Page size

Page size controls the base width and height of pages in a page canvas. Use it when the shape of the work matters: a presentation page, printed handout, PDF page, report section, workshop template, design review, lesson, or page that needs a specific amount of room.

Page size is a page-canvas feature. A page canvas has bounded pages, page order, page links, presentation flow, print, and page-based export. A freeform whiteboard is one open board that grows as content spreads, so normal page size controls do not apply there.

Page size at a glance

Availability

Page-by-page sizes

A page canvas can contain pages with different sizes. Each page stores its own base width and height. ALLO centers pages in the page stack and uses each page's own size for layout, overview, previews, placement, export, and print.

Mixed page sizes are useful when the structure is intentional. A workshop canvas might use a standard agenda page, a wide comparison page, a tall notes page, and a compact decision page. A design review might use wide pages for side-by-side options and standard pages for decisions.

Mixed page sizes become confusing when they are accidental. Before sharing, presenting, or exporting, scan the slide rail or overview and make sure every unusual size supports the story. If collaborators ask why one page looks wider or taller, rename it to explain its role or resize it back to the expected shape.

Copied and duplicated pages keep their page size when possible. If you paste pages or content between pages with different sizes, check placement afterward because available space, centering, and page boundaries can change how the copied layout feels.

Resize this page

Use Resize this page when one page needs a different shape from the rest of the canvas. Open the page, open the Page menu, and choose Resize this page.

The resize dialog lets you choose a preset, enter custom width and height values, or swap width and height. Use this for a wide comparison page, a tall documentation page, a page that should match a report section, or a compact decision page.

This is the safest resize action for an existing canvas because it limits the change to the current page. It is also the best choice when the canvas intentionally mixes page shapes.

Resize selected pages

Use Resize n pages when a selected group of pages should share the same size. Select multiple pages in the slide rail when multi-page selection is available, open the page menu, then choose Resize n pages.

This is useful for sections: several design-option pages, multiple workshop activities, a group of appendix pages, or a batch of imported pages that should match each other. It avoids changing the whole canvas when only one section needs a new shape.

After resizing selected pages, scan the section in the slide rail or overview. A group resize can still surprise collaborators if some selected pages were not meant to change.

Resize all canvas pages

Use Resize all canvas pages from the canvas header menu when the entire page canvas needs one consistent size. This is useful before export, print, presentation, or template cleanup.

ALLO warns before applying an all-page resize when the target size would change existing pages. Treat that confirmation seriously. Resizing every page can affect page layout, page previews, printed margins, presentation framing, and how collaborators scan the canvas.

All-page resize is usually best early in a workflow, before people spend time aligning objects. If the canvas is already in use, tell collaborators what will change and why.

Presets and custom sizes

The resize dialog includes common paper and screen presets, such as A3, A4, B4, B5, US Letter, US Legal, on-screen 16:9, and on-screen 4:3. Preset order can vary by region.

Presets are shortcuts, not locks. You can still adjust width and height after choosing a preset, before applying the resize.

You can also enter a custom size. The valid range is 500-55,000 px for both width and height. If either value is outside that range, the resize action stays unavailable until both values are valid.

Use the swap control when the page needs the same dimensions in the opposite orientation. This is often faster than retyping width and height.

Automatic height adjustment

In a normal page canvas, the saved page size is the base floor. Width stays fixed. Height can grow automatically when objects extend below the bottom of the page, then return to the base height when the extra room is no longer needed.

This means a page can look taller on screen than the size shown in the resize dialog. The dialog sets the intended page shape. Automatic height adjustment protects content from being cut off while people work.

Some pages may have automatic height adjustment disabled. When that is true, the resize dialog can show Enable automatic height adjustment. Turn it on if content should be allowed to extend the page downward instead of staying inside a fixed height.

Automatic height is not the same as resizing the page. Auto-height is runtime protection for content that extends downward, while resizing changes the page's saved base dimensions.

Example: one canvas, different page shapes

A strong page canvas does not have to use one size everywhere. A customer workshop might start with a 16:9 agenda page, move into a wide comparison page, continue with a tall notes page that grows as participants add content, and end with a compact decision page that exports cleanly.

That mix works when each page shape has a job. The agenda page behaves like a slide. The comparison page gives options enough horizontal room. The notes page can grow downward while people work. The decision page stays tight because it is the page people will revisit after the session.

