Help & Documentation

Getting Started

Bulk Designer is an Adobe Express add-on. It runs in the panel beside your document, so everything below happens inside Express — there is nothing separate to install and no second account to create.

Opening the add-on

1. Open the Adobe Express document you want to build into. A multi-page document is usually the right starting point, because generated designs are added as pages.
2. Click Add-ons in the left rail of Express, search for Bulk Designer, and open it.
3. The panel opens on the home screen, headed Create at scale with the question How would you like to start?

What is on the home screen

Five ways in:

• Create from data — connect a spreadsheet and get a design for every row. The main route, and free. Covered under Create from Data.
• Image to pages — add a folder of images and put each one on its own page. No spreadsheet needed.
• Headers and footers — add page numbers and text to the top or bottom of every page.
• Multi-size campaign — every ad size (square, story, portrait) for each row, all at once. Marked 2 sizes free: two sizes cost nothing, and three or more need a paid plan.
• Create from source — turn an article, YouTube video, PDF or Google Doc into a social media carousel. Marked Paid.

Below the five you will also find Continue with last session if you were interrupted (Clear and start new wipes it and starts fresh), and the team controls: Team workspace and AI keys, and Try Teams free, or enter an access code.

Free, Pro and Teams

Bulk Designer is free to use. The paid plans add the bigger features, and you choose one from any Upgrade button, under Choose your plan.

• Free — Create from data with every import format (CSV, TSV and Excel), images from your computer, a link or Unsplash, headers and footers, image to pages, and multi-size campaigns with up to two sizes.
• Pro — for one person. Unlimited sizes, saved setups in the cloud, every AI feature with your own keys, and Dropbox, OneDrive and Box.
• Teams — everything in Pro, plus a shared workspace: three seats included, then $15 a month for each extra seat, saved setups shared with the whole team, and one place for the team's AI keys. Pro and Teams are separate plans.

You pay for a paid plan outside Adobe. It covers the Bulk Designer add-on only and does not change your Adobe Express Premium plan.

Create from Data

The core flow. One design, one dataset, a finished page per row. Standard data merge is free.

1. Add your data

1. On the home screen click Create from data. The screen changes to Add your data.
2. Drop your spreadsheet where it says Drop your spreadsheet here, or browse — CSV, TSV, XLSX and XLS all work. Use Select file format to pick Excel or a TSV file. Google Sheets is coming soon. Until then, download your sheet as a CSV or Excel file.
3. The first row must be your column headers. Everything after it is treated as a record.

2. Connect your data to the design

1. You land on Connect your data. In your design, click a text box or image that should change for each row.
2. Click Add selected elements. It shows up in the list below.
3. On each one, click Choose a column and pick the column that should fill it. Text columns fill text boxes; columns with image links or file names fill images. The add-on tells you if a column does not fit, and Remove element drops one you no longer want.
4. If a column holds file names rather than links, use Relink image folder to point at the folder holding them. See Image folders and cloud storage.

3. Review and apply

1. Once everything is connected, click Preview designs. You land on Review & Apply: each row becomes a design, and you untick any rows you want to skip. Select all and Deselect all do it in one click.
2. Click the eye on a row to see how it will look, or the pencil to change just that row — its text, its image, or where things sit. That opens Edit this design; click Save edits when you are done, and the change affects that row only.
3. To retouch the photos first, use Enhance all images with AI — see Visual AI.
4. When a column holds file names, Find images shows how many it still needs and takes you to the folder.

4. Create the designs

Click Create designs and the panel shows Creating your designs… — keep it open while it works, or use Cancel generation to stop. When it finishes you see Done! Your designs are ready. Each selected row is added to your Express document as its own page, which you can keep editing by hand afterwards. From there you can Download as ZIP, Create more, or Remove created pages.

Rows with something missing

A blank cell leaves that element empty rather than stopping the run, and a row whose image cannot be found falls back to a placeholder. The batch finishes either way, so one bad row does not cost you the other two hundred.

Saving the setup

On Review & Apply, Save setup keeps your connections, layout and row edits so you can load them again in one click. On a team workspace the button reads Save setup for team and shares the setup with everyone. Saved setups need a paid plan. See Saved setups.

Visual AI

Batch retouching for the photos your dataset points at, powered by Claid.ai. It corrects every image in the run before it lands on a page.

It needs a paid plan and a Claid key of your own — "To enhance images with AI, upgrade or ask for a free trial." A trial comes with credits instead, so you can try it first. Set your key up under Workspace, seats and keys.

