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Introduction to a Canvas (UI Overview)

This article introduces the main Canvas and related controls. 

1. To change the name of a Canvas, click on the edit icon.

 

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2. A pop-up with two fields will appear. The first one represents the name of the Canvas (required), while the second one represents the description (optional). After you make the changes, click “Ok” to save them.

 

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3. Next to the canvas's title, between brackets, you can see the data region for each particular Canvas.

 

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4. If you need more working space on the screen, you can collapse the left navigation bar by clicking on the arrow in the bottom left corner. 

 

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5. To expand it back to its original look, click on the arrow in the corner again.

 

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6. The three categories named Add/Transform/Export Data can be minimized in the block list, leaving just the ones of interest visible. To minimize a category, click on the down arrow next to its name.

 

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7. To make the options visible again for one category, click on the arrow again.

 

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8. In the canvas space, you will add and connect all your blocks. This space can also be adjusted using the zoom in/out buttons on the left. Using pan and zoom you have infinite space on this Canvas to develop large, complex workflows.

 

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9. On the left, under the zoom options, you have the "undo" button. As it suggests, it removes the last action made in the canvas.  You can undo every action in the Canvas.  You can also revisit a Canvas and continue to undo the previous actions.  The undo feature includes adding, connecting, and moving blocks, as well as entering expressions.  

 

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10. The next button is called "Pan Canvas." It gives you the option to quickly move through the Canvas if there are more blocks than you can fit in one screen. Click and hold the button to move to another area and then release. The same effect can be obtained if you click and hold anywhere in the white area.

 

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11. The second way to use this is to select multiple blocks at the same time. Click on the button on the left and then click on the white space and draw an area. All the blocks in the area will be selected, and you will be able to click and move them all simultaneously.

 

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Canvas Run Controls

At the top of the canvas, there are three buttons. The first one is called "Refresh All Inputs" and will refresh all the input data blocks; it is very useful if you made changes to the files and you need those changes to reflect here before moving further. 

The second one is the "Stop" button, which cancels all actions currently running on the Canvas. 

The third one is the "Run" button, which runs the entire flow and writes to all outputs. This processes the SQL on every output block, it does not refresh every node on the Canvas. 

 

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To learn more about the standard block controls, visit this article.

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