[role="xpack"]
[[create-canvas-workpad]]
== Create a workpad

A Canvas _workpad_ provides you with a workspace where you can build presentations of your live data.

To create a workpad, you can:

* <<blank-canvas-workpad,Build fully customizable presentations of your own data>>

* <<canvas-template-workpad,Choose from a set of preconfigured workpad templates>>

* <<import-canvas-workpad,Import a workpad that someone else has already started>>

* <<sample-data-workpad,Gather inspiration from the {kib} sample data workpads>>

[float]
[[blank-canvas-workpad]]
=== Start with a blank page

To use the background colors, images, and data of your choice, start with a blank workpad.

. Open *Canvas*.

. On the *Canvas workpads* view, click *Create workpad*.

. Add a *Name* to your workpad.

. In the *Width* and *Height* fields, specify the size.

. Select the layout.
+
For example, click *720p* for a traditional presentation layout.

. Click the *Background color* picker, then select the background color for your workpad.
+
[role="screenshot"]
image::images/canvas-background-color-picker.gif[Canvas color picker]

[float]
[[canvas-template-workpad]]
=== Create a workpad from a template

If you're unsure about where to start, you can use one of the preconfigured templates that come with Canvas.

. Open *Canvas*.

. On the *Canvas workpads* view, select *Templates*.

. Click the preconfigured template that you want to use.

. Add your own *Name* to the workpad.

[float]
[[import-canvas-workpad]]
=== Import an existing workpad

When you want to use a workpad that someone else has already started, import the JSON file into Canvas.

. Open *Canvas*.

. On the *Canvas workpads* view, click and drag the file to the *Import workpad JSON file* field.

[float]
[[sample-data-workpad]]
=== Use a sample data workpad

Each of the sample data sets comes with a Canvas workpad that you can use for your own workpad inspiration.

. Add a {kibana-ref}/add-sample-data.html[sample data set].

. On the *Add Data to Kibana* page, click the *View data* dropdown list, then select *Canvas*.
+
Need some more workpad inspiration? Check out the link:https://www.elastic.co/blog/[Elastic Blog].

[float]
[[apply-workpad-styles]]
== Apply a set of styles to the entire workpad

To make your workpad look exactly the way you want, use the editor on the right to apply CSS overrides.

. Expand *Global CSS overrides*.

. Enter the CSS. For example, to change the background on every page, enter:
+
[source,js]
--------------------------------------------------
.canvasPage {
background-color: #3990e6;
}
--------------------------------------------------

. Click *Apply stylesheet*.
