# What happens to my projects if I can't afford to pay Pro fees?
**URL:** https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/what-happens-to-my-projects-if-i-cant-afford-to-pay-pro-fees/32281
**Category:** Modeling Questions
**Created:** [June 2, 2024, 5:01pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/what-happens-to-my-projects-if-i-cant-afford-to-pay-pro-fees/32281 "2024-06-02T17:01:54Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@automatom](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/automatom)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2024, 5:01pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/what-happens-to-my-projects-if-i-cant-afford-to-pay-pro-fees/32281/1 "2024-06-02T17:01:54Z")
When I first started using Shapr iirc you were only allowed 1 project under the free license, so (don’t tell anyone) I would make multiple designs in a single project. 5 years later and this has led to a huge mess of unorganised bodies and sketches, which has started to slow my computer down when editing. I read you can now have 2 projects under the free license, so I was thinking of spoiling myself and branching out. The problem is I am disabled and can’t afford to pay for the software every month, so I generally pay for a month here and there when I need to export and finalise my designs. My question is, if I start using multiple projects and then don’t pay for the Pro version, will it then lock me out of all but 2 of them?
I hope that made sense. Thanks everyone.
---
### Author:  [@Oregonerd](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Oregonerd)
#### Post date: [June 3, 2024, 5:38am UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/what-happens-to-my-projects-if-i-cant-afford-to-pay-pro-fees/32281/2 "2024-06-03T05:38:16Z")
Why not export the project in Shpr format. Delete it from the project and continue on? Then import it back when you need it. Not sure if it would work as I have an older license.
---
### Author:  [@automatom](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/automatom)
#### Post date: [June 3, 2024, 1:08pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/what-happens-to-my-projects-if-i-cant-afford-to-pay-pro-fees/32281/3 "2024-06-03T13:08:18Z")
I never thought about that actually! I’m so used to companies _coughadobecough_ limiting what you can do locally that it never even crossed my mind. I shall investigate!
---
### Author:  [@automatom](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/automatom)
#### Post date: [June 3, 2024, 2:31pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/what-happens-to-my-projects-if-i-cant-afford-to-pay-pro-fees/32281/4 "2024-06-03T14:31:05Z")
Just tested it out and it seems to work fine. I don’t know if you’d know this, but is there a way I could now split my cluttered project up into separate ones? Would isolating designs and exporting as project work?
---
### Author:  [@Oregonerd](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Oregonerd)
#### Post date: [June 3, 2024, 2:35pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/what-happens-to-my-projects-if-i-cant-afford-to-pay-pro-fees/32281/5 "2024-06-03T14:35:55Z")
Try using folders and in the export dialog check the visible only when exporting. Hide the stuff you don’t want exported. I think it works for .shpr exports?
If you organize in projects in folders this would be a snap. 🫰
---
### Author:  [@automatom](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/automatom)
#### Post date: [June 3, 2024, 2:39pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/what-happens-to-my-projects-if-i-cant-afford-to-pay-pro-fees/32281/6 "2024-06-03T14:39:31Z")
I’m not sure folders were a feature at launch? so it’s kind of been a mess from the start. I need to get into better habits with it for sure. Maybe I could try and create some folders now and go from there…
---
### Author:  [@Bob3DPO](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Bob3DPO)
#### Post date: [June 3, 2024, 3:24pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/what-happens-to-my-projects-if-i-cant-afford-to-pay-pro-fees/32281/7 "2024-06-03T15:24:48Z")
Hey Tom,
First step would be to export in .shapr format, and name it something like Full Backup.
Depending on what you want to keep from your designs, you have some choices.
- exporting in .shapr format keeps _everything_. Sketches, construction planes/axes, bodies, history, etc., even if they are hidden (by the “eye” icon or by isolation)
- exporting in x\_t format keeps bodies, and only those that are not hidden.
If you just want to keep bodies, you can use isolation to get only the items you want in view then export as x\_t.
If you want to keep sketches for each “sub-project” you’ll need to delete other sub-projects and their sketches then export as .shapr. Note: with current parametric version, when you delete a sketch, you also delete things dependent on that sketch. Then for the next “sub-project” use a copy of the Full Backup and repeat.
Final step is make a new project, import what you exported and make sure you have everything you want and it looks OK.
---
### Author:  [@automatom](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/automatom)
#### Post date: [June 3, 2024, 3:38pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/what-happens-to-my-projects-if-i-cant-afford-to-pay-pro-fees/32281/8 "2024-06-03T15:38:01Z")
Ah yeah, that sounds like I plan! Export entire project, then import, delete, export. Then start again importing the full project until everything is separate. This sounds doable! I’ve got myself into such a mess because my brain isn’t very organised.
Oh yeah, I noticed that the other day with the parametric. Sometimes I would just delete a sketch to get it out the way of something I was trying to do. But it started deleting the body it created too! I think with this parametric stuff I’m going to need to be even more organised. I have so many unnamed sketches that it’s literally impossible for me to pinpoint ones I need to hide.
Also with the parametric stuff it really needs a separate project for each design I think. Well, best get cracking!
