After using Heptabase and Scrintal, I don’t think I can go back. Open canvas is an amazing way of facilitating thinking, way better than an open document or some AI assistant.
yes, I would spend more time on using the notes, rather than trying to organize them.
I think the canvas thing is a huge breakthrough for the human brain and just in general for PKM!
I think the Canvas is going to be the next natural progression of PKM, like it is Inevitable, even if it’s not the main focus right now.
that would be cool!
Just another thought coming to mind…
I think the Canvas is going to be way more important than I thought before.
When looking at how people are working with AI Agents and building workflows for them, it seems that the “canvas” is the best way to visualize that and work with the agent.
I know Anytype is looking to implement AI so I think this is very relevant to how they could eventually set up ai and AI agents into Anype.
I think Anype would become even way more powerful as a result.
Here is an example but is am sure someone could find a better one:
WHAT DO YOU RECOMMEND?
Since handwritten notes is already in the roadmap, how about adding an infinite canvas.
HOW COULD IT BE DONE?
Make it so that handwritten thing is a separate object and the canvas expands both downward and to the right as we add more things to it.
REAL WORLD USE CASES
People could make plans for upcoming project with text and images and show on a meeting. Also useful for students who want to add a detailed explanation of tought topics. Also great for youtubers.
Example - https://images.app.goo.gl/nxFkUVf6ha1kuwUF7
RECOMMENDED ALTERNATIVES
OneNote
ADDITIONAL CONTEXT
Btw thanks for making this beautiful piece of software. 
hey is this different from https://community.anytype.io/t/whiteboards-canvas ?
+1 for an Obsidian’s JSONCanva implementation in AnyType. We need both a 1D layout (markdown) and a 2D layout (canvas) to think depending on the context. This is not by chance that all schools used whiteboards/chalkboards to teach, everywhere in the world, since Antiquity.
Here is another good example of canvas/whitebroad implementation. I know this is going to be key feature at some point.
The infinite canvas with the ability to link existing notes will be irreplaceable for creative writing, it is a perfect tool for outlining and planning/organising in general. It’s annoying to have to switch to Obsidian to get this feature, especially since everything else is done in Anytype.
I agree. I do the same thing.
Implementing tldraw would be perfect, why not make a collaboration?
A whiteboard would be perfect for keeping your mind maps, strategies, and projects within the app. It’s very visual.
tldraw:
whiteboard: https://www.tldraw.com/
for developers: https://www.tldraw.dev/
on github: GitHub - tldraw/tldraw: A tiny little drawing app.
Just wanted to upvote this, with some suggestions: affine (open source) has a pretty decent whiteboard in my opinion. It’s not heptabase level, but it’s “good enough” (and better than nothing).
There’s also deeptnote that’s interesting and also opensource.
Hi! Thank you for your amazing work, I just want to add my voice for this, this is the only feature I’m missing for my creative needs. As a writer and virtual photographer it’s really needed, a sort of Canvas like in Obsidian as it have been mentioned as a new object would be amazing. 
agreeded!
whiteboards/Canvas and Handwritten notes should be combined into one.
2 nails with 1 hammer!
Its the 2 for 1 deal that needs go on sale so we can get it!
Just to add another source for canvas inspiration that the Anytype team can draw from when the team eventually works on this; Kortex (soon to be rebranded to Eden) will have a built in canvas as well, looks to be somewhat similar to Obsidian’s.
Sidenote, it’s also quite amazing how this PKM like app startup is built mainly by just a handful of university students. Too bad they don’t have E2EE.
Plus, it’s not open source. (Not even source-available).
True, but I don’t blame them for not stretching themselves too thin. They are are a small team of what looks to be late teens/early twenties devs on their very first startup. I can respect the grind that they have at the age they are and have nothing bad to say about them.
Am just glad Anytype exist and want to share another app implementing canvas, since this feature is the 5th/6th most voted for request in Anytype.
I agree, it’s amazing what they have achieved. I don’t want to belittle their work; it’s just that I do prefer open source solutions (or source-available as a second-best alternative) for various reasons (no vendor lock-in, among others) that have nothing to do with the great work they deliver. I have used Kortex myself (and, BTW, am also a fan of Dan Koe’s writings) and can only say good things about it. (Except for the closed source aspect 
)
WHAT DO YOU RECOMMEND?
A freeform canvas/whiteboard feature with customizable, connectable lines, notes, cards, and objects. It should allow full drag-and-drop placement similar to a digital whiteboard, separate from the existing graph/flow map view.
HOW COULD IT BE DONE?
Implement a dedicated canvas workspace where users can:
- Drag and drop notes, cards, and objects freely onto an infinite canvas
- Create customizable connectors (lines/arrows) between items
- Resize, group, and layer elements visually
- Toggle between structured views (graph/database) and freeform visual thinking space
- Optionally support templates (mind maps, planning boards, brainstorming layouts)
REAL WORLD USE CASES
- Brainstorming ideas visually before structuring them into notes
- Mapping complex projects with dependencies and relationships
- Creating study maps that combine concepts, images, and links
- Designing workflows or systems visually (e.g., content pipelines, research frameworks)
- Organizing research in a spatial way rather than linear lists or databases
This would make it easier to “think out loud” visually, especially for users who prefer whiteboard-style planning over structured note hierarchies.
RECOMMENDED ALTERNATIVES
- Using the current graph/flow map for relationship visualization (but it lacks manual layout control)
- Manual linking of notes within the existing system, though this does not provide spatial freedom
ADDITIONAL CONTEXT
This feature is often compared to Obsidian’s Canvas, which allows freeform spatial arrangement of notes and connections. Many users are looking for a similar experience integrated directly into this app to avoid switching between tools and to unify structured notes with visual thinking.
I know I could add a miro embed and use it instead but it isn’t as seamless as having it as a feature within the app and I still have to sign up through miro and store the content on their side too.
Thanks for reading
this would be great to have in anytype too..
new OCR model!
- Achieves 85.9% on the olmocr bench (sota)
- Supports 90+ languages, with benchmarks included
- 4 billion parameter model (reduced from 9 billion parameters)
- Full layout information
- Extracts and adds captions for images and charts
- Strong support for handwriting, math, forms, and tables
100% open source.
https://x.com/berryxia/status/2047997439064555566?s=20