# Import exported site back into rapidweaver

**URL:** <https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/import-exported-site-back-into-rapidweaver/42674>\
**Category:** RapidWeaver Classic\
**Created:** [March 4, 2024, 10:23am UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/import-exported-site-back-into-rapidweaver/42674 "2024-03-04T10:23:31Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Ferris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/53a042/32.png) [@Ferris](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/Ferris)\
**Post date:** [March 4, 2024, 10:23am UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/import-exported-site-back-into-rapidweaver/42674/1 "2024-03-04T10:23:31Z")

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Hi Everybody.  
Yesterday, I was cleaning some stuff up in my Dropbox, and I must have accidentally deleted my rapidweaver file. I do have the whole site exported in a folder (I use FileZilla to upload as I had some problems doing it through Rapidweaver).

Is there any way to import that site back into rapidweaver?

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**Author:** ![Heroic\_Nonsense](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/user_avatar/forums.realmacsoftware.com/heroic_nonsense/32/20666_2.png) [@Heroic\_Nonsense](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/Heroic_Nonsense)\
**Post date:** [March 4, 2024, 10:33am UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/import-exported-site-back-into-rapidweaver/42674/2 "2024-03-04T10:33:37Z")

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Hi @Ferris,

Unfortunately - no.

The exported site is the _result_ of your RapidWeaver project file, not the project file itself. There is no way to convert an exported site back to a project file that RapidWeaver can read.

If you had this option enabled in your project file:

 ![Capto_Capture 2024-03-04_11-32-36_](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/uploads/realmacsoftware1/original/3X/2/7/2702466b34a6d86339583ba2f9282d643bfb9e08.png)

… then you’re in luck: RapidWeaver will have put a copy of the project file in a directory on your server. You can recognise that directory by its unusually long name containing random letters and numbers.

Cheers,  
Erwin

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**Author:** ![BillinJapan](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/user_avatar/forums.realmacsoftware.com/billinjapan/32/19630_2.png) [@BillinJapan](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/BillinJapan)\
**Post date:** [July 24, 2025, 3:18am UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/import-exported-site-back-into-rapidweaver/42674/3 "2025-07-24T03:18:33Z")

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Thanks for the helpful article. Now question, I was able to get the project file from the server. However, it was an older version. I just need to get the index.html and link that with Rapid Weaver. Is there a way to do this?

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**Author:** ![Heroic\_Nonsense](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/user_avatar/forums.realmacsoftware.com/heroic_nonsense/32/20666_2.png) [@Heroic\_Nonsense](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/Heroic_Nonsense)\
**Post date:** [July 24, 2025, 6:34am UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/import-exported-site-back-into-rapidweaver/42674/4 "2025-07-24T06:34:25Z")

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Hi @BillinJapan,

The index file is not inside the project file, but is generated when you publish it.

My advice:

1. Open the backup project file in RapidWeaver
2. Go to the Publishing settings
3. Click the “Add new destination” buttn in the bottom right of this screen
4. Click on the “Other methods…“ drop down menu
5. Choose “Local Folder”
6. Click the “Choose Folder” button in the window that appears, and pick a folder on your Mac (preferably a new one that you create in this window)
7. Click the little arrow next to the “Publish“ button in the upper right corner of the screen, and choose the newly created local destination
8. Publish your project

After publishing is done, you’ll find all the files in the folder that you specified in step 6, including the index.html.

Cheers,  
Erwin