File formats

This page lists what Boldbobbin saves and what it can open. Save your work as a .vemb project to keep editing it; export a machine file (DST, PES, and others) to sew it; and check the import table for the kinds of file you can bring in.

Native project: .vemb

Boldbobbin saves projects as .vemb files. A .vemb is a single file that holds the whole project: your vectors, stitches, palette, and reference pictures.

• Open: File → Open (.vemb)… (Ctrl/Cmd+O), or drag a .vemb onto the window. Dropping one on the home screen opens it too, as of v1.3.1. On desktop, double-clicking a .vemb opens it in Boldbobbin.
• Add to the open design: File → Import → Import design (.vemb)… (also on the canvas right-click menu) merges another design into this one instead of replacing it. See Merge one design into another.
• Save: Save (Ctrl/Cmd+S) or Save to this computer (.vemb)… / Download (.vemb) (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+S).

Only files with a .vemb extension open as projects: "Boldbobbin projects must have a .vemb extension."

Merge one design into another

New in v1.3.1. Import design (.vemb)… brings another design's objects into the one you have open. Dropping a .vemb onto a design that already has something in it asks first:

Add this design, or open it?

• Add to this design (the default, so Enter picks it): its objects join this design as one group, named after the file.
• Open it instead: closes this design and opens the file by itself. If you have unsaved changes, Boldbobbin asks about them first.

Dropping onto an empty design, or onto the home screen, just opens the file.

For example, drop your club's crest .vemb onto a jacket-back design and choose Add to this design: the crest arrives as one group named after the file, sewn after your own objects, and one undo takes it out again.

What a merge keeps and what it leaves behind:

Kept	Not carried over
Every object, in the other design's sewing order, after your own	The other design's title, hoop, and document settings
Each object's position on the hoop	A shape's rotation-dial reading, which starts again at 0 (the shape itself is not turned)
Folders, their transforms, color overrides, visibility, and locks	Stitches, which are recalculated in this design rather than copied
Forced connections between objects
Threads you do not already have, added to your palette (matched by color)

Your design keeps its own title, hoop, and its place in the cloud or a team library. The merged group is selected afterwards, and the whole merge is one undo step. The toast says how many objects came in: "Added “Crest” to this design (12 objects)." An empty file adds nothing and says so.

Designs saved in 1.2 don't open in older versions

Every design saved by Boldbobbin 1.2 or later uses a newer .vemb format, whether or not it contains digitized text. Boldbobbin 1.1.x and earlier refuse to open those files, and the message they show looks like a corrupt-file error rather than a version mismatch. The refusal is on purpose: an older version would otherwise open a design with digitized text and silently show mangled lettering.

Going the other way is fine: newer versions open older .vemb files normally, and tell you plainly if they ever meet a file from a newer version ("This design was saved by a newer version of Boldbobbin. Update Boldbobbin to open it."). If you share designs with someone on an older version, keep on matching versions.

Older .vemb files

A .vemb from an older version of Boldbobbin prompts to convert: "This file was created by an older version of Boldbobbin. It will be converted to the current format." Your original file isn't changed until you save. Click Convert and open.

Opening machine files from your desktop

On desktop, Boldbobbin appears in your operating system's "Open with" menu for twelve machine-file types (DST, PES, EXP, JEF, PEC, VP3, U01, XXX, TAP, HUS, 100 and 10o). Double-clicking one imports it through the same preview flow the Import menu uses. They come in as stitches rather than as projects, because a machine file has no project structure to restore.

.vemb and .bbf files open from the desktop the same way, as a project and as a font.

Importable files

What	Extensions / types	How
Embroidery (stitch) files	DST, PES, EXP, JEF, PEC, VP3, U01, XXX, TAP, HUS, 100, 10o	Import an embroidery file
Vector	SVG, PDF, AI (PDF-compatible)	Import an SVG
Reference image	PNG, JPEG, WebP, GIF, BMP, SVG	Import a reference image
Cross-stitch (from image)	PNG, JPEG, WebP, GIF, BMP	Import as cross-stitch
Photostitch (from image)	PNG, JPEG, WebP, GIF, BMP	Auto-digitize a photo
Auto-Trace (from image)	PNG, JPEG, WebP, GIF, BMP, SVG	Auto-Trace an image
Advanced auto-digitize (from image)	PNG, JPEG, WebP	Advanced auto-digitize
Fonts to digitize	TTF, OTF, TTC (Latin only, up to 32 MB)	Import a font
Digitized fonts	BBF	Import a font

TAP, HUS, 100, and 10o files can be opened but not exported.

A .bbf is a font already digitized in Boldbobbin. It carries its own stitching, including where the thread travels and where it trims between letters, so it is ready to use as soon as it is imported.

A picture sent to an advanced method is resized, has its camera rotation applied, and has its metadata (location included) removed before it leaves your computer. A result can also be downloaded on its own: Pixel art as a PNG, Vector stylization as a PNG, Line art as an SVG.

For what Boldbobbin can export, see Export formats.

Drag-and-drop notes

A dropped machine file other than DST or PES is accepted by its extension, so if the file is damaged, the error appears only after Boldbobbin tries to read it. Dropping an SVG asks whether to convert it to embroidery or use it as a reference. Dropping a picture asks too, as of v1.3.2: Auto-trace into stitches or Use as reference image.