Canvas
9
Lessons
0
Videos
All
Skill Level
All about Canvas
Use our simple design editor tool with a gallery of screen-ready templates to quickly create simple content.
For more complex or animated content, use GoYucu to choose from thousands of design templates, and quickly add your own finishing touches.
Opening the Canvas Editor
Start by going to the Canvas tab in your device portal.
Choose which type of canvas you want to create.
There are four main options for what you can do within Canvas:
- Create a new canvas from scratch
- Create and save a new canvas template
- Use a premade template from the Gallery
- Edit an existing canvas
In the following steps, we’ll walk you through each of the four options, as well as some of the other features available in Canvas.
Creating a New Canvas from scratch
To start designing a new canvas from scratch select the “New Canvas” button.
Name your canvas and choose from a landscape or portrait design depending on the format of your screen. Then click “Create Canvas”
There are a variety of design options available for editing and customizing your canvas template. These are explained below:
Adding Text
Selecting “Text” will add a text box to your canvas.
Using the right-hand tool panel, you can customize how your text appears by changing the alignment/positioning, font type, color, opacity, and size.
You can reposition any text by dragging it around in your canvas builder, and resize or rotate it using the handles on its bounding box.
Uploading Images
You can upload images directly into your canvas by clicking the “Images” button in the toolbar on the left side of the canvas builder screen.
Upload your brand logos or other images, or import them from sources like Dropbox or your Media library.
Pro Tip: Having your logos and any other brand layers saved in your Media library will make it faster for you to create new canvases.
You can reposition your image by dragging it around on your template, and resize or rotate it using the handles on its bounding box.
Cropping & Shaping Images
You can also easily crop your images within Canvas, as well as easily set them into a shape.
Adding Shapes
The current shapes available include Circles, Rectangles, Squares, Triangles, and Pentagons. This is a great way to create an image background or badge, to help different layers stand out within your design.
Click the shape of your choice in the left-hand toolbar to create a shape layer.
You can change the color, opacity and size of shapes using the settings on the right-hand side of your canvas builder.
Background Color
Whenever no layers are selected, the “Background” panel will be visible on the right-hand side of your canvas builder.
You can change the background color, or upload an image which will show behind all of the layers in the canvas.
Background Image
Upload an image to use as your template background by clicking “Use Image”.
Lower panel features
As well as the right-hand toolbar there is also a lower panel features bar (see image below) that lets you take specific actions such as undoing and redoing an action and duplicating a layer or element.
Undo and Redo Actions
The undo and redo arrows are in the bottom-left corner of the canvas builder.
Duplicate Content
Select a piece of content (e.g. text, image, etc.) and click the “Duplicate” button in the bottom-left of the builder.
Delete Content
Select a piece of content (e.g. text, image, etc.), and press backspace OR delete OR click the “Delete” button in the bottom-left of the builder.
Ability to Cut, Copy, and Paste
Similar to commands on your computer or alternative photo editing tools, you can right-click any item in the template to quickly cut, copy, and paste any item.
Here’s an overview of computer commands you can use in Canvas, respective to your platform (e.g. Windows or macOS):
Cut: Ctrl + X or Cmd ⌘ + X
Copy: Ctrl + C or Cmd ⌘ + C
Paste: Ctrl + V or Cmd ⌘ + V
Locking layers of your canvas
Lock layers of your canvas to avoid accidentally changing them.
To lock an item, simply select it and choose the padlock icon from the right-hand side menu.
Locking layers is especially useful for setting up templates where only select elements can be changed without fear of accidentally altering the overall design.
Adding QR Codes and Links
Add a QR code to your design so smartphone users can easily access your links.
The code comes in black or white, and can also be placed with a transparent background.
When creating the QR code, be sure to size it according to your screen size and how far the screen is from your viewers.
The statistics for scans of QR codes that you have created in Canvas can be found in the Metrics tab.
Resizing your Canvas Designs
Resize your canvas at any time using the “Resize Canvas” button on the right-hand menu.
In the “Set your Canvas dimensions” window, select an orientation and size from the dropdown menu. Select “custom” to enter your own dimensions.
Creating and Saving a New Canvas Template
Canvas allows you to create new templates, or convert existing canvases to templates.
To create a new template, while in the Canvas tab, go to the “My Templates” tab at the top menu, and then click “New Template” in the top-right. Create your template, and then click “Save & Close” in the top-right corner.
To convert an existing canvas into a template, go to “My Canvases” and hover over a canvas. Click the three dots, and then select “Save as Template” in the dropdown menu. The template will now appear under the “My Templates” tab.
To make changes to a template, find it in “My Templates,” hover over it, click the three dots, and from the dropdown menu, select either “Edit Template” or “Duplicate” to edit or create a new version of the same template.
To create a new canvas using that template select “Use Template”. Any edits to a New Canvas won’t change the core Template.
When creating a new Canvas using a Template, ensure you rename your new Canvas by clicking on the header field. Otherwise, it’ll get difficult to tell different variations apart later when adding them to a channel or playlist.
Using a Premade Template from the Gallery
To use one of the existing professionally designed canvas templates, go to the “Template Gallery” tab at the top of the screen, and then click “ScreenCloud Templates.”
Select a template to edit. The edited version of the template will now appear under the “My Canvases” tab.
Editing an existing Canvas
To edit an existing canvas, go to the “My Canvases” tab, and choose a canvas to edit.
Any changes you make will automatically update the canvas in any channel, playlist, or screen it is playing within.
Tagging Canvases and Canvas Templates
To tag canvases or templates by category so you can easily find them later, hover over the canvas or template of your choice and click the “Add Tags” icon under the name.
Each new tag will appear below the tabs at the top of the Canvas screen. To filter canvases by tag, simply click the tag at the top of the screen.
Click a tag selection again to clear it.
Setting Canvas Date Availability
You can set availability for your canvases, so it will start and end on a specified date across multiple channels.
This is distinct from the scheduling feature within the channel itself, and will override it if the availability of the canvas has expired.
To set availability, first select the canvas you would like to edit. From within the canvas builder screen, click the three menu dots at the top-right corner. Then, click “Set Availability,” and toggle the “Enable Availability” switch on.
Once a start date has been set, a calendar icon will now display on the canvas’s thumbnail in the Canvas library to indicate that its availability has been set. This will also be visible on the canvas’s content item in the channel builder.
To set the canvas to run indefinitely after the start date, leave the ”expire at” option empty.
Previewing your Canvas
Once you’re done customizing your Canvas you can select Preview in the top right-hand corner to Preview how your Canvas looks before adding it to a Playlist or Channel.
Adding a Canvas to your Channel
First, go to the Channels tab, and select a channel.
While inside the channel builder, click the “Add Content” button.
In the new “Media Picker” window, select the Canvas tab, and then select the canvas you’d like to use, then click the “Add” button.
Drag and drop content items to rearrange your channel loop.
Once you are done, click “Publish” to make your changes live.