The four tools

• Remove background — cuts the subject out and lets you pick what goes behind it: Transparent or Color (White, Dark gray, Black, or your own with Pick a color). Tell it What's in the image? — Anything, Products or Cars — and use Trim close to the edges for a tighter cut.
• Fix lighting — balances brightness, color and contrast across the set, so photos shot on different days stop looking like it. Choose a Strength: Strong (recommended), Medium or Light. Run this first when your images come from several suppliers.
• Add shadow — a natural shadow under a cutout, so it sits on the page rather than floating. Set Perspective to Automatic (recommended), Front view or Top-down (flat lay) so the shadow falls the right way, and choose a Transparent or Color background.
• Sharpen and enlarge — makes small or blurry images bigger and sharper, for older or low-resolution catalogue photography. Pick a Scale, say what it is Best for (Text and graphics, Photos, People or Illustrations), and turn on Extra sharpening or Clean up blurry or pixelated spots where the source needs it.

Try a tool on one image first with Try on one image, then run it on the lot with Remove all backgrounds, Fix lighting on all or Add shadows to all, or on a chosen few with Apply to selected.

Practical notes

• Order matters. Remove the background before adding a shadow, or the shadow is generated against the original backdrop.
• Check a dark product and a light one before running the whole set — cutouts struggle most on low-contrast edges, and a larger source image usually fixes it.
• Enhanced images can be pulled out with Download enhanced images (.zip).
• Your originals are untouched. The enhanced copies are what land on the page.

Multi-Size Campaign

Express bulk create runs one design at a time, so every aspect ratio normally needs its own template and its own pass. A multi-size campaign links each size to a page, so one run fills them all. Two sizes are free; three or more need a paid plan.

Setting the campaign up

1. From the home screen choose Multi-size campaign, then add your data the same way as Create from Data — CSV, TSV and Excel all work here too.
2. On Pick your sizes, click Add a size for each place you will post — square, story, portrait — or choose Custom size… and enter a width and height in pixels. Remove size takes one out again.
3. Give each size a page. Use page picks one already in your document, New page adds a blank one, and Copy a page starts from a design you have already built.
4. Click the pencil on one size to connect its text and images to your data, exactly as on Connect your data.
5. On every other size, click the match button (↻) and the add-on connects the same elements for you. Give them a quick check.
6. When every size is ready, click Continue to preview. Each row gets all its sizes, grouped together. Choose your rows on Review & Apply and create.

Watch the page count

Adobe Express caps a document at 250 pages, and sizes multiply rows quickly. For example, eleven products across six sizes is 66 pages and fine; sixty products across six sizes is 360 and will not fit. Those are examples — count your own rows times sizes. Split the dataset across runs, or cut the number of sizes in a pass.

AI Carousels

The one input that is not a spreadsheet. Bulk Designer reads a source, writes the slide copy, and lays the pages out. The screen is called Create from source, and it is marked Paid on the home screen.

Building a carousel

1. Choose Create from source on the home screen.
2. Paste a link to an article, YouTube video, PDF or Google Doc in the Link tab, or add a PDF or Word file in the File tab. For a YouTube link the add-on tells you whether the video has captions: with them it is quick; without them AI watches the video instead, which takes a little longer.
3. Choose the Number of slides, from 3 to 15, then click Create slides. The add-on shows Reading your source, Finding the key ideas and Writing your slides as it works.
4. On Review slides, read what it wrote. Click the pencil on a slide to change its text, or swap its image for a stock photo or an AI image — nothing reaches your document unreviewed. AI can make mistakes, so give each slide a read before you share it.
5. Click Pick pages to choose how the carousel looks: Pick a template and the add-on adds its title, body and closing pages to your document, or skip and use pages you already have.
6. Map the three page roles — the title slide, the body slides and the closing slide. The add-on matches each slide to a page and connects its text and images for you; click the pencil next to each one to check or change the connections, including the Title slide image, Body slide image and Closing slide image.
7. Preview the slides on your pages, then click Create.

The three-page structure is why a carousel looks designed rather than templated: the opening slide, the repeating middle and the closing call to action each get their own layout.

Which sources work

• Web pages that anyone can open without signing in. News sites, blogs, Wikipedia and MSN articles all work. A few sites build their articles with scripts that can't be read from outside; if a link gives "We couldn't read the text on this page", use the original article's link instead.
• PDF and Word files up to 3 MB. For a bigger file, paste a link to it, or split it.
• YouTube videos, with or without captions.
• Google Docs shared so anyone with the link can view.

Slides and writing models

A carousel can have up to 15 slides. A short source can't fill 15 well, so after reading it the add-on suggests a better slide count. The writing model is Gemini 3.8 Flash by default; on a paid plan you can choose Claude Haiku 5.5 or GPT-5.5 instead from Writing model.