---
### Author:  [@Shaun](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Shaun)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2024, 2:16am UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/what-happens-to-my-projects-if-i-cant-afford-to-pay-pro-fees/32281/9 "2024-06-04T02:16:19Z")
It would be good to get an official answer on this. I do wonder how long projects are kept for after a subscription stops.
---
### Author:  [@automatom](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/automatom)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2024, 7:30am UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/what-happens-to-my-projects-if-i-cant-afford-to-pay-pro-fees/32281/10 "2024-06-04T07:30:48Z")
Yes I totally agree, this thread has helped me find a short-term solution but I would still like to know what happens long-term
---
### Author:  [@Oregonerd](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Oregonerd)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2024, 4:29pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/what-happens-to-my-projects-if-i-cant-afford-to-pay-pro-fees/32281/11 "2024-06-04T16:29:26Z")
Good question. But do not forget the value of backing up projects locally.
Shapr should have a tic box to do exactly that when you exit.
---
### Author:  [@symonty](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/symonty)
#### Post date: [June 5, 2024, 5:36am UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/what-happens-to-my-projects-if-i-cant-afford-to-pay-pro-fees/32281/12 "2024-06-05T05:36:03Z")
I basicly had the same concern and was not sure if it was worth the money. In the early days the pricing was very weird and the chance that I would continue using it was slim.
So since the very beginning ( i have been using shapr3d for 4+ years I think ). I have been exporting every project in native format and even to the extent that I export on every major step ( Since there was no history or even folders in those days )
---
### Author:  [@automatom](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/automatom)
#### Post date: [June 5, 2024, 8:14pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/what-happens-to-my-projects-if-i-cant-afford-to-pay-pro-fees/32281/13 "2024-06-05T20:14:31Z")
Better to be safe than sorry, when they moved over to their own account system with cloud storage I lost a massive design I’d worked months because I had to factory reset my iPad
---
### Author:  [@Mrch](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Mrch)
#### Post date: [June 11, 2024, 6:31am UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/what-happens-to-my-projects-if-i-cant-afford-to-pay-pro-fees/32281/14 "2024-06-11T06:31:53Z")
Still not clear on what happens though. Currently on trial, let myself go with multiple projects. When trial ends, which 2 projects will I be able to access? Newest 2? Oldest 2? Random? None? I choose?
---
### Author:  [@automatom](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/automatom)
#### Post date: [June 11, 2024, 8:38am UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/what-happens-to-my-projects-if-i-cant-afford-to-pay-pro-fees/32281/15 "2024-06-11T08:38:54Z")
Let me know what happens, as it’s about to happen to me too, but you might be sooner
---
### Author:  [@automatom](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/automatom)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2024, 2:10pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/what-happens-to-my-projects-if-i-cant-afford-to-pay-pro-fees/32281/16 "2024-06-17T14:10:35Z")
Okay for all those interested. What happens if you no longer subscribe…
Well mine expired yesterday and the deal is your 2 most recently opened projects remain accessible, but any others are locked out with not even the option to export them to a file. So unless you resubscribe these are essentially not yours anymore.
Gotta say I’m slightly disappointed. This reeks of Adobe…
---
### Author:  [@Steve](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Steve)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2024, 3:51pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/what-happens-to-my-projects-if-i-cant-afford-to-pay-pro-fees/32281/17 "2024-06-17T15:51:05Z")
In fairness to Shapr3D, you could have exported/saved all of your projects into multiple formats (many easily useable by other CAD programs) before your subscription ended. They’re still storing your two “free” projects at their expense on their servers, and they do keep your other projects for at least a little while (again, at their expense) so you can resubscribe (even for just a month) if you want to use them.
Although, like many others, as a casual, hobbyist user, I do wish that Shapr had a more economical option, I do think their unpaid option is extraordinarily generous and powerful. And I’m more than happy to pay for the occasional month when I need the extra features.
---
### Author:  [@automatom](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/automatom)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2024, 4:05pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/what-happens-to-my-projects-if-i-cant-afford-to-pay-pro-fees/32281/18 "2024-06-17T16:05:36Z")
Yeah I understand you can export before your sub ends but this was more of an experiment to see what happens if you forget. They could at least make the locked projects read only like Autodesk do…
A hobbyist license would be brilliant, I would accept just having 2 projects but with high quality exports for a lesser monthly fee. They could even limit some of the texturing options that not many hobbyists tend to bother with.
In regard to using their cloud for free, lets be real cloud services benefit the companies more than they do the user. They are often used to lock people into ‘ecosytems’ these days. You could quite easily let users link their own cloud service like Drive or iCloud if you were worried about server costs.
---
### Author:  [@Steve](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Steve)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2024, 5:23pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/what-happens-to-my-projects-if-i-cant-afford-to-pay-pro-fees/32281/19 "2024-06-17T17:23:20Z")
> [@automatom](#):
>
> I would accept just having 2 projects but with high quality exports for a lesser monthly fee.
Not feasible unless they limit imports.
---
### Author:  [@automatom](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/automatom)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2024, 5:36pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/what-happens-to-my-projects-if-i-cant-afford-to-pay-pro-fees/32281/20 "2024-06-17T17:36:25Z")
> [@Steve](#):
>
> Not feasible unless they limit imports.
Well it is, as you would limit the app in other areas, one example I just gave. And just because importing is a workaround it’s still added effort over cloud syncing.