Import a blueprint string
Copy the whole string from a design page. A complete string begins with the digit 0; a string cut short will not import.
Open your save and look at the shortcut bar, the strip of small buttons in the lower right corner. Press Import string there; the blueprint library window has no such button.
Paste the string into the box that opens and confirm.
The blueprint is now on your cursor. Place it, or drop it into the blueprint library to keep it for later.
You know it worked when the design follows your cursor with its icons and shows as ghost outlines where you place it. This works the same in Factorio 2.0 and with or without Space Age; R rotates the blueprint and H or V flips it before placing, except designs with train stops or rail signals, which only rotate.
Screenshots of the 2.0 import dialog are not available yet; the steps name each button instead.
Import a blueprint from the clipboard
Yes, the string comes from your clipboard: copy it on this site, then paste it with Ctrl+V into the Import string box. Pressing Ctrl+V while the blueprint library is open does not import anything.
Import a blueprint book
A blueprint book imports exactly like a single blueprint: use the same Import string button and paste the book string. The whole book lands on your cursor, and you can open it to pick a page or store it in the library.
Import a blueprint book from a string
Paste the book's string into Import string; nothing else is needed. Very large books can make a string too long to paste in one go, in which case import the book in parts.
Import string button missing
The Import string button sits on the shortcut bar at the bottom of the screen, in the bottom row of the default layout, not in the blueprint library. If you have moved or removed shortcuts, look for the icon of a sheet with an arrow there and add it back.
Blueprint import not working
- Check the whole string was copied: use the copy button on the design page rather than selecting by hand.
- Linux players using X11 get pastes cut off near 64,000 characters; choosing Wayland as the video driver in the game settings, or splitting a big book, avoids it.
- Dragging a text file onto the 2.0 window fails if the file starts with a UTF-8 byte-order mark; copy the text out of the file and paste that instead.
- A string exported by a newer game version, such as 2.1 experimental, may not import into 2.0. Every design on this site was exported by 2.0 or, for three balancers, 1.1.
Importing blueprints without robots
You can import and place a blueprint before you have construction robots. Placing it leaves ghost outlines that show exactly what goes where; build each piece by hand on its ghost. Holding Shift while placing puts down the parts that are not blocked by existing buildings.