Since Monday’s Classic Project Import video we’ve been working hard to make the impossible possible.
Elements can now import content from Stacks, Foundation, and Foundry projects. Before you get too excited, remember that Elements is a completely new system, so your old site design won’t carry over. What you will get is the raw content, text and images, ready to be re-styled in Elements!
The real bonus is that the Classic Importer also brings across your page structure and all the important SEO details, making the transition far smoother than starting from scratch.
Watch the video to see how you can move your Classic projects into Elements
30% Classic Upgrade Discount ends this week!
If you’re still using RapidWeaver Classic, now’s your chance to grab a special upgrade discount that makes switching to Elements an easy decision.
You can run Classic and Elements side by side while migrating your websites, so don’t wait, this offer ends August 31st.
Thanks for Your Feedback
The Elements app evolves directly from your suggestions, and as always, we’d love to hear what you think so far. Your feedback truly makes all the difference
I’ve just watched the YouTube video and was quite excited about this.
I’ve just tried it on 4 projects of varying sizes.
Some were originally RW8 files but I converted them to rwc projects first.
1 project imported fine the other 3 crashed the Elements app.
The one that imported was built using Foundry, the 3 that crashed were built with the original Foundation (i.e. not Foundation 6). Could this be the cause?
What’s the chances of you implementing a fix for original Foundation projects.
I appreciate it might be a big ask, and likely have few needing it, but it would help me out more than you might imagine
Ric I think you have jumped the gun a bit, the new update as per video will be released later today and will include what Dan has just said in diary, the origonal beta was for basic classic files only.
As someone that has several projects in Classic , and has purchased Elements, I am definitely interested in this feature. I actually thought that an export (Rapidweaver) import (Elements) should be developed.
Is there an estimated date as to when this feature will be available?
Please give the new build a try! Elements 1.2.1 contains many improvements and fixes when importing Classic Projects.
All Classic projects should now import into Elements, you just won’t get the content for Foundation 1 projects. Although this is something we might be able to add if there’s a lot of requests for it…
Importing Classic projects is quite challenging. If creating a simple sample page with just one image, a button, and a paragraph requires so much effort, then attempting to import an entire website with 50 pages, tables, forms, and more would undoubtedly be a nightmare. No thanks—I’ll pass!
You’re going to have to do some work if you want to move to a modern platform. Once you become familiar with Elements and understand how it works, converting pages is a very quick, fun and effortless process.
“Some work” holds a completely different meaning for me. I prefer to explore options with another platform. Why, you ask? Simply put, if the creator of a new app hasn’t considered how to facilitate project migration from a previous app, it’s evident that addressing this issue wasn’t a priority for them.
In the past, seamless transitions were achievable—think of the flawless conversions from Aldus Freehand to Macromedia Freehand, Adobe apps to CC apps, or the migration from the Sketch app to Sketch 49. Blender and Affinity also made strides in this direction, while macOS went above and beyond with Rosetta. If this issue doesn’t concern you, that’s fine, but many of us do care, and “some work” just doesn’t cut it. It’s clear that Realmac is targeting a new market, and while I respect that, it does feel disrespectful to long-time loyal customers. Is this part of Realmac’s rebirth? Absolutely. Sacrifices will have to be made, and sadly, many of us will be left in the shadows. I suppose that’s just part of the evolution. While I’m not angry, I am disappointed. I genuinely wish Realmac all the best in its future endeavors. My affection for Classic and Squash remains strong, and I hope the company continues to thrive for many more years.
I’d object to your “seamless transitions” as it applies to Freehand and Rosetta, for sure. Can’t say with Sketch. Not sure what you’re referring to with Affinity; if it’s “use Adobe files,” no, that didn’t go seamlessly.
I’m curious as to what you think Realmac’s continued survival would be like with a different path. And it is survival, as the whole Stack system is crumbling rapidly, partly due to poor decisions of what foundations to use.
Personally, I’ve been in personal computers for 49 years now. I’ve witnessed so many companies go by the wayside I wouldn’t even try to count (including Macromedia, one of your supposedly seamless examples). The platforms underneath applications change from time to time, and with that, so must the applications.
Finally, there’s this: every one of your examples are WYSIWYG. Classic isn’t. Do you really think a non-WYSIWYG application survives forever in a WYSIWYG world? Some of us have the opposite idea you do: I did not deploy a site with Classic because it wasn’t WYSIWYG, I used something else instead that was. Elements will probably win me over this time because it’s WYSIWYG-er.
So I’m not sure what you’re disappointed about. As it is, Realmac, after seeing the user demand for import, decided to do as much as they could in that direction. But you can’t make something that’s not WYSIWYG into WYSIWYG ;~).
I’m not trying to convince you or make you see things my way. I already explained why I felt disappointed. We’ve shared the same timeline working with computers, and I still remember my first time using a Mac like it was yesterday—back then, you could run your Apple II games flawlessly with an Apple IIe Card.
That said, I understand you’ve made your choice, and Elements seems to fit your future plans. But right now, based on what you’ve said, Stacks are slowly fading out and Classic will soon be unusable. If that’s really the case, I believe Realmac should remove the price tag and offer it for free, giving people time to transition to Elements. Instead, they continue selling an outdated product because it still generates revenue.
For me, that makes Elements a poor fit for my business. RapidWeaver has been a cornerstone for years, but this feels like Realmac closing the door on what it was and moving toward something so different that you can’t even sell your sites without extra costs. If I’m going to rebuild my clients’ websites from scratch, I’d rather do it with software that truly aligns with the next step in technology. That’s my personal decision.
I’m sure many people will love Elements, just like I loved RapidWeaver in its time. It’s simply not for me—and that’s perfectly fine. Enjoy Elements. And if one day I find the new technology doesn’t meet my needs (though I doubt that), I’ll be here ready to buy Elements. You can count on that.
Then consider just moving on. All the negative discussion is just depressing and silly to read. There are different flavors because there are different taste. If you have already made up your mind, then be done. If you are looking to be convinced otherwise, then put your head down and do your best to push through the learning curve of Elements. But this thread has run its course.
Impressive speed! A seemingly pointless combination of “move on” and “negative discussion”! Just a reminder, I’m still a Classic user, and this platform serves as my space to inquire and exchange use cases with the community. Wishing you a fantastic day, my friend!
I just used this tool to convert my Classic project to Elements. It pulled in most of it, which will save me a lot of time. I’m very pleased with the results. Thank you.
I have several classic websites, each with around 50 to 100 pages. Initially, I planned to create new websites using Elements and update the existing ones in Classic until it was time to refresh the design. But now that there’s a new import command, I’ve attempted importing a few websites. I’ve noticed that all the external resources and settings were successfully transferred. However, a few inlined SVGs failed to make it across. I’ll experiment a bit, but this appears to be the extent of the issue.
For me, Elements represents a significant technology shift, and I prefer to invest some time in leveraging its new capabilities rather than simply recreating the classic project structure. Therefore, I think the process for me will be to spend the time until the beta version is released to plan for an improved design and possibly create a few new components to simplify the conversion process.
A shoutout to Dan & Co for all the hard work they are putting into Elements. It is much appreciated. Having said that, I tried importing a Classic/Foundatin 6 + Foundry project into Elements today and the result was: 100% of the resources imported (80+ images+icons) but, no text or any layout/formatting/design. While encouraging (and thanks again for the effort!), I was quite disappointed in the result. I’m putting it down to the fact that I used a lot of external/proprietary stacks in the Classic project. Looking forward to further improvements!
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Just a reminder, I’m still a Classic user, and this platform serves as my space to inquire and exchange use cases with the community. Wishing you a fantastic day, my friend!