Modula
Modula documentation
Your data
Import and export
Exporting puts your texts into a file; importing brings them into Modula — from another computer, a backup, a colleague, or another tool such as Text Blaze, TextExpander or Espanso.
Exporting your content Basic
- Settings → Data management, Import / Export tab.
- Click ⬇ Export Modula.json.
The file contains all your SmartTexts and SmartMails, with their category. The introduction's examples lose their “demo” badge in it.
Exporting a category, a selection Advanced
- A category: the Export button of its detail panel, on the Categories page.
- A selection: in Organize mode, tick the items, then Export.
Camille shares her 15 “Returns and refunds” replies with a new colleague: she exports the category, he imports the file.
Exporting and restoring the configuration Expert
The ⚙ Configuration card exports your settings without the texts: tools and their options, categories (icons, sites, order), quick actions, restrictions. ⬆ Restore from a file… replaces them with the file's.
A backup already contains the configuration: restore it from the same file.
Importing a Modula file Basic
A file exported by Modula — a backup, the export from another computer or a colleague — is imported from the Import / Export tab, ⬆ Import a file… button. Before importing, Modula offers ⬇ Download a backup of your current library: one click, and you can go back.
The final message says what was actually added — never the number of lines in the file.
New items only, or replace Advanced
Before the import, choose how to handle items already present:
| Mode | Modula file | Another tool |
|---|---|---|
| Import new items only | Items already present (same ID) are skipped. | Items with the same content, or the same keyword and title, are skipped. |
| Import and replace | The file's version entirely replaces the item. | The two are merged: each field filled in the file replaces the current value; favourite and use counter are kept. |
In both modes, an item of your library that isn't in the file is never touched.
Importing from another tool Advanced Pro
The import wizard reads the exports of the most common tools and detects the format by itself, from the file's content:
| Tool | File | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Text Blaze | JSON | dashboard.blaze.today → a folder → ⋮ menu → Export |
| TextExpander | CSV | app.textexpander.com → a group → Options → Export |
| Espanso | YAML | the .yml files of the match folder (see below) |
| ProKeys | JSON or TXT | export from the extension's options |
| Clipper and others | CSV with header | standard CSV export |
Three steps:
- Columns — check which column of the file becomes the title, content, keyword, category.
- Variables — if the file contains variables specific to the tool, choose for each one: convert it to a Modula field, keep it as is, or delete it.
- Preview — the result, the import mode, then Import.
The source tool's folders or groups become categories. Your triggers are kept as they are, prefix included (:sig, /thanks): your habits still work.
Pro plan only, included in the 14-day trial: the right time to import. Importing a Modula file remains free.
Variables, forms: Espanso and Text Blaze Expert
Espanso has no export button: its configuration is a folder of files. Type espanso path in a terminal to find it, open the match subfolder, and select all the .yml files at once — the wizard accepts several files for this format. Each file's name becomes a category.
Text Blaze: forms become Modula fields.
| Text Blaze | Modula |
|---|---|
{formtext} | One-line text field |
{formparagraph} | Multi-line text field |
{formmenu}, {formradio} | List, default choice included; multiple-choice if the original was |
{formtoggle} | Yes / No list |
{formdate}, {time} | Date or time field, in the original format |
{=name} | The same field: a single entry |
{clipboard}, {cursor} | Clipboard, cursor |
With no equivalent, and offered to keep as is or delete: formulas, conditions, toggle blocks, Text Blaze snippets inserted inside another.
Never imported: regular-expression triggers, images, and variables that run code (shell, script in Espanso) — an extension must not run code coming from a file. The wizard tells you exactly what it left out.
The analysis before importing Expert Pro
Before anything is written, the import window shows what this import will do: content added, replaced or merged, duplicates skipped, items beyond the Free plan limit, errors, keywords intercepted or starting with *, new categories. The figures change when you change mode: it's the simplest way to understand the difference. See the detail lists the items of each line.
“incl. N more recent on your side”: in replace mode, these items were changed on your side after the file's date. Compare shows both versions side by side — the classic trap of re-importing an old backup.
The last import report Expert Pro
After the import, its summary appears in the Import / Export tab, 📋 Last import report card. See the detail opens the full report: each section unfolds, and clicking an item opens it in the editor.
- Content that looks like email templates? The report offers to convert them into SmartMails.
- Find duplicates in my library opens the duplicate manager.
- Undo this import undoes the whole import: added items go to the bin, replaced items return to their previous state, and anything you changed since is never touched.
After an import, a tip reminds you of Organize mode, to tidy up the newcomers.
The Free plan limits Basic
On the Free plan, the import stops at 20 SmartTexts and 5 SmartMails, in the file's order; the final message says how many were not imported. A replaced or merged item doesn't count: it doesn't make the library grow.