The Canvas

scribble.pub is built on a vector-based engine. Unlike traditional pixel-based platforms, every stroke is stored as a separate object with its own data (position, color, size, individual stroke points), allowing you to scale your work without loss of quality.

Under the hood, every vector drawing keeps track of every stroke drawn.

Vector architecture also makes it possible to remove, recolor, or reshape individual lines at any time. Not all features are implemented yet, but we are working on it.

Vector-based approach also places more demand on hardware as the canvas grows in complexity; while highly optimized, extremely large drawings may experience performance dips on lower-end devices.

Load level

Since scribble.pub is built on a vector engine, it requires setting limits on the total amount of vector data that can be stored in the canvas.

The load level, which you can see in the Clearing Menu of the toolbar, shows the current complexity of the canvas. It is calculated based on the number of lines, the number of segments each line has, the number of layers, animation frames, and other factors, all with its own weights.

The exact formula is not yet finalized, but in general, the more you draw, the higher the load level. In addition, animation frames with a lot of lines have disproportionately higher weight than frames with just a few lines, which allows for many-frame yet simple animations without much penalty.

The maximum load level is 100%, at which point you will not be able to draw any more. A warning message appears when the load level reaches 70%.

Navigation

Traverse the expansive drawing area using standard gestures and shortcuts:

• Zooming: Use your mouse wheel, two-finger touchpad scroll, or pinch on touch devices.
• Panning: Hold Space and drag on desktop. On touch devices, dragging with your finger moves the canvas by default.
• Reset View: Click Reset zoom or press Shift + R to quickly return to the center.

NOTE

On touch devices, finger touch is reserved for moving the canvas by default. To draw with your finger instead of a stylus, you must disable the Move with finger mode through the Toolbox menu.

Clearing

Different rooms have different clearing policies, which can be reviewed in Clearing Menu.

Clearing menu showing timers and the Clear canvas button enabled

There may be three timers:

• Min session time — Enables the Clear canvas button only after it expires.
• Inactivity timer — Auto-clears the canvas after the specified inactivity period.
• Max session time — Auto-clears the canvas after the specified session time.

Some rooms have the Clear canvas button enabled for everyone, while others have it enabled only for room owners and moderators.