The Canvas module view gets an exciting face-lift

The Canvas module view gets an exciting face-lift

 Announcement moderated on: 4th July,2023

The Canvas module view revamp has been successfully opened for all users in all DCs today. 

Dear All, 

We hope you're well!


When it comes to business productivity, data organization and accessibility play a crucial role. However, given the reality of a growing business, maintaining a tidy dataset is an uphill battle. For this reason, Zoho CRM enables you to index your data in three systematic module views: list view, Kanban view, and canvas view. While each serves a distinct purpose, today we're here to announce a revamp of our existing canvas view.  We're thrilled to talk about it. Let's go!

We're replacing our legacy canvas module view editor with our bespoke Canvas builder.

The all-new Canvas builder is a powerful design suite loaded with sophisticated design elements. True to its name, Canvas is a versatile and highly customizable tool; you can add a range of components to each canvas you create—like your business logo, images, or icons—and apply interactive styling that puts the right emphasis on the most important information.

Now, how does this revamp benefit a CRM user?

The module view serves as the face of your database; it's the first thing a user looks at upon entering a module. The new Canvas revamp not only enables you to design the aesthetic of your database, but also amplifies the user experience and adoption among your employees. It allows you to:
  • Personalize your CRM to match your brand guidelines.
  • Enhance data accessibility and user productivity.
  • Complement your module view designs with that of the designs in your record details page.
  • Create a memorable customer experience when extended through client portals.
Here's a quick comparison of the outputs of the legacy canvas module view versus the new canvas module view:

In addition to upgrading the canvas view builder, this revamp also comes with new module views to accommodate different types of data.

New views in Canvas 

We understand every business accumulates different types of data that requires distinct representations for better comprehension, so we've come up with three types of Canvas module views. 

Custom list view

The custom list view is a horizontal stack of your records that offers sufficient space to accommodate vital information without clutter. With elements like sections and lines, you can organize your data within the expanse of the template, giving prominence to each data type. You can also hide or show labels to make more efficient use of the template space. 


Tile view 

The tile view makes records look like business cards. Much like a product lineup, the tile view arranges your records from left to right, and you can set tiles to be a square or rectangle. This view is a great way to showcase your records in one glance.  

Table view 

The table view is an extension of the standard list view, which is a simple tabulation of record information. You can keep the entire view in one color or alternate colors between rows. This view is best for displaying simple factual information like inventory, invoices, and so on. 

About the new Canvas builder 

The Canvas builder is straightforward to use. You can choose designs from the gallery or build from scratch.

Components of the builder 

The Canvas builder for module views comes with three fundamental components: 

Data
The data component contains all the fields, buttons, and links applicable to the module.
Example: Lead name, email ID, record owner, and so on.

Elements
Elements help you classify and organize your data via images, lines, tables, sections, text boxes, buttons, and icons.
Example: Your logo is an image element that will appear throughout all record items.

Styles
Styles contain formatting options for your data. You can ascribe colors, font types, font sizes, borders, padding, and radiuses, according to your preferences.

Managing canvas templates 

Only administrators and users with "manage custom view" permissions can create and manage canvas templates for an organization. Creations are present in a list view under Setup > Customization > Canvas > List view, where you can edit, clone, delete, preview, rename, activate, or deactivate templates. You can also define criteria and manage canvas rules from the same page. 
 

Edition availability and limits 

The legacy Canvas editor was available only for organizations using Enterprise and Ultimate editions. Thanks to this revamp, we've extended the new builder to organizations in Standard and Professional editions as well.
Here are the edition-based limits for each view: 


If you'd like to downgrade (say, from Enterprise to Professional), only three templates will stay activated for each view, removing the ability to activate/deactivate the rest of your creations. The same will apply when downgrading to the Standard edition.
 

Important points to note:

  • While we've provided most design capabilities, native features like reusable components and presets and Client scripts are not available in this first release. We are, however, working on these features and you can expect them soon.
  • The legacy canvas editor enabled individual CRM users to create and manage templates all by themselves. Now, upon revamping the console, the following points are true:
    • We will migrate your templates to the new builder without affecting the designs you've created.
    • All the personal design templates created earlier by users and shared among peers will be publicly available under the Canvas list view tab. Admins or users with "manage custom view" permissions can choose to enable or disable this. If the former designs are enabled, they will be enabled for all users in the organization.
    • Users without these permissions—even though they might be the original owner or creator of a design—will not be able to view or edit the designs.
 
That's all for the Canvas module view revamp. For more information on how to create canvas templates, business scenarios, and tips, kindly read our help document Customizing Module View Using the all-new Canvas design suite. 

Thanks and have a good one!

Kind Regards, 
Saranya Balasubramanian

    • Recent Topics

    • ZOHO Reports - Filter Logic?

