New to notebooks? Read Notebook Basics first to understand cells and the run loop.

InkRider gives you two ways to bring existing files into the virtual filesystem: drag-and-drop from your operating system and paste from the clipboard.

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Drag-and-Drop Import

Drop one or more files from Windows Explorer, Finder, or any file manager directly onto the InkRider panel. InkRider intercepts the drop, shows an import dialog, and adds the files to the virtual filesystem.

Supported Files

Any file can be imported. InkRider automatically detects the type from the file extension:

Extension	Detected type	Opens as
.ipynb	Notebook	Visual cell grid
.py	Python script	Raw code editor
.qmd	Quarto Markdown	Visual cell grid (toggle to raw)
.md, .txt, .csv, .json, …	Text file	Raw text editor
.png, .jpg, .xlsx, …	Binary file	Stored in VFS; not executed

Import Options

When the dialog opens you can review and adjust options for each dropped file before confirming:

Per-file options:

• Type override: change the detected type (notebook / script / text / binary) using the dropdown next to the file name. Useful when a .py file should be treated as a notebook with # %% cell markers, or when an .ipynb file should be stored as a raw binary.

• Destination folder: choose which folder in the virtual filesystem receives the file. The default is the type's standard folder (/notebooks/, /scripts/, etc.).

Global options (apply to all files in the drop):

• Embed in document: when enabled, the imported file is also written into the Word document's internal storage (DOCX CustomXML). The file is portable and available without an internet connection wherever the .docx travels. See Embedding Notebooks in DOCX.

• Add to Execution queue: after import, add the imported notebooks to the Execution Tool's batch queue. Combine with the next option to run them immediately.

• Run after import: execute all imported notebooks sequentially as soon as the import completes. Cells with anchors write their output into the document automatically.

• Auto-anchor cells: create document anchors for every cell in the imported notebooks. Useful when running a batch import and wanting all output to land in the document at once.

Dropping Multiple Files

You can drop a folder or multiple files in one gesture. InkRider lists all files in the import dialog. Options are applied globally; the per-file type override is per row.

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Clipboard Import

If you have a Jupyter notebook's JSON content on the clipboard, InkRider can import it directly without writing a file to disk first.

How to Use

1. Copy the contents of a .ipynb file to the clipboard (open the file in a text editor and select all, then copy).
2. In the InkRider panel, use the Import from clipboard action (available from the new-file menu or the VFS Explorer's + button).
3. InkRider validates the clipboard content; it must be valid JSON with a cells array (standard Jupyter notebook shape).
4. If valid, InkRider creates a new notebook with the clipboard content, auto-names it, and opens it in a tab.

Validation

InkRider checks the clipboard before creating the file. If the content does not look like a Jupyter notebook (missing cells array, not valid JSON), the action is cancelled and a message explains the problem.

If the clipboard contains HTML instead of raw JSON (e.g., copied from a browser), InkRider attempts to extract the plain text first.

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After Import

Imported files appear in the virtual filesystem immediately. If the add-in has the VFS Explorer open it refreshes automatically. Notebooks open in a new tab.

If the Embed in document option was selected, the file is also visible in VFS Explorer under the document's embedded assets section with a sync badge showing it is saved to the DOCX.