";
 
// Wait for the SDK to be ready
await addOnUISdk.ready;
  
// Display preview of all pages in the AddOn UI
async function displayPreview() {
  try {
    const renditionOptions: PngRenditionOptions = {
      range: addOnUISdk.constants.Range.entireDocument,
      format: addOnUISdk.constants.RenditionFormat.png,
      backgroundColor: 0x7FAA77FF
    };
    const renditions = await addOnUISdk.app.document.createRenditions(renditionOptions, addOnUISdk.constants.RenditionIntent.preview);
    renditions.forEach(rendition => {
      const image = document.createElement("img");
      image.src = URL.createObjectURL(rendition.blob);
      document.body.appendChild(image);
    });
  }
  catch(error) {
    console.log("Failed to create renditions:", error);
  }
}
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import addOnUISdk from "https://new.express.adobe.com/static/add-on-sdk/sdk.js";
 
// Wait for the SDK to be ready
await addOnUISdk.ready;
  
// Display preview of all pages in the AddOn UI
async function displayPreview() {
  try {
    const renditionOptions: PngRenditionOptions = {
      range: addOnUISdk.constants.Range.entireDocument,
      format: addOnUISdk.constants.RenditionFormat.png,
      backgroundColor: 0x7FAA77FF
    };
    const renditions = await addOnUISdk.app.document.createRenditions(renditionOptions, addOnUISdk.constants.RenditionIntent.preview);
    renditions.forEach(rendition => {
      const image = document.createElement("img");
      image.src = URL.createObjectURL(rendition.blob);
      document.body.appendChild(image);
    });
  }
  catch(error) {
    console.log("Failed to create renditions:", error);
  }
}

Last updated 10/31/2024

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