Canvas Editor Overview

The canvas editor is the central workspace in Arconomy where you visually design, connect, and refine your trading strategies. Instead of writing code, you construct strategies by placing rule nodes onto a canvas, configuring their parameters, and connecting them together to define execution flow.

What Is the Canvas?

The canvas is a free-form, zoomable workspace that represents your strategy as a visual graph. Each element on the canvas is a node that performs a specific function -- evaluating a technical indicator, placing an order, filtering market conditions, or managing risk. Nodes are linked by connections that define the order in which they execute and how data flows between them.

Think of the canvas as a flowchart for your trading logic. Signals enter from the left (entry conditions), pass through filters and logic in the middle, and result in trade actions on the right (exits, stop losses, take profits). This left-to-right flow makes it easy to read a strategy at a glance and understand exactly how each decision is made.

Nodes and Connections

Every rule you add to the canvas appears as a node -- a rectangular card displaying the rule name, its current configuration summary, and input/output ports. Nodes are colour-coded by type:

• Green -- Entry rules that define when to open a position
• Red -- Exit rules that define when to close a position
• Blue -- Filter rules that gate whether entries or exits are allowed
• Orange -- Risk management rules controlling position sizing and stops

Connections are drawn between the output port of one node and the input port of another. A connection means that when the source node produces a signal, that signal is forwarded to the target node for further evaluation. You create a connection by clicking an output port and dragging to an input port, or by selecting two nodes and pressing C.

Drag-and-Drop Workflow

Building a strategy on the canvas follows a simple drag-and-drop workflow:

1. Open the Rules Panel -- Click the + Add Rule button in the toolbar, or press A to open the rules library sidebar.
2. Browse or Search -- Use the category tabs (Entry, Exit, Filter, Risk) or type a keyword into the search bar to find the rule you need.
3. Drag onto the Canvas -- Click and drag the rule from the library panel onto the canvas. Release the mouse button to place the node at the desired position.
4. Connect Nodes -- Drag from an output port on one node to an input port on another to establish the execution flow.
5. Configure -- Double-click a node or select it and press Enter to open the configuration panel where you set parameters.

You can also add rules by right-clicking on the canvas to open the context menu, which presents the full rules library in a searchable dropdown.

Adding, Removing, and Reordering Rules

Adding Rules

In addition to drag-and-drop, you can add rules via:

• The + Add Rule toolbar button
• Right-click context menu anywhere on the canvas
• Keyboard shortcut A to open the quick-add panel
• Duplicating an existing node with Cmd/Ctrl + D

Removing Rules

To remove a rule from the canvas, select the node and press Delete or Backspace. You can also right-click and choose Delete Node from the context menu. Removing a node automatically removes all connections to and from it.

Reordering Rules

The visual position of nodes on the canvas does not affect execution order -- execution order is determined entirely by how nodes are connected. However, keeping your canvas tidy helps with readability. You can:

• Move nodes by clicking and dragging them to a new position
• Multi-select by holding Shift and clicking multiple nodes, or dragging a selection rectangle
• Auto-arrange by pressing Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + A to automatically lay out all nodes in a clean left-to-right flow
• Align selected nodes by right-clicking and choosing an alignment option (top, middle, bottom, left, centre, right)

Keyboard Shortcuts

The canvas editor supports a comprehensive set of keyboard shortcuts to speed up your workflow:

A               Open rules library / quick-add panel
C               Connect two selected nodes
Delete / Bksp   Remove selected node(s)
Enter           Open configuration for selected node
Cmd/Ctrl + D    Duplicate selected node(s)
Cmd/Ctrl + Z    Undo last action
Cmd/Ctrl + Y    Redo last action
Cmd/Ctrl + A    Select all nodes
Cmd/Ctrl + S    Save strategy
Cmd/Ctrl + +    Zoom in
Cmd/Ctrl + -    Zoom out
Cmd/Ctrl + 0    Reset zoom to 100%
Cmd/Ctrl + F    Fit all nodes in viewport
Space + Drag    Pan the canvas
Shift + Click   Add node to selection

Zoom, Pan, and Undo

Zooming

You can zoom the canvas in and out to focus on specific areas or see the full strategy at a glance. Use any of these methods:

• Mouse wheel / trackpad scroll -- scroll up to zoom in, scroll down to zoom out
• Keyboard shortcuts -- Cmd/Ctrl + = to zoom in, Cmd/Ctrl + - to zoom out
• Zoom controls -- Use the zoom slider in the bottom-left toolbar
• Fit to viewport -- Press Cmd/Ctrl + F to automatically zoom so all nodes fit within the visible area

The zoom level is displayed as a percentage in the bottom-left corner. You can click it to type a specific zoom level or reset to 100% with Cmd/Ctrl + 0.

Panning

To pan (scroll) the canvas without moving any nodes, hold the Space bar and drag with the mouse. Alternatively, you can use a middle-mouse-button drag or two-finger scroll on a trackpad. The minimap in the bottom-right corner shows your current viewport position relative to the full canvas.

Undo and Redo

Every action on the canvas -- adding nodes, moving them, creating or removing connections, and changing configuration -- is tracked in an undo history. Press Cmd/Ctrl + Z to undo and Cmd/Ctrl + Y (or Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + Z) to redo. The undo history supports up to 50 steps within a single editing session.

Saving Your Strategy

Your strategy is automatically saved as a draft as you work. You can also manually save at any time by pressing Cmd/Ctrl + S or clicking the Save button in the toolbar. Each save creates a version snapshot that you can revert to later from the strategy's version history panel.

Canvas Toolbar Reference

The toolbar at the top of the canvas provides quick access to common actions:

• + Add Rule -- Opens the rules library panel
• Save -- Saves the current strategy
• Undo / Redo -- Step through editing history
• Auto-Arrange -- Automatically positions all nodes in a clean layout
• Run Backtest -- Opens the backtest configuration panel to test your strategy against historical data
• Deploy -- Sends the strategy to your connected broker for live or demo trading
• Settings -- Opens strategy-level settings such as name, description, default symbol, and timeframe