Documentation
Everything you need to master CanvasIQ in five minutes.
Getting started
Open the Workspace and start drawing — no account needed. The left panel holds tools and styling, the canvas sits in the middle, and the right panel has Properties, Layers and the AI Copilot. On phones the tools live in the bottom toolbar.
Your work stays in memory only (refreshing clears it). Use Export → Project to save a .canvasiq.json file you can reopen anytime via Export → Open project.
Tools & keyboard shortcuts
| Tool | Key | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Select | V | Drag empty space for marquee select; Shift-click to multi-select. |
| Pan | H | Or scroll to pan, Ctrl/Cmd+scroll to zoom, pinch on touch. |
| Pencil | P | |
| Brush | B | |
| Marker | M | |
| Eraser | E | Click or drag over objects to remove them. |
| Line | L | Hold Shift to snap to 45° angles. |
| Arrow | A | |
| Rectangle | R | |
| Ellipse | O | |
| Polygon | G | |
| Text | T | Click the canvas, type, Enter to commit. Double-click any text to edit. |
Undo / Redo: Ctrl/Cmd+Z and Ctrl+Y (or Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+Z) — up to 100 history states. Duplicate: Ctrl/Cmd+D. Select all: Ctrl/Cmd+A. Delete: Delete/Backspace.
Layers
The Layers tab lets you create, rename (double-click), hide, lock, reorder and delete layers. Group moves the current selection onto a fresh layer. Locked layers ignore all pointer input — handy for backgrounds and templates.
CanvasIQ AI Copilot
The Copilot (right panel → AI) has four modes:
- Draw — text to vector art: logos, silhouettes, floor plans, illustrations.
- Diagram — architecture, flowcharts and org charts laid out automatically.
- Shapes — smart geometry: wireframes, dashboards, device frames, product boxes.
- Assist — reviews your actual canvas and suggests layout, alignment, color and accessibility improvements.
Every AI response is structured JSON that is strictly validated and sanitized before any shape is created — raw AI output is never rendered. Generated artwork lands on its own layer, fully editable.
3D mode
Switch the top-bar toggle to 3D. Add cubes, spheres, cylinders, cones and tori, or extrude an SVG path from your 2D canvas. Drag to orbit, scroll to zoom. Select an object to move/rotate/scale it with the gizmo, and tune color, metalness and roughness in Properties. Four lighting presets: Studio, Daylight, Sunset, Night.
Exporting
- PNG — 1–3× scale, optional transparent background.
- SVG — true vectors serialized from the shape model.
- PDF — A4 document with the design fitted and branded footer.
- Project (JSON) — full document you can reopen later.
- GLTF / OBJ / STL — your 3D objects, ready for engines and 3D printing.
All exports are generated client-side. Nothing is uploaded anywhere.
Privacy & FAQ
Is my work saved? Only in memory while the tab is open — by design. Export a Project file to keep it.
Does it work in Incognito? Yes — CanvasIQ uses no cookies, no local storage and no tracking.
What does the AI see? Only the prompt you type (plus a structural summary of your canvas in Assist mode). Requests go through the CanvasIQ server so the API key is never exposed to your browser.