Brainstorm Canvas

The Brainstorm canvas is an open, free-form space inside the Plot view. Use it to get ideas out of your head before they become beats: drop in cards, connect them with arrows, group them in frames, and rearrange them as the story develops.

Where the Beat Board gives your story a fixed structure of acts and beats, the Brainstorm canvas has no structure at all. Put anything anywhere.

Opening the Brainstorm Canvas

1. Open your project and switch to the Plot view
2. Find the view toggle at the top center of the page
3. Click “Brainstorm” to switch from the Beat Board to the canvas

You can switch back at any time by clicking “Beats”. Your beats and your canvas are kept separately, so neither is affected when you switch.

When you open a project’s canvas for the first time, it’s empty:

The Toolbar

The toolbar at the top of the canvas holds everything you need to add and edit ideas.

From left to right:

Tool	What it does
Selection	Select, move, and resize things. Open the dropdown for the Move (hand) tool and the Laser pointer
Shapes	Rectangle, diamond, and ellipse. Open the dropdown to pick one
Arrows	Arrow and line. Open the dropdown to pick one
Frame	Draw a frame to group related ideas
Freehand	Sketch freely with a pen (not available on touch devices)
Text	Place text anywhere on the canvas
Eraser	Remove things by dragging over them
Image	Add reference images, or photos of your handwritten notes
Undo / Redo	Step backward or forward through your changes

Shapes

Click the arrow next to the shapes button to choose a shape. Rectangles work well as idea cards, ellipses for themes and characters, and diamonds for questions and decisions.

Arrows and Lines

Use arrows to show cause and effect, and lines to link related ideas without implying direction.

Adding Ideas

Step 1: Draw a Card

1. Choose a shape from the toolbar (for example, a rectangle)
2. Click and drag on the canvas to draw it

Step 2: Write in It

1. Double-click the shape to start typing
2. Type your idea: the text stays inside the shape and wraps as you type
3. Press Esc or click an empty part of the canvas to finish

Step 3: Add Loose Text

Choose the Text tool and click anywhere on the canvas to add a note that isn’t inside a shape.

Connecting Ideas

Arrows are how a pile of ideas turns into a story.

1. Choose the Arrow tool
2. Start the arrow on one card and drag to another
3. Release on the second card to attach the arrow to it

Arrows that are attached to cards follow them: when you move a card, its arrows move with it.

Styling Your Ideas

Select anything on the canvas and the style panel opens on the left. Use it to change:

• Stroke and background color
• Stroke width and style (solid, dashed, dotted)
• Edges (sharp or rounded)
• Font size and text alignment
• Opacity
• Layers (send backward, bring forward, and so on)

Color is a handy way to tell ideas apart, for example one color per character or storyline.

Grouping Ideas in Frames

Frames help you organize a busy canvas: put the ideas for a sequence, a character, or an act in one frame so they stay together.

1. Choose the Frame tool from the toolbar
2. Drag a rectangle around the ideas you want to group
3. Move the frame and everything inside it moves too

You can also select several items, right-click, and choose “Wrap selection in frame”.

The Context Menu

Right-click anything on the canvas for more actions:

• Cut, Copy, Paste, and Duplicate
• Group selection to move several items as one
• Send backward / Bring forward, Send to back / Bring to front
• Flip horizontally or vertically
• Add link to attach a web address to an item
• Copy link to object to get a link that jumps straight to that item
• Lock an item so it can’t be moved by accident
• Delete

Linking to an Idea

Copy link to object gives you a link to a single card or shape. Send it to a collaborator, or attach it to another card with Add link. Opening the link takes you to the canvas and scrolls straight to that item.

Adding Images

Use the Image tool, or drag and drop image files onto the canvas, to add reference images such as mood board pictures, locations, or character looks.

Bringing Handwritten Notes into Your Story

The Image tool is also a way to keep your written notes close to the story. Not every idea starts on a screen: notebook pages, index cards, sticky notes, and whiteboard sketches often hold the best ones.

1. Take a photo of your notes with your phone or camera
2. Add the photo to the canvas with the Image tool, or drag it in
3. Place it next to related ideas, connect it with an arrow, or put it in a frame with the cards it belongs to

Now your handwritten notes sit beside the rest of your story work instead of in a drawer.

Images count toward your storage. If you reach your storage limit, Jujukraft shows “Maximum storage limit reached” and the image isn’t added.

Moving Around the Canvas

The canvas is as large as you need it to be.

• Pan: hold the spacebar or the mouse wheel while dragging, or use the Move (hand) tool
• Zoom: use the zoom controls at the bottom left, or pinch / scroll while holding Cmd (Ctrl on Windows)

Keyboard Shortcuts

Action	Shortcut
Selection	1
Rectangle	2
Diamond	3
Ellipse	4
Arrow	5
Line	6
Move (hand)	H
Laser pointer	K
Frame	F
Group selection	Cmd+G (Ctrl+G on Windows)
Add link	Cmd+K (Ctrl+K on Windows)
Duplicate	Cmd+D (Ctrl+D on Windows)
Back to selection tool	Esc

Collaborating

The Brainstorm canvas is collaborative, just like the rest of your project:

• Changes sync live: everyone with access to the project sees ideas appear as you add them
• See who’s here: when several people have the canvas open at once, you can see each other’s cursors
• Invite people with the Share button. See Public Sharing for details

Backing Up Your Canvas

Your Brainstorm canvas is included when you export a JKJ file, so it’s saved alongside your script and beats. PDF and FDX exports only carry the script.

Best Practices

• Start messy: get ideas down first, organize later
• One idea per card makes it easier to move things around
• Use color to separate characters, storylines, or themes
• Use frames to group related ideas as the canvas fills up
• Move ideas to the Beat Board once they’re solid enough to become beats

Next Steps

• Turn your best ideas into story beats
• Learn how to share your project with collaborators