Use audio/video calls in a canvas

Canvas calls keep the discussion beside the work

Use a canvas call when people need to talk while looking at the same canvas. Calls are useful for live review, workshops, stakeholder walkthroughs, support sessions, and moments where text would slow the group down.

The canvas remains the shared visual surface. The call gives people voice and optional video. Comments, notes, tasks, and canvas edits keep the outcome.

For the broader collaboration guide, see Use audio/video calls.

A call does not grant canvas access. Everyone still needs permission to open the canvas before the call is useful. If someone is stuck on a guest entry screen, access request, or wrong account, fix sharing before troubleshooting microphone or camera settings.

Availability

If the call control is missing, check canvas access before checking device settings. Device permission matters after the call starts; access decides whether you can start or join the call.

Start or join a call

Open the canvas and use the call control in the header. If no one is in the room, start the call. If people are already in the room, join it.

When the room is active, the header can show participant avatars or a count. Use that signal to decide whether you are joining an existing conversation or starting a new one.

After joining, keep the canvas visible. The point of a canvas call is that people can refer to the same work while talking.

Participant limits

ALLO canvas calls use Agora for live audio and video. For normal calls, keep one canvas room to 32 people sending audio or fewer. Of those, keep camera-on participants to 17 or fewer.

That does not mean the eighteenth person is blocked from opening the canvas. It means the call is past the reliable active-media shape. If a review has more people, keep cameras off for people who are mostly listening, use comments and chat for questions, or split the live discussion into smaller groups.

If people report that a speaker or camera tile is missing in a crowded call, reduce the number of people sending audio or video before treating it as a permission problem. Canvas access, comments, and edits can still work while the call is overloaded.

Manage microphone, camera, and devices

Use the microphone control to mute or unmute. Use camera control to turn video on or off. Use the local participant settings control when available to choose the correct microphone or camera.

Calls can start audio-only. This is intentional. In many canvas reviews, the canvas content is more important than faces. Keep video off when it distracts from the work, creates performance issues, or pushes the room past the video participant limit.

If the browser or operating system asks for microphone or camera access, allow it for ALLO. If access is denied at the browser level, the call room can be valid while media still fails.

Microphone access is the main requirement for a call. Camera access is optional. If the computer has no camera, the browser blocks the camera, or another app is using it, join with audio and keep working. You can turn the camera on later if a camera becomes available. If microphone access is blocked too, the person can still follow the canvas visually but cannot speak through the call until microphone permission or device selection is fixed.

Use device settings when the wrong microphone, speaker, or camera is selected. Camera failure should not end the call by itself. The local tile can fall back to the user's avatar while audio stays active.

Use the call dock

The live call dock shows participant tiles over the canvas. Drag the dock to the position that fits the session. Put it near the work when faces help the discussion, or move it to the edge when the canvas content needs the full screen.

The dock should stay out of the way of the work. If the meeting is about one image, do not leave participant tiles on top of that image. If the meeting is about a comment thread, move the dock away from the comment panel and bubble. Repositioning the dock is part of running the review; do it whenever the call UI blocks the thing people need to inspect.

Active speaker feedback helps people understand who is talking. When someone is speaking, their tile can show a speaking effect so the group can follow the voice without guessing. If a speaker does not show activity, check mute state, selected microphone, and device permission.

Use calls with presence and follow

Calls work best with live collaboration. Presence, cursors, page indicators, and follow behavior help people stay oriented while they talk.

If someone says "look here" and half the group is elsewhere, use presence or a comment link. On page canvases, name the page. On large freeform whiteboards, use labels or regions before the call starts.

Capture outcomes during the call

Do not leave decisions only in the call. If the group agrees on a change, add a comment, update the canvas, or create the related task while the context is still fresh.

Use this pattern:

1. Discuss in the call.
2. Place or update the comment beside the relevant work.
3. Mention the person responsible.
4. Add a due date or project canvas if the work needs tracking.
5. Resolve the thread only after the change is done.

That gives absent collaborators the record they need.

Calls with guests

Before a guest call, confirm the guest can enter the canvas. The guest preview or name-entry screen is not the full editor. The guest must complete entry and have the right permission before the call becomes useful.

Guests may see fewer workspace controls. Keep the session focused on the shared canvas and avoid relying on internal workspace pages that guests cannot open.

External collaborators can join a canvas call without broad workspace access. That is useful for client reviews and workshops, but it also means they may not see project settings, People, files, or other internal areas. Share only the work they should use during the call.

Troubleshoot audio/video calls

If Call or Join is missing, check whether calls are enabled for the workspace, whether you have access to the canvas, whether you are a guest, whether you are on mobile, and whether the header has enough room to show the control.

If microphone or camera does not work, check browser permission, operating system privacy settings, selected device, and whether another app is using the device.

If someone is on the native mobile app, ask them to join from web or desktop. Mobile can review the canvas and comments, but it does not join canvas audio/video calls.

If more than 17 people have cameras on, ask listeners to stop video. If more than 32 people are trying to speak through the same room, move some discussion into comments, chat, or a separate call.

If someone cannot find the call, confirm they opened the same canvas in the same workspace. Similar canvas names in different projects can make people think they are together when they are not.

If performance drops, turn off camera, reduce heavy canvas activity, close unrelated browser tabs, and use comments for the pieces that must be saved.