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The canvas is where you lay out a workflow as a graph of nodes connected by edges. This page covers getting around it: panning and zooming, selecting nodes, opening the Detail Panel to configure a step, and locking the canvas so you can read a workflow without changing it. If this is your first time in the builder, start with the workflow builder overview for the bigger picture, then come back here for the controls.

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What you see on the canvas

The graph

Your workflow, drawn as nodes joined by edges. Every workflow begins at a fixed start node, and each step you add becomes a node you can position and connect.

The Controls toolbar

A small toolbar at the bottom-left of the canvas with buttons to pan, zoom, fit the whole workflow to the screen, and lock the canvas.

The Detail Panel

The panel on the right that shows the selected node’s configuration and tabs for the AI Composer, outputs, and run history.

Collaborators

When teammates are editing the same workflow, you see their live cursors, avatars, and a connection indicator. See realtime co-editing.

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Pan, zoom, and fit

You move around the canvas the way you would expect from a map: drag to pan, scroll or pinch to zoom, and use the toolbar when you want precision.
1

Pan to move the canvas

Turn on pan mode with the hand button in the Controls toolbar, then drag anywhere on the canvas to slide the whole graph into view. Pan mode is a toggle — the button stays highlighted while it is on, and you turn it off the same way. With pan mode off, dragging on an empty area lets you draw a selection instead.
2

Zoom in and out

Use the zoom in (+) and zoom out (−) buttons in the toolbar, or scroll and pinch over the canvas. Zooming keeps your current view centered so you do not lose your place.
3

Fit the whole workflow to the screen

Click fit view (the expand button) to frame the entire workflow at once. This is the fastest way to get oriented after panning far away or when you open a large workflow. The canvas also fits the view automatically the first time a workflow loads.
The canvas has a fixed working area, so you cannot pan or zoom endlessly into empty space. If a node ever scrolls out of reach, click fit view to bring the whole workflow back into frame.

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Select and move nodes

Select a node

Click a node to select it. The node gets a highlight ring, and the Detail Panel switches to its Config tab so you can edit it.

Deselect

Click an empty part of the canvas to deselect the current node and close its configuration.

Move a node

Drag a node to reposition it. Edges follow automatically, and your layout is saved as part of the workflow.

Connect nodes

Drag from a node’s handle to another node to create an edge between them. See variables & references for how data flows along those edges.
The start node is always present and marks where every run begins. You can position it, but you cannot delete it — it is the fixed entry point of the workflow.

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The Detail Panel

The Detail Panel is the dock on the right of the builder. It is context-aware: when you select a node it shows that node’s settings, and it also holds the other tools you use while building. Selecting any node opens the Config tab automatically.
The node inspector. This is where you set everything about the selected node — its name, its model or tool, its inputs, and its configuration. The fields you see depend on the node type. A small dot on the tab marks that a node is selected and ready to configure.
The AI Composer copilot. Describe a change in plain language and the Composer edits the graph for you — adding, updating, or connecting nodes — then you review and save the result. The Composer tab is hidden when you are viewing a workflow you cannot edit.
The results from your most recent run, node by node. A dot on the tab marks that new output is available to read. See running workflows for how runs stream in live.
The run history for this workflow — past executions you can open and inspect. This tab is available even when you are only viewing a workflow.
When you open a workflow in view-only mode, the Detail Panel opens on the Output tab and the Composer tab is hidden, since you are reading the workflow rather than editing it.

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Lock the canvas to read without editing

The last button in the Controls toolbar locks the canvas. When the canvas is locked, you can still pan, zoom, and select to look around, but nodes can no longer be dragged, connected, or selected for editing — so you will not move anything by accident while you read. Click the button again to unlock and resume editing. This is different from a node being locked by a teammate. When someone else is editing a node in a shared workflow, ModuleX prevents you from changing that same node at the same time and tells you who has it. For how that works across a team, see realtime co-editing and presence, locks & versioning.

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Getting around with mouse and trackpad

Pan

Turn on pan mode and drag, or use the toolbar. On a trackpad you can also scroll to move around the canvas.

Zoom

Scroll or pinch over the canvas, or use the zoom in and zoom out buttons.

Select

Click a node to select it. With pan mode off, drag on an empty area to draw a selection over several nodes.

Remove a selected node

With a node selected, press your Delete key to start removing it. ModuleX confirms before the node is removed, and the fixed start node is never deleted.

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Next steps

Workflow builder overview

The big picture of the builder and how the pieces fit together.

Node types

The nine kinds of step you can add to the canvas and what each one does.

Build with the Composer

Let the AI Composer lay out and edit the canvas from a plain-English request.