T2MTU: Canva “Bulk Create”
by Amanda Dills
Dec 12, 2023
If you’ve ever needed to create a bunch of similar slides, documents – or even mailing labels – all with the same background and design, this Canva feature is for you! You can use “bulk create” to customize and copy a single design for every row of data in a spreadsheet or list.
Click the video below for more information, or keep scrolling for a written tutorial.
Use the Bulk Create tool in Canva
Step 1: Create your template design on a SINGLE page in Canva. Ensure you have an image or text box for all of the elements you will be importing from a spreadsheet, and that any text you have is pre-formatted with the font, color, size, and style that you want for the final text.
Step 2: Find and open the “Bulk Create” app in Canva.
Step 3: If you have all your information already in a spreadsheet, you can “Upload CSV” and follow the prompts. Otherwise, select “Enter data manually.”
Step 4: Add your information to the “Add data” table. To add a new column for text or images, use the buttons at the top of the window. Click Done when you are done. (Note, you will need to have 2 columns of data to use the tool, but you do not need to add everything from this table into your document.)
Now you will tell Canva which column of data will go into which element in your design.
Step 5: Right-click the first element you want to bulk edit, and select “Connect data.”
Step 6: From the drop-down menu that appears, select the column of your data that you want to appear where and how this element currently appears in the design. You will see the name of the column appear in { } brackets.
Step 7: Repeat this process for any additional elements you want to add. In this screenshot below, you will see an address label, with all the fields linked. At this point, you should make any edits that you need in terms of font, size, color, textbook width, etc.
Step 8: Hit Continue.
Step 9: Indicate which rows of your data table you want to use in the bulk create. (By default, all are selected.) Then click the “Generate X designs” button.
This will create a NEW document where each page is based on one row of your data table.
(Click HERE to access the Address Label Canva template used in these screenshots.)
If you have any questions or want to learn more about Canva, consider joining ID3 for an upcoming “Canva and Cocoa” workshop by signing up in Frontline (or reaching out to ID3 for the replay link!).
