This is a big release for Atlas! The Canvas has been completely reconstructed using the native UIKit and AppKit, dropping just about all of the remaining legacy SwiftUI components. With this, a whole slew of new features have been brought in, among them: Alignment, Distribution, Groups, Multi-Select, a new selection menu, better interactions, improved keyboard support, better zoom and resizing of elements during… there’s so much packed in here.

Canvas

Look & performance

• Rebuilt the canvas’s card layer on iOS and Mac for much smoother scrolling, zooming, and dragging, including on large canvases

• Redesigned most elements and adopted Liquid Glass better

• Updated card colors, borders, and shadows:

  • Card colors are less intense, and dark-mode defaults are updated

  • Card borders pick up the theme color, and default borders are thicker and keep their width when zooming

  • Text blocks with transparent backgrounds now have a subtle shadow

  • Transparent images hide their borders

• Added a canvas accent color that themes the selection frame, resize handles, and selection box (Canvas Options > Accent Color, with Reset)

• Redrew many icons so they read better

• Synopsis cards now use an italic title

• Custom colors that would be hard to see in light or dark mode are adjusted automatically.

Canvas Groups

• Added groups: labeled frames that gather related items. Create one from the selection bar after selecting a group of items, the background menu, Editor > Canvas > Add to Canvas > Create Group, or with ⌃⌘G

• Cards, text blocks, and pins that overlap a group belong to it, and groups can nest inside each other

• Dragging a group moves everything inside it, and locking a group locks its contents

• Group actions: Rename, Change Color, Select Contents, Resize to Fit Contents, Align Contents, and Delete Group (the items stay on the canvas)

• Connections can attach to groups

• Groups appear in canvas previews, in the Inspector, in search (a new Group item type and an In Group token), in Spotlight, and in Shortcuts

• Groups are preserved when you import or export JSON Canvas files, and node stacking order now follows the JSON Canvas specification

• Group membership is recalculated automatically after a sync conflict is resolved

Canvas Folder Updates

• Folders have a new stacked card on the canvas that shows their contents as a live outline. Expand and collapse rows, double-click a row to open that document, or drag a row onto the canvas to create a card for it

• With a row selected, the arrow keys move through the list while the folder is open. Return opens the row, and Escape clears the selection

• Folder cards work on iPad and iPhone, with rows sized for touch

• Folder cards can show Contents or Synopsis from the Display as menu

Align, Arrange, Distribute & Nudge

• Added Align, Arrange, and Distribute, with a live preview (hover on Mac, press and hold on iOS). Find them in the multi-selection bar or Editor > Canvas > Align, with ⌃⌥⌘ keyboard chords

• Alignment works on groups, using the group’s frame as its bounds (Align Contents)

• Nudge selected items with the arrow keys, more holding Shift (grid steps when Snap to Grid is on).

Snapping

• Snap to Grid is a global setting, on by default (Canvas Options and Editor > Canvas > Grid). It applies to moving, resizing, nudging, and placing. Holding ⌘ inverts it for a single drag or resize

• Items added from Share, Clip, and Shortcuts land beside the newest card, on the grid when snapping is on

Navigation & zoom

• New Fit to Selection (⌘2) in the zoom control and View menu. Fit Contents now has a shortcut too (⌘1), and the menu adds Center to Canvas

• The zoom percentage is editable: click or tap it to type a value (10-300%), and ↑/↓ change it in 5% steps

• ⌘-scroll zooms on Mac, and on iPad with a hardware keyboard

• Added Overview mode (zoomed out to about 30% or less): document and folder cards show an icon and title so the whole canvas stays readable

• Pins keep a readable size when zoomed out, and connections stay a consistent thickness.

• Scrolling and panning:

  • Selection drag and trackpad scrolling now scroll selected text cards

  • Dragging a card to the edge of the view auto-scrolls the canvas

  • On iPad and iPhone, the sidebar and Inspector swipe gestures no longer trigger when interacting with the canvas.

• Navigating to an item from the Inspector, search, or a link centers it accurately in the view

Selection, editing & interactions

• Multi-select by dragging a selection, by ⌘ or Shift-clicking, or two-finger tap on iOS.

• Redesigned the selection menu as a floating bar with the same design on every platform. For multiple items it offers Change Color, Lock, Group, Align, and Remove

• On Mac, the Delete key removes the selected items

• Holding ⌥ while resizing resizes from the center

• Holding ⌥ while a document card’s menu is open turns Remove Card into Remove Card and Document (iOS needs a hardware keyboard)

• Resize handles fade out when they’re not needed

• Items you add to the canvas are auto-selected

• Escape cancels drags, resizes, selection boxes, and connection creation

• Text cards:

  • Edit inline on the card with full editor support (document variables, annotations, footnotes, and autocomplete on Mac)

  • Convert to Text Document is available on text blocks

  • Text cards scroll when selected but not being edited

• Media cards have Quick Look in the selection bar

Connections & pins

• Connections are easier to grab and reattach, and curves and arrowheads are cleaner

• Connection labels render at the same size as pin labels

• Connection colors now sync properly between Mac and iOS

• Pins update live on the canvas as you edit them, with a new color menu and a larger selection area

• Pins can show their connection chevrons on demand with Add Connections menu button

Adding content

• Rebuilt the add bar in the bottom-right corner on Mac and iOS: Add Existing Document, Add Text Block, Add Pin, and Add Media (Photos, Files, Webpage). Click to add at the center of the view, or drag a button onto the canvas to place the item at a spot

• Tapping the background on iOS or right-clicking on Mac opens an add canvas item menu at that location

• The canvas’s add document search window automatically closes when you drag documents out of it

• New cards are placed more sensibly when added externally

• Double-clicking a nested canvas opens it

Previews & export

• Canvas previews and thumbnails use one rebuilt pipeline and match the canvas more accurately, including nested canvases and groups

• Nested canvases update size as they change in the parent canvas

• Export is now a PNG of the Full Canvas or the Current View. Export as Bundle (a .canvas file with its media) is still available

  • Note: PDF export of canvases has been removed

• The canvas Inspector has a new Items view with Pins, Cards, and Groups, group-color dots on items, and Mac dividers

Shortcuts & keyboard

• Move to Trash is now ⌘Delete (was ⌘⇧Delete). It deletes text instead while a text field has focus

• Canvas shortcuts: ⌃⌘G (Create Group), ⌘1 and ⌘2 (fit), arrow keys (nudge), ⌃⌥⌘ chords (align)

• Shortcuts: Add to Canvas can add a group, and canvas items expose Group Members and In Groups

Inspector

• Fixed placeholders not being grayed out in the Inspector (Mac)

• Web documents on Mac: the controls float over the page and the address is editable

• Fixed colors being adjusted for clarity when they didn’t actually conflict with light or dark backgrounds

• Fixed tags in the Outline View appearing stacked instead of side by side (macOS)

• Reduced memory use and improved performance in Folders (iOS and Mac)

• Fixed List text options not being editable

Something for newbies: A Preview Mode compliments the trial!

• Added a free preview mode which allows a free project with up to 25 documents!