OBF Export & Board Sharing

What is OpenBoardFormat?

OpenBoardFormat (OBF) is an open standard for describing AAC communication boards. It was created so that vocabulary boards are not locked into any single app. An OBF file is a JSON document that describes tiles, folders, labels, symbols, and board layout in a way that any OBF-compatible application can read.

Pie Talker supports OBF because your vocabulary belongs to you. If you spend hours customizing a communication board, you should be able to take it with you—to another app, another device, or as a backup.

Exporting Your Vocabulary

To export your current vocabulary as an OBF file:

1. Open Settings (tap the gear icon).
2. Go to the Vocabulary tab.
3. Tap Export as OBF.
4. A JSON file downloads to your device. On most browsers, it goes to your Downloads folder.

What is included in the export

• All tiles — labels, speech labels, Fitzgerald Key categories
• Folder structure — the complete hierarchy of folders and sub-folders
• Symbol references — ARASAAC symbol IDs so the receiving app can fetch the same images
• Board layout — tile order and grid organization

Sharing Boards

Once you have an OBF file, you can share it in several ways:

• Email — attach the JSON file and send it to another caregiver, therapist, or teacher
• Cloud storage — save it to Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud, or OneDrive as a backup
• Direct transfer — AirDrop, Bluetooth, USB drive, or any file-sharing method your devices support

This is especially useful for therapy teams. A speech-language pathologist can build a vocabulary on their device, export it, and share it with a family to import on their home tablet. The entire board structure transfers intact.

Importing Boards

To import an OBF file into Pie Talker:

1. Open Settings → Vocabulary tab.
2. Tap Import OBF.
3. Select the OBF JSON file from your device.
4. The vocabulary loads into Pie Talker, creating all tiles and folders described in the file.

You can import boards created in other AAC apps, boards shared by other Pie Talker users, or your own backups. The import process adds the new vocabulary alongside any existing tiles.

Backup and Recovery

Because Pie Talker stores everything on-device with no cloud account, OBF export is your backup strategy. We recommend exporting your vocabulary periodically, especially after making significant customizations. Store the file somewhere safe—a cloud drive, email it to yourself, or save it on a USB drive.

If you ever need to start fresh, clear browser data, or move to a new device, you can import your backup and pick up right where you left off.