Canvas basics

Canvas overview

The canvas is the visual builder where you design workflow templates in Pilla. It only exists on the web app — the mobile app shows the finished work runs to your staff, but the canvas itself is web only.

What the canvas is

The canvas is a drag-and-drop screen where every workflow template is designed. You add steps (called elements), wire them together with lines, and group related steps into collapsible containers. When you save the template, those steps become the workflow runs that your staff complete on their phones.

You never edit the canvas on mobile. Open it on a laptop or desktop browser.

How to open the canvas

The canvas opens in place, on top of the Workflow templates view.

  1. Open the Workflow templates view from the app navigation, or from the templates card on the dashboard. Templates are sorted into three columns by trigger type: External triggers, Manual triggers, and Scheduled triggers.
  2. To edit an existing template, click any row in the list. You can also open the three-dots menu on a row and choose Edit workflow.
  3. To start a fresh one, click the dark New template button in the top right of the view.

Either path drops you straight into the canvas.

The trigger node

Every canvas has a trigger node pinned at the top, labelled Trigger with a lightning-bolt icon. You can't delete it. It's the entry point for the workflow — every other step you add eventually connects back to it.

Inside the trigger node is a dropdown showing the current trigger type. Click it to choose how the workflow fires:

  • Trigger manually — Manual. A staff member starts it on demand from the mobile menu.
  • Run just once — One-time. The workflow fires once at a date and time you pick.
  • Run on a schedule — Recurring. The workflow fires daily, weekly, monthly, and so on. A fourth kind, External (Run from external trigger), is coming soon. It will let an outside service (such as a Slack reaction) fire the workflow. You won't see it in the dropdown until it launches.

The header bar

A bar across the top-left of the canvas holds the three fields every template needs:

  • Name (text field, required) -- the workflow name your staff see on mobile. The placeholder reads "Work template name"
  • Tag (single-select dropdown, required) -- pick an existing tag, or type a new tag name in the New tag... box at the bottom of the dropdown and click the Plus icon button to create one
  • Teams (multi-select dropdown, required) -- pick one or more teams. The dropdown has a Select All / Deselect All option at the top. Choosing Select All keeps the workflow in sync with any new teams you create later

A red border around any field means it's empty and needs filling in before you can save.

The Save and Close buttons

A small panel of controls sits in the top-right of the canvas, just across from the header bar:

  • Close and discard -- closes the canvas and returns you to the Workflow templates view. If you have unsaved changes, the Unsaved changes popup appears first
  • Save -- writes the template live and re-creates any future work runs from it. A small amber dot appears on this button while you have changes you haven't saved yet

There is one Save button and no separate draft-then-publish step. Every save goes live straight away. The canvas does not save on its own — nothing is kept until you click Save, so click it before you walk away.

If you click Close and discard with changes you haven't saved, an Unsaved changes popup appears with three buttons: Keep editing (go back to the canvas), Discard & close (leave without saving), and Save & close (save first, then leave). The same popup appears if you try to navigate away using the sidebar.

For more on saving and what your staff see, see the Saving a workflow template help page.

The left toolbar

A stack of two small toolboxes sits on the left edge of the canvas, vertically centred. Hover any icon for a tooltip.

The top toolbox is for adding steps. At the very top is the Group button (a dashed-square icon) that drops an empty group — a collapsible container — onto the canvas. Below it are four category buttons. Hovering each one opens a row of step types you can click or drag onto the canvas:

  • Inputs -- text, number, stepper count, date & time, current date & time, current user, and current location steps
  • Choices -- checklist, choice, rating scale, cascading select, and user choice steps
  • Media -- photo, file, signature, voice note, sketch pad, and annotated photo steps
  • Guidance -- written, photo, and video guidance for staff (no answer expected)

The bottom toolbox has the view controls:

  • Zoom in / Zoom out -- the plus and minus buttons that move you closer to or further from the canvas
  • Fit to view -- the expand button that centres and scales the canvas so the whole workflow is visible
  • Undo / Redo -- step backwards and forwards through your recent changes

The mobile preview

A small iPhone frame sits on the right edge of the canvas, vertically centred. It updates as you add steps so you can see how the workflow will look on a worker's phone. Click the mini frame to expand it into a full-size, interactive preview you can tap through.

For more on the preview, see the Mobile preview help page.