Changed your mind while the slides are being written? Cancel stops it and takes you back to your source. Credits already used for that run aren't refunded. Your slides are saved if you leave, and are there next time you open the add-on; Delete carousel slides clears them.

Stock photos

Slide photos come from Unsplash, which allows a set number of searches per hour for everyone using the add-on. If you see "We've used up this hour's photo searches", wait a few minutes or generate an image for that slide instead.

Carousels run on your own provider keys, or on trial credits. During a trial the add-on shows how many carousels and images you have left. See Workspace, seats and keys.

Image to Pages

Import a batch of images and get one page each, sized to the image, instead of everything landing in a pile on one canvas. Free, and it needs no spreadsheet.

1. On the home screen click Image to pages.
2. Add the images. They can come from your computer or from a connected cloud folder — see Image folders and cloud storage.
3. Each image is placed on its own page at its own size.

When filenames need resolving

If your data references images by file name, the add-on matches them against the folder you choose. It shows "Looking for your images…" while it works, and Find images if it still needs the folder. Names must match exactly, extension included, and you can name your files to match your data — like shoe-01.jpg.

Images must be PNG or JPG. Other formats (WebP, AVIF, HEIC) are skipped, so save them as PNG or JPG first. If nothing in the folder matches, the add-on lists the file names your data uses, so you can check them against the folder.

Page Numbers, Headers & Footers

Adds page numbers, headers and footers across a whole Adobe Express document. Free, and it works on any document — you do not need a dataset.

1. On the home screen click Headers and footers.
2. Set Position — Top (header) or Bottom (footer).
3. Set Alignment — Align left, Align center or Align right.
4. Pick a Format: Number only (1), Page 1 or Page 1 of 5.
5. Add Text before or Text after for something like My book – or | Chapter 1.
6. Set Font size (pt) and Text color to match your design.
7. Use Start on page to skip a cover, and First number to choose where counting starts.
8. Every change shows on the page you are looking at straight away. When it looks right, click Add to my pages.

To leave a cover page unnumbered, set Start on page to 2. To have that second page read "Page 1", set First number to 1 as well — the two settings are independent on purpose.

Workspace, Seats and Keys

A workspace is what makes Bulk Designer a team tool: saved setups, seats for colleagues, and one set of AI provider keys everybody can use. Open it with Team workspace and AI keys on the home screen. Its tabs are Overview, Seats, Setups and AI keys. On a Pro plan you get the same screen for one person: your own saved setups and your own AI keys, with no seats.

Getting a team

There are three ways in.

1. Subscribe. Click Upgrade, choose Teams on Choose your plan, and finish checkout. You pay outside Adobe, and it does not change your Adobe Express Premium plan.
2. Start a free trial. Click Try Teams free, or enter an access code, open Ask for a trial, and fill in your work email, company name, company size, design team size and what you will use it for. A phone or WhatsApp number is optional and only speeds things up. We look at every request personally, and if yours is approved we email you an access code. The trial lasts 14 days and comes with AI credits; we fund those credits, so a limited number go out each month.
3. Enter a code. Already have one? Open I have a code, type it under Access code and click Turn on Teams.

Invited by a colleague instead? Click the team icon at the bottom of the add-on, then Join a team, and enter your work email and the 6-digit code from the invite.

Seats

Open the Seats tab. Three seats are included, and the tab shows how many are in use, such as 3 of 11 seats used. Extra seats are $15 a month each.

1. Type a colleague's work email and click Send invite. We email them a 6-digit code; you can also copy it or Download it.
2. They open Bulk Designer in their own Adobe Express account, click Join a team and enter the code. Until they do, the seat reads Waiting to join; afterwards it reads Active.
3. Remove from team… frees a seat when somebody leaves. When every seat is taken the tab says All seats in use — remove one, or click Add seats.
4. Add seats asks how many, shows what it adds each month, and takes you to checkout (or Copy checkout link to send it to whoever pays). Click I've paid when you are done and the seats are yours.

AI keys

The AI features run on your own accounts with each AI provider — we do not resell or meter credits. Open the AI keys tab, add a key for the providers you want, and their models show up in the add-on. Get a key ↗ links straight to each provider, and How AI keys work explains the rest.

• Team keys are encrypted and shared with everyone on your team. Click Save for team, and every seat can then run the AI tools without pasting anything. Remove team key takes one out again.
• Just me keeps a key only in your own browser, for you. If you add one, it is used instead of the team's key, and Remove my key goes back to the team's.
• Claid is the one you need for image work — "add a Claid key. Claid is the service that does the editing." The tab also takes keys for OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Black Forest Labs and xAI.
• On a trial you will see Trial AI credits instead — image editing costs 1–2 credits per image, a carousel 2–3, and an AI image 2 — so you can try the tools before setting a key up. Add your own key for a provider and that provider's requests stop using your credits.

