Canvas and PenPad

Canvas and PenPad are for visual legal reasoning. Use them to map facts, build timelines, connect issues to evidence, sketch arguments, and keep handwritten working notes. Both support cards, source links, connections, groups, and ink; PenPad adds a page-based writing surface and page navigation.

Screenshot placeholder: Canvas/PenPad with nodes, ink strokes, source links, and toolbar visible.

Canvas and PenPad

Use Canvas when you want structured visual reasoning with nodes, connections, groups, and source links.

Use PenPad when you want freer handwritten notes, quick diagrams, or visual scratch work.

Both are saved locally inside the Case or Global Library scope where they were created.

At startup, the default or last active Case opens with its default or last-open Canvas/PenPad; the initial default is ThoughtMap_1.canvas. After that, the Canvas/PenPad currently open in the right pane remains the receiving workspace for Copy to Canvas until you explicitly open another Canvas/PenPad, regardless of which Case, Global Library root, or subhead you browse. To work in a library canvas or another Case’s canvas instead, explicitly open that Canvas/PenPad from its Documents list.

Related topics: Copy library material to a Case canvas, Open a Global Library canvas explicitly.

Create a Canvas or PenPad file

1. Select or browse the intended Case, Global Library root, or subhead, then check which Canvas/PenPad is open. For another destination, explicitly open a Canvas/PenPad in that location first; browsing documents alone does not change the receiving workspace.
2. In the Canvas/PenPad toolbar, select New Canvas/PenPad, the plus control beside the file selector, or find it in the three-dot menu.
3. In New Canvas/PenPad, choose Canvas or PenPad and enter Canvas name or PenPad name. Empty names do not create a file.
4. For PenPad, enter PenPad pages and choose Ruled or Blank. The defaults are one page and Ruled. Enter a whole number from 1 to 100; a larger number is limited to 100, and an empty or zero count shows Enter at least 1 page.
5. Select Create to create and open the file, or Cancel to leave without creating it. For several PenPad pages, the first page opens automatically.

For example, creating a three-page PenPad named witness_notes creates witness_notes_1, witness_notes_2, and witness_notes_3. Each page appears as its own PenPad file in Documents and in the Canvas/PenPad selector.

File Already Exists offers Choose Another Name or Load Existing. Loading opens the saved file; it does not replace its contents with a blank canvas or page.

Screenshot placeholder: New Canvas/PenPad dialog with the Canvas/PenPad choice, name, PenPad pages, Ruled/Blank, and Create/Cancel controls; show the resulting numbered pages in the file list.

Open, switch, rename, or delete files

Click or tap the current Canvas/PenPad name in its toolbar to open the file selector. Choose the required file; a check marks the active one. The normal dropdown shows up to four entries at once, so scroll inside it for more. In a narrow pane the name can shrink to a file-type icon; click or tap it to open the same selector.

You can also open a Canvas/PenPad directly from the left-pane Documents list. In the center-pane browsing list, use the right-hand Open Canvas or Open PenPad action. Opening one reveals it in the right pane if document views were covering it and makes it the receiving workspace until another Canvas/PenPad is explicitly opened.

Use the center-pane Documents list’s Rename action to rename the selected file. For PenPad this renames the selected page, not every page in the series. Page navigation uses the shared name and trailing page number, so preserve that naming pattern when keeping pages in one sequence. See Rename a file.

To remove an entire Canvas/PenPad file or a PenPad page, use Delete Items. The Delete node action removes an item inside the active file instead.

Screenshot placeholder: Canvas/PenPad file selector with active-file check, several Canvas/PenPad entries, and a scrollbar; show the compact file icon variant beside it.

PenPad pages and writing

PenPad is a fixed page surface, with Ruled or Blank background chosen at creation. It supports the same cards, images, links, and ink used on Canvas. Keep the work you intend to export inside the page boundary.

• Previous PenPad page / Next PenPad page move through existing pages in the same named series. They are disabled when there is no adjacent page in that direction.
• New PenPad page opens a blank continuation in that series using the current page style. It can reuse a prepared blank last page; otherwise it adds the next numbered page. It does not copy the current page’s notes or source links.
• Use the file selector to jump to a particular page or another series.
• PenPad page links opens references attached to the current page. Links attached to a card are opened from that card’s source strip instead.

