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This page covers the most common issues with ZeroTwo’s Canvas Mode and how to resolve them quickly.

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Activation Issues

The Canvas pill lives in the prompt bar at the bottom of the chat interface.Things to check:
  • Make sure you are in a main chat view (/c or /c/:chatId). Canvas Mode is not available in all views — it is not accessible from the Projects overview, settings pages, or the home screen.
  • If you are in a chat and the pill is still missing, try a hard refresh: Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + R.
  • If the pill appears but is grayed out, your current plan may not include Canvas Mode access. Check your plan at Settings → Subscription.
  • Try opening a new chat and checking there.
If the pill is still not visible after all of the above, contact ZeroTwo support from Settings → Help & Support.
The Canvas pill must be toggled on (highlighted/blue) before you send your message. If the pill is not active when you press send, ZeroTwo responds in the chat as usual — no canvas opens.Fix:
  1. Click the Canvas pill so it turns blue and is visibly highlighted.
  2. Send your message again.
If the pill is active and the canvas still does not open, try rephrasing your prompt to be more explicit — see the AI behavior section below.

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AI Behavior Issues

Canvas Mode is active, but ZeroTwo chose to respond in the chat rather than opening a canvas. This usually happens when the prompt is conversational or does not clearly call for a document artifact.Fix — be more explicit:
  • “Create a canvas document with…” instead of just asking a question
  • “Open a canvas and write a blog post about X”
  • “Make a canvas spreadsheet comparing…”
  • “Write this as a canvas document, not in the chat”
If the response is already in the chat and you want it moved to a canvas, send: “Now put that in a canvas document.”
ZeroTwo infers the editor type from your prompt. If the wrong editor opens, specify the type explicitly:
To open this editorInclude in your prompt
Rich Text”Write a document…” or “Draft a report…”
Code”Create a Python code canvas…” or “Write a JavaScript function in a code canvas…”
Spreadsheet”Make a spreadsheet…” or “Build a table with columns for…”
Mermaid Diagram”Create a Mermaid flowchart…” or “Draw a sequence diagram…”
HTML Preview”Build an HTML page…” or “Create a live HTML canvas…”
You can also ask ZeroTwo to switch: “Close this and open a code canvas instead.”
When you send a follow-up message, ZeroTwo may regenerate the entire canvas rather than making a targeted edit. To prevent this, be specific about what should change and what should stay:
  • “Only change the second paragraph — make it shorter”
  • “Add a new section at the end about pricing; leave the rest unchanged”
  • “Replace the table in section 3 with a bullet list”
For small text changes, use inline edits instead: select the specific text in the canvas and use the inline toolbar to modify just that passage.

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Inline Edit Issues

The inline edit toolbar appears when you select text in the Rich Text canvas.If it is not showing up:
  1. Click directly on the text first to make sure the canvas is focused, then click and drag to select text.
  2. Avoid using keyboard shortcuts alone (Shift + Arrow) as the initial focus — click first, then extend the selection.
  3. Click elsewhere in the canvas to deselect, then try selecting again.
  4. Try refreshing the page if the toolbar is consistently missing.
Note: Inline edits are only available in the Rich Text editor canvas. They are not available in the Code, Spreadsheet, Diagram, or HTML editors — use the chat to request changes in those editors.
The AI sometimes expands an inline edit beyond the selected text, especially near section boundaries. To narrow the scope:
  • Select a smaller, more specific passage
  • Add “only change the selected text, do not modify surrounding content” to your inline edit instruction
  • Use Cmd/Ctrl + Z immediately to undo if the change was too broad, then try again with a smaller selection

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Undo and History Issues

Undo behavior depends on the editor type:
  • Rich Text editor: Cmd/Ctrl + Z for undo, Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + Z for redo. This uses BlockNote’s native history. Click inside the canvas first to ensure it is focused before pressing the shortcut.
  • Spreadsheet editor: Undo behavior may be limited. In-cell edits may not be fully undoable. For major changes, ask ZeroTwo to revert: “Restore the spreadsheet to before the last change.”
  • All other editors (Code, Diagram, HTML): Use the undo/redo buttons in the canvas toolbar if available, not keyboard shortcuts.
Note: Undo history is per-session. Refreshing the page clears the undo stack. Document content is saved, but you cannot undo changes made in a previous session.

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Export Issues

Try these steps in order:
  1. Wait up to 30 seconds — PDF generation for large documents can be slow.
  2. Try a different export format. If PDF is failing, try DOCX or Markdown.
  3. Check your browser’s download settings — some browsers block automatic downloads. Look for a blocked download notification in the URL bar and allow downloads from zerotwo.ai.
  4. Try in a different browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari).
  5. If the canvas is very long, try exporting a shorter version first to confirm the feature is working.
If exports consistently fail across all formats, contact ZeroTwo support.

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Diagram Issues

A rendering error means there is a Mermaid syntax error in the generated code. The left pane shows the Mermaid source; look for the syntax issue.Quick fix: Send this message in the chat: “The diagram has a syntax error — please fix it.” ZeroTwo will review and correct the Mermaid syntax.Manual fixes for common syntax errors:
  • Node labels with spaces must be in quotes: A["Label with spaces"]
  • Missing end keyword at the close of a subgraph
  • Wrong arrow syntax — flowcharts use -->, sequence diagrams use ->>
  • Unsupported characters in node labels (avoid (), {}, <> inside labels without quoting)
Full Mermaid syntax reference: mermaid.js.org
A blank export almost always means the diagram was not rendering correctly (a syntax error). Fix the Mermaid syntax first, confirm the right pane shows the rendered diagram, then export again.

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Performance Issues

Large canvases may take a moment to render.Tips by editor type:
  • Rich Text: Very long documents (500+ paragraphs) may be slow. Break very long content into multiple canvases.
  • HTML Preview: Remove heavy external libraries if they are not needed.
  • Mermaid Diagrams: Very large diagrams (100+ nodes) render slowly. Simplify if performance is a concern.
  • Try refreshing the page if the canvas appears frozen — ZeroTwo will reload the last saved state.

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Still Need Help?

If your issue is not covered here:
  • Check the Canvas Overview to verify you are using the feature as intended
  • Search the ZeroTwo documentation using the search bar
  • Contact ZeroTwo support from Settings → Help & Support

Canvas Overview

How Canvas Mode works and all 7 editor types.

Export Canvas

All export formats and how to use them.

Share Canvas

Managing and revoking shared canvas links.

Rich Text Editor

Formatting, inline edits, and undo/redo details.