Saved setups

A saved setup is the connecting work, kept so nobody repeats it: how your design connects to your data, the layout, and any row edits. It also remembers which image folders it used.

1. Get a design working, then on Review & Apply click Save setup for team (Save setup if it is just for you). Give it a name and, if you like, Notes for your team — "Anything your team should know?" If you are changing one that already exists, choose Replace or Save as new.
2. Teammates find it under the Setups tab, or on the home screen as Your team saved a setup for this design with a Load saved setup button.
3. Loading walks through two short steps: Data — add the same spreadsheet, or one with the same column names — and Images — pick the folder with your images. Then check it looks right and click Load setup.
4. When a teammate updates a setup, you get a notice with Get the update, and the choice to remake the pages you created with the new version or Keep my pages.

This is a saved-setup handover, not simultaneous editing. One person builds the connections, saves them, and everyone else loads them. Sign out of team leaves the team on that machine.

Image Folders and Cloud Storage

Your product photography already lives somewhere. Point Bulk Designer at that folder and it resolves images by filename as it builds — no zip to download, no re-uploading, no local copy to keep in sync. The files stay in your storage.

Connecting a folder

1. Where a column holds file names, use Find images on Review & Apply, or Relink image folder on Connect your data.
2. Under Where are your images? pick your computer, Dropbox, OneDrive or Box, connect it if asked, and browse to the folder once. The add-on then matches on every run — you will see "Looking for your images…", and progress such as "Downloading images from Dropbox…"
3. If a few images are still missing, Add missing images or Pick another folder picks up the rest, and the add-on lists the names your data is looking for.

Which sources are free

Filenames must match exactly, extension included. A row whose image cannot be found still generates — the image box falls back to a placeholder rather than the run stopping.

Troubleshooting & Support

Common questions

Some images did not appear

The filename in your data must match the file in the folder exactly, extension included. Re-open the folder with Relink image folder and watch for "Looking for your images…" to confirm it is reading the right place.

It says "Upgrade" or "Paid"

Multi-size campaigns with three or more sizes, every AI feature, saved setups and the Dropbox, OneDrive and Box connectors need a paid plan: Pro for one person, or Teams for a team. Two sizes are free. Click Upgrade to see Choose your plan, or ask for a free Teams trial. See Workspace, seats and keys.

"Enhance images with AI" asks me to upgrade

"To enhance images with AI, upgrade or ask for a free trial." You need a paid plan or an active trial, and, outside a trial, a Claid key under AI keys. If the key is missing or was rejected, the add-on tells you which.

How many pages can one run produce?

Adobe Express caps a document at 250 pages. Multi-size multiplies quickly — count rows times sizes before you start, and split the dataset if it goes over.

I closed the panel halfway through

Continue with last session on the home screen picks the session back up. Clear and start new starts clean if something is stuck. It removes your data, connections and saved images from the add-on; the pages in your document stay as they are.

"A page you mapped was deleted"

Bulk Designer keeps an eye on your document's pages while you work. If you delete a page you connected data to, it names the page and asks you to pick another one (or remove that size, in a multi-size campaign). Creating designs waits until every page is back in place. Pages you add show up straight away; there is also a Refresh pages button where you pick pages.

A saved setup won't load

A saved setup remembers the pages it was built on. Open the document it was made in and load it there. A multi-size setup can also be loaded into another document: choose Load and pick pages and pick a page for each size.

A link or file won't turn into slides

Check the link opens in a private browser window without signing in, and that files are under 3 MB. See Which sources work.

How do I sign out of a team?

Open Team workspace and AI keys and click Sign out of team beside your team's name. You lose the team's AI keys and saved setups on this account until you sign in again with your access code or invite.

Do trials always come with credits?

Trials come with AI credits when they're available. We fund those credits, so only a limited number go out each month. Everything else, including bulk create from your data and every import format, is free whether or not you have a trial.

Can a teammate open my setup?

Yes, with a Teams workspace. Save it with Save setup for team and they load it from the Setups tab, or with Load saved setup on the home screen. Each person still works in their own Adobe Express account.

Need help?

Write to bulkdesigner@edgidesign.com. That address reaches us directly, and it is the right one for all of:

• Support. Something is not working, or a run produced the wrong result. Tell us what you expected, what happened, and roughly how many rows were involved.
• Feature requests. If the add-on nearly does what you need, we would rather hear it than have you work around it.
• Teams and private builds. Seats, invoicing, security questions, or a private build running on your own infrastructure.

We read every message ourselves — there is no ticket queue behind that address.