> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.ahaslides.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How to Build Slides with the Content v2 Design Canvas

> Create polished, layout-driven slides in AhaSlides using ready-made templates or custom text, callout, visual, media, and data blocks.

The Content v2 slide is a design canvas for building polished, structured presentation slides. Choose a pre-built layout or compose the slide block by block — mixing text, images, tables, callouts, shapes, and more — then present it to your audience.

## How It Works

Like the original [Content](/using-slide-types/using-the-content-slide) slide, Content v2 is **non-interactive** — participants see the slide on their screens but can't submit a response. The upgrade is in the authoring experience: a structured block system replaces the free-floating canvas, giving you a richer set of content types and purpose-built layout templates.

<Tip>
  **Let AI do the heavy lifting**: the AhaSlides AI slide agent can generate a ready-to-use Content v2 slide from a plain-text prompt. Open the AI slide agent, describe what you need (e.g. *"a cover slide for a product launch"* or *"a comparison table for three pricing tiers"*), and the agent builds the slide with blocks and content already in place.
</Tip>

## Adding a Content v2 Slide

<Steps>
  <Step title="Add a new slide">
    Click **New slide**, then scroll to the **Content** section of the slide type picker.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select Content v2">
    Choose **Content v2**. The slide opens with a prompt: *"Choose a layout or insert elements →"*
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Two Ways to Build Your Slide

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Option 1: Start from a layout">
    AhaSlides ships a growing gallery of named, pre-designed layouts — cover slides, agenda grids, callout cards, comparison tables, image-and-text pairs, and more. Examples include *Cover Hero*, *Agenda*, *Feature matrix*, *Pull quote*, and *Process steps* — but the full gallery inside the editor is the authoritative list, since it's regularly expanded.

    To browse it, look for the **Layouts** section in the right panel (visible when no block is selected), then click **Browse all →** to open the full picker. Scroll or search by name for a starting point that matches your content. Clicking a layout fills the canvas with a matching arrangement of pre-styled blocks — each independently editable straight away.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Option 2: Insert blocks manually">
    Click **+ Insert** at the top of the right panel to open the block picker, which has a search bar to filter by name. Blocks are grouped into five categories:

    | Category     | Blocks                                                          |
    | ------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
    | **Text**     | Title, Body, Bullets, Numbered (list), Quote, Section header    |
    | **Callouts** | Note, Info, Tip, Important, Warning, Caution, Success, Question |
    | **Visual**   | Image, Rectangle, Circle, Line, Arrow, Divider, Icon            |
    | **Media**    | Video, Timer                                                    |
    | **Data**     | Table, Big stat, Code                                           |

    Each block you insert appears on the canvas and can be repositioned, resized, and styled independently.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Editing Blocks

Click any block to select it. The right panel switches to that block's settings across three tabs:

* **Style** — font family, formatting, and colour controls, plus a Markdown input (blocks accept Markdown syntax, so `# Heading`, `**bold**`, and `- list item` all render correctly).
* **Layout** — size, position, and alignment options for the selected block.
* **Animate** — animation settings for when the block appears during a presentation.

The canvas toolbar for a selected block also gives quick access to bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, font size, text colour, and text alignment without opening the panel.

To delete a block, select it and click **Delete** in the canvas toolbar, or press the Delete key.

## Formatting with Markdown

All text blocks accept **Markdown**: type into the Markdown text area in the Style tab and the canvas renders the output live. Standard syntax works — headings (`#`, `##`), bold (`**text**`), italic (`*text*`), bullet lists (`-`), numbered lists (`1.`), inline code (`` `code` ``), and links (`[label](url)`).

## Using the AI Assistant

Click **Improve with AI** on any selected block to open the AI assistant for that block — it can rewrite, expand, or shorten the block's text based on your instructions. The **Improve** button in the editor header bar opens the AI assistant for the whole slide.

## Presenting

When your presentation reaches a Content v2 slide, the canvas fills the presenter screen. Participants viewing on their phones or browsers see the same layout in a read-only view — no response is required.

## Content v2 vs. Content

|                         | Content v2                          | [Content](/using-slide-types/using-the-content-slide) (original) |
| ----------------------- | ----------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Authoring model         | Structured blocks                   | Free-floating canvas                                             |
| Layouts                 | 25+ named templates                 | None                                                             |
| Block types             | Text, callouts, visual, media, data | Text, image, GIF, emoji, shape                                   |
| Markdown support        | Yes                                 | No                                                               |
| AI per-block            | Yes                                 | Slide-level only                                                 |
| Participant interaction | None (display only)                 | None (display only)                                              |

Use **Content v2** for polished, well-structured slides — cover slides, data callouts, FAQs, or branded layouts. Use the original **Content** slide when you need freeform, pixel-precise drag-and-drop placement.

<Note>
  Content v2 slides aren't currently supported by the AhaSlides MCP `create_slides()` tool. Add them manually in the editor.
</Note>

## Frequently Asked Questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="How do I add a countdown or break timer to a slide?">
    Insert a **Timer** block: click **+ Insert**, open the **Media** category (or search *Timer*), and choose **Timer**. With the block selected, set the countdown length using the **minutes** and **seconds** inputs in its **Style** settings. You can also add a **Label** under the digits (e.g. *Coffee break*), change the **When finished** text shown at zero (defaults to *Time's up*), and pick a **Color**.

    Turn on **Auto-start when slide opens** to start the countdown as you reach the slide, or leave it off to get a **Start timer** button on the presenting screen — you can **Start**, **Pause**, **Resume**, and **Reset** it while presenting, and it stays in sync on your audience's screens.

    The Timer block is a visual countdown only: it doesn't play a sound when it ends, and it's separate from the quiz **Time Limit** setting, which caps how long participants have to answer and locks their responses.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Have a question?

Contact our support team — if you're logged in, use the chat bubble in the bottom-right of your dashboard; otherwise [contact us here](https://ahaslides.com/contact-us/) or email [hi@ahaslides.com](mailto:hi@ahaslides.com).


## Related topics

- [How to Create and Edit a Content Slide in AhaSlides](/using-slide-types/using-the-content-slide.md)
- [How to Build Flowcharts and Diagrams with the Diagram Slide](/using-slide-types/using-the-diagram-slide.md)
- [Quiz troubleshooting and FAQs](/using-slide-types/quiz-troubleshooting-and-faqs.md)
- [How to Use and Create a Presentation Theme in AhaSlides](/branding/design-your-theme-on-ahaslides.md)
- [How to Change and Manage Fonts in AhaSlides](/branding/how-to-change-and-manage-fonts.md)