Create buttons in the creator ribbon interface that let you run custom scripts directly in your documents to streamline repetitive tasks and automate workflows
The Canvas Envision platform supports customization through evCreate API. One of the most useful customization features is the ability to create custom buttons in the creator ribbon interface. These buttons let you run custom scripts directly in your documents — allowing the streamlining of repetitive tasks, automating workflows, or integrating data from other systems.
In this blog post, we’ll walk through everything you need to know to get started with custom buttons in Canvas Envision: what they are, how to create them, and tips for deploying them efficiently across your workspace for your team to use.
“The evCreate API (application programming interface) is a connection point for external systems, software, services, custom scripts, and AI (artificial intelligence) bots and agents to call the Canvas Envision Creator's functionality programmatically.” – evCreate API Overview, evCreate API 5.7
A custom ribbon button is a command element you can add to a special tab in the Canvas Envision interface. When clicked, it runs a JavaScript file you provide—allowing for anything from inserting shapes and text, controlling 3D views, to integrating external data via APIs.
These buttons live in a custom ribbon tab that appears between the default tabs in Envision's UI. Creators in your workspace can access these tools without writing a line of code themselves.
To create and deploy a custom button, you’ll need:
If your script relies on assets like images or data files, make sure they’re hosted at accessible URLs or embedded appropriately.
Here’s how to create and deploy your own button using the built-in Custom Ribbon Configuration Editor.
Navigate to:
File > Options > Configure Custom Ribbon Tab
(Only Admins will see this option.)
Click “Confirm” to confirm edits then “Save” to store it in the staging environment. You can now test the button in the UI under the staging tab (with a yellow label).
Once you're happy with how it functions, click “Deploy” to publish it to all Creators in your workspace. That’s it—your button is now live!
Here’s an example of a very basic script that creates a text box on the page:
(async function () {
async function waitForEvCreateApiReady() {
const until = (predicateFn, intervalMsec) => new Promise(resolve => {
const poll = () => predicateFn() ? resolve() : setTimeout(poll, intervalMsec);
poll();
});
await until(() => window.evCreate !== undefined, 500);
await window.evCreate.config.WhenApiReady();
}
await waitForEvCreateApiReady();
await window.evCreate.object.text.Create("Hello from Custom Button!", {
left: 100, right: 600, top: 100, bottom: 200
});
})();
Custom buttons can dramatically improve productivity in common use cases such as:
Custom buttons in Canvas Envision give you the power to enhance user productivity around your workflows. Whether you’re automating repetitive steps, enforcing design consistency, or simplifying tasks for other users, evCreate allows you to do in a low code way.
If you haven’t tried implementing a custom button yet, open the Configuration Editor and start experimenting—the possibilities are endless.
Start your Canvas Envision free trial today →
For a full overview of the evCreate API, see the official documentation:
https://developers.canvasgfx.com/sdk-create/welcome-to-evcreate-api.html
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