Want to learn about using Coda as a writing surface? Start here.

So what is “the canvas”? When you open a Coda doc, you’ll see a page with a blinking cursor. This is the canvas: the blank surface of the Coda doc. It is where the actual content of the doc lives. You can add both structured and unstructured content to the canvas.

This article will primarily focus on how to add unstructured data - text, images, emojis - to the canvas. It serves as a good starting point to learn about the basics of working in a Coda canvas.

❓Wondering about the difference between the canvas and a canvas column? A canvas column is a type of table column that essentially contains a “mini” canvas in each cell. It allows you to put anything you might put on a page, inside a single cell. While this article is written primarily about the main canvas (rather than the canvas column), most of the info and instructions can be applied to either.

Add content to the canvas

There are a few different ways to start adding unstructured content to the canvas:

Just start typing: Look for the blinking cursor on the page, and start typing.
Keyboard shortcuts: Coda docs support a large number of keyboard shortcuts. Using just a few keystrokes, you can add a header to a page, insert a hyperlink, create a callout, and much more. Check out this article to learn all about the available keyboard shortcuts.
Use the slash command: The slash command allows you to quickly insert anything into the canvas of a doc, ranging from tables to code blocks to headers. To use the slash command, simply type / into a new line on the canvas. This will open the insert menu. You can keep typing to search for what you’re after, or you can scroll to explore the options.

Edit text

Coda docs offer robust text editing. Check out the sections below to learn about all of the text editing options.

Open the text formatting bar

The text formatting bar is an inline toolbar that allows you to add text formatting (bold, italics, etc.), change font color, change paragraph types, and more. To open the text editing bar, you can do any of the following:

On a blank line, hit the command key on a Mac or the Ctrl key on a PC.
To edit existing text, highlight the text, then hit the command key on a Mac or the Ctrl key on a PC.

Edit text size & style

There are a number of different ways to edit the text in your canvas. You can use the options below to create visually appealing, organized, engaging, and personalized pages.

Basic text editing: Change the size of your text, change the font type, add color, or apply standard formatting (bold, italics, underline, etc.). To learn about these text editing options, check out this article.
Change paragraph types: Beyond just plain text, Coda offers a number of different paragraph types: from headers and lists, to code blocks and callouts. Learn all about the options here.

Add hyperlinks

You can turn text into a clickable link by adding a hyperlink. This allows you to quickly link out to external or internal resources, and includes a preview of the linked location.

To add a hyperlink, start by highlighting the text you wish to convert. Then you can either click the hyperlink icon on the text formatting bar, or use one of the following keyboard shortcuts:

On a Mac: ⌘ + K
On a PC: Ctrl + K

Then paste the URL into the appropriate field.

To edit or remove a hyperlink, you can simply right-click on the hyperlink, then choose Edit or Remove.

💡 If you’re trying to link to a page within the same document, you can also use an @ reference. Head to this help article for more info on how to do that!

For tips on formatting links in the canvas, check out this guide.

Undo and redo

Two useful actions you might find yourself taking while working in the canvas are undo and redo. You can undo or redo editing using the common keyboard shortcuts:

On a PC: Ctrl+Z for undo; Ctrl+Y for redo
On a Mac: ⌘+Z for undo; ⌘+Shift+Z for redo

If needed, you can also access these actions by clicking on the three-dot menu in the upper-right corner of the doc, then selecting Redo or Undo from the list of options.

Other canvas features

Looking for even more ways to make your canvas shine? Below are some additional canvas features that you can utilize to improve organization and

Line separators: Choose from several different types of horizontal line separators. This is a great way to visually break up sections of text, especially on long pages. Simply type /line into a blank line of the canvas to explore the line separator options.
Emojis: To add an emoji, just start typing /emoji anywhere in your doc. This will bring up the list of emojis you can search through. Alternatively, if you know the name of the emoji just start typing : followed by the name of the emoji. For example, if you would like to add the 🐝 emoji to your text, type :bee: into the canvas.

Reactions: A reaction is an interactive canvas feature that can be used to engage users and readers of your doc. For instance, you can add a “Done reading” reaction that lets readers indicate when they’ve finished reading a page. Learn more here.
Images: A picture is worth a thousand words. Images can be embedded directly into the canvas of your doc. Learn all about it here.

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