Empty canvas first state

When you start a brand-new template, the canvas shows just the trigger node and nothing else. Click the + button below the trigger node, or drag any step from the left toolbar onto the canvas, to start building.

Tips

  • Brand-new templates that you haven't saved yet keep a backup in your browser. If you close the canvas without saving, the next time you open a new canvas you'll see a banner offering to Resume your unsaved work or Discard it.
  • Saving won't go through while something is missing. Click Save, and any problems are highlighted in red on the canvas and listed under the Save button — for example an empty Name, Tag, or Teams field, an unconnected step, or an empty group. Fix the highlighted items and save again.
  • Templates built before the current canvas open as a read-only preview that's been laid out for you automatically. You can pan, zoom, and look at every step, but those older templates can't be saved into the new canvas yet — you'd need to rebuild them.
  • The canvas works best on a wide screen. On a small laptop, use the Fit to view button to scale things down.

Mobile preview

The mobile preview is a mini iPhone frame on the canvas that shows you how a workflow will look on your staff's phones. It updates live as you build the template, so you can spot wording or layout problems before you save.

What it is

The preview is a small iPhone-shaped thumbnail anchored to the right edge of the canvas, halfway down the screen. It mirrors the current state of the workflow you're building. Every time you add or edit a step, the preview redraws itself.

What you see inside the frame is the same view your staff will see in the live mobile app. Before you've added any steps, the frame shows the message "Add a workflow step to see how it looks on a worker's phone."

How to expand it to full size

  1. Click the mini iPhone frame on the right of the canvas.
  2. The frame animates outwards to fill the screen.
  3. The rest of the canvas dims behind it.

In the expanded view, you can type into text fields, tick checklist items, pick choice options, and try out the workflow as if you were a member of staff filling it in.

How to close the expanded view

You have two ways out:

  • Click the X button in the top-right corner of the screen (a round button on a white background)
  • Click anywhere on the dimmed background around the iPhone frame

The frame shrinks back down to its mini size on the canvas. There is no keyboard shortcut for closing it.

Filling in mock answers

The expanded preview is fully interactive. Anything you type into a step or tick on a checklist is a mock answer. Mock answers are kept while you flip between the mini and expanded views, so you can shrink the preview, tweak the canvas, and open it again without losing what you typed.

Mock answers are not saved anywhere. They're just for your own testing. They don't show up in workflow runs, and they don't follow the template when you save it. They also reset if you close the canvas and reopen it later.

What the preview does not do

The preview is a visual check, not a full simulation. A few things behave differently:

  • Poppi steps (briefings, decisions, and actions) don't appear in the preview at all. They only happen when the workflow runs for real, so the preview leaves them out rather than showing an empty card. To try a Poppi step before you save, use the test drawer on the canvas instead
  • The trigger doesn't appear in the preview. It's what starts the workflow, not a step your team fills in, so the preview only shows the steps staff will actually complete
  • Any step that isn't joined to the rest of the workflow with a line is skipped. If you've dropped a step onto the canvas but haven't connected it yet, it won't show up in the preview
  • Groups don't show their own name or box label, but the steps inside them still appear, wrapped together in a single card so they look the way staff will see them

Background scroll while expanded

Once the preview is expanded, the page behind it is locked in place. You can't scroll the canvas while the fullscreen view is up. Closing the preview unlocks it again.

Tips

  • Use the preview every few minutes as you build. It's the quickest way to catch confusing wording, missing instructions, or a step that's in the wrong order.
  • If the preview shows fewer steps than you've added, check that every step is connected with a line. Steps that aren't joined to anything are hidden from the preview.
  • Poppi steps never appear in the preview. That's expected, not a bug. To check a Poppi step before you save, click the play icon in that step's header on the canvas to open the test drawer and try it with sample data.
  • The preview shows the steps in top-to-bottom canvas order. If they appear in the wrong order, move the step cards up or down on the canvas until they line up the way you want.
  • Try the preview both on your laptop and on a real phone after you save. The preview is accurate, but seeing the workflow on the actual hardware in the field is always a useful final check.

Saving a workflow template

A workflow template has one live version: whatever you last saved is what your staff run. There is no separate draft-then-publish step. This page explains how saving works on the canvas, what your staff see, and what happens to work runs that are already underway when you save.

