Canvas Overview
The canvas is where you compose a VizChat document — a storyboard for step-by-step narration, or a dashboard for a static layout — with the AI reading and writing it directly.
The canvas is where a VizChat document is composed. You place charts, maths figures, tables, rich text, PDFs, embedded pages, images and infographics on it as widgets, and the AI chat beside it reads and writes the same document through tool calls — it edits the document for you rather than telling you what to click.
Two document types
Every document is either a storyboard or a dashboard. You choose the type when you create the document, and that choice is fixed: the two use different layout semantics, so a document is never converted from one into the other.
Storyboard (.stb) | Dashboard (.dsb) | |
|---|---|---|
| Shape | Step-by-step slides with narration | A single static layout, laid out all at once |
| Canvas | Fixed stage at the document's aspect ratio | Infinite surface, widgets placed freely |
| Widgets | The active widgets change from slide to slide | All widgets are present at once |
| Best for | Presentations, teaching, product walkthroughs | Dashboards, knowledge boards, exploration |
| Extras | Playback, narration, present mode | — |
Storyboard is the format the AI produces most often: when you ask for something that should be explained step by step, you get a storyboard. Ask for something to be laid out and seen at a glance, and a dashboard fits better.
What is on the canvas
| Element | Role | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Widget | A content unit: chart, maths figure, table, rich text, PDF, embedded page, image, infographic | Main canvas area |
| Controls | Zoom, fit, lock | Bottom-left (dashboard only — a storyboard's zoom is scroll-wheel / Space+drag) |
| MiniMap | Bird's-eye view of the visible region | Bottom-right on a dashboard; bottom-left on a storyboard, and only once you zoom in |
How widgets get onto the canvas
- Ask in the chat — describe what you want ("make a Q4 2024 revenue bar chart") and the agent creates the widget directly in the document. This is the main path.
- Reuse an existing widget — the agent searches the widget library, which covers both built-in widgets and user-published ones from the Marketplace. Widgets you have favorited stay searchable even when they are not listed publicly.
- Have one built for you — if nothing existing fits, the agent can build a new custom widget and publish it to your private library.
How it differs from Notion / Tableau / Figma
- Notion — a linear document. VizChat gives you a spatial canvas, and a narrated step-by-step form on top of it.
- Tableau — one chart per worksheet. VizChat puts several charts, explanatory text, and source tables into a single document.
- Figma — a vector canvas for design mockups. Every widget on a VizChat canvas is a live, interactive data or content unit, not an image.
Next step
- Widget types overview — what you can place on the canvas
- Storyboard features — narration, playback, present mode
- Canvas keyboard shortcuts
Credits system
$1 = 1000 credits — AI generation, PDF parsing, TTS synthesis, and web search are all metered by real cost.
Built-in Widget Types
What each widget VizChat ships with is for — charts, maths, tables, text, documents, web content, infographics and slides — and where the full reference for each one lives.