Visual Space manual, Live Apps, Use Canvas In A Meeting

Use Canvas in an activity meeting to review artwork together or make focused changes without leaving the shared stage. The meeting opens the same durable Canvas file you can use outside the call, so the work remains available after the meeting ends.

Before You Open Canvas

Live apps are available in supported activity meetings. Direct-message calls do not support live apps.

Before starting, check these points:

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You must be able to open the space area that owns the Canvas. Private-area membership and the file's normal access rules still apply.

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Opening an existing Canvas does not grant new access to it.

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Creating a Canvas requires the applicable Canvas access and Coordinator status. If either is missing, use an existing accessible file or ask an eligible Coordinator to create one.

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Choose one active editor. Canvas shares accepted saved versions, but it does not merge two people's brush strokes or other unsaved changes at the same time.

Open A Canvas On Stage

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Open Live Apps - In the meeting stage, choose Live Apps from the meeting actions; the meeting Live Apps guide explains how the shared stage behaves.

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Choose Canvas - Select Canvas to open the Canvas Explorer for the meeting's space area.

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Browse the area - Move through the available folders and documents until you find the artwork you need. Only Canvas documents you are allowed to access can be opened.

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Open existing work - Select the Canvas document. It becomes a meeting feed and opens on stage with its familiar workspace, tools, and panels.

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Create when eligible - If the work does not exist yet, choose New Canvas. Creation stays subject to Canvas access, Coordinator status, and the destination area's access rules.

You are ready when the document name and artwork appear on the stage. Other participants can select the Canvas feed just as they would select a camera or shared screen.

Choose Canvas from the meeting's Live Apps picker before browsing the activity's accessible files.

!Night postcard Canvas workspace open as the selected live-app feed on an activity meeting stage

The meeting uses the same durable Canvas workspace while keeping the room's layout and call controls around it.

Review Or Edit Together

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Name the active editor - Agree who will make changes before anyone starts painting, transforming layers, or editing text. Everyone else can follow the stage and discuss the result.

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Work in the Canvas workspace - The active editor can use the usual Canvas tools and panels. The meeting does not create a temporary copy; changes belong to the same Canvas file.

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Keep discussion in context - Use Article for the document's supporting text and Comments for discussion about the Canvas as a whole. These panels do not attach notes to an individual layer, selection, or brush mark.

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Adjust the meeting view - Move between grid, stage, and focus layouts when the group needs a different view. A layout-only change preserves the currently selected matching Canvas document.

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Switch artwork deliberately - To work with another Canvas, choose Browse files and select the new document. Selecting a different Canvas replaces the current Canvas target on stage and starts a separate document session; it is not another view of the previous artwork.

Watch The Save Status

Canvas saves supported edits automatically. Before changing documents or leaving, let the current save settle and read any status shown near the workspace:

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Saving changes soon or Saving Canvas changes means work is waiting to be saved or is currently saving.

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Reconnecting. Saves may be delayed. means the connection is recovering. Keep the Canvas open and avoid handing editing to another person until saving resumes.

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Save delayed. Changes stay local. means the latest changes have not reached the shared file yet. Do not treat another participant's view as current.

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Reloading latest Canvas means Canvas is replacing the open state with the latest accepted saved version, usually after it detects that another saved version is newer.

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Autosave paused means the current project has crossed the active save boundary shown in the status. Preserve the work locally when possible and resolve the project size before relying on shared autosave.

A participant viewing the same Canvas can refresh to the latest accepted saved version. This is a saved-version refresh, not simultaneous paint merging. If two people make unsaved edits at once, Canvas cannot safely combine their strokes. Pause, decide which saved version should continue, and keep one active editor.

Return Or End Safely

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Return to the explorer - Choose Browse files when you want to leave the current artwork but keep working with Canvas in the meeting. Wait for pending save activity first.

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Change the selected feed - Select another meeting feed when you only want to watch a participant, screen share, or other active content. This does not end the Canvas for the room.

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Close only when intended - If you started the live app, Close live app stops it for everyone in the meeting. Use this only after the group has finished and the save status is settled.

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Leave the meeting normally - Ending your own participation does not turn the meeting Canvas into a disposable copy. The saved Canvas remains in its owning area for later use.

The workflow is complete when the intended Canvas is saved, participants have reviewed the accepted version, and you have returned to the explorer or another meeting feed without interrupting pending work.

If Something Does Not Work

If Canvas is unavailable in Live Apps, confirm that this is an activity meeting rather than a direct-message call. If New Canvas is unavailable, creation access or Coordinator status is missing. If an existing file does not appear, check the owning area and your access to it, especially for private areas.

When save or reconnect status does not settle, stop editing and keep the document open while the connection recovers. Avoid opening a competing edit session. If Canvas reloads, review the visible result before continuing so the group knows which saved version is now active.

For the editor's tools, limits, and collaboration model, see Canvas. To prepare the file before the call or reopen it afterward, follow Create, save, and reopen Canvas artwork. Return to Live Apps for the wider shared-workspace family.