Canvases
A canvas is a video destination. You design it at a chosen size, and ArenaDirector shows a live preview of it inside the app right away — nothing needs to be plugged in yet. When you connect the screen a canvas is assigned to, that canvas appears on it full screen automatically. For a plain-language overview of how canvases fit into the rest of ArenaDirector see Core concepts.
Canvas settings live in the Configuration window. Open it by selecting the gear icon in the left sidebar, then select Video from the left nav (under the Media group). The pane lists every canvas you have created, each with its current resolution and the screen it appears on.
Create a canvas
A canvas has a resolution — the size at which ArenaDirector composes its picture. You set the resolution once, and the in-app preview reflects it immediately, with no screen connected.
- In the Configuration window select Video.
- Select Add canvas. A new canvas starts at 1920 × 1080 and its preview becomes live right away.
- With the new canvas selected, give it a clear Name so you can recognize it later — for example, the name of the video board it drives.
- Set the Resolution. Open the Preset dropdown to pick a standard size: 1920×1080, 1280×720, 3840×2160, or 1080×1920 (portrait).
- To enter a size of your own, type values into the Width and Height fields. Any size from 64 to 8192 is allowed on each side. The Aspect label updates as you type so you can check the shape.
You can create a canvas and set its resolution with nothing plugged in. The preview stays live the whole time, so you can build your canvases ahead of the event and connect screens later.
Assign a canvas to a display
A display is a physical screen — a video board, a projector, or a monitor. Assigning a canvas to a display tells ArenaDirector which real-world screen the canvas should appear on.
- Select the canvas you want to assign.
- Under Displays, open the Assign to display… dropdown. It lists every connected screen that this canvas is not already assigned to. Each entry shows the screen's name and its size.
- Select a screen to assign it. The screen now appears under Displays, with a dot that reads present when the screen is connected and absent when it is not.
- To remove an assignment, select Forget next to the screen.
You can assign more than one display to the same canvas. When several assigned screens are connected at once, ArenaDirector shows the canvas on the one you assigned most recently.
ArenaDirector remembers each screen by a stable identifier, not by the port it is plugged into or its position. Unplug a screen, plug it back in on a different port, or restart the computer, and ArenaDirector still recognizes it and brings the canvas back automatically. An assigned screen that is not currently connected stays in the Displays list marked absent, so the assignment is never lost — it takes effect again the moment the screen is detected.
Preview, floating window, and venue mode
A canvas is always in one of three states, and ArenaDirector switches between them for you:
- Preview only — the canvas runs inside the app and shows in its live preview. This is always on, even with no screen connected.
- Floating window — when you choose to show a canvas but none of its assigned screens is connected, the canvas opens in a moveable window you can drag where you like.
- Venue mode — when an assigned screen is connected, the canvas takes over that screen full screen, ready for the audience.
You do not set these up here — this page is where you design and assign your canvases. To show and hide canvases during an event and work with venue mode live, see Canvases & venue mode.