One Save button — every save goes live

The canvas has a single Save button in the small panel of controls in the top-right, just across from the Name / Tag / Teams header bar. Clicking it writes the template live straight away. There is no separate "publish" step and no draft that sits hidden from your team.

A small amber dot appears on the Save button whenever you have changes you haven't saved yet. While a save is in progress the button shows Saving… with a spinner.

When you save:

  • The template becomes the live version that your staff run on their phones.
  • Future work runs are re-created from the saved template, so anything that fires from now on uses your latest changes.
  • A green Saved confirmation appears briefly.

Save before you walk away from the screen — there is more on the safety nets further down this page.

Saving is explicit — there's no auto-save

The canvas does not save on its own. Your changes are only kept when you click Save, so get into the habit of clicking it before you leave the screen. Closing the tab without saving loses your latest changes.

To the left of Save is the Close and discard button. Clicking it returns you to the Workflow templates view. If you have changes you haven't saved, an Unsaved changes popup appears first with three buttons:

  • Keep editing -- closes the popup and leaves you on the canvas
  • Discard & close -- leaves the canvas without saving your latest changes
  • Save & close -- saves your template first, then closes the canvas

The same popup appears if you try to navigate away using the sidebar while you have unsaved changes. As long as you pick Save & close (or click Save beforehand), nothing is lost.

Why a save won't go through

A save only goes through when the template is complete. If something is missing, clicking Save shows a "Fix the highlighted issues before saving" message, highlights the problem steps with a red border on the canvas, and lists what's wrong underneath the Save button.

The list uses short summaries, grouped so ten unnamed steps show as one line rather than ten. Common entries are:

  • Name your template -- the template Name field is empty
  • Choose a tag -- no Tag is selected
  • Pick a team -- no Teams are selected
  • Set a valid schedule -- a scheduled trigger is missing a valid date or time
  • A count of unconnected steps -- a step has been dropped onto the canvas but not joined to the workflow with a line, so Pilla can't tell where it fits
  • A count of incomplete steps -- a step is missing its name, instructions, content, or list items
  • A count of missing Poppi prompts -- a Poppi step has no instructions
  • A count of decisions that need Yes/No -- a Poppi decision isn't wired to both branches
  • A count of Poppi rules with no steps wired -- a Poppi rule on a step has no Yes/No steps connected
  • A count of empty groups -- a group has no steps inside it

Fix the red-bordered steps and clear the listed items, then click Save again.

What your staff see when you save

The canvas is web only. Your staff never see it. When you save, the change reaches them through their work runs.

On web. The Workflow templates view always shows your one live version. There is no version history to scroll through and no older copies to switch between — what you see on the canvas is what runs.

On mobile. Your staff open the Pilla app and see their work runs. The next run that fires from the template uses your latest saved version. They don't see drafts, version numbers, or anything about the canvas — just the steps you've set up, ready to complete.

What happens to work runs already underway

When you save changes to a scheduled template, Pilla protects work that's already in motion and only re-creates work that is still in the future.

  • Runs that are already in progress, and today's runs, stay exactly as they were. Your staff can finish them with no surprises mid-task.
  • Future runs — anything dated after today that hasn't started — are re-created from your latest saved template, so they pick up your changes.

This means you can save freely without pulling the rug out from under someone halfway through a checklist. The "today is off-limits" rule is built in, so a run someone is part-way through never changes underneath them.

The unsaved-canvas safety net

Brand-new templates that you've never saved keep an extra backup in your browser. If you close the canvas accidentally, or the browser crashes, the work isn't lost.

The next time you start a new canvas, a banner appears near the top with two buttons:

  • Resume -- brings your unsaved work back into the canvas
  • Discard -- starts with a blank canvas and throws the backup away

The backup is cleared automatically once you've successfully saved the template.

Tips

  • If a save won't go through and you can't tell why, read the list under the Save button and scan the canvas for any red-bordered steps. Each one names what's missing.
  • There's no auto-save. Click Save regularly as you build, and always before you close the tab, so you don't lose your latest changes.
  • Templates built before the current canvas open in the same editable canvas as any other template. The first time you open one, Pilla lays its steps out for you automatically as a top-to-bottom chain. You can pan, zoom, edit any step, and click Save to make your changes live — just like a template you built from scratch.
  • There is no version history. The canvas keeps one live version per template, so save when you're confident the workflow is ready for your team.