# Capture: Canvas Capture

> Capture formatted text into a selected Canvas card or a specific node in a .canvas file, with supported write positions and linking

You end up with a Capture choice that writes into an Obsidian Canvas: either the
card you have selected on the board, or one specific card in a `.canvas` file you
name ahead of time.

## Prerequisites

- An Obsidian Canvas file. Canvas is built into Obsidian, so there is no plugin
  to install.

## When to use this

Use Canvas capture when your workflow starts in a visual board, but you still
want QuickAdd's capture formats, variables, and hotkeys.

Good fits:

- Add a timestamped note to a selected brainstorming card.
- Append a task to a project card.
- Send repeated updates to one known Canvas card.

## Capture to the selected card

1. Create a Capture choice.
2. Enable **Capture to active file**.
3. Open a Canvas file.
4. Select exactly one supported card.
5. Set **Write position** to **Top of file (after frontmatter)**,
   **Bottom of file**, or **After line…** / **Before line…**.
6. Run the Capture choice.

Supported selected-card targets:

- Text cards
- File cards that point to Markdown files

QuickAdd aborts with a notice if no card is selected, multiple cards are
selected, or the selected card is unsupported.

## Capture to a specific card

1. Create a Capture choice.
2. Turn off **Capture to active file**.
3. Set **Capture to** to a `.canvas` file.
4. Choose **Target canvas node**.
5. Pick the card you want QuickAdd to write to.
6. Set a supported write position.

This is the best option for repeatable workflows where every capture should go
to the same Canvas card.

## Write position support

Canvas capture supports these write positions:

- **Top of file** (shown as **Top of file (after frontmatter)** when
  **Capture to active file** is enabled)
- **Bottom of file**
- **After line…**
- **Before line…**

Canvas capture does not support cursor-based write positions:

- **At cursor**
- **New line above cursor**
- **New line below cursor**

If **Capture to active file** is enabled and the write position is still
**At cursor**, QuickAdd aborts instead of writing to the wrong place.

## Link-to-captured-file behavior

When **Link to captured file** is set to **Enabled (requires active file)** and
capture runs from a Canvas card without a focused Markdown editor, the capture
still writes. QuickAdd skips link insertion because there is no active Markdown
file to link from.

## Troubleshooting

| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capture aborts before writing | No card or multiple cards are selected | Select exactly one supported card |
| Capture aborts with cursor-position wording | The write mode is cursor-based | Use top, bottom, after-line, or before-line placement |
| Nothing is written to a file card | The file card points to a non-Markdown file | Use a Markdown file card or a text card |
| The target picker is not shown | Capture target is not a `.canvas` file | Set **Capture to** to the Canvas file path |

## Related docs

- [Capture Choices](/docs/Choices/CaptureChoice/)
- [Format Syntax](/docs/FormatSyntax/)
- [Template: Create an MOC Note with a Link Dashboard](/docs/Examples/Template_CreateMOCNoteWithLinkDashboard/)