PenPad saves each page locally. Allow a moment for saving after substantial work, then use the page arrows or selector. See Export several PenPad pages to put selected pages into one PDF.

Use full-screen portrait for longer handwriting sessions. If palm contact affects responsiveness, see Palm contact and stylus responsiveness.

Screenshot placeholder: Ruled and Blank PenPad examples, page name, Previous/Next PenPad page, New PenPad page, and PenPad page links controls.

Canvas tools

The toolbar adapts to the available space. Actions that do not fit move into the three-dot menu; use that menu when a button appears to be missing. The available actions also depend on the current file, drawing mode, and selection.

If the pane toolbar has auto-hidden, click or tap its top-center notch, Show canvas toolbar or Show PenPad toolbar. Adjust the delay through Toolbar auto-hide.

Screenshot placeholder: Wide Canvas/PenPad toolbar and narrow three-dot menu with file selector, Create card, annotation tools, Select region, and Export/Group labelled.

Full-screen Canvas and PenPad

Select Full-screen Canvas or Full-screen PenPad, or Full screen in the compact menu. The top-right controls provide Landscape canvas, Portrait canvas, and Exit full-screen view. Exiting restores the workspace while keeping the file and its work.

Use Show canvas tools / Hide canvas tools to expand or collapse the floating tool strip. If the expanded tools extend beyond the available width, scroll the strip horizontally to reach them. The same controls serve Canvas and PenPad; the orientation tooltips still say canvas when PenPad is active.

Portrait gives more vertical writing room; landscape suits wider maps. On supported Android portrait layouts, opening a keyboard temporarily aligns text entry to portrait. See Full-screen app use for the whole-workspace controls and keyboard behavior.

Screenshot placeholder: Full-screen portrait PenPad with expanded tools, horizontal tool-strip scrolling, Landscape canvas, Portrait canvas, and Exit full-screen view.

Move around and center the workspace

Turn annotation off and finish region selection before using ordinary navigation or editing. Drag empty space to pan and use the available zoom gestures to inspect the work. PenPad navigation stays around its fixed page surface.

Press Center Canvas to return to the most zoomed-out Canvas view (5%), centered on the workspace origin. Find the button at the top left of the main workspace. In full-screen Canvas/PenPad, expand Show canvas tools and use Center Canvas in that tool strip; scroll the strip horizontally if needed. It is not a button in the ordinary pane toolbar.

On PenPad, Center Canvas fits the fixed page to the available space. Centering changes the view without moving saved objects. A distant Canvas item can still lie outside this central overview; pan from the overview toward its location. See Bring hidden Canvas objects back into view.

Screenshot placeholder: Center Canvas at the top left of the main workspace and in the expanded full-screen tool strip; show the resulting most zoomed-out Canvas overview (5%) beside a fitted PenPad page.

Canvas zoom, then node-level zoom

Work from the whole surface down to the individual card:

1. Zoom at Canvas/PenPad level first. With annotation disabled, spread two fingers to zoom in or pinch them together to zoom out. With a mouse, position the pointer over the working area and use the wheel to zoom. Pan empty space to bring the required cards into view. This changes the view of the whole surface, including the cards, arrows, and their controls.
2. Select the node/card, then adjust its text. Use Increase text size or Decrease text size to enlarge or reduce the selected card’s text. This is the node-level text zoom; other cards keep their own text sizes.
3. If the card needs more room for text or an image, drag its bottom-right Resize node handle. This changes the saved card dimensions. For a grouped card, resizing scales its group; ungroup first if only that card should change.

Canvas zoom changes the viewing scale. Node text size and node resizing change the saved card and therefore affect its exported appearance. There is no separate pinch-zoom surface inside an individual card; pinching changes the Canvas/PenPad view. For a copied image, use Canvas zoom to inspect detail, or resize its card when you want it larger in the layout.

Screenshot placeholder: Three-step sequence showing the Canvas overview, Canvas-level zoom toward a card, then the selected card’s Increase/Decrease text size and Resize node controls. Label viewing zoom versus saved card/text changes.

Make small arrow and background controls easier to use

At a distant overview, the selected card’s arrow-creation and Node background controls can look small. Zoom the Canvas/PenPad in first, allow the gesture to finish, then click/tap the card to show its controls at a more usable size. Pan the enlarged view if a control is near the edge, or enter full screen for more room.

