Upload and import

Bring existing work into Luzbase in two ways: import a whole project from a .zip file, or upload individual files into a project you already have.

Import a .zip as a new project

1. Click New project on the projects dashboard.
2. Under Start from, choose Import .zip.
3. Click Upload a .zip and choose the file, or drop it onto that box. The Name is filled in from the file name; change it if you like.
4. Click Import project.

Luzbase shows the steps Uploading, Processing files and Opening project, then opens the new project. Large projects can take a minute. If it takes longer than usual, you can close the window: the import carries on, and the project appears in your list when it is ready.

What happens to the files in the .zip

• One top folder is removed. If everything in the .zip sits inside a single folder (which is what “compress this folder” produces), that folder is dropped so your files land at the top level of the project.
• System clutter is dropped silently, such as __MACOSX, .DS_Store, Thumbs.db and desktop.ini.
• Dependency and cache folders are skipped, such as node_modules, Python virtual environments, site-packages, __pycache__, .idea and .vscode.
• Files Luzbase can’t store are skipped, and Luzbase lists them in a message such as “Skipped 2 files: …” with a reason for each:

Reason shown	Meaning
unsupported file type	The extension isn’t allowed. See Supported file types and limits.
too large	Over 1 MB for a text file or 10 MB for an image or PDF.
not readable as text	A text file that can’t be read as text.
contents don’t match the extension	For example, a .png that isn’t a PNG image.
invalid name	The path breaks a naming rule.
not a regular file	For example, a symbolic link.
password-protected	An encrypted entry in the .zip.
duplicate	Two entries with the same path.
clashes with a folder	A file and a folder share a name.
installed packages or cache folder	A dependency or cache folder, as above.

• Text in older encodings is converted to UTF-8. Files saved as UTF-16 with a byte-order mark, or in an older single-byte encoding, are converted. Luzbase tells you which files it converted. Check that their accented letters look right.

How the main file is chosen

When it imports a .zip, Luzbase looks for the main file in this order:

1. A % !TEX root = … comment in the first 20 lines of the .tex files. If several files name a root, the one named most often wins.
2. main.tex at the top level.
3. The .tex file closest to the top level that contains both \documentclass and \begin{document}.

See The main file for the full rules and how the editor uses it.

Import limits

Item	Limit
.zip file size	500 MB
Entries in the .zip	100,000
Files in the imported project	500
Total size of the imported files	500 MB
Imports	10 per hour

The imported files count towards your account’s storage.

Moving from another editor

Download your project’s source as a .zip from the other editor and import it here. See Import an existing project for a step-by-step guide.

Upload files into a project

You need to be the project’s Owner or an Editor. Open the project in the editor, then:

1. Click Upload files at the top of the file tree.
2. Choose one or more files. The file picker shows only file types Luzbase accepts.

You can also drag files from your computer onto the file tree. The tree shows Drop to add. To upload straight into a folder, drop the files onto that folder.

Uploads go to the branch you’re working on, and everyone on that branch sees them straight away.

If a file name is already taken

Luzbase shows File already exists. Choose one:

• Overwrite replaces the existing file with the one you’re uploading.
• Rename… lets you type a different name under New name (Luzbase suggests one). Click Add as new file to upload it under that name.
• Cancel skips this file.

Why an upload is refused

Luzbase shows one message per refused file:

Message	Fix
file: unsupported file type.	Convert it to an allowed type. For example, convert SVG to PNG or PDF.
file: … exceeds the 10.0 MB limit for uploads.	Make the image or PDF smaller.
file: … exceeds the 1.0 MB limit for text files.	Split the file, for example into chapters.
file: is not valid UTF-8 text.	Save the file as UTF-8 in your text editor.
Not enough storage left	Delete files you no longer need, or upgrade. See Plans and limits.

Add images while you write

• Paste or drop an image into the editor text. Luzbase uploads it into your project’s image folder (for example figures/ or images/), or creates an images/ folder if there is none.
• Insert figure in the formatting toolbar opens a file picker for images, PDFs and EPS files, uploads the file and inserts a figure.

Related

• Files and folders
• Supported file types and limits
• Create a project