Expanding and Shrinking the Canvas

A screenshot rarely has the empty margin you need for callouts, arrows, or a header. Annotate lets you grow the canvas on any edge with a single tap - and shrink it back if you change your mind.

The "+" buttons

When you open an image in the editor, you'll see four small circular "+" buttons just outside each edge of the canvas (top, bottom, leading, trailing).

Tap any "+" to add a slice of empty space on that edge, equal to the original canvas dimension along that axis. Each tap adds another slice, capped at a safe maximum so the canvas can't grow forever.

The "−" buttons

After you've expanded an edge, a matching "−" button appears next to the "+" on that edge. Tap "−" to undo one expansion slice on that edge, one tap at a time.

The "−" button is only visible when there's something to shrink. If you reset that edge back to its original extent, the "−" disappears and only the "+" remains.

Fill color

The new canvas area is filled with:

• Transparent for canvases that came from a photo, screenshot, file, or clipboard.
• The background color for blank canvases - whatever color you picked when creating it.

Visual canvas size

The current canvas size (in pixels, including any backdrop padding) is shown as a small label below the canvas. It updates live as you expand or shrink edges, so you always know the export size you're working toward.

First-time tip

The very first time you tap a "+" button, Annotate shows a brief tip explaining what you just did and how to revert it. The hint can be reset from Settings → Reset hints if you'd like to see it again.