Use that closer view to choose Connect to a node (one-way/two-way) or Node background, then press Center Canvas when you want the most zoomed-out Canvas overview again. Increasing the node’s text size enlarges its words; it does not enlarge the arrow/background buttons. Resizing the node provides more layout space but is not the way to magnify those controls.

If Node background is absent, check whether the card is grouped. That control is shown only for a selected, ungrouped node; use Ungroup first if you need to change that card’s background.

Screenshot placeholder: The same selected card at overview and closer Canvas zoom, with arrow-creation buttons and Node background clearly marked; show that text-size controls affect text rather than button size.

Build a reasoning canvas

1. Start with a central issue, party, document, or date.
2. Add connected nodes for facts, evidence, authorities, and tasks.
3. Use color or grouping to separate themes.
4. Link important nodes back to source pages when possible.
5. Keep issue conclusions separate from raw source facts.
6. Export or keep the Canvas as an internal working map.

Related topics: AI generated entries, Document viewer.

Create cards and add clipboard content

Open Create card in the toolbar or three-dot menu, then select a template. The new card is added to the active Canvas/PenPad with a starter title and an empty body. These templates are working notes; their labels do not automatically create entries in the Case’s Issues, Evidence, or other section lists.

Paste uses one shared staging area for Document View and Canvas/PenPad. An in-app Copy stores the rich selection there and silently mirrors its plain text or flattened PNG to the operating-system clipboard. When you press Paste, a newly changed external clipboard image or text takes priority; otherwise the app uses the richer staged selection. The action is available in the toolbar, three-dot menu, full-screen tool strip, and working-surface context menu. A continuous progress spinner remains visible while a Paste is being prepared and saved.

A rich document selection becomes a source-linked excerpt or image node. A rich Canvas/PenPad region is reconstructed as editable cards, qualifying ink, complete groups, and connections between copied cards; card source links and other card metadata remain attached. If the region contains no editable items, its flattened image is pasted instead. External clipboard text becomes a rectangular Note and an external image becomes an image card. Clipboard has no supported text or image. means neither staging source contained usable content.

After drawing a Canvas/PenPad selected region, choose Copy from the temporary selection prompt, which remains available for about five seconds. A continuous progress spinner remains visible only while the selection, including any large images, is rendered and stored; Copy then exits Select region automatically. The app continues to place a flattened PNG on the operating-system clipboard where image clipboard writes are supported. At the same time, it silently stores a rich in-app selection: a card is included when its center or at least half of its area lies inside the region, connections are retained when both endpoint cards are included, complete groups remain grouped, and selected ink remains editable. When the region contains ink, use Color in the temporary prompt to recolor only that selected ink. Selecting Color immediately returns the Select region icon to its normal state, including when the color picker is later cancelled, but leaves the selected rectangle visible until the next click or tap inside or outside it. The selected color does not change the pen/highlighter color used for future strokes. The operating-system PNG itself does not include source metadata or app-only links. In flattened copies, short text-only cards receive a readability boost when their complete title and body still fit; longer or tightly filled cards keep their existing text size so content is not clipped.

Screenshot placeholder: Create card menu with its ten templates, a newly created card, and Paste examples for rich selections, external text, and an external image.

Copy document text to a node

For an excerpt with a document source reference, use Copy to Canvas in the document viewer. The selected text is placed inside a new text node/card. When the destination is Canvas, the app automatically sets the Canvas zoom to 50% to make the copied content easier to see. This changes the whole Canvas view; it does not set the node’s text size to 50%. Ordinary clipboard paste does not create that document source link.

From this 50% view, zoom the Canvas further if needed, then select the node and adjust its text size or dimensions. Press Center Canvas to return to the most zoomed-out 5% overview after reviewing the copy. With a PenPad destination, the page is fitted to the available space instead.

Screenshot placeholder: Selected document text and Copy to Canvas, followed by the new source-linked text node at 50% Canvas zoom; show Center Canvas returning to the 5% overview. Use screenshot callouts for the percentages.

Edit, move, and resize cards

Turn annotation off and finish region selection first. Click or tap a card to select it. Double-click or double-tap to edit its title and text. Image cards allow title editing; the copied image itself is not an editable text field.

