What you need to do before downloading

Before you can download your AP Art submission, you need to have already uploaded your work to the College Board's AP Digital Portfolio. The download option only appears after your submission is complete and saved in the system. You cannot download work that has not yet been uploaded, and you cannot download other students' submissions — only your own.

Make sure you have your College Board account login information ready. If you have forgotten your password, you can reset it on the College Board website before you start. You will also need to know which AP Art course your submission belongs to — either AP Art and Design, AP Drawing, or AP 2-D Art and Design, depending on which exam you are taking.

Check that you are using a web browser that the College Board supports. Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge all work. If you are using an older version of Internet Explorer, you may run into problems. Make sure your internet connection is stable before you begin, since interrupted downloads can corrupt files.

Key Takeaways

  • You can only download submissions you have already uploaded to your College Board AP Digital Portfolio account.
  • Log in to the College Board website, navigate to your portfolio, find the submission you want, and select the download option next to it.
  • Downloaded files arrive as a compressed folder containing all your images, documentation, and metadata in the format the College Board uses.
  • Keep your downloaded files in a safe location with a backup copy, since the College Board may delete your portfolio after grades are released.

Step-by-step download process

Go to the College Board website and log in with your account credentials. Once you are logged in, look for "AP Digital Portfolio" in the menu or search for it in the site's navigation. Click on the portfolio link to open your account.

Find the AP Art course that contains the submission you want to download. The portfolio organizes submissions by course, so you may see multiple courses listed if you are taking more than one AP Art exam. Click on the course name to open it and see all your submissions for that class.

Locate the specific submission you want to download. Each submission is usually labeled with a title or date. Next to the submission, you should see a download button or a menu with a download option. Click that button. The College Board will prepare your files and begin the download to your computer.

Wait for the download to complete fully before closing the browser or moving the file. Depending on your file size and internet speed, this can take anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes. Once the download finishes, you will have a compressed folder (usually a .zip file) on your computer containing all the components of your submission.

What the downloaded file contains

When you download your AP Art submission, you receive a single compressed folder that holds all the images, documents, and information associated with that submission. The folder typically includes high-resolution versions of your artwork images, any written documentation you uploaded, and metadata files that record when you submitted the work and what course it belongs to.

The exact contents depend on which AP Art course you took. AP Drawing submissions include your 15 images plus your concentration statement and artist statement. AP 2-D Art and Design submissions include your 12 images plus the same written statements. AP Art and Design submissions may include images from multiple disciplines. All of these files are organized in folders within the main download.

You will need to unzip or extract the compressed folder before you can view the individual files inside. On Windows, right-click the folder and select "Extract All." On Mac, double-click the folder and it will extract automatically. Once extracted, you can open the images and documents with any standard program — image files are usually JPEGs, and documents are usually PDFs.

Where to save your downloaded files

Save your downloaded submission folder somewhere you can find it again. Many students create a dedicated folder on their computer called "AP Submissions" or "AP Portfolio" and keep all their downloads there. Avoid saving files only to your Downloads folder, since those files are often deleted when you clean up your computer.

Consider keeping a backup copy in a second location. You could copy the folder to an external hard drive, a USB flash drive, or a cloud storage service like Google Drive or OneDrive. The College Board typically keeps submissions in your portfolio for a period after grades are released, but that access eventually expires. Having your own copy ensures you can access your work years later if you need it for a college application, a portfolio review, or your own records.

Do not rename the main folder or move files around inside it immediately after downloading. The College Board's file structure is designed to keep everything organized. If you want to organize the files differently, make a copy of the folder first and reorganize the copy, leaving the original intact.

Troubleshooting download problems

If the download button does not appear or is grayed out, your submission may not be fully saved yet. Go back to your portfolio, click on the submission, and check that all required fields are filled in and all images are uploaded. Save the submission again if needed, then return to the download screen and refresh the page.

If the download starts but stops partway through, your internet connection may have been interrupted. Try the download again, but this time use a wired connection if possible instead of WiFi. If you are on WiFi, move closer to your router. Close other programs that use the internet, like video streaming or large file transfers, before you try again.

If the downloaded file is corrupted or will not open, try downloading it again. If it still does not work, try using a different web browser. Sometimes a browser cache issue can cause problems. You can also try clearing your browser's cache and cookies, then logging back in and downloading again.

If you see an error message that says you do not have permission to download the file, make sure you are logged in to the correct College Board account. You can only download submissions from your own account. If you are logged in correctly and still see the error, contact College Board support through their website.

What to do if you cannot find your submission

If you uploaded your work but cannot find it in your portfolio now, check that you are looking in the correct course. AP Art submissions are organized by course name, and it is easy to click the wrong one if you are taking multiple AP Art exams. Look at the course list and make sure you are in the right class before you assume the submission is missing.

If you are in the correct course but still do not see your submission, it may not have saved properly. Log out of your College Board account completely, wait a minute, and log back in. Sometimes the portfolio takes a moment to update and show newly uploaded work. If the submission still does not appear, try uploading it again.

If you remember uploading the work but it has disappeared from your portfolio, contact College Board support. Explain when you uploaded the submission and what course it was for. They can check their records to see if the file was received and help you recover it or upload it again if needed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I download my submission more than once?

Yes. You can download your submission as many times as you want while it is in your portfolio. Each download creates a new copy of the files, so you can make multiple backups if you want to. There is no limit on how many times you can download the same submission.

What format are the image files in when I download them?

Image files are typically in JPEG format, which you can open with any photo viewer or image editing program. The College Board compresses images to keep file sizes manageable, but the resolution is high enough for most purposes. If you need the original uncompressed files, you may need to contact College Board support to ask if they can provide them.

Can I edit my submission after I download it?

You can edit the files on your own computer after you download them, but those changes will not be reflected in your College Board portfolio or sent to the graders. If you want to make changes to your actual submission before the deadline, you need to upload the new versions to your portfolio through the College Board website, not edit the downloaded files.

Will my downloaded files still work if I move them to a different computer?

Yes. Once you have downloaded and extracted your submission folder, you can move it to any other computer and the files will open normally. You do not need to be logged into the College Board website to view downloaded files. Just copy the folder to the new computer and open the images and documents as you normally would.

What happens to my submission after I graduate?

The College Board keeps submissions in your portfolio for a limited time after grades are released, but eventually that access expires. If you want to keep your work, download it before that happens. Once you have downloaded your submission and saved it to your own computer or backup storage, you will have access to it permanently, regardless of what happens to your College Board account.