Canvas Form View Templates

Canvas Templates for Form View is currently available to limited accounts. It will be rolled out in phases to customers across all DCs and all paid editions.

Managing the look and feel of your CRM form views across multiple modules can be time-consuming. Canvas Templates makes this easier by letting you design one form template and apply it to other modules as needed.

What are Templates in Canvas?

Canvas Templates for form pages lets you create a sample form layout once and associate it with multiple modules and their layouts. Think of it as a master design that keeps all your module form pages looking consistent without you having to style each one separately.

In this template, you can design form layouts once and apply them across multiple modules and their layouts. This master design in Canvas Templates is called a template.

Business scenario: A real estate company wants every form (Leads, Contacts, Deals) to follow the same branded layout with a uniform header, section design, and field arrangement. Instead of building and maintaining separate Canvas form views for each module, the admin creates one primary template and links all three modules to it. Now, one update to the template, such as a branding change or section reorganization, reflects across all three instantly.

This setup allows one template to control the design of multiple module views. With this approach, the admin can:

Apply the same branding across modules, such as company colors, logos, and section styling
Maintain a consistent layout structure for commonly used information sections
Reduce duplicate design work by managing one shared template instead of multiple independent form views
Ensure that updates made to the primary template automatically reflect in all associated views

Quick Guide

Create a Template: Design your ideal form layout. You can start from a blank canvas or pick a pre-made template to save time.
Attach It to Your Modules: Choose which CRM modules should use this template (Contacts, Leads, Deals, or whatever you need).
Configure and customize: You can still style individual modules before finalizing, so it's consistent and flexible.
Publish: Each module will get its own version of the template when you click this option.

Canvas Templates vs Cloning

You might wonder what the difference is between cloning a form view for another module and creating a form template and associating it with other modules.

When you clone a form page, you're just making an independent copy of it. Once it's cloned, the two versions have no relationship with each other. With Canvas Templates, all your modules are linked to one central design. They don't just look the same at the start; they're managed together.

Capabilities	Cloning	Canvas Templates
Creates copies?	✅Yes	✅Yes
Copies stay linked?	❌No	✅Yes
Central management	❌No	✅Yes
Consistent updates?	❌No	✅Yes
Best for	One-off duplicates	One-off duplicates Uniform design across modules

Let's review a few UI terms to help you understand the Canvas Templates flow.

Template tab

This is where your primary template lives. It shows the module and layout the template is built on. You can modify it anytime to customize your template design.

Similar to other Canvas view design pages, the left panel of the Template tab has four components:

Data: What gets displayed inside the layout: fields, subforms, and custom buttons.
Elements: Building blocks of your layout, such as Section, Tab, Table, Text, Image, Icon, and Line.
Style: Visual controls including font, font size, background color, border, shadow, radius, padding, margin, and background image. These changes can be applied by selecting a desired element in the Canvas. The options vary based on the selected element. Styles applied to the elements can be saved as presets and reused in the future.
Reusable Components: Elements, styles, and data saved from previous canvases. Once saved, they can be reused across modules, and the fields will be auto-mapped by CRM.

Mapping tab

This is where you manage each associated module's layout. After linking modules to your template, you come here to review, adjust fields, and apply module-specific styling before publishing. The form's design, field arrangement, and visual structure stay exactly as they were. Only the data source changes. By default, the system makes random field mappings for the associated module.

Under the Mapping tab, you will find the following components:

Associated Modules

You will find all the modules and layouts created as views and associated with the template. These modules inherit the structure, design, theme, and branding style from the template, ensuring that all associated views are consistent.

Edit Style

If you want minor visual tweaks in a specific module without updating the primary template, use Edit Style. Think of this as an 80/20 approach: 80% of the design stays consistent from the template, and the remaining 20% can be adjusted for the module.

For example, if the Contacts module needs a different section background color or field spacing, Edit Style lets you override just those styles for that module while keeping it linked to the template. Click the Edit Style icon next to the respective associated view.

Note:

You cannot add or delete elements of the associated view. Adding or deleting elements is only allowed from the template. If you want to remove an element, you can hide it and find it under Styles.
If you delete a field from the template after publishing, the corresponding field in all associated views will be marked as N/A. You will need to remap those fields manually in each associated view.

Properties Panel

If a module needs minor adjustments (like column width, field height, or spacing), you don't have to unsync it. Simply override those styles for that specific module within the template. The core design stays shared; only the tweaks are module-specific.

Highlight Style Overrides: Visually identifies elements in an associated module layout whose styles differ from the primary template. Enable it from the Properties panel in the Mapping tab to quickly spot module-specific styling changes in associated module views before saving or publishing.
Restore Styles: Reverts the style changes made to the currently selected element or section and returns it to its previous or default styling.
Restore All Styles: Reverts all style customizations applied across the page or layout and restores the overall design to its default styling.

Note: Highlight Style Overrides is only a visual review option. Enabling or disabling it does not apply, remove, or save any style changes.

Controls

You can use the controls in the top-right area of the panel to adjust how the template is displayed while you work:

Zoom: Changes the magnification level of the canvas so you can view the layout more closely or fit more of it on the screen.
Preview: Opens a preview of the template so you can review how it will appear before saving or publishing.
Full Screen: Expands the workspace to occupy the full screen, giving you a larger area to view and edit the template.

Publish Template

Publishing a template creates individual canvases for each associated module view. This means you still have the flexibility to fine-tune fields per module: consistency across modules, with room for customization where needed.