The important distinction is that page size is intentional structure, while automatic height is protection. Resize a page when the base shape should change. Leave automatic height on when the base shape is right but live work may temporarily extend below it. If a page keeps growing so much that nobody can present or export it cleanly, split the work into more pages instead of treating height as infinite storage.

Auto-grow behavior on freeform whiteboards

Freeform whiteboards do not use normal page size controls. Instead, the board can grow as content spreads across the open surface. That growth is part of the freeform whiteboard experience, not a saved page size that you adjust from the page menu.

During an active editing session, ALLO may keep the expanded working area from shrinking so your viewport does not jump while you move content. After reloading, the board can settle based on the content again.

Use a freeform whiteboard when the work should expand spatially in more than one direction: maps, brainstorms, clusters, systems diagrams, research synthesis, or open-ended planning. Use a page canvas when the final work needs page order, output boundaries, page links, or presentation flow.

Page canvas or freeform whiteboard

Choose a page canvas when output matters. Page size gives the work a stable shape for slides, PDFs, printouts, page links, and section-by-section review. It is the better format for handouts, reports, lessons, client reviews, workshops with a clear agenda, and reusable templates.

Choose a freeform whiteboard when page boundaries would make the work worse. It is the better format for spatial thinking, clustering, exploration, and work that should remain one large open surface.

If a stakeholder needs a reliable PDF or printout, use a page canvas. If the team needs one large exploration surface, use a freeform whiteboard and create a separate page canvas later for the final story.

Export, print, and presentation impact

Page size affects page-based output. PDF export and print depend on page order, page size, folded-page state, selected page range, loaded media, background contrast, quality setting, and browser or export behavior.

Before exporting or printing, check page order, page titles, page sizes, folded pages, selected pages, and whether images or file previews have finished loading. If a page should stay out of the output, fold it or exclude it from the PDF page range. If it should appear, unfold it first. See Export a canvas to PDF for PDF-specific quality, page range, and delivery behavior.

Presentation also follows the page flow. Very wide or very tall pages can be hard to present because the audience may see more scaling, empty space, or scrolling than expected. Use screen-shaped presets for slide-style pages when the canvas is meant to be shown live.

If pages use different sizes, output can include different page shapes or margins. That can be useful for mixed-format handouts, but it should be deliberate.

Practical workflows

For a report or handout, choose a consistent page size early. Resize all pages before people align objects, then export once content and media are stable.

For a workshop, use a standard size for the agenda and activity pages, then resize only the pages that need extra space. Fold facilitator notes instead of making the main flow larger.

For design review, use wide pages for comparisons and standard pages for decisions or notes. Rename pages clearly so mixed sizes look intentional.

For a template, resize pages before saving the template. A template with accidental page sizes creates cleanup work every time someone uses it.

For a page that keeps growing downward, leave automatic height adjustment enabled. If the page becomes too long to present or print cleanly, split the content across pages instead of letting one page become a scroll-heavy appendix.

Why resize controls may be missing

If Resize this page, Resize n pages, or Resize all canvas pages is missing, first check the canvas format. Freeform whiteboards do not use normal page size controls.

If the canvas is a page canvas, check permission next. View access, comment access, guest access, and read-only states do not allow resizing because the change affects everyone who uses the canvas.

The control can also be limited on mobile or narrow layouts. If you need precise resizing, open the canvas in the web or desktop app with edit access.

If you are using the page menu, remember that Resize this page and Resize n pages are page-level actions. Resize all canvas pages lives in the canvas header menu because it changes the whole canvas.

What can go wrong

If objects still extend beyond the page after resizing, check whether automatic height adjustment is enabled. For normal page canvases, width stays fixed and height is the axis that grows automatically.

If a page looks different in export or print, check mixed page sizes, folded pages, browser scale settings, background contrast, and whether files or images finished loading.

If a page becomes too wide or too tall to present clearly, resize it to a screen-shaped preset or split the content across pages.

If collaborators are surprised by a resize, explain whether you changed one page, selected pages, or every page. All-page resize is the largest change and should usually happen before a live review, not during it.

If you entered a custom size and cannot apply it, confirm both width and height are inside 500-55,000 px.

If the page size changed but the content still feels crowded, the page may need structure rather than more pixels. Add pages, fold archive material, or move deeper work into a sub-canvas.