# Coming from another tool

> There is no importer. Moving to Soleil Clusters means dragging your files in, which for a reference board is usually one drag: drop the folder, and its folders become nested clusters. What differs by tool is what you lose and what you gain — this page maps the concepts across from the six tools people most often arrive from.

_Source: https://clusters.soleilpictures.com/docs/migrating · Updated 2026-10-02_

There is no import button. For a reference board that is less of a problem than
it sounds — dropping a folder takes about as long as an importer would, its
folders become nested clusters, and they [auto-arrange](/docs/canvas/images) on arrival.

What is worth knowing is how the concepts map.

## What transfers

| | |
|---|---|
| **Images and files** | Drag them in. [Any type on Creator](/docs/files). |
| **Screenplays** | Import Final Draft `.fdx` or Fountain — see [screenplay mode](/docs/documents/screenplay) |
| **Text** | Paste into [notes](/docs/canvas/notes) or [documents](/docs/documents) |
| **Layout** | Does not transfer from anything |
| **Comments and history** | Does not transfer from anything |

## Concept mapping

| Their idea | Here |
|---|---|
| Board / canvas / project | [Cluster](/docs/clusters) |
| Folder | A nested cluster — [nesting is unlimited](/docs/clusters) |
| Frame / panel | A [grid](/docs/canvas/grids) cell |
| Sticky note | A [note](/docs/canvas/notes) |
| Tag / label | A [tag](/docs/organize/tags), which can also be a typed entity |
| Comment | A [comment](/docs/collaborate/comments), anchored to a card, group, point or text range |
| Share link | A [public link](/docs/collaborate/sharing), always view-only |

## By tool

**[PureRef](/vs/pureref)** — the closest match for pure reference work. You gain
collaboration, sharing and cloud storage; the tradeoff is that Clusters is a
browser app rather than a native always-on-top window.

**[Eagle](/vs/eagle)** — a different job, so it is usually not a move at all.
Eagle stays the private library on your disk; bring the references one project
needs onto a cluster, where the team builds the board together. Eagle keeps every
original as a real file, so they drag in like any other files.

**[Google Drive](/vs/google-drive)** — keep it for backup and sync. Download the
folder a project needs (Drive hands you a zip), unzip it and drop it on a canvas:
it becomes a cluster with its folders nested inside, every file under its own
name.

**[Milanote](/vs/milanote)** — very similar shape. Boards become clusters,
nesting maps directly, and the card model is comparable.

**[Miro](/vs/miro)** — the whiteboard-to-canvas mapping is direct. Clusters is
built around media and reference rather than diagramming and facilitation.

**[Storyflow](/vs/storyflow)** — boards map to clusters and the references come
across as files. What does not come across is the AI drafting: Clusters does not
generate boards, and connects to [your own assistant](/docs/mcp) instead.

**[Boords, Storyboarder and the other storyboard
tools](/best/storyboard-software)** — panels become
[grid](/docs/canvas/grids) cells, and the script side becomes a
[screenplay document](/docs/documents/screenplay) on the same board.

**StudioBinder** — production management. Clusters covers the visual and
document side; it is not a call-sheet-and-crew-management system, and its
[schedule cards](/docs/canvas/schedule) are being rebuilt. The
[storyboard software roundup](/best/storyboard-software) compares the two
directly.

## Comparisons and alternatives

Roundups of what else is out there, with pricing checked at the date shown:

- [The best PureRef alternatives](/best/pureref-alternatives)
- [The best Milanote alternatives](/best/milanote-alternatives)
- [The best mood board apps](/best/mood-board-apps)
- [The best storyboard software](/best/storyboard-software)

## Practical route in

1. Pick **one** live project rather than migrating an archive.
2. Drop its reference folder onto a canvas — it becomes a cluster, with a nested
   one for each folder inside it.
3. Give things names — names are what [search](/docs/organize/search) works on.
4. Nest sub-clusters where the old tool had folders.
5. Invite the team. [Editors are free](/docs/collaborate), so there is no seat maths.

Archives are usually not worth moving. Leave them where they are and start with
work that is live.

## Moving out again

Worth knowing before you commit: [board exports](/docs/canvas/export) as PNG and
PDF, [document exports](/docs/documents/export) as PDF, Markdown, HTML, `.fdx`
and Fountain, every original file downloadable as uploaded, and the
[REST API](/docs/api) can read everything programmatically.