The text fields show Title and Type notes here. The notes field accepts multiple lines. Edits update as you type; click/tap outside the card to leave editing. These are plain text fields, with the selected card’s text-size controls used for readability.

Drag a card to reposition it. Use its bottom-right Resize node handle to change its size. The selected card’s Decrease text size / Increase text size controls adjust text size without replacing its words. Resizing a card and changing its text size are separate actions.

A card inside a group moves/resizes with that group. Ungroup first when you want to change its placement independently. See Groups and backgrounds.

Screenshot placeholder: Selected card with title/body editing, text-size decrease/increase controls, and Resize node handle; show an image card with its editable title.

Connect cards with arrows

1. Select the card from which the connection should start.
2. Choose Connect to a node (one-way) or Connect to a node (two-way) on the selected card.
3. When the control says Choose a target node, click or tap the destination card. A one-way arrow runs from the starting card to the target; a two-way connection shows arrowheads at both ends.

Choose a different card as the target. Clicking/tapping empty space cancels a pending connection. Connecting the same pair again updates the existing connection’s direction/type instead of adding a duplicate.

Connections stay attached when connected cards move. They describe relationships on the Canvas/PenPad; they are separate from links back to source documents.

Click or tap an existing arrow to reveal Delete Arrow, whose tooltip is Delete selected arrow. This action appears for about two seconds; use it before it disappears, or select the arrow again. Removing an arrow keeps its endpoint cards. Use Undo to reverse an unwanted deletion while its history is available.

Screenshot placeholder: Selected starting card with one-way/two-way connection controls, a target card, completed arrows, and the temporary Delete Arrow action.

Delete a node

1. Select the node that you want to delete.
2. Press and hold for about 0.5 seconds on the node/card perimeter. The perimeter includes the visible border and the narrow margin just outside either side of that border. Avoid the title/source strip area at the top of the card.
3. The Delete node button appears temporarily for about five seconds.
4. Click or tap Delete node before it disappears to delete the selected node.

If the button disappears before you use it, hold on the selected node/card perimeter again. This perimeter hold is the reliable way to reveal Delete node, including for oval cards. Check that the intended node is selected before deleting it.

Deleting a node also removes its attached arrows. It does not delete the original document referenced by a source-linked card. Group members are protected from individual deletion: if Ungroup grouped items before erasing or deleting them. appears, ungroup first. Use Undo for an unwanted node deletion while that working history remains available.

Screenshot placeholder: Selected Canvas/PenPad node/card with the perimeter hold area highlighted and the temporary Delete node button visible.

Source-linked Canvas notes

Source links connect Canvas material back to document pages or selected document regions.

Use source links when a Canvas note depends on a specific page, paragraph, clause, exhibit, or image region.

Create source document links

You can link selected document text, a paragraph, or a selected page area to a Canvas node, Canvas card, or PenPad page.

1. Open the source document in the document viewer.
2. In Canvas or PenPad, select the destination node, card, or PenPad page.
3. In the open document, mark the required text, paragraph, or page area.
4. Click or tap the elliptical Link selection to selected node or PenPad page icon.
5. Repeat the process to add more source document links to the same node, card, or PenPad page.

A node, card, or PenPad page can contain multiple source document links from the same document or from different documents.

Use a single-document center view for this action; direct linking to an existing item is disabled in comparison views. On PenPad, leave nodes/cards unselected to attach the link to the page itself. See Copy to Canvas and source links.

Screenshot placeholder: Open document with selected text or page area, selected Canvas node or PenPad page, and the elliptical Link selection to selected node or PenPad page icon.

Review links from a Canvas or PenPad item

For a Canvas or PenPad node or card, click or tap the source-link strip along the bottom of the item. With one source, Open linked source opens its document directly. With multiple sources, Show linked sources reveals a scrollable list; choose the entry for the document passage or area you want to revisit.

For links attached directly to a PenPad page, click or tap PenPad page links at the top of the PenPad page area. This reveals its scrollable source list; No PenPad page links is disabled when there are none. Source lists show up to three rows at once; scroll inside them or use their scrollbar for more entries. See Open a source document from a linked item.

Screenshot placeholder: Canvas/PenPad node or card with its bottom source-document-links strip expanded into a scrollable list.

Screenshot placeholder: PenPad page showing the elliptical PenPad Page Links icon and its scrollable source-link list.

