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layout-canvas
Elevated surface container with background, radius, shadow, and padding. Use the data-canvas attribute on semantic elements or the layout-canvas wrapper element.
Attributes
| Attribute | Values | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
data-canvas |
(empty), flush, elevated |
(empty) |
Applies canvas surface styling. Value sets the variant. |
data-variant |
flush, elevated |
- | Variant for the <layout-canvas> element form. |
data-layout-max |
narrow, content, wide, prose |
- | Maximum inline size constraint. |
data-layout-padding |
none, s, m, l, xl |
l |
Override default padding. |
data-canvas-depth |
1, 2 |
- | Ghost card stacking effect (not available on flush). |
How It Works
data-canvas is an attribute you add to any semantic element to give it an elevated surface — background, border-radius, box-shadow, and padding. The <layout-canvas> custom element is an alternative wrapper for when you need a non-semantic container.
Both forms share the same CSS and consume the same --canvas-* design tokens used by data-backdrop, so theme overrides apply to both systems.
Attribute Form (Preferred)
Add data-canvas directly to a semantic element. No wrapper needed.
Attribute form
<article data-canvas> <h2>My Article</h2> <p>Content with elevated surface styling.</p></article>Element Form
Use <layout-canvas> when you need a non-semantic wrapper around multiple children.
Element form
<layout-canvas> <header>Page Header</header> <main> <p>Main content area wrapped in a canvas surface.</p> </main></layout-canvas>Variants
Flush
No border radius or shadow. Edge-to-edge surface.
Flush variant
<section data-canvas="flush"> <h2>Flush Canvas</h2> <p>No border radius or shadow. Edge-to-edge surface.</p></section>Elevated
Larger radius and dramatic shadow for emphasis.
Elevated variant
<section data-canvas="elevated"> <h2>Elevated Canvas</h2> <p>Larger radius and dramatic shadow for emphasis.</p></section>Width Constraints
Use data-layout-max to constrain the canvas width. It auto-centers with margin-inline: auto.
Width constraints
<article data-canvas data-layout-max="narrow"> <h2>Narrow Canvas</h2> <p>Constrained to 45rem max width, centered on the page.</p></article> <article data-canvas data-layout-max="content"> <h2>Content Width</h2> <p>Constrained to 60rem max width.</p></article>Nested Canvases
Nested canvases automatically use --color-surface-raised for visual hierarchy.
Nested canvases
<article data-canvas> <h2>Outer Canvas</h2> <p>Primary surface background.</p> <aside data-canvas> <h3>Nested Canvas</h3> <p>Automatically uses raised surface color for hierarchy.</p> </aside></article>Ghost Card Depth
Add stacked-paper shadows beneath the canvas for a layered effect. Not available on the flush variant.
Ghost card depth
<article data-canvas data-canvas-depth="1"> <h2>Single Ghost Card</h2> <p>One stacked paper shadow beneath the canvas.</p></article> <article data-canvas data-canvas-depth="2"> <h2>Double Ghost Cards</h2> <p>Two stacked paper shadows for extra depth.</p></article>Multiple Canvases
Unlike data-backdrop which styles body-level regions implicitly, data-canvas works on any element — so you can have multiple independent canvases on the same page.
Multiple canvases on one page
<section data-layout="grid" data-layout-min="20rem"> <article data-canvas> <h3>Canvas A</h3> <p>Independent canvas region.</p> </article> <aside data-canvas="elevated"> <h3>Canvas B</h3> <p>Elevated variant alongside.</p> </aside></section>Relationship to data-backdrop
data-canvas and data-backdrop are complementary:
data-backdropstylesbody > main/header/footer/nav/asideimplicitlydata-canvasis for explicit, per-element canvas surfaces- Both consume the same
--canvas-*tokens - A page can use both simultaneously
Mobile Behavior
At <640px, all canvases automatically go flush — no border radius, no shadow, reduced padding. This matches data-backdrop mobile behavior.
Related
<layout-card>— Card container with header/body/footer regions<layout-stack>— Vertical spacing layout<layout-center>— Centering layout