Setting Up the Canvas
The canvas is the white (or colored) rectangle that represents the final output. Setting it up correctly at the start saves work later.
Creating a new template
Section titled “Creating a new template”Click + New in the template tab bar, or + New in the Templates panel. The New template dialog opens. The left rail has no New Canvas icon.
Blank or built-in
Section titled “Blank or built-in”Blank (selected by default) starts from an empty canvas. Built-in template opens the template gallery so you can start from a designed layout instead.
Choosing a preset
Section titled “Choosing a preset”Under Choose a size, pick a category (Cards, Coupons, Tickets, Social, Paper) and click a preset card. Selecting a preset fills the width and height automatically.
Custom dimensions
Section titled “Custom dimensions”Click Custom size (or just edit the fields) and enter a width and height. The ↔ button swaps them and the link button locks the aspect ratio. A canvas must be between 100 px and 4096 px on each side; outside that range the dialog shows a warning and Create template is disabled.
Output intent
Section titled “Output intent”- Screen — dimensions in px; DPI is 96.
- Print — dimensions in mm, cm or in, with a DPI of 96, 150 or 300. Zandovi converts to pixels based on the DPI.
For print-ready files choose Print and set the DPI (300 is standard for high-quality print).
The summary on the right shows the resulting size, aspect ratio, orientation and resolution.
Background color and name
Section titled “Background color and name”Pick an initial background color from the swatches or the color picker, and type a Name (it defaults to Untitled Template). You can change both later.
Click Create template to open the new canvas.
Adjusting canvas settings later
Section titled “Adjusting canvas settings later”When nothing is selected on the canvas, the Properties panel on the right shows Canvas settings:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Preset | Dropdown of common sizes; shows Custom when the size matches no preset |
| Screen / Print | Output intent |
| Unit and DPI | Print only: mm / cm / in, and the export DPI (96, 150 or 300) |
| Width / Height | Exact dimensions |
| ↔ Swap width and height | Switch width and height (portrait ↔ landscape) |
| Lock aspect ratio | Keeps the proportions when you change one dimension |
| Scale content on resize | When on (the default), resizing the canvas scales the elements with it |
| Background | Fill (solid color or linear/radial gradient, with a collapsible Presets list) or Image (with a fit mode — Cover / Contain / Stretch) |
Reaching the Canvas settings
Section titled “Reaching the Canvas settings”The Canvas settings live in the Properties panel whenever nothing is selected. Right-clicking the canvas background and choosing Canvas Settings… simply clears the current selection, which brings the same Canvas panel back into view on the right.