It is 7:40pm. Zainab has just finished a flyer for a client's weekend promo, and it looks great. Now the real work starts.
She exports it from Canva. She saves it to her phone gallery. She opens her scheduler. She scrolls past 3,000 photos looking for one flyer. She uploads it, waits, and hopes it is the right version.
By the time the post is ready, 25 minutes are gone, and the flyer was the easy part.
This guide shows you a shorter way. With Rooli, you connect Canva once, design from inside your post, and pick your finished design straight from your Media Library. No gallery. No exporting. No hunting.
Why Design and Scheduling Belong in One Place
Most social media managers jump between three or four apps for one post. One for design. One for files. One for captions. One for scheduling.
Every jump costs you time, and every jump is a chance to attach the wrong file. That is the old way: screenshots, chaos, and Sunday night scrambles.
Rooli keeps the whole path together. You design in Canva, your design lands in your Media Library, and you attach it to a post in the Content Scheduler. Everything stays in your workspace, ready to publish to Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, and X.
The screens in this guide are from the mobile view. On a bigger screen the layout looks different, but the buttons carry the same names.
What You Need Before You Start
You only need two things:
A Rooli account
A Canva account
You connect the two once. After that, Canva is one tap away every time you create a post.
Step 1: Connect Canva to Rooli
Do this once, and you are set.
Open your Media Library
Open the menu, click on Library and tap Media Library. At the top, you will see a card called Rooli for Canva. It says you can design and import straight into your Media Library.
Tap Connect to Canva
Tap Connect to Canva. A Canva page opens. Log in with Google, email, Apple, or Facebook, whichever you normally use.
Allow access
Canva will ask if Rooli can access your account. Read the list, then tap Allow. When you see "Connected! You can close this window," tap Proceed to return to Rooli.
Check the card
Back in Rooli, the card now shows a green Connected label with your Canva email. If you ever want to unlink, there is a Disconnect button right there.
Your Canva connection is private to you. It is never shared with other workspace members.
Pro Tip: Connect Canva with the same email you use for your Canva designs. That way, your older designs show up in Rooli without any extra work.
Step 2: Design with Canva From a New Post
This is the fastest way to create something new.
Start a new post
Tap the + button at the top to open Create New Post. Choose your social profiles first. Then scroll to the Media section.
Tap Design with Canva
Next to Browse files, you will see Design with Canva. Tap it.
Pick a canvas size
A window asks you to pick a canvas size. The list is grouped by platform, starting with Instagram (Post Square, Story, Reel) and Facebook (Post, Cover, Video). Choose the one that matches where the post is going, so your design is the right size from the first click.
Design in Canva
Tap Open Canva. Canva opens in a new tab. Design your post as usual.
Return to Rooli
When you are done, tap Return to App. Rooli shows "Saving your design to Rooli..." for a moment. Then a message appears: "Your new design was saved to Rooli."
Your design is now in your Media Library, and you are back in your post, ready to attach it.
Pro Tip: Pick the canvas size before you pick your caption. A Story and a Square post need different layouts, and fixing a design after the fact takes longer than starting right.
Step 3: Add Media From Your Media Library
Your Media Library holds every photo and video you have added to Rooli. Pulling from it is the cleanest way to reuse your best work.
Open the Browse files menu
In Create New Post, scroll to Media and tap Browse files. Two options appear:
Import from device for files on your phone or computer
Import from media library for files already in your Rooli workspace
Choose Import from media library
Tap Import from media library. A window opens called Import from Media Library, with a grid of everything you have saved.
Select your media
Tap the image or video you want. A tick appears on it, and the bottom of the window shows how many you have picked, for example "1 selected."
Tap Add to post
Tap Add to post. Your media appears as a small preview in the post. If you picked the wrong one, tap the red X on the preview to remove it.
You can attach more than one file. Drag the previews to change their order.
Step 4: Bring Your Older Canva Designs Into Rooli
You do not have to start from scratch. Designs you already made in Canva can come across too.
Open the Canva Designs tab
Go to Media Library. Under the Rooli for Canva card, you will see two tabs: Media Files and Canva Designs. Tap Canva Designs to see your designs from Canva.
Import the one you want
Each design has two small buttons. One opens it in Canva. The other imports it into Rooli. Tap the import button on the design you want.
A message tells you "Import started. We'll notify you when it's complete." You can keep working while it runs. When it finishes, you will see "Your Canva design is ready in the Media Library."
Switch back to Media Files, and your design is there, ready to attach to any post.
Step 5: Edit a Design Later Without Losing the Original
Spotted a typo on a flyer already in your library? You can fix it without starting over.
Tap the Canva icon on a design in Media Files. An Edit in Canva window asks how you want to save your changes:
Save as new copy keeps the old file and adds the edited version beside it
Edit and replace swaps the old file for the new one
Cancel closes the window with no changes
Your original Canva design is never deleted either way.
Pro Tip: Use Save as new copy when a design is already attached to a scheduled post. That way, your scheduled content stays exactly as planned while you work on the new version.
Know the Media Limits
Before you upload, keep these limits in mind:
Up to 10 files per post
Images up to 10MB
Videos up to 1GB
Other files up to 10MB
Rooli also tells you that you can continue with what you are doing while a file uploads, so a big video does not hold you up.
Finish and Schedule Your Post
With your media attached, the rest takes a minute.
Write your caption in the Content box. You have up to 2,200 characters. If you want help, the AI Assistant can draft one for you.
Check Content Type. It starts as Post.
Check your Timezone. It starts on West Africa Time (WAT), which suits most of our readers.
Pick your date and time, then schedule.
Changed your mind halfway? Rooli asks if you want to Save as draft or Discard and leave, so your work is never lost by accident. Drafts and scheduled posts live together in your Content Library, where you can filter by status and find anything quickly.
Want to keep every design looking like the same brand? Set up your Brand Kit once, and use the same colours and fonts every time you open Canva.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a Canva account to use this? Yes. You connect your own Canva account to Rooli, and your connection stays private to you.
Does Rooli delete my designs in Canva? No. Your original Canva design is never deleted, even when you choose Edit and replace in Rooli.
What is the difference between Media Files and Canva Designs? Media Files are the photos, videos, and designs already saved in Rooli. Canva Designs are the designs in your Canva account. Import a Canva design, and it becomes a media file you can attach to any post.
How many files can I attach to one post? Up to 10. Images can be up to 10MB each, and videos up to 1GB each.
Can I keep using Rooli while a file uploads or imports? Yes. Rooli lets you continue working while uploads run, and it notifies you when a Canva import is complete.
How do I disconnect Canva? Open Media Library and tap Disconnect on the Rooli for Canva card.
Which platforms can I schedule these designs to? Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, and X. Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok connect free, and LinkedIn and X come with paid plans.
Your Next Post Starts Here
Stop exporting, saving, and searching. Connect Canva once, design from inside your post, and pick your media from one library.
Start your free trial at rooli.co.
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