After reviewing or updating the current associated view, click Save [Module] to save the changes made. This will preserve its configuration before moving to the next one. Only after all associated views have been reviewed, saved individually, and marked with a green indicator can you publish the template by clicking the Publish button. Once published, the saved views become available for use.

Create form templates

To create a form template:

Navigate to Setup → Canvas → Templates.
Click Create Form Template.
Select a sample module and a layout to try out the template, then click Create.
Select one of the pre-built templates to preview and edit, or click Create Blank Canvas to build from scratch.
Build your layout and design your template using the left panel until you get the desired result.
Name the template and click Save.
A prompt will appear asking if you want to select the modules to associate with the template. Click Yes, Select Modules.
Choose the modules and their layouts, then click Proceed to map.

Once you have associated the modules, you will land on the Mapping tab.

Note:

The initial module you selected is only a sample for setting up the template with live fields. It helps configure your template, but you'll need to pick the same module again when linking modules so that it can sync with the template.
Once you've saved your template, you will see an additional tab on the top panel called Mapping, where the associated modules appear.
The Template tab stays visible alongside all associated modules for easy comparison and styling.

On the Mapping tab, all chosen modules and their layouts appear in the left panel. Click a module layout to review and adjust each one if you have modifications to make.

By default, fields are auto-mapped using predefined rules that match fields across modules. If the mapping needs adjustment, right-click any field to manually change it.

If a module needs minor visual differences like a different background color or field spacing, use Edit Style.
After making modifications, visit each associated view and save them individually by clicking Save [Module] for each associated module.
Ensure all views are marked with a green indicator. Only after this step can you publish the template and use these views.
If you want to add more modules and layouts now or later, click the plus icon next to Associated Modules in the Mapping Tab and add the modules.
Once all modules are saved and marked green, click Publish. Each associated module will have its own Canvas form view, ready to use.

Note: You can create a maximum of ten templates regardless of module repetitions.

Managing your template

Change the primary template

If you want to change the module of the primary template, under the Templates tab, click the edit icon next to the module name.

When would a user change a primary template's module?

When business needs change and a different module becomes the better fit for the template.
Example: Your sales team built a Canvas Form Template on the Leads module to capture new inquiries. Over time, your qualification process matures, and leads are now pre-vetted before they ever reach the form, so every submission goes straight into Contacts. Rather than rebuilding the form from scratch, the user can:

Switch the template's module from Leads to Contacts
Select the matching layout
Pick up right where they left off

To maximize field availability in the associated view, the selected master template should ideally belong to the module with the highest number of fields.
Example: Suppose the Leads module has 10 fields and no subforms, while the Contacts module has 20 fields and one subform. If the user selects Leads as the master template, they won't be able to map the subform in the Contacts associated view because the master template doesn't contain a corresponding subform. In such cases, the user may need to change the master template to a module that supports all the required fields and components.

Quick actions

To access quick template actions, navigate to Setup → Canvas → Templates.

Disable template: Turn off the template toggle to disable the primary template. When disabled, the template will no longer be active for use.

Other template actions: Click the ellipsis icon on the primary template to open the options menu.

Edit: Opens the template editor so you can modify the template design and settings.
Associate modules: Lets you link the template to additional modules or layouts.
Clone: Creates a copy of the template that you can modify independently.
Rename: Changes the template name.
Preview: Shows how the template will appear before you make it available for use.
Export Canvas: Exports the template configuration for reuse or backup.
Delete: Deletes the primary template. This also deletes the templates of all associated modules.

Unsync associated views

To unsync a selected associated view from the primary template:

Navigate to Setup → Canvas → Templates.
Click on the primary template from which you want to unsync a view.
Under Status, disable the toggle next to the associated view.
Alternatively, click the ellipsis (···) icon and click Unsync from Template.

The view moves to Form View as a regular independent form page and can be customized separately.
In the confirmation pop-up that appears, rename it as desired for the form view and click Unsync from Template.

When would a user unsync an associated view?

Imagine a recruitment company uses one shared template across Candidates, Job Openings, and Interviews. Later, the Interviews team needs additional evaluation sections and a specialized workflow. The admin unsyncs the Interviews associated view from the template, and it becomes an independent form view. The other modules remain synced to the shared template. This keeps a standardized template for most teams while allowing specific modules or teams to customize their view when needed.

Note: Unsyncing one module has no impact on other linked modules. They continue receiving updates from the primary template as usual. Only the unsynced module becomes an independent form page.

Need one module to be different?

Minor differences: Use Edit Style

If a module just needs small visual adjustments like a different color, field spacing, or section padding, use Edit Style in the Mapping tab. The module stays linked to the template and keeps receiving updates. Only those specific style overrides are module-specific.

Major differences: Unsync

If a module needs a fundamentally different layout or workflow, unsync it from the template entirely.

Canvas Assignment for Profiles

Once your templates are published, use Canvas Assignment to control which form view each profile should use by default for a specific module and layout.

By default, all profiles are assigned to the Standard view. To make users see a Canvas-designed form, manually assign their profile to the appropriate Canvas form view.

How to assign:

Select the required module and layout.
Review the list of profiles.
For each profile, choose the form view that should be used by default.
Click Save.
You can click Reassign to redo the assignment later.

Note: If a profile remains assigned to Standard View, users in that profile will continue to see the standard form instead of the Canvas-designed form. Assign profiles manually to activate the Canvas view for them.

Once the assignment is completed, the form views for the profiles assigned to the Canvas template will reflect the template's design when you switch to the linked layout.

Canvas Form View Templates | Zoho CRM Help