Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET
OpenAI has updated Canvas, a writing and coding assistant integrated into ChatGPT, allowing users to download and export files directly.
In an X post on Thursday, the company announced that Canvas users can now download text files as PDF, DOCX, or Markdown, while code can be exported to the appropriate file extension (.py for Python, .js for JavaScript, .sql for Structured Query Language, and so on).
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(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, ZDNET's parent company, filed an April 2025 lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)
What is Canvas for ChatGPT?
Canvas is a feature built into ChatGPT and designed to assist writers and coders with fine-grained edits. Certain prompts -- such as "Can you help me write and revise an essay on the Roman Republic?" -- will automatically open Canvas, which appears as a separate window. ChatGPT can also be directly prompted to open Canvas.
OpenAI introduced Canvas in beta in October, followed by a public release in December.
Also: Why Canvas is ChatGPT's best productivity feature for power users
The feature was positioned as an editorial assistant that can help speed up some of the more mundane and time-consuming aspects of the writing and coding process. It can suggest inline edits on a written draft, for example, or detect and fix bugs in code.
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