Canvas

Canvas adds your own panels, called widgets, to the Drop Cowboy® dashboard. AI can build a widget from a short description, or a widget can show what your own server sends back.

Add a Canvas widget

Pick the way that matches what you want to show:

If you don't see Canvas under Settings, ask your account owner for access.

Create a widget with AI

1. Open Settings in the left menu, then click Canvas.
2. Click Create with AI.
3. In Prompt, describe the widget, such as "A chart of texts sent per day this month."
4. Under Slot, pick where it appears: Dashboard, Inbox, Contact Detail, Agency Detail, Dialer, Floating or Full Page.
5. Give it a Widget Name, then click Generate. A live preview appears on the right.
6. To change it, type in the refine box below the preview, such as "Make the chart blue," and send it. Your requests and the replies are listed under History.
7. When it looks right, click Save & Deploy.

The widget then appears in the Canvas Apps list, marked Created with AI.

Add a widget from your own server

Each time someone opens a contact, your server gets a signed request and answers with the panel to show. The Canvas reference covers the request, the signature check and the response.

1. Open Settings in the left menu, then click Canvas.
2. Click Add Widget, or Add Your First Widget if you have none yet.
3. In Create Canvas Widget, click Copy under Signing Secret and add the secret to your server.
4. Fill in Widget Name and an optional Description.
5. Enter your server's address in Webhook URL. It must be a secure (https) address.
6. Click Create.

To see the secret again, click Reveal next to Signing Secret: on the widget's row. Your server must answer within 20 seconds, or the panel doesn't load for that contact.

Show a widget on a contact

1. Open a contact from Contacts, or a conversation in Inbox.
2. Under Canvas Apps, click Add App and pick your widget. The list shows widgets made for the contact view.

If it doesn't work:

• Generate shows an error with Add Funds. Your balance is too low to generate a widget. Click Add Funds, then click Generate again.
• The preview stays empty after Generate. Make the Prompt more specific about what data to show, then click Generate again.
• A server widget shows an error on contacts. Your server didn't answer in time, or sent something Canvas can't read. Check your server logs, then compare your response with the Canvas reference.
• Your server rejects every request. It's checking with the wrong secret. Copy the current Signing Secret from the widget's row to your server.
• Your widget isn't in the Add App list. It was made for another slot, such as Dashboard. Create it again with Contact Detail as the Slot.

Manage a Canvas widget

1. Open Settings in the left menu, then click Canvas.
2. Find the widget in Canvas Apps.
3. To pause it, turn off the switch on its row. Turn it back on to show it again.
4. To rename it or change its address, open the menu on its row and click Edit. In Edit Widget, make your changes and click Save.
5. If a signing secret may have leaked, open the menu and click Regenerate Secret. Click Regenerate to confirm, then copy the new secret to your server.
6. To remove a widget for good, open the menu and click Delete. Click Delete again to confirm.

For a widget made with Create with AI, Edit Widget only changes the Widget Name and Description. To change what it shows, create a new one and delete the old one.

From a contact, click Add App, then Manage Apps, to come straight back to this list.

If it doesn't work:

• A widget stopped loading after you regenerated its secret. Your server still has the old secret. Copy the new Signing Secret to your server.
• A widget doesn't show on contacts. Check its switch is on in Canvas Apps, then add it again with Add App on the contact.
• You deleted a widget by mistake. Deleted widgets can't be restored. Create it again with Add Widget or Create with AI.