(1) In an image editing or paint program, the canvas is the window in which the picture is created or edited. It is the on-screen counterpart of the cloth canvas used by an artist. See paint program.

(2) (Canvas) A technical drawing, image editing and page layout program for Windows and the Mac from ACD Systems International, Inc., Victoria, British Columbia (www.acdsystems.com). Acquired from Deneba Software in 2003, ACD's Canvas combines numerous illustration (vector graphics) and image editing tools (bitmapped graphics) in one application. It also includes presentation graphics capabilities for producing on-screen slide shows. Specific versions have been created for GIS mapping, scientific imaging and the professional design engineering market.