Review Canvas links from an open document

A document shows a Canvas rail at the bottom-right of its viewer when the active Canvas/PenPad contains source links to that document. The rail reveals linked text portions or page regions used by that Canvas/PenPad’s nodes, cards, or page links. Open another Canvas/PenPad to review its references; the rail does not collect links from every saved canvas.

Click or tap the collapsed tab to expand it. Up to three entries are visible at once; scroll inside the list or use its scrollbar when Scroll for N more appears. Collapse canvas links hides the list while preserving its links.

Click or tap a rail entry to bring its associated Canvas or PenPad node into focus. CogniVenue-Legal opens the linked Canvas or PenPad page when needed, selects the node, and centers it in the workspace. A page-level PenPad link opens and fits that PenPad page.

Screenshot placeholder: Bottom-right Canvas rail in the document viewer showing linked text portions for the open document.

Related topics: Canvas rail in the document viewer, Select and link document text or areas.

Good source-linked notes:

• State the point in plain language.
• Link to the source page.
• Identify the legal use, such as fact, issue, evidence, or authority.
• Avoid mixing unverified inference with source text.

Ink, pen, highlighter, and eraser

Open Canvas/PenPad annotation tools and choose Enable Annotation. It starts with Pen at 2.8 px. Open the menu again to choose another tool. Drawing choices are disabled until annotation is enabled.

Draw with a mouse, finger, or supported stylus. While drawing/lasso mode is active, normal panning and zooming are disabled so gestures act on the working surface. Choose Disable Annotation to return to navigation and card interaction; existing ink remains visible.

Stroke width offers 1.5, 1.8, 2.3, 2.8, 4, 6, 10, 14, 22, and 32 px for Pen, Highlighter, or Eraser. The menu shows five widths at a time; scroll inside it for the rest. Width is disabled with Lasso Ink. Choose a narrower Pen for fine notes and a wider Highlighter for emphasis. Tool widths are remembered separately while working, but enabling annotation again starts Pen at 2.8 px.

Use Color to open Edit color, choose a shade or enter Hex/RGB values, then Set color. Cancel leaves the previous color. The shared top-left palette also offers presets and a custom editor with separate document and Canvas/PenPad targets; see Annotation color selector. Changing the color affects new ink, not existing strokes or node backgrounds.

Grouped ink is protected from individual erasing. If the app asks you to ungroup before erasing/deleting, use Ungroup, then erase the intended ink. Eraser does not remove the underlying card, image, or ruled page background.

Screenshot placeholder: Canvas/PenPad annotation menu with Enable Annotation, Pen, Highlighter, Eraser, Lasso Ink, Color, and width choices; show handwriting and translucent highlighting on a PenPad card.

Lasso and delete selected ink

1. Enable annotation and choose Lasso Ink.
2. Draw a loop around the ink you want to remove.
3. Review the selection, then click/tap Delete ink (Delete selected ink) to remove the portions of ungrouped strokes inside the loop. Crossing strokes can remain outside it.
4. To abandon the selection, click/tap empty space while Lasso Ink is active.

The Canvas/PenPad Delete ink action stays available while the selection exists; completing the lasso gesture alone does not delete ink. This differs from the document viewer’s Lasso Ink behavior. Grouped ink stays protected until ungrouped.

Screenshot placeholder: Lasso-selected ink, the Delete ink action, and a stroke crossing the selection boundary to show what will remain outside it.

Undo and Redo

Use the Canvas/PenPad toolbar’s Undo / Redo, or Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y when working on the canvas. They step through recorded operations such as adding/deleting cards, connections, ink changes, grouping, ungrouping, group resizing, and group deletion. Buttons are disabled when their respective history is empty.

Not every edit is recorded: routine card text, background, position, and size changes are not uniformly covered. Undo may therefore reverse an earlier recorded operation rather than the most recent text edit or drag. Review the result after each step.

Use Undo before switching files or PenPad pages; switching clears this history. A new recorded operation clears the Redo history. Undo/Redo are working-session tools, not a substitute for a saved backup.

Auto-group ink with Canvas/PenPad items

When Canvas/PenPad annotation mode is turned off, fresh ink from that drawing session is automatically grouped with regular Canvas/PenPad cards it reasonably touches. Source-linked document-region image nodes are kept independent, so moving one cannot collect ink beneath it; while a drawing tool is active, dragging that node also takes priority over drawing or erasing on the node.

