Skip to content

feat: handle blank canