Element types in Zapier Canvas

Written by Owner

Updated at August 20th, 2025

+ More

Table of Contents

Default steps Split path Zapier product steps Text boxes Provide feedback and get help

In Zapier Canvas, you can add steps and elements that correspond to a part of your process that requires action from a person, team, or app. Using different elements ensures you capture the various aspects of your processes on your canvas. Learn how to create a canvas.

Beta

This product is in open beta. It’s available for use but still in active development and may change.

Default steps

Use a Default step for actions that depend on a person or team to be completed. You can also add Zapier products, third-party apps, or a Zap to your step.

Title: a required field that shows what the step does.
Zap: select an existing Zap or create a new Zap.
App used: if any, select the app where the action happens.
Color: select a color for the step border.
People or team involved: add the person or team that's responsible for this step.
Time spent: include an estimate of how long it takes to perform this task manually.
Notes: add any extra information related to this step.

Any changes you make are automatically saved.

the details panel of a default canvas step

Split path

Split paths allow you to add decision points that lead to different scenarios, depending on the contents or results of the previous step. The Split path is represented by a question mark within a diamond shape. You can add several paths to one split path.

a split path diamond leading to two different scenarios

Zapier product steps

From the toolbar, you can also create steps that have a Zapier product pre-selected, such as Zaps, Tables, or Chatbots. These work similarly to the Default step.

Text boxes

You can add boxes with text anywhere on your canvas with the Text tool that appears in the toolbar. When you add a text box, you can use the formatting toolbar to:

Change the font size and color.
Change the formatting style.
Add links to text.
Add bulleted, numbered, or task lists.
Change the background color.

a text box showing all formatting tools

Tip

You can also add images to text boxes by dragging and dropping them from your computer or from a webpage.

Provide feedback and get help

You can request a feature, provide feedback on the product, and get help from the Canvas team.