Canvas gives your project a visual space to map ideas, organize plans, and connect related items.
Add a Canvas tab
Open your project and select + beside its tabs.
Choose Canvas under Apps.
Enter a name and select Add.
For more about managing project tabs, see Tabs.
Add items
Open Add in the top-right corner of your Canvas and choose an item:
Idea: Capture a thought, note, or plan.
Action: Create a Hive action in the project and display it on the Canvas.
Goal: Add a visual goal card.
Role: Add a visual role card.
Grouping: Add a frame to organize related items.
Goal and Role cards are Canvas items; adding them does not create a linked Hive goal or workspace role.
Edit and arrange items
Double-click an Idea, Goal, or Role card to edit its Title, Details, and Color. Changes update as you type; there is no separate Save button in the editor.
Double-click an Action card to open its linked Hive action.
Drag cards to move them. Select a card to reveal its resize handles. Use the zoom controls and fit-view button in the lower-left corner to navigate the Canvas.
Connect and group items
To connect cards, drag from a connection point on one card to a connection point on another. These lines show relationships on your Canvas; they do not create Hive action dependencies.
To group existing items, hold Command on Mac or Ctrl on Windows while selecting them, then choose Add → Grouping. Choosing Grouping without a selection creates an empty frame.
Turn an idea into an action
Right-click an Idea card.
Select Convert to action.
This creates a Hive action in the project using the idea’s title and details, then links the Canvas card to that action. Double-click the card to open it.
Choose a layout
Open the layout menu beside Add. It initially shows Freeform.
Freeform: Arrange cards manually.
Mindmap, Org chart, and Goals tree: Automatically arrange Canvas items into a structured layout.
Network diagram: Display the project’s action dependency diagram instead of the Canvas cards.
Choosing an automatic layout can reposition your cards. Network diagram is a separate view of project dependencies, not an automatic layout of your ideas. Switch back to a Canvas layout to return to your cards.
Read the Network diagram
Network diagram displays dependencies between project actions. If it is empty, open an action card and add relationships in its Dependencies section. Connecting Idea cards on the Canvas does not populate this diagram.
Add start and end dates to your actions for duration and critical-path analysis. If dates are missing, durations may be approximate.
Critical: The action has no scheduling float in the calculated network. A delay can push back the network’s calculated finish.
Float: The calculated scheduling flexibility before an action delays the network’s finish. For example, 3d float means three days of flexibility.
These values reflect the current dates and dependencies, not a separate priority setting.
Select Organize to arrange the diagram, or Fit view to bring the whole network into view.
Work together
Canvas supports live collaboration. The header shows Connecting while establishing the connection and Live when ready. Collaborators’ cursors can appear as they work on the same Canvas.
Export your Canvas
Select Export in the project header to download a PNG image. Adjust the view before exporting to frame the content you want to show.