Ink must be written inside or close to the item’s boundary. Older ink that was already present before the drawing session is not swept into the new group. Ink that does not touch a supported item remains freehand ink.

After auto-grouping, the item and its grouped ink behave like one group for selection and movement. Use Ungroup if you want to separate the handwriting from the item later, including before erasing that grouped ink individually.

Screenshot placeholder: Fresh handwriting touching a card while annotation is enabled, then the card and ink highlighted as a group after Disable Annotation.

Select an area and group objects

Use Select region when you want to copy a Canvas/PenPad rectangle as an image, group Canvas/PenPad objects, or export a particular rectangle. This is separate from Lasso Ink, which selects ink for deletion.

Group objects from a selected area

1. Click or tap Select region at the top of the Canvas/PenPad pane, or in its three-dot menu.
2. Draw a selection rectangle around the Canvas/PenPad region that you want to copy, group, or export.
3. After the rectangle is drawn, the selection actions appear temporarily for about five seconds.
4. Click or tap Group before it disappears. The objects covered by the selected area are placed in one group.

The rectangle can include cards and ink. At least two eligible items are needed. Items intersecting the region can be included, so check its boundaries. To put an existing group inside a larger group, select that whole group; a partial selection can report Select the full existing group before adding it to another group.

If the temporary action disappears, select the area again or use Export/Group > Group Items. The Group Canvas Items / Group PenPad Items dialog offers Group selected items, or Group full canvas / Group full PenPad for everything. Without a selected region, Group selected items is disabled. Cancel closes the dialog without grouping. In portrait, the choices are shortened to Selection and Full area.

Use Finish selecting region to leave region-selection mode. The selected rectangle can also be used by Export Selection.

Screenshot placeholder: Canvas toolbar with Select region active and a rectangle enclosing several cards and ink strokes; show the Group Items dialog’s full-area and selected-items choices.

Screenshot placeholder: Selected Canvas/PenPad region with the temporary Group button visible.

Select and ungroup a group

1. Select an existing group.
2. The items covered by that group are highlighted with a light shade so that you can identify the selected group.
3. The Ungroup button appears temporarily for about five seconds.
4. Click or tap Ungroup before it disappears to separate the highlighted items from the group.

If the temporary button disappears, select the group again. Ungroup is also available from Export/Group. Ungroup preserves the cards, arrows, and ink and removes the selected grouping layer. Inner groups remain grouped; ungroup them separately when needed.

Screenshot placeholder: Selected group with its covered items highlighted in a light shade and the temporary Ungroup button visible.

Groups and backgrounds

Select a group by clicking/tapping one of its grouped cards or ink portions. Its contents receive a light shade so you can check which items will move together. Drag a grouped card or grouped ink to move the group. When groups are nested, selecting, dragging, or resizing any nested member acts on the outer group. Ungrouping that outer layer preserves earlier inner groups. Ungroup first when you need independent members.

Export/Group > Delete Group appears when a group is selected. It deletes that group, nested groups, contained cards and ink, and arrows attached to removed cards. This is different from Ungroup, which keeps the contents. Use Undo immediately if a recorded group deletion was unintended, before switching files.

Use groups for chronology periods, parties, issue/evidence clusters, or draft argument sections. Keep their boundaries clear so that later selections include the intended members.

Set a node background

Select an ungrouped card and use Node background to choose a preset or open Edit node background for a custom shade. If the card is grouped, ungroup it first to reveal this control. The custom editor accepts Hex and Red/Green/Blue values; choose Set color to apply the preview, or Cancel. This changes the selected node’s background, rather than the drawing ink color. A group’s light shading indicates selection; it is not a separate editable group background.

The app’s GUI Mode controls the workspace theme and default node background. An explicit node background can take precedence over those defaults. See Light node bg and Dark node bg and GUI colors.

Screenshot placeholder: Selected nested group with shaded members and Export/Group > Ungroup/Delete Group; a separate selected card showing Node background presets and the custom editor.

Related workflow: Select an area and group objects.

Export Canvas work

Use Export/Group > Export to create a shareable PNG, JPG, or PDF of Canvas/PenPad artwork. The dialog is Export Canvas or Export PenPad and starts with PDF selected. Choose the format first, then the area to export.