      Hi, I need a way to apply filter logics such as ((1 AND 2) OR 3). All I can see as of now is a way to enter different AND filters in the respective filter column. But how can I add an OR filter? Any advice would be highly appreciated. Mark

    • Scanned Doc - selecting Item overwrites Rate

      I have a Vendor Invoice which was uploaded to Documents. I select Add To > New Bill. The OCR is actually quite good, but it is reading an Item Description instead of an Item Number. I remove the description and select the correct Item Number... and it

    • Recruit API search

      Hi all, Attempting to call the search api endpoint from Postman using the word element as mentioned in api docs Search Records - APIs | Online Help - Zoho Recruit When making the call to /v2/Candidates/search?word=Saudi receive response of { "code": "MANDATORY_NOT_FOUND",

    • Saving reading position + Keep screen on

      While Zoho Notebook is excellent for saving and annotating articles, its utility is severely limited by the lack of reading progress synchronization. On the Android app, if a user exits a long note after reading 50%, the app fails to save the position.

    • Multiple Vendor SKUs

      One of the big concerns we have with ZOHO Inventory is lack of Vendor Skus like many other inventory software packages offer. Being able to have multiple vendor skus for the same product would be HUGE! It would populate the appropriate vendor Sku for

    • Zoho LandingPage is integrated with Zoho One!

      Greetings to the Zoho One users out there! We're delighted to let you know that Zoho LandingPage is available in Zoho One too! With Zoho LandingPage, you can host custom-made landing pages, and persuade the visitors to dive deeper by making further clicks,

    • Android app sync problem - multiple devices have same problem

      Hello, I am having a problem with synchronization in the Android app. When I create a drawing, the data does not sync correctly—only a blank note is created without the drawing. I tested this on multiple devices, including phones and tablets, and the

    • How can i resend a campaign to only one of the recipients on the original campaign

      How can i resend a campaign to only one of the recipients on the original campaign ? Sincererly, Mike

    • How to show branch instead of org name on invoice template?

      Not sure why invoices are showing the org name not the branch name? I can insert the branch name using the ${ORGANIZATION.BRANCHNAME} placeholder, but then it isn't bold text anymore. Any other ideas?

    • Marketing Automation Requirements Questions

      I would like to set up a multi-email drip campaign- please see the structure below and confirm if I can achieve this set up in Zoho marketing automation. Where applicable, highlight gaps and workarounds. Thanks Drip email campaign- Can I create one drip

    • how to change the page signers see after signing a document in zoho sign

      Hello, How can I please change the page a signer sees after signing a document in Zoho Sign? I cannot seem to find it. As it is now, it shows a default landing page "return to Zoho Sign Home". Thanks!

    • Question about using custom_fields in Storefront Add-to-Cart API (error 2003 – required details)

      Hi everyone, I’m working with the Zoho Commerce Storefront API, specifically the Add to Cart endpoint: POST /storefront/api/v1/cart According to the documentation, this endpoint supports a custom_fields parameter for adding line-item custom data. I’m

    • Can a project be cloned?

      Good afternoon, greetings. I would like to ask if it's possible to clone a project in Microsoft Project. I found a way to do it using templates, but I'm not sure if there's a direct way to clone a project. Thank you in advance for your attention, and

    • Timesheet Tasks in Zoho Books: associate to service item

      How do we associate a service item to timesheet tasks in Zoho Books? For example: Joe spent 5 hours on project:task1 which is Service Item#1 (Income:Service1). When the invoice is issued thru the Project Invoice section, this is not available. When the

    • Task/Activity indicator in SalesPipeline overview has disappeared

      I Just logged in my ZOHO CRM first 2026 checking my salespipeline overview , Every record card used to show an indication that there was an open task (Yellow if the expiry date was close, red if the expiry date was today and grey when it had expired).

    • Tip #56- Accessibility Controls in Zoho Assist: Hearing- 'Insider Insights'

      As we begin the new year, it’s a great time to focus on making our tools more inclusive and accessible for everyone. Remote support often involves long hours in front of screens, varying lighting conditions, and users with diverse accessibility needs.

    • Zoho Desk Android app update: Table view for All Departments view, custom button

      Hello everyone! In the latest version(v2.9.25) of the Zoho Desk Android app update, we have introduced Table view for the 'All Departments' view in the ticket module. We also have supported an option that allows tickets in the Table view to be sorted

    • What's New - December 2025 | Zoho Backstage

      In December, Backstage introduced a focused set of updates that improve how you manage registrations, communicate with attendees, and track participation. These enhancements are designed to give organizers greater flexibility and clearer control across

    • Add multiple users to a task

      When I´m assigning a task it is almost always related to more than one person. Practical situation: When a client request some improvement the related department opens the task with the situation and people related to it as the client itself, the salesman

    • A Roundup of Zoho Sprints 2025

    • Sorting Custom Date in API isn't working w pagination limit

      How can we sort a custom field with DATE using pagination? Starting at page=1 then moving to page=2 with a limit of 10 each, its all messed up and even shows some of the same records as page 1? https://www.zohoapis.com/crm/v2/INVOICE_MODULE/search?criteria=(FM_Contact_ID:equals:1234)&sort_by=Invoice_Date&sort_order=desc&per_page=10&page='

