Add a Canvas as a Widget

After you create a canvas, you can add it as a widget. The widget uses the canvas design and keeps it visible outside the Canvases app.

Make sure the canvas is readable at the size you plan to use. Widgets are glanced at quickly, so short text, clear spacing, and strong contrast help a lot.

Add a Home Screen Widget

1. Go to the Home Screen.
2. Touch and hold an empty area until apps begin to move.
3. Tap the add button.
4. Search for Canvases.
5. Choose the widget size that matches your canvas.
6. Add the widget.
7. Edit the widget and choose the canvas you want to show.

The widget you add to the Home Screen must match the size you chose in Canvases. A small canvas belongs in a small widget, and a medium canvas belongs in a medium widget.

If you choose a canvas made for a different size, the widget will not show it correctly. To fix it, edit the widget and select a canvas made for that widget size.

Add a Canvases widget to the Home Screen, then choose your canvas.

Add a Lock Screen Widget

1. Go to the Lock Screen.
2. Touch and hold the Lock Screen until the customize options appear.
3. Tap Customize, then choose the Lock Screen.
4. Tap the widget area below the time.
5. Search for Canvases.
6. Choose the Lock Screen widget and add it.
7. Edit the widget and choose the canvas you want to show.

Lock Screen widgets have their own sizes and limits, so choose a canvas made for a Lock Screen size and keep it simple. For more detail, read Use Lock Screen Widgets.

Add a Canvases widget to the Lock Screen, then choose your canvas.

When the Widget Does Not Update Right Away

If a shortcut updates the canvas, the widget should update after the canvas changes, though the system can refresh widgets with a short delay.

A Canvases widget does not update on its own. It changes when something updates the canvas, such as a shortcut.

Even after the canvas changes, iOS, iPadOS, and macOS decide when a widget can refresh on screen. Apple allows widgets to update only roughly every 15 to 60 minutes.

The exact timing varies with how often you look at the widget, the resources available on your device, and whether Low Power Mode is on. This is a system limitation enforced by Apple, so no app can make a widget refresh faster.

Open Canvases to check whether the canvas itself changed. If the canvas changed but the widget still shows the old version, wait briefly and check again. For more ways to fix update problems, see Troubleshooting.