Canvas is le Chat’s built-in editor for creating, editing, and refining text, code, spreadsheets, and more, collaborating with the AI right inside your chat.
🔑 It pairs le Chat’s natural language understanding with a flexible editor: ask, generate, tweak, repeat.
Prerequisites
Activating Canvas
Unlike other tools, Canvas is off by default in le Chat.
To turn it on, open the Tools menu at the bottom of the chat window (1) and check the box next to Canvas (2).
Opening the tools menu (1) and selecting Canvas (2)
📌 The Canvas tool is available alongside other tools like Code Interpreter or Web search. You can activate multiple tools at the same time.
How to open a Canvas
We designed Canvas to be easy to use and seamlessly integrated into your workflow.
Once the feature is activated, just chat with le Chat as you normally would and it will automatically open a Canvas when helpful.
Try prompts like:
“Create a presentation on the history of AI.”
“Write a Python script to analyze this dataset.”
“Design a web page for a small business.”
Or simply: “Open a new Canvas.”
📌 You can also open a Canvas explicitly by typing / in your prompt and selecting Canvas from the tools menu.
Core features
Inside a Canvas, you can take advantage of several key features.
Direct editing
Click directly in the Canvas to edit text, code, or a spreadsheet, just like in a standard editor (available actions vary by format).
🔑 You can open multiple Canvases at once. Switch between them using the tabs at the top of the chat window.
Preview
Use the Preview eye button in the Canvas toolbar to toggle between raw code/text and a rendered view for formats like HTML & React (web pages), Mermaid (diagrams), and Marp (presentations).
Click the eye icon to toggle between raw and rendered views
Iteration and versioning
After le Chat generates content, you can ask for follow-up edits (for example, make this more formal, add a button to this component), and it will produce new revisions quickly.
Move between versions using the arrows in the top-left corner of the Canvas (1).
Toggle the diff view on/off (2) to compare changes.
Restore the version you're viewing or revert to the latest version using the buttons at the bottom (3).
Navigate versions (1), toggle diff (2), and restore or revert (3)
Interactive prompts
Canvas lets you interact with your content in real time using inline prompts.
When you select a block of text, an Ask le Chat input appears. Enter a question or instruction, and le Chat will respond based on your selection.
Ask le Chat about a selected block of content
🔑 Highlighted elements (text, a spreadsheet row, etc.) are automatically included in the conversation context until you deselect them.
Selecting a block also reveals predefined actions you can use to refine or analyze your content (see Quick actions ⬇️).
Quick actions
Highlight content or click the Quick actions button (✨ in the bottom-left of the Canvas) to access predefined actions (for example, Translate, Optimize, Visualize).
These context-aware actions vary by format and act as shortcuts to common tasks.
Example quick actions for a text block
Export or share
When you're finished, click the Share button in the toolbar to share the whole conversation (including the Canvas).
You can also export your work, or copy the raw content (text, code, Markdown, etc.) to your clipboard by clicking the Copy button.
Use Share to share the conversation or Copy to copy raw content
Next steps
Canvas is versatile. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
Create a presentation on a topic and refine it with le Chat.
Import a spreadsheet and ask le Chat to analyze the data row by row.
Write a blog post or article on a specific subject.
Polish an important email or message before sending it.
Write a Python script to analyze a dataset, then visualize the results.
Test and preview a React component in real time.
Ask le Chat to debug a JavaScript function or port it to another language.
🔎 You can also pair Canvas with le Chat’s other tools (for example, Libraries or Connectors).