    • SAP Business One(B1) integration is now live in Zoho Flow

      We’re excited to share that SAP Business One (B1) is now available in Zoho Flow! This means you can now build workflows that connect SAP B1 with other apps and automate routine processes without relying on custom code. Note: SAP Business One integration

    • Enhancement in Role and Profile mapping of agents in Sandbox

      Hello everyone! We have brought in a modification in the way users are mapped to a particular role and profile in Sandbox. What has changed? When agents are copied from production to Sandbox: If a user's current role and profile is available in Sandbox,

    • The reason I switched away from Zoho Notebook

      My main reason for switching to Zoho was driven by three core principles: moving away from US-based products, keeping my data within India as much as possible, and supporting Indian companies. With that intent, I’ve been actively de-Googling my digital

    • Decimal places settings for exchange rates

      Hello, We are facing issues while matching vendor payments with banking feeds. As we often import products/services exchange rate comes into play. Currently, ZOHO allows only six digits for decimal places. We feel that conversions like JPY to INR require

    • Zoho removed ability to see all Scheduled Reports!

      If you are not the owner of a scheduled report, Zoho recently removed the capability to see each scheduled report. As an admin who relies on seeing all scheduled reports being sent, this is a terrible update. Now I cannot see ANY scheduled reports...even the ones I am being sent!!  This should be a setting for admins to control.  This is a bad update.

    • Automate Backups

      This is a feature request. Consider adding an auto backup feature. Where when you turn it on, it will auto backup on the 15-day schedule. For additional consideration, allow for the export of module data via API calls. Thank you for your consideration.

    • GCLID and Zoho Bookings

      Is there anyway to embed a Zoho Bookings signup on a landing page and pass the GCLID information? More specifically, can this be done using auto-tagging and not manual tagging the GCLID? I know Zappier has an integration to do this but is there a better

    • Merge Items

      Is there a work around for merging items? We currently have three names for one item, all have had a transaction associated so there is no deleting (just deactivating, which doesn't really help. It still appears so people are continuing to use it). I also can't assign inventory tracking to items used in past transactions, which I don't understand, this is an important feature moving forward.. It would be nice to merge into one item and be able to track inventory. Let me know if this is possible.

    • Create PO from an invoice

      We are a hardware and software sales company which receives orders over the internet. We drop ship most of our products from a warehouse outside of our company. Our orders get sync'd into Zoho from our store via onesaas as invoices. It would be great

    • Blueprint or Validation Rules for Invoices in Zoho Books

      Can I implement Blueprint or Validation Rules for Invoices in Zoho Books? Example, use case could be, Agent confirms from client that payment is done, but bank only syncs transactions tomorrow. in this case, Agent can update invoice status to done, and

    • Resetting auto-number on new year

      Hi everyone! We have an auto-number with prefix "D{YYYY}-", it generates numbers like D2025-1, D2025-2, etc... How can we have it auto-reset at the beginning of the next year, so that it goes to D2026-1? Thanks!

    • The Social Wall: December 2025

      Hello everyone! As we wrap up the final edition of the Social Wall for 2025, it’s the perfect time to look at what went live during December. QR code generator From paying for coffee to scanning metro tickets, QR codes are everywhere and have made everyday

    • Custom AI solutions with QuickML for Zoho CRM

      Hello everyone, Earlier, we introduced Custom AI Solutions in CRM that let you access QuickML for your custom AI needs. Building on that foundation, we’ve now enabled a deeper integration: QuickML models can be seamlessly integrated into CRM, and surface

    • Helper Functions and DRY principle

      Hello everyone, I believe Deluge should be able to use 'Helper functions' inside the main function. I know I can create different standalones, but this is not helpful and confusing. I don't want 10000 different standalones, and I dont want to have to

    • Introducing workflow automation for the Products module

      Greetings, I hope all of you are doing well. We're happy to announce a few recent enhancements we've made to Bigin's Products module. The Products module in Bigin now supports Workflows, enabling you to automate routine actions. Along with this update,

    • Power up your Kiosk Studio with Real-Time Data Capture, Client Scripts & More!

      Hello Everyone, We’re thrilled to announce a powerful set of enhancements to Kiosk Studio in Zoho CRM. These new updates give you more flexibility, faster record handling, and real-time data capture, making your Kiosk flows smarter and more efficient

    • Zia Formula Expression Generator for Formula fields

      Hello everyone! Formula fields are super useful when you want your CRM to calculate things for you but writing the expression is where most people slow down. You know what you want, but you’re not fully sure which function to use, how the syntax should

    • Issue with Zoho Creator Form Full-Screen View in CRM Related List Integration

      Hi Team, We have created a custom application in Zoho Creator and integrated it into Zoho CRM as a related list under the Vendor module, which we have renamed as Consignors. Within the Creator application, there is a form named “Pickup Request.” Inside

    • Wrapping up 2025 on a high note: CRM Release Highlights of the year

      Dear Customers, 2025 was an eventful year for us at Zoho CRM. We’ve had releases of all sizes and impact, and we are excited to look back, break it down, and rediscover them with you! Before we rewind—we’d like to take a minute and sincerely thank you

    • Next Page