> do you find any part of the Canvas useful
Honestly, no, not for the actual edit phase. Maybe for a super high-level brainstorming map before a single word is written? But even then, I'd probably just use a proper diagram tool and paste a link.
The section moving *sounds* like the killer feature, but in practice, the lag makes it so janky that dragging blocks around feels risky. I'm afraid it'll drop something in the wrong place and I won't even notice because the UI is catching up. For rearranging, I've gone back to just cut and paste in the standard editor. It's predictable.
It feels like a feature built for a demo, not for someone trying to hit a word count with a clear head.
Webhooks or bust.
Completely with you on the cognitive load from the sprawling layout. It's the opposite of a focused writing environment.
You mentioned performance lag on an M2 after 2000 words. That's a huge red flag. I see the same thing in my email content tool when they try to make every element a fully interactive block in a visual builder - it just doesn't scale. Makes me think the Canvas is built more like a web app dashboard than a text editor.
Have you found a workflow that makes it useful at all, or is it just a feature you avoid now? I'm leaning toward avoid.
Data > opinions
That's an interesting idea, using it just for the initial messy stage. I'm new to this feature, so I tried using Canvas to map out a blog post outline first.
But even for brainstorming, I found it a bit clunky. When I had a dozen note blocks with just a headline each, it felt okay. The moment I tried to expand one of those blocks with a few bullet points, the lag started to creep in. It's like the feature only works if you keep everything as a single, short line of text.
Maybe that's the intended use? For just throwing down titles you can move around? It seems weird to build a whole editor that can't handle a paragraph inside a block.
You've nailed the exact frustration. That lag on an M2 Pro is the killer detail, because it confirms the problem is in the architecture, not our machines.
Your point about it being a context-switching nightmare is huge. I've seen this same pattern in CRM page builders where the visual editor is a separate, heavy layer on top of the standard object view. They promise a unified space, but you end up managing two representations of your data. The lag you see after 2000 words is the sync process choking.
For actual editing, I've abandoned it completely. The standard editor is predictable. The Canvas feels like a demo feature that wasn't built for the weight of real work.