> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.erstan.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# The Canvas panel

> Open documents, files, SuiteQL queries, and NetSuite records inline beside your chat without leaving the conversation.

Canvas is the side panel that opens to the right of [Chat](/chat/overview) and shows an artifact inline — a document, a team file, a SuiteQL query and its results, or a NetSuite record. You keep the conversation on the left and read or act on what the agent produced on the right, without switching pages.

## What Canvas shows

When an agent produces or references something you can look at, Canvas renders it in the format that fits:

| Artifact            | What you see                                                                           |
| ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Document**        | A rich-text [document](/content/documents) rendered inline, with its title at the top. |
| **Team file**       | A [file](/content/files) preview — image, PDF, text, code, Markdown, or spreadsheet.   |
| **SuiteQL query**   | The query the agent ran against NetSuite and its returned rows.                        |
| **NetSuite record** | A record (such as an invoice, customer, or vendor bill) the agent pulled.              |
| **Code block**      | A formatted code or query snippet from the reply.                                      |
| **Chat attachment** | A file or image you attached to the message.                                           |

<Note>
  Canvas is read-and-review. To edit a document in the full block editor, open it in Documents (see below). SuiteQL shown in Canvas is the read-only query Erstan ran for you — see [Reporting with SuiteQL](/playbooks/reporting-suiteql).
</Note>

## Open an artifact in Canvas

<Steps>
  <Step title="Spot a reference in a reply">
    As the assistant streams its answer, document, file, SuiteQL, and NetSuite-record references appear inline in the message. These are the things you can open.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click the reference">
    Selecting it opens the Canvas panel on the right with the full artifact. The conversation stays put on the left so you can keep chatting.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open full when you need more room">
    If the side panel is too narrow, choose **Open full** to expand the artifact to a full-width view, then come back to the conversation when you're done.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Actions in the panel

The Canvas panel menu adapts to what is open:

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Open in Documents" icon="file-text">
    For a document artifact, jump to the full [block editor](/content/documents) where you can format, comment, publish, and export it.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Open full" icon="maximize">
    Expand the artifact to a full-width view when the side panel is too narrow to read comfortably.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Download file" icon="download">
    Save a file artifact to your computer. Available for team files and attachments.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Close canvas" icon="x">
    Dismiss the panel and return the chat to full width. Reopen it any time by clicking the reference again.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

To rename or restructure a document, choose **Open in Documents** and edit it in the full block editor.

## How agents surface artifacts

You don't open Canvas directly — agents put things there as they work. When an agent drafts a document, runs a SuiteQL query, or retrieves a NetSuite record, that result shows up as a clickable reference in the transcript. Opening it in Canvas lets you check the agent's work before you do anything with it.

<Warning>
  Reading a record or query result in Canvas is safe — it does not change anything in NetSuite. Any action that **writes** to NetSuite still pauses for your approval in the chat first. See [Approving and rejecting AI actions](/chat/approvals).
</Warning>

<Tip>
  Ask Erstan to turn a SuiteQL result into a document or workbook. The new document opens in Canvas, and from there you can **Open in Documents** to export it to Word, PDF, Excel, or Markdown.
</Tip>

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Chatting with Erstan" icon="messages-square" href="/chat/overview">
    The composer, streaming replies, and chat history.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Approving AI actions" icon="shield-check" href="/chat/approvals">
    Review writes before they run.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Documents and the editor" icon="file-text" href="/content/documents">
    Edit, publish, and export what Canvas opens.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Reporting with SuiteQL" icon="database" href="/playbooks/reporting-suiteql">
    Query NetSuite and view results in Canvas.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>