Explore the Canvas 2022

Canvas Overview

The canvas, also called the preview window is the working area where you arrange, rotate, resize, and order the appearance of media on the timeline.

1. The canvas tools and project settings are located in the toolbar above the canvas.
2. The final video only includes media within the canvas boundary.
3. The z-order position of media on the canvas is set by the placement of media on the timeline. Media on the top timeline track appears in front of media on lower tracks on the canvas.
4. The canvas offers boundary guidelines to help you snap media to the edge, center, or align with other media.
5. Click the playback buttons to preview the video.

Canvas Tools

The canvas tools are located in the toolbar above the canvas.

Change Canvas Background Color	The canvas background displays in the final video if media or assets do not cover the entire canvas. For the entire video: Right-click the canvas and select Project Settings. The Project Settings dialog appears. Select a color from the Color dropdown. Click Apply. For a portion of the video: Click the Annotations tab. Click the Shapes subtab. Drag a rectangle onto the canvas. Drag the handles until the annotation covers the entire canvas. Right-click the annotation on the canvas and select Arrange > Send to Back. In the properties, select the desired background color from the Fill color dropdown and the Outline color dropdown. Drag an end of the annotation on the timeline to set the duration for the background.
Turn Edit Mode On	Edit mode allows you to resize, arrange, and rotate media. After using Crop or Pan, click Edit to continue working on the canvas.
Turn Crop Mode On	Crop removes the unwanted outer areas of a video or image. Click Crop to turn crop mode on. On the canvas, drag the blue handles to remove the desired area. Click Edit to return to edit mode.
Turn Pan Mode On	When zoomed in on the video at a high magnification level, use Pan mode to move the video around within the boundaries of the canvas. Click Pan to turn pan mode on. In Pan mode, the cursor turns into a hand on the canvas. Click and drag the video on the canvas to view an area of the video not currently shown on the canvas. While in Pan mode, the canvas editing features are disabled. Click Edit to return to edit mode.
Detach or Attach Canvas	To detach the canvas: Right-click an empty area of the canvas and select Detach Canvas. You can move the detached canvas to the desired location on your screen or enable full screen mode. To reattach the canvas: Right-click an empty area of the canvas and select Attach Canvas.
Switch to Full Screen Mode Windows Mac	While the canvas is detached, click the Full Screen button to expand it to fit the entire screen. All editing features are still enabled while working in full screen mode. Press the Esc key to exit full screen mode.
Change the Canvas Magnification	Click the Canvas Options dropdown menu to change the magnification level of the video on the canvas. This does not change the canvas dimensions / editing dimensions. Select Fit to view the entire video within the boundaries of the canvas. When the view is magnified, click the Pan to enable moving the video around within the boundaries of the canvas.

Edit Media on the Canvas

Learn how to control the appearance of media in a video with the following canvas actions:

Select Media	Click to select the media on the canvas. To select multiple media, Shift+click media on the canvas.
Move, Resize, or Rotate Media with canvas controls	Move media: Click and drag the media to a new location on the canvas. Resize media: Drag a handle on the media in or out. Rotate media: Drag the center handle on the media to rotate. Note: To adjust the size of the Canvas controls such as the handles to resize and rotate on Windows only, select Edit menu > Preferences > Program tab. Select an option from the Canvas control size dropdown.
Show/Hide Canvas Ruler (Windows Only)	Select View menu > Show/Hide Canvas Ruler to enable or disable the canvas ruler.
Open Media Properties	Click to select the media on the canvas. To select multiple media, Shift+click media on the canvas. Click the Properties button to view the Properties panel.
Reorder Media	Right-click media and select Arrange. The media updates on the timeline to reflect the new z-order.
Align Media	Use the canvas guides to align media. As you drag media on the canvas, the guides appear. Drag media on the canvas until it aligns with the edge, center, or other media guidelines. To disable canvas snapping guidelines, select View > Enable Canvas Snapping to remove the checkmark.