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What is the canvas feature in ChatGPT and how do I use it?
What is the canvas feature in ChatGPT and how do I use it?

Common questions about using the Canvas feature in ChatGPT.

Updated over a month ago

Plus and Team users can access canvas now, and Enterprise and Edu will be able to access canvas starting October 10th, 2024.

Canvas is a new interface for working with ChatGPT on writing and coding projects that require editing and revisions.

With canvas, ChatGPT can better understand the context of what you’re trying to accomplish. You can highlight specific sections to indicate exactly what you want ChatGPT to focus on. It can also give in-line feedback and suggestions with the entire project in mind.

You control the project in canvas. You can directly edit text or code. You can use the shortcuts to have ChatGPT to adjust writing length, debug your code, and quickly perform other useful actions. You can also restore previous versions of your work by using the back button in canvas.

Canvas is designed to excel at writing and coding tasks, offering a focused and streamlined experience for these activities. While canvas currently does not support images, file uploads, GPTs, shared conversations, or advanced tools, these features will be available soon. In the meantime, you can use GPT-4o for tasks requiring these capabilities.

Accessing canvas on ChatGPT

You can get started with canvas with ChatGPT on web by selecting GPT-4o with canvas from the model picker at the top of the page.

GPT–4o with canvas can better grasp what you’re trying to accomplish. For example, you can ask ChatGPT to generate a piece of writing (eg. "write me a blog post about why a strawberry is a pseudocarp") or draft code for you (eg. “write a web server in python”).

Responses with canvas will automatically open a window on the right-hand side that contains your requested content.

You can typically expect GPT-4o with canvas to open automatically when ChatGPT generates content greater than 10 lines or detects a scenario where it would be helpful.

You can also manually open canvas by saying things like, “open a canvas”, or “open a coding canvas”. This is recommended when the amount of content generated is on the shorter side, or if you want to open a blank canvas. With a blank canvas, you can work on an existing project by pasting it into the blank canvas.

Collaborating with canvas on writing and coding

Canvas with ChatGPT provides access to a bundle of writing shortcuts that enable you to ask for suggested edits, adjust the length of the output, update the intended reading level, and add emojis or a final polish to your piece. To find these shortcuts, hover over the shortcuts menu on the bottom-right of the page.

For writing documents, you can use the following shortcuts:

  • Suggest edits: ChatGPT will add inline suggestions to improve your writing.

  • Adjust the length: shortens or expands the length of your document.

  • Change reading level: adjusts the reading level from Kindergarten to Graduate School.

  • Add final polish: checks for grammar, clarity, and consistency.

  • Add emojis: replaces words with emojis or adds them for extra emphasis and color.

For coding, you can use the following shortcuts:

  • Review code: provides inline suggestions to optimize and improve your code.

  • Add logs: inserts print statements to assist with debugging and tracking execution.

  • Add comments: adds comments to explain the code and improve readability.

  • Fix bugs: detects and rewrites problematic code to resolve errors.

  • Port to a language: translates your code into languages like JavaScript, Python, Java, TypeScript, C++, or PHP.

Some shortcuts will immediately update the contents of your project, like Add emojis, Add final polish, Fix bigs, and Port to a language.

You can restore a previous version of your project at any time by selecting the undo button on the top-right of the page. You can also copy the contents of your project by selecting the copy button.

Other shortcuts can be tweaked with a slider. For instance, the Adjust the length shortcut gives you the flexibility to select options between Shortest to Longest length. The Reading level shortcut enables you to adjust the reading level from Kindergarten to Graduate School.

You can get targeted comment suggestions from ChatGPT by simply selecting the Suggest edits or Review code shortcuts. By clicking on the comment bubble, you can see the specific suggestion provided by ChatGPT. You can either directly edit the flagged item and close the comment, or select Apply to have ChatGPT automatically generate content to address the comment.

When working on a writing task, you also have the option to highlight specific portions of your text or code and Ask ChatGPT to either request edits to that section or ask a question about it. Formatting options can also be accessed by highlighting a piece of text. Basic markdown formatting is supported, including bold, italic, headers, bullet points, and numbered lists. We don’t currently offer more advanced formatting options in canvas.

When using canvas, you can also see what's changed in your writing and code by selecting the "Show changes" icon on the top-right of the screen.

Editing your project with canvas

You can make edits with canvas by simply asking for them in the chat. Additionally, you can select part of the content by highlighting the text or use the block comment icon to select an entire paragraph block. This will open an input where you can provide guidance on what to explain or edit in the selected section.

Additionally, you can also directly edit the canvas content by clicking into the canvas and typing. Please note that only basic markdown formatting options are supported, including bold, italic, headers, bullet points, and numbered lists. We don’t currently offer more advanced formatting options in canvas.

While you cannot select GPT-4o with canvas on ChatGPT mobile apps, you can still view your canvas conversations.

Enabling/Disabling access to canvas in your ChatGPT Enterprise/Edu workspace

ChatGPT Enterprise/Edu admins can enable or disable workspace access to GPT-4o with canvas in their Admin settings. Please note that it may take up to 10 minutes for the update to propagate.

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