Electric is able to read and write circuits in a number of different formats. This is done with the Import and the Export commands (in menu File). See Section 3-9-2 for more on Import; see Section 3-9-3 for more on Export.
To properly control translation, use the many preferences dialogs for the different file types (in menu File / Preferences..., "I/O" section).
The next few sections describe control of different I/O formats.