How to name your files in Canvasola

What Canvasola names for you

Two things in Canvasola are named for you, and neither of them can be edited. The workspace tabs are called Canvas 1, Canvas 2, Canvas 3, and the files you download arrive with fixed names such as canvas-project.canv and canvasola-mindmap.md.

That is a deliberate simplification of the file system. A browser app that names every file canvasola-export.svg does not need a save dialog, and a tab rail that numbers your canvases does not need a rename box.

The naming you actually care about is still yours to do. Node labels, layer names, exported file names in your own folder structure, and the projects you save to the cloud all carry names you choose.

• Workspace tabs are named Canvas 1, Canvas 2, Canvas 3
• Downloads arrive with fixed names such as canvas-project.canv
• Node labels and layer names are yours to write
• Files you save to the cloud carry the name you type

Note: The guide to organizing multiple canvases covers the tab side of this in more detail, including what a closed tab can and cannot recover.

The tab naming you cannot change

There is no rename control on a workspace tab, in the tab rail, in a right-click menu or in the command palette. The titles are generated in order as the tabs are created, and they stay that way for as long as the tab is open.

A tab also holds a complete document, so the number is the only thing that distinguishes one canvas from another at a glance. This is why the naming habit belongs inside the canvas rather than on the tab.

You can still make the number useful. Keep a written list of what each number holds, or adopt a simple rule such as low numbers for the documents you use daily, so the rail becomes a map you can read at a glance even without names.

• Titles are generated and cannot be edited in the interface
• The tab rail shows an Active badge on the current canvas
• A written list of numbers is the practical substitute
• A workspace holds up to 100 tabs

Name the node, not the tab

Every node in a mind map carries a label, and that label is the real title of your work. A map whose root says Q3 launch plan is identifiable at a glance, in a screenshot, in an export and in a search result, whatever its tab is called.

Labels are cheap to change and expensive to lose. Press Enter or F2 to rename a node, and keep the root label short and specific, because that is the line people will read first in a presentation and first in a search.

Mind map layers can be named too. Double-click a layer name in the 3D layer rail to rename it inline, up to 40 characters, which is the place to put a version or a theme when one map holds several layers of thinking.

• The root label is the title of the whole map
• Rename any node with Enter or F2
• Node labels hold up to 8,000 characters
• Layer names are editable in the 3D layer rail

Name the file you download

Exports arrive with the names the app chooses, so the rename happens where the file lands. Save Project writes canvas-project.canv, the mind map writes canvasola-mindmap.md for Markdown, canvasola-mindmap.opml for OPML 2.0, and the canvas writes canvasola-export.svg for vector output.

Give each file a name the moment it downloads, while you still remember what it is. A file called canvasola-mindmap.md tells you the format and nothing else, and a folder of them tells you nothing at all. The complete Canvasola guide covers the save and open commands in full.

The .canv file is the one that matters most, because it is the only export you can open again and keep working in. It holds the canvas, the style, the mind map, the App Builder project, the camera and the layout mode, up to 50 MB, and it comes back through Open Project… with Ctrl/Cmd+O.

1. Export. Save the project with Ctrl/Cmd+S, or export the canvas or map in the format you need.
2. Rename on arrival. Rename the downloaded file in your file manager to the same name you gave the root node, plus the date.
3. File it somewhere findable. Put project files in one folder per project, so a map from weeks ago is a folder away rather than a search away.

Keep a convention for exports

A convention only works if it is short enough to apply without thinking. The one that survives contact with a real week is subject, then kind, then date: launch-plan-mindmap.md, launch-plan-mindmap-2026-10-21.png and launch-plan-canvas.svg for the same piece of work.

Keep the same base name across every format for a piece of work, and change only the extension. That way the Markdown, the PNG and the .canv file sort together, and the one you need is the one you can see in the list.

Mind maps export to Markdown, OPML 2.0, plain text, SVG and PNG, and a canvas exports to PNG, JPG, vector SVG and the browser's print dialog. A single convention across all of them means a screenshot and its source sit in the same search result.

• Subject, kind, date, in that order
• The same base name across every format
• One folder per project rather than one folder for everything
• Lowercase and hyphens, so the name survives any system

Note: There is no direct PDF export. If a page is what you need, use the Print action, which opens the browser's print dialog, and choose the destination there.

Find a map you named weeks ago

Inside the app, the name you gave the root node is the handle on the work. Press Ctrl/Cmd+F and search a word from the root label, and the map comes back with its path showing which branch matched. The search guide covers the ranking and the jump.

Outside the app, the naming convention is the handle. A file called launch-plan-mindmap-2026-10-21.md is findable in any file manager, in any search box, years later, with no app and no account involved at all.

There is one more place, if you want it: a cloud project carries a name you type, and cloud storage keeps five projects of 2 MB each. Cloud sync is opt-in, so this is an extra rather than a requirement. The offline guide covers the local autosave that works without an account.

• Search the root label to find a map inside the app
• Search the file name to find it outside the app
• Cloud projects carry names you type, five of them at 2 MB each
• The local autosave keeps the open document without any account

A checklist you can reuse

• A written list records what each Canvas number holds
• Every mind map root carries a short, specific label
• Node labels are changed with Enter or F2 rather than left as placeholders
• Exported files are renamed as soon as they download
• One base name is used across every format of a piece of work
• Project files are saved with Ctrl/Cmd+S and reopened with Ctrl/Cmd+O
• Files live in one folder per project
• Search finds an old map by its root label

Common mistakes to avoid

• Hunting for a rename button on a tab. Workspace tab titles are generated and cannot be changed by any route. Put the name on the root node of the map, where it does useful work.
• Leaving a file called canvasola-mindmap.md. The exported name tells you the format and nothing about the content. Rename it on arrival, while you still remember which map it was.
• Naming the file after the format. A folder of exports called mindmap-1, mindmap-2 and mindmap-3 is a folder you will not search. Name by subject and date instead.
• Assuming a saved project appears in a list. Canvasola does not keep a library of the project files on your computer. Your .canv files live in your file system, and finding them later is a question of where you put them.
• Leaving node labels as New Node. A placeholder label is a name you will not be able to search for later. Type the name before you press the next key.

Frequently asked questions

Is there any way to give a workspace tab a different title?

No. Tab titles are generated in order as Canvas 1, Canvas 2 and so on, and there is no rename control in the tab rail, the menus or the command palette. The equivalent naming is done on the root node of a mind map, on a mind map layer, or in the file name of what you export.

What are the exported files called?

The app chooses the names: a project saves as canvas-project.canv, the mind map exports as canvasola-mindmap.md, canvasola-mindmap.opml, canvasola-mindmap.svg, canvasola-mindmap.png or canvasola-mindmap-outline.txt, and the canvas exports as canvasola-export.svg. Rename them in your file manager after they download.

How do I find a map I saved weeks ago?

Inside the app, search for a word from the root label with Ctrl/Cmd+F, which finds the node and shows its path. Outside the app, the file name is the handle, which is why a subject-and-date convention pays off months later.

Does Canvasola keep a list of my projects?

Not for files on your computer, and there is no local project library inside the app. Cloud projects are the one named list, and they are opt-in: five projects of 2 MB each, each carrying a name you type. Local work relies on your own folders and the autosave instead.

This guide is part of the workflow and productivity collection. For the wider product tour, read the complete Canvasola guide, and keep the keyboard shortcut cheat sheet open while you work.