Learning Goals 3 min
By the end of this lesson you will be able to:
- Give your project a clear, memorable name instead of
Untitled-1. - Use File → Save to your computer to download an
.sb3file. - Reopen that
.sb3file and show your sprites and scripts coming back exactly as you left them.
Warm-Up 7 min
Across five lessons you built a complete scene: two characters, two scripts, one flag click. There is only one thing left to do, and it is the thing that keeps all of it.
Quick-fire puzzle
Aaina spent an hour on this script, then accidentally closed her browser tab. She reopens Scratch and starts a new project. Is her script still there?
when flag clicked
move (50) steps
wait (1) seconds
move (50) steps
Reveal the answer
Gone completely. Scratch in a browser keeps your project in memory only. Close the tab without saving and there is nothing to recover — no bin, no undo, no autosave.
(If Aaina had a scratch.mit.edu account and were signed in, Scratch would have saved to her account as she worked. Without one, the only safety net is the Save to your computer button.)
New Concept — three places to save 15 min
Imagine spending ten minutes drawing on a whiteboard, then someone wipes it clean. An unsaved Scratch project is exactly that whiteboard. Saving is taking the photo before it gets wiped.
The three places Scratch can save
| Where | How | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Your computer | File → Save to your computer (downloads an .sb3) | Anyone — works with no account. Best for school. |
| A scratch.mit.edu account | Sign in, and projects save to your account as you work | Pupils with a parent’s email. Reach your work from any computer. |
| Scratch Desktop (offline) | File → Save, writing an .sb3 to a folder you pick | Classrooms with no internet. Same file format as the web. |
What is an .sb3 file?
An .sb3 is one small package holding your whole project — every sprite, costume, sound and block. Drop it into the Scratch editor and everything comes back. Send it to a friend and they can open your project on their computer.
One file, one project. That is why naming it well matters.
The File menu
At the very top of the editor, just right of the Scratch logo, sits File. Click it and three options drop down.
The project name
New projects start life as Untitled-1, Untitled-2, and so on. Click that box and type something you will recognise: My First Scene, Cat Meets Andie, Aisyah KL Hello. Whatever you type becomes the filename when you save.
Why it matters
You will build dozens of projects over the coming lessons. If you do not save, each one vanishes when the tab closes, and homework cannot come back to class. Saving is not a chore — it is the habit that makes everything else possible.
Worked Example — save, close, reopen 15 min
We will take your finished scene through the full cycle: name it, save it, deliberately lose it, then bring it back.
Step 1 — Check your scene runs
Click the green flag. The cat should move and speak; the friend should answer. If something is missing, fix it now — you want to save a scene that works.
when flag clicked
say [Hello, KL!] for (2) seconds
move (50) steps
Step 2 — Name the project
Look at the top of the editor. The name box says Untitled-1. Click it, erase it, and type My First Scene. Press Enter. The name is now part of the project — but the project itself still is not saved.
Step 3 — Open the File menu
Click File at the very top. The drop-down appears with three choices.
Step 4 — Save to your computer
Click Save to your computer. Your browser downloads My First Scene.sb3. Open your Downloads folder and look at it — that small file is six lessons of work.
Step 5 — Now close the tab
Close the Scratch tab. Yes, really. The editor is gone and so is everything in it. The only copy of your scene is now that file.
Step 6 — Open Scratch again
Go to scratch.mit.edu and click Create. You get a brand-new empty project: the default cat, no friend, no scripts. This is what “lost” looks like.
Step 7 — Load your file back
Click File → Load from your computer. Find My First Scene.sb3 in Downloads and open it.
Step 8 — Click the green flag
The name at the top reads My First Scene. Both sprites are back on their marks. Both scripts are intact. Click the flag and the whole scene plays exactly as before.
What changed: your work is no longer trapped in one browser tab. You can close the laptop, come back next week, and carry on from precisely here. This is the most important habit in the whole course.
The full assembled stack (your reference)
when flag clicked
say [Hello, KL!] for (2) seconds
move (50) steps
Try It Yourself — three save drills 12 min
Goal: Start a fresh project, build the tiny script below, and save it under a name you choose — something Malaysian, like Roti Canai Cat, Penang Hop or Teh Tarik Time. Then find the file in Downloads.
when flag clicked
say [Selamat pagi!] for (2) seconds
Think: rename before you save. Save first and the file is called Untitled-1.sb3, and renaming the file afterwards does not change the name stored inside the project.
Goal: Save the same project twice, as Cat-v1 and then Cat-v2. Between the two saves, change the move number. You end up with two files holding two different versions of one project.
when flag clicked
move (50) steps
when flag clicked
move (100) steps
Think: versions are an undo button that survives closing the tab. Made a change you regret? Load the older file and carry on from there.
Mini-mission: the recovery test. Prove to yourself that a saved file really is complete. Load last lesson’s three-sprite homework, change something noticeable, save it under a new name, then load the old file back.
It works if: after loading the old file, your change has vanished and everything else is exactly as it was — and the new file is still sitting in Downloads, unharmed.
Think: a reloaded project is identical to the saved one, right down to sprite positions. Nothing carries over from the version you had open a moment ago.
Mini-Challenge — the swap-and-load test 5 min
“Daniel and Priya swap projects”
Build a small project, save it with a sensible name, and trade files with a partner. Each of you then opens the other’s project and runs it untouched.
It works if:
- Each project is saved with a clear name — nothing called
Untitled. - Your partner loads your file successfully with File → Load from your computer.
- Once loaded, the project runs exactly as its author built it: same sprites, same positions, same behaviour on the flag.
- Neither of you had to explain anything for it to work.
Reveal one valid solution (teacher)
Daniel saves Daniel-Cat-Hop.sb3 containing this stack. Priya loads it and clicks the flag — Daniel’s cat hops twice across her Stage.
when flag clicked
move (40) steps
wait (1) seconds
move (40) steps
This is how homework, portfolio pieces and shared projects all travel between computers: one file, fully portable, nothing else needed.
Recap 2 min
Today you learned the habit that protects everything else. Save to your computer packs your whole project into one .sb3 file; Load from your computer brings it back. A real project name turns a forgettable Untitled-7 into something you will still recognise next term.
- .sb3 file
- One file holding an entire Scratch project — sprites, costumes, sounds and scripts.
- Project name
- The box at the top of the editor. Whatever you type becomes the filename when you save.
- Save to your computer
- The File-menu option that downloads your project as an
.sb3. - Load from your computer
- The File-menu option that opens an
.sb3saved earlier, by you or anyone else.
Homework 1 min
The Save-Habit Drill. Build three small projects, save each one, close Scratch, then bring all three back.
- Build the three-block project below and name it
Hello-KL. Save it, then check Downloads. - File → New. Build a different small project with any sprite. Name it
Race-Start. Save it. - File → New again. Build a third. Name it
Practice-3. Save it. - Close the browser tab completely. Reopen Scratch and load all three files in turn.
when flag clicked
say [Selamat datang!] for (2) seconds
move (30) steps
Bring back next class:
- A screenshot of your Downloads folder showing all three
.sb3files by name. - Your answer to this question: “Why might you save two versions of the same project under different names?” (Hint: think about the medium task.)
Heads up for next class: SCR-L01-07 starts a brand-new arc. We look closely at move (10) steps — what a “step” really is, what negative numbers do, and how the cat begins its garden stroll.