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Exporting and Sharing Documents

Export any StretchDocs document to HTML, plain text, or JSON for archiving, sharing outside the suite, or migrating to other systems.

Why export

Most of the time your documents live and breathe inside StretchDocs, where they're governed, versioned, and searchable. But sometimes you need a document outside the suite — to email a client a self-contained file, to archive a signed-off version, or to move content into another system. StretchDocs exports any document in three formats.

The three export formats

  • HTML — a complete, self-contained web document (.html) with your title and formatted body. This is the best choice for sharing a readable file that preserves headings, lists, and structure. It opens in any browser.
  • Plain text — a stripped-down .txt file containing just the document's text, with all formatting removed. Ideal for pasting into plain-text systems, importing elsewhere, or when only the words matter.
  • JSON — a structured .json file containing the full document record and its content data. This is the format for migration, backup, and integrations, where a machine needs the document's structure and metadata, not just its prose.

Export a document

  1. Open the document you want to export.
  2. Choose Export.
  3. Pick a format — HTML, Text, or JSON. (HTML is the default if you don't choose.)
  4. StretchDocs generates a file named from the document's title (for example, refund-handling-sop.html) and downloads it.

Sharing safely

  • Exported HTML is sanitized like the in-app content — unsafe scripting is stripped — so it's safe to send.
  • Exports are a point-in-time copy. They don't stay in sync with the live document; if the source changes, re-export.
  • For sharing inside your organization, you usually don't need to export at all — just give teammates Docs access and point them at the document, which keeps everyone on the live, versioned copy.

A realistic example

A consultant finishes a client-approved deliverable. She captures a snapshot titled Delivered 2026-07-13, then exports the document to HTML and emails the file to the client as the official deliverable. For her own records, she also exports JSON and stores it in her project archive, so she has a structured backup she could re-import or reference later. The live document stays in StretchDocs at Published status.

Tips

  • Use HTML for anything a person will read; use JSON for anything a system will read.
  • Snapshot before you export a deliverable, so your records show exactly what was sent.
  • Re-export after edits — exports don't auto-update.
  • Keep client deliverables in a dedicated folder so they're easy to find and export in a batch.

FAQ

Can I export to PDF or Word? StretchDocs exports HTML, text, and JSON directly. To produce a PDF, open the exported HTML in a browser and print to PDF; for Word, open the HTML in your word processor.

Does export include comments and suggestions? Export focuses on the document's content. Comments, suggestions, versions, and snapshots live inside StretchDocs as part of the governed record.

Is the exported file live? No — it's a snapshot of the document at export time. Re-export to capture later changes.

Why is my exported filename different from the title? The filename is a URL-safe slug of the title (lowercased, spaces replaced with dashes), so Refund Handling SOP becomes refund-handling-sop.

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