OpenAI is releasing a new feature for ChatGPT that is remarkably similar to a feature present in another popular AI chatbot. ChatGPT’s new Canvas feature places generated code or text in a separate window, allowing you to edit the code or text independently while continuing to use ChatGPT’s main chat window. In this article, we’ll explain how to use the Canvas feature in ChatGPT.
What is ChatGPT Canvas
Canvas is a new interface designed for working with ChatGPT on writing and coding projects that require edits 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. You can also provide feedback and suggestions online, taking the entire project into account.
In Canvas, you have complete control over your project. You can edit text or code directly. You can also use shortcuts to adjust content length, debug your code, and perform other useful actions quickly. Plus, you can restore previous versions of your work 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 it does not currently support images, file uploads, custom GPTs, shared conversations, or advanced tools, these features are coming soon. In the meantime, you can use GPT-4o for tasks that require these capabilities.
ChatGPT Canvas Features
Canvas offers a variety of new features that are not present in the standard version of ChatGPT, such as:
Direct editing: You can edit the text generated by ChatGPT by adding new content, deleting lines, or rephrasing sentences as needed.
Suggested Edits: ChatGPT will suggest changes or adjustments you could make to the content you are working on.
Length Adjustment: You can easily ask ChatGPT to shorten or lengthen the content.
Reading Level Adjustment: ChatGPT can rewrite the content to a different reading level, from kindergarten to college level.
Final Review: You can request ChatGPT to perform a final review to check grammar and polish the content.
Emojis: ChatGPT will add emojis to content where it deems appropriate.
In addition to these features, you can chat directly with ChatGPT in the left sidebar to request other types of edits or revisions, similar to how you do it in the standard version of the tool.
Getting started with OpenAI Canvas
Getting started with OpenAI Canvas is pretty straightforward if you’re a ChatGPT Plus or Teams user.
Select GPT-4o with Canvas:
To access Canvas, select the GPT-4o model with Canvas from the model selector at the top of the ChatGPT interface.
This option is available to ChatGPT Plus and Teams subscribers, and will soon be available to Enterprise and Education users.
Manual and automatic access:
You can open Canvas manually by typing “open a Canvas” or “start a coding Canvas” in the chat.
For larger projects, where you’re working with more than 10 lines of text or code, Canvas will open automatically, allowing you to start editing right away. This is useful for longer writing assignments or complex code projects that require revisions and edits.
Editing and collaboration:
Once Canvas is open, you can edit text or code directly in the workspace. You can also ask ChatGPT for suggestions, such as shortening a paragraph, fixing a bug in your code, or expanding content.
Canvas offers shortcuts for writing and coding tasks, such as adjusting text length, adding comments to code, and even debugging.
Mobile and platform availability:
For now, Canvas is only available on the web version of ChatGPT.
If you use the ChatGPT mobile app, you won’t be able to access or work directly in Canvas, though you can view your Canvas projects on mobile devices. OpenAI plans to expand Canvas access to more platforms in future updates.
Limitations and future updates:
Currently, Canvas does not support advanced features such as file uploads, image manipulation, or shared conversations. However, OpenAI plans to introduce these features soon, which will make Canvas an even more versatile tool for writing and coding tasks.
Canvas is designed to make your workflow more fluid and interactive, whether you’re writing or working on code.
How to use Canvas for writing projects
Canvas makes writing projects easier by providing a dedicated space to edit, revise, and collaborate with ChatGPT. Here’s how you can use it for your writing assignments:
Writing and editing:
You can type your content directly into Canvas or paste a draft.
The AI assistant offers inline suggestions, such as improving grammar, adjusting tone, or expanding certain sections.
You can also highlight specific areas of the text and ask ChatGPT for feedback or revisions for just those parts.
Reading level adjustment:
One of the most notable features of Canvas is the ability to adjust the reading level of your text.
You can ask ChatGPT to simplify the text for younger readers or make it more advanced for a professional audience. This allows you to easily tailor your content to your target audience.
Shorten or expand content:
If you need your content to meet a specific word count, Canvas can help by shortening or expanding sections.
For example, you can ask ChatGPT to condense a long paragraph into a short summary or add more details to a section to increase its length.
Final polish for grammar and clarity:
Canvas automatically checks your text for grammatical errors and offers corrections in real time.
It also checks for clarity, making sure your content flows cohesively. This feature is great for finalizing reports, blog posts, or any other professional writing.
Add visual appeal:
Although Canvas does not currently support images, you can ask ChatGPT for suggestions on including emojis or other formatting elements to make your text more engaging, especially for informal content.
Canvas simplifies writing projects by letting you focus on the content while AI takes care of the technical aspects like grammar, readability, and structure.
How to use Canvas for coding projects
Canvas isn’t just useful for writing; it’s also a powerful tool for coding tasks. Here’s how to get the most out of it:
Code writing and review:
In Canvas, you can write your code directly in the workspace. ChatGPT reviews the code in real-time and provides online suggestions for improvements.
This includes syntax error corrections, suggestions for improving efficiency, and best practices.
Debugging and Troubleshooting:
Canvas makes debugging easier by allowing you to highlight problematic parts of your code.
You can ask ChatGPT to find and fix errors, and it will automatically rewrite the sections that are causing problems. Additionally, it can insert logs or print statements to help you understand what is happening during code execution.
Converting code to other languages:
If you need to port your code to another programming language, Canvas can take care of that for you.
For example, you can ask ChatGPT to translate Python code into JavaScript, C++, or other languages. This feature is especially useful when working across multiple platforms or collaborating with developers who use different languages.
Add comments for clarity:
Canvas can also help you add comments to your code, improving readability and making it easier to understand the logic behind it.
This feature is particularly useful in collaborative projects, as it makes the code more organized and easier to maintain.
Real-time collaboration:
Just like with writing assignments, Canvas allows for real-time collaboration on coding projects.
You can work on your code, ask ChatGPT for suggestions, and see the changes reflected instantly in the workspace. This is a huge advantage for developers working on larger projects that require constant reviews.
Canvas is still in its early beta phase, and OpenAI plans to refine its features based on user feedback. This is the first major update to ChatGPT’s visual interface and is part of OpenAI’s goal to make AI tools more interactive and user-friendly.
By providing an interface where users can collaborate with AI more effectively, Canvas represents a major advancement in how people work with AI on writing and coding projects.
