Understanding the Canvas
The Canvas—also known as the Designer Studio—is the workspace where you visually build your digital signage content. This environment allows you to combine text, images, videos, live embeds, and interactive elements into a single layout. Understanding how the Canvas works is essential before diving into the individual elements.
The Layout of the Designer Studio
The Canvas is organized into three main sections, each serving a different purpose in the design experience.
1. Left Sidebar: Tools & Element Library
The left sidebar contains the full list of elements you can add to your layout. These include images, videos, text, embeds, Google integrations, sliders, and many more. Clicking any item will place that element directly onto the canvas.
2. Central Workspace: The Canvas
The central area is your live design surface. Its size matches the resolution and orientation you selected when creating the content. Here, you can drag, resize, layer, and position elements freely.
You can interact with elements by:
- Clicking to select a single element.
- Right-clicking on any element to open a comprehensive context menu for quick actions.
- Dragging to move selected elements.
- Pulling handles to resize elements directly.
- Using the context menu or keyboard shortcuts to adjust layering.
When you right-click an element, a context menu appears offering the following options:
- Copy, Paste, Duplicate, & Delete: Quickly manage your elements without using the top toolbar.
- Layering Controls: Fine-tune the stacking order of your elements.
- Bring to Front: Move the element to the very top of the stack.
- Bring Forward: Move the element up one layer.
- Send Backward: Move the element down one layer.
- Send to Back: Move the element to the very bottom of the stack.
- Fit to Screen: Automatically resize and center the selected element within the canvas view.
The Canvas represents exactly how your final design will appear on the screen.
3. Right Panel: Properties Panel
When you select an element, the right panel displays all editable properties specific to that element. This may include:
- Size and dimensions
- Position coordinates
- Background and opacity
- Typography settings
- URLs or data sources
- Fit modes
- Volume and playback controls
- Animation or behavior options
The panel updates dynamically based on the element selected.
Now that you understand how the Canvas works, the next section will guide you through every element type you can add. Each element has its own capabilities, behavior, and configuration settings.