In portrait dialogs these actions are shortened to Current, Full area / Full page, and Selection. Selecting an area action starts the export. If no usable selection exists, selection export is disabled; close the dialog with Cancel, use Select region and drag a rectangle, then reopen Export.

PDF overview or split view

For Canvas PDF, choose:

• Overview for a single page containing the chosen area.
• Multi-page split view for an overview followed by overlapping detail pages that make a large map easier to read. Page orientation is chosen automatically for the exported area.

For PenPad PDF, Current View, Full Page, and Selection each produce one page. To combine several PenPad pages, use Select Pages instead.

The exported artwork includes cards, text as drawn, images, connections, and ink. It is a visual export: Canvas editing and clickable source-link navigation do not carry into the exported artwork. PNG/JPG exports of large regions are automatically scaled to a safe image size; for a dense map, a smaller selection or PDF split view can be easier to read.

Screenshot placeholder: Export Canvas dialog showing PNG/JPG/PDF, Overview/Multi-page split view, Current View, Export Full Area, and Export Selection; beside it, an overview PDF and a detail page.

Export several PenPad pages

1. Open a PenPad page and choose Export/Group > Export.
2. Select PDF. Select Pages is offered when the active location contains more than one PenPad page/file.
3. Select Select Pages to open Export PenPad Pages. The current page is initially checked.
4. Scroll the page list and check or uncheck individual pages, or use one of the selection shortcuts below.
5. Check Export N, then select it to create one PDF. Each selected PenPad entry becomes one full page, preserving its Ruled/Blank style. The output follows the list order, not the order in which you checked boxes.

Each shortcut replaces the current checkbox selection. Review the list before exporting, particularly after All or Current to End. Cancel returns to the main export dialog without exporting pages.

Screenshot placeholder: Export PenPad with PDF and Select Pages, followed by Export PenPad Pages with All, Same Series, Current to End, Clear, checkboxes, scrollbar, and Export N.

Export progress and saved files

While export runs, the dialog shows preparation/rendering/saving progress and disables its controls, including Cancel. Wait for completion. Success closes the dialog and reports Exported … with the saved location. If Export failed: … appears, the dialog becomes available again so you can retry with a smaller area or fewer pages, or Cancel.

Exports are placed beneath Documents/CogniVenue-Legal/Exports/canvas or Documents/CogniVenue-Legal/Exports/penpad. Filenames identify the Case or Global Library location, Canvas/PenPad title, and date/time. Use the path shown after export to locate the exact file. Export creates a separate shareable file; continue editing the original Canvas/PenPad in the app, and use Backup to preserve editable workspace data and source links.

Autosave and switching work

CogniVenue-Legal autosaves Canvas work. When switching Cases, opening other files, or closing the app, give autosave a moment to finish if you have just made major changes.

There is no separate Save command for the Canvas/PenPad file. Text editing controls finish the current edit; saving the workspace happens automatically. Switching files or PenPad pages clears the working Undo/Redo history, while the saved content remains.

For important matters, create a backup after significant Canvas work.

When a Canvas or PenPad action is unavailable

• Missing toolbar/button: reveal the top-center notch, open the three-dot menu, or use Show canvas tools in full screen and scroll its tool strip.
• Arrow/background buttons too small: zoom in at Canvas/PenPad level, finish the gesture, then select the card. Node text-size controls enlarge text only. See Small controls and zoom.
• Node background missing: select an ungrouped card. Group members must be ungrouped before this control appears.
• A drag draws instead of moving a card or panning: choose Disable Annotation. Finish Select region if region-selection mode is active.
• Previous/Next page disabled: check the page’s series name and number, and whether another page exists in that direction. Use New PenPad page for a blank continuation.
• Missing canvas or copied content: verify the selected file and its Case/library location, then use Center Canvas.
• Source link does not open: check whether the original document still exists. See Source document navigation.
• Group or selection export disabled: draw a usable rectangle with Select region. Grouping also needs enough eligible items.
• An item cannot be deleted or erased: check whether it belongs to a group; ungroup first to edit/delete members individually.
• Select Pages missing: open a PenPad, choose PDF, and check that the location has more than one PenPad entry.
• Export looks too small: use a smaller selected area or Canvas PDF Multi-page split view; check the resulting pages before sharing.

Related topics: Document View, GUI colors, Backup and restore, Delete Items.