Troubleshoot canvas issues

Use this article when a canvas will not open, a button is missing, edits are not working, comments seem wrong, export fails, media will not load, or collaborators cannot access the work. Most canvas problems come from permissions, canvas type, loading state, sharing paths, browser/device context, or project organization.

Start with the symptom, not the menu. "Export is missing," "guest cannot comment," and "canvas disappeared from the project" have different fixes.

Canvas will not open

If the canvas is urgent, ask another collaborator with access to open it. That tells you whether the issue is your account/device or the canvas itself.

A button or menu item is missing

Missing controls usually mean one of these states:

1. You do not have the required permission.
2. You are a guest.
3. You are on mobile or a narrow layout.
4. The canvas is a freeform whiteboard, so page actions do not apply.
5. The workspace does not have the feature enabled.
6. The selected object does not support the action.
7. The upload or generated result is still processing.
8. The action belongs to a different workflow, such as page management, template creation, or file processing.

Examples: Present, Export to PDF, Print, and Resize all canvas pages are page-canvas actions. They do not apply to freeform whiteboards. Guests do not manage sharing or presentation for a canvas. The mobile toolbar is for review and light edits, not every desktop action. File preview and file download can have different permissions.

Cannot edit content

Check permission first. Viewers cannot edit, and commenters can give feedback without changing objects. Guests may have view, comment, or edit access depending on the share role. For the cross-product checklist, use Read-only troubleshooting.

There is also a cause that looks like a permission bug but is not: the canvas can be forced read-only by the plan or billing of the workspace that owns it.

Check the owning workspace when:

• The workspace is over its Free plan limit.
• The workspace is over its storage quota.
• The workspace has an unpaid subscription.

In those states, editing and commenting are both turned off for everyone, regardless of role. On a canvas shared with you, it is the owner's workspace that counts, not yours. Ask the owner to check their plan or fix the payment issue.

If permission is correct, check whether the object is locked, grouped, pending upload, behind another object, or inside a mode such as text editing or spreadsheet cell editing. Select the object boundary, unlock it if you have permission, or open the Element menu for object-level actions.

If many objects on a page will not move, use the Page menu to check whether the page’s objects were locked with Lock all.

Cannot comment or mention

You need comment permission or higher. If you entered as a guest, the canvas link must allow commenting. If you can comment but cannot resolve, reopen, or delete whole threads, that can be expected for guests.

If a mention does not seem to notify someone, check whether the person has access to the canvas. Mentioning someone who cannot open the canvas does not magically grant access. Share the canvas first, then send a comment link. For mention-specific delivery checks, use Mention people and canvas collaborators.

If a comment appears missing, check whether the anchored object or page was deleted, whether the page is folded, and whether the thread is resolved.

Guest cannot collaborate

Check the guest link, role, PIN or password, and workspace guest settings. The guest entry flow must complete before the full editor, presence, comments, chat, and call experience loads.

Guests do not see every control. Missing Share, Present, Info tab, sub-canvas creation, thread resolve, reopen, or whole-thread delete controls can be expected.

If guests need to add sticky notes in a workshop, make sure the link grants edit access and that the objects or page are not locked.

Export, print, or download fails

For PDF export and print, confirm the canvas is a page canvas. Freeform whiteboards do not use page-based export or print. Confirm you have permission to export, then wait for all media to load.

For file or image download, check whether download is restricted. Preview can be available even when download is blocked.

For image batch download, use Download all images from the header menu when you have permission to download canvas images. If you only need a shareable artifact, PDF export is usually the better workflow.

Use Fix a failed canvas export for the full export checklist.

Files, images, PDFs, or spreadsheets misbehave

If upload fails, check file size, file type, network, storage state, and edit permission. Try one file first before retrying a large batch.

If preview fails, wait for processing or try refreshing. Large PDFs and images can take longer to prepare.

If Replace image, Crop, Remove background, Restore image, Upload a thumbnail, or Download is missing, check element type, permission, processing state, and workspace feature settings.

If a spreadsheet will not move, you may be editing cells. Exit cell editing and select the object edge.

See Work with images, files, and spreadsheets.

Pages look wrong or disappeared

Check the slide rail. Pages can be reordered, folded, renamed, duplicated, deleted, or moved out of the expected flow.

If a page is folded, it still exists as a compact row in the slide rail. Unfold it to bring it back into the active flow.

If a page was deleted, check whether version history or backup workflows are available from the header menu. If the page had comments, deletion may have removed attached discussion.

If page actions are missing entirely, check whether the canvas is a freeform whiteboard. Freeform whiteboards use one board instead of normal page stacks.

Canvas is slow

Large canvases can slow down when they contain many pages, heavy images, large PDFs, dense comments, many live collaborators, or ongoing uploads. Performance can also depend on browser, device memory, network, and whether other tabs are consuming resources.

Try these in order: wait for uploads to finish, close unused tabs, reduce live media-heavy editing, move deep work into sub-canvases, fold inactive pages, and split extremely large sessions into clearer canvas sections. On low-performance devices, ALLO can reduce nonessential presence details to keep navigation responsive.

Changes are not reflected

If a change does not appear for someone else, check network connection, whether they are on the same canvas and page, whether the object is inside a folded page, and whether their browser is still loading an older state.

Ask them to refresh once after confirming the work was saved for you. If the change still does not appear, compare accounts and access paths. They may be viewing a copied canvas, old link, or different project version.

Canvas is missing from a project

The canvas may have moved to another project, been archived, been deleted, or become unavailable because your access changed. Search the workspace, check project archives, open a direct link, and ask project owners whether the canvas was moved with Move to another project. See Manage canvases in projects for the project-side workflow.

If the canvas was copied, make sure people are using the current copy. Duplicate canvases create a lot of fake "missing work" reports.

What to include when contacting support

Send the canvas link, the exact action you tried, the time of the issue, your role if you know it, whether you are a guest, browser or desktop app, canvas type if known, and screenshots of the error. For export or media issues, include whether the issue affects one page, one file, or the whole canvas.

Do not paste private customer data into a support message unless your team policy allows it. Describe the object, page, or file enough for support to identify the failure.