Canvas: open space to arrange pins and map ideas
How Canvas works in Pindown: a pan-and-zoom whiteboard where you place pins anywhere, draw annotations, and think spatially before things become a Page or Pinboard.
A Canvas is Pindown's format for thinking on an open surface. You pan and zoom across a large board, drop pins where they make sense, and sketch annotations—lines, arrows, boxes, and labels—to show how ideas connect.
Pages read top to bottom. Pinboards snap to a grid. Canvas is for the messy middle—when you do not know the final layout yet, but you need room to spread out.
What a Canvas is
A Canvas combines:
- A spacious pan-and-zoom board — drag pins around, zoom in and out, and use plenty of room without a fixed grid
- Pin nodes — any pin type (brief, chart, table, image, checklist) placed as a live card on the board
- Annotations — draw lines, arrows, rectangles, and text labels on top of the surface
- Spatial layout — group related pins, cluster by theme, or map a flow left-to-right
- AI chat — ask questions about what is on the canvas while you work
- Share link — send the whole board when the picture is ready
Each pin stays typed and editable. Move it on the canvas without changing what is inside it—and reuse the same pin on a Page or Pinboard later.
If you know whiteboard tools like Miro or FigJam, the feel is familiar: free placement, zoom, and markup. In Pindown, the objects on the board are real pins, not static sticky notes.
When to use a Canvas
- Early brainstorming — dump ideas, research pins, and sketches before picking a final format
- System maps — show how product areas, data sources, or teams relate
- Workshop walls — one shared surface for a live session, then clean up afterward
- Research synthesis — surround a central question with evidence pins and draw links between them
- Before a Page or Pinboard — explore layout spatially, then promote the best pins into a structured format
Canvas vs Page vs Pinboard vs Project
| Format | Layout | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Canvas | Large freeform board | Brainstorming, mapping, early thinking |
| Page | Top-to-bottom scroll | Specs, memos, finished write-ups |
| Pinboard | Fixed grid | Review, monitoring, dashboards |
| Project | Channels + tabs for a team | Client work, launches, ongoing collaboration |
Rule of thumb: start on a Canvas when layout is still open. Move to a Page or Pinboard when you know how people should read or scan the result.
Getting started
- Open /canvases and create a canvas—or ask AI from /home to draft one.
- Add pins from your library or create new ones inline.
- Drag pins into clusters that match how you think about the problem.
- Use annotation tools to connect, frame, or label groups.
- When the structure clicks, copy pins into a Page, Pinboard, or attach the canvas to a Project tab.
Frequently asked questions
How is a Canvas different from a Pinboard?
A Pinboard is a grid—great when you know the tiles and want a dashboard. A Canvas is freeform and spacious—better while you are still discovering the layout.
Can I use a Canvas inside a Project?
Yes. A Project content tab can attach a whole canvas alongside pages, pinboards, and chat.
Do pins on a Canvas stay reusable?
Yes. The same pin can sit on a canvas today and on a Page or Pitch tab tomorrow. Update once, everywhere updates.
When should I stop using a Canvas?
When the team needs a fixed reading order (→ Page) or a repeatable dashboard (→ Pinboard). The canvas did its job; the format carries it forward.
Can I share a Canvas?
Yes. Share the full canvas link for workshops and reviews, or pull individual pins into a narrower share when someone only needs one piece.