Reference
Canvas
Canvas-level controls for ratio, crop, position, transforms, and background setup.
The canvas is where you set the final look of your image before export.
What you can change on the canvas
- Aspect ratio and crop behavior
- Position and scale
- Tilt and perspective transforms
- Orientation adjustments
- Background and frame context
Main settings
| Setting | Range or options | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Position X | -20..120 | 50 |
| Position Y | -20..120 | 50 |
| Scale | 75..400 | 100 |
| Tilt rotation | -15..15 degrees | 0 |
| Perspective depth | 300..2000 px | 1000 |
| Rotate X | -35..35 degrees | 0 |
| Rotate Y | -35..35 degrees | 0 |
| Quarter-turn rotation | 0 | 90 | 180 | 270 | 0 |
| Straighten | -45..45 degrees | 0 |
Aspect ratio presets and common uses
| Ratio | Common use |
|---|---|
auto | Keep the source screenshot ratio unchanged |
1:1 | Square social posts and compact thumbnails |
5:4 | Product cards and store visuals |
4:3 | Docs images and slide content |
7:5 | Editorial and blog card visuals |
3:2 | Landscape post graphics |
16:9 | Presentation and video-cover layouts |
19.5:9 | Full-screen iPhone screenshot framing |
2:1 | Wide banners and hero strips |
21:9 | Ultra-wide headers and cinematic crops |
4:5 | Vertical feed posts |
3:4 | Portrait cards and tutorial visuals |
5:7 | Poster-style compositions |
2:3 | Tall portrait and print-like layouts |
9:16 | Stories and short-form vertical content |
9:19.5 | Full-screen modern iPhone portrait output |
1:2 | Extra-tall poster compositions |
What to know
- The crop box stays inside valid bounds and cannot be shrunk below the app minimum (
0.04in app scale). - Ratio presets change how crop works:
freeformlets you crop to any shape.originalkeeps the source image ratio.
- If you enter a value outside an allowed range, Shotwell brings it back to the nearest valid value.
- Rotating to
90or270swaps export width and height.
Drill down
Related guides
Common edge cases
- Position values below
0or above100are valid and useful when you want intentional bleed. - Strong perspective or tilt usually needs follow-up crop and position cleanup.
- Very tiny crop areas are prevented by the minimum crop size rule.