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Overview

ProDex can export an entire factory to a portable .prdx file and import one into any ProDex workspace. Both actions live in the factory selector: click the factory name at the top of the sidebar, then open Factory files → Export Factory or Import Factory. A .prdx file is a snapshot of a factory at the moment of export — models, entities, BOMs, pipeline code, and configuration, plus your Dexter conversations if you choose to include them. It also records references to some data stored outside the file. The recipient does not need access to your organization to import it, but moving data between organizations or environments can require separate files and fresh pipeline or simulation runs.
The in-app Share factory flow delivers a copy directly to teammates in your organization and supports published updates. Enter recipients by email; addresses outside the organization are skipped. Export is the right tool for backups you hold as files, moving between environments, and working across organizations.

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Exporting a Factory

  1. Open the factory you want to export
  2. Click the factory name at the top of the sidebar to open the factory selector
  3. Open Factory files and click Export Factory
  4. In the Export Factory dialog, choose whether to Include chat conversations (see below), then click Export
  5. The file downloads as {factory-name}.prdx
The export captures the factory’s state at the moment you click. If your account doesn’t have certain features enabled (for example, planning), those sections are omitted and the rest exports normally.

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Including Chat Conversations

Conversations are left out unless you tick Include chat conversations. When ticked, your Dexter chats in this factory go into the file — the transcripts and Dexter’s reasoning text — and anyone who can open the file can read them. The choice applies to that one export; the box starts unticked every time.

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Sending Your Uploaded Data Files

The .prdx file doesn’t contain the data files you uploaded. If the factory has uploads, the dialog lists them and offers Download data files ZIP, which downloads all of them in one ZIP. When you send the factory to someone, send the ZIP along with it; after importing the .prdx, they extract the ZIP and upload the files on the Data page.

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Importing a Factory

  1. Open the factory selector and choose Factory files → Import Factory
  2. Select a .prdx file
  3. ProDex creates a new factory in your workspace with the imported contents
Importing always creates a new, independent factory — it never merges into or overwrites an existing one. If the import shares a name with a factory you already have, both exist side by side. Changes to the imported factory never affect the original, and vice versa.
You can import a .prdx from any ProDex user, including one in a different organization. Importing never changes the source factory. Review any import warnings for data that could not be transferred.
Simulation runs are copied into the new factory. In the same ProDex environment their results come with them; when you import into a different environment, the runs arrive without their detailed results, so re-run them there.

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What’s Included in an Export

Simulation datasets do not travel between environments. A run’s summary values — its KPIs and chart data — are part of the export, but the large underlying artifacts (the full event time-series and animation datasets) live outside the file. When you import into a different ProDex environment, those imported runs arrive as placeholders: re-run the simulation to regenerate their detailed output. (Within the same environment, the datasets remain available.)

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Pipeline and Dataset Data

Pipeline source code travels in the .prdx file. Pipeline input files and dataset tables are referenced rather than embedded. Import can reuse them only when the destination is authorized to read those stored files; being in the same environment alone is not enough. A missing pipeline input is skipped with a warning, and a dataset whose files are unavailable is skipped with a warning. When transferring to another organization or environment, send the required input files separately, upload them in the destination, and run the imported pipelines to rebuild their datasets. Tables with manual edits or no pipeline need their own data backup. Keep an eye on import warnings: a successful factory import does not prove that all of its data arrived. For in-app sharing, selected pipelines and datasets can carry their stored data directly. General uploads still require an explicit selection in the share dialog.
Because the knowledge base travels with the export, a transferred factory keeps its operational knowledge — process rules, terminology, and corrections Dexter has learned — not just its structure.

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File Format

.prdx files use a compressed binary format: not plain JSON, not human-readable, and — importantly — obfuscated rather than encrypted. Treat one like any unencrypted data file and share it through channels appropriate to the factory’s sensitivity. The format is versioned internally: importing a .prdx created by an older version of ProDex migrates the data to the current schema automatically, so old exports remain importable.

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Choosing the Right Mechanism

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Use Cases

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Backups Before Major Changes

Before rebuilding a model, restructuring BOMs, or reconfiguring planning inputs, export the factory. If something goes wrong, importing the backup restores the previous state as a new factory, leaving your current one untouched until you’re ready to switch.

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Collaboration Across Organizations

.prdx files let you work with external consultants, partners, or clients without granting them access to your ProDex instance. Export, send the file, and they import it into their own organization. Each party works independently on their own copy.

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Moving Between Environments

Most teams work in a single ProDex workspace, but if you ever need to move a factory to a separate workspace or instance, export it and import it there. The same mechanism seeds a reference or starter setup: build one factory, then hand the .prdx to others so each can spin up their own copy to build on.

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Limitations

  • One-way transfer: export and import create independent copies; there is no sync back to the original.
  • No selective export: you export the whole factory, not individual models or components.
  • No merge on import: importing always creates a new factory. (Admins can consolidate factories afterward with Merge factories.)
  • Some Dexter context stays behind: general uploaded files, generated report files, and scheduled jobs are not part of the export, and conversations travel only if you opt in. (Its knowledge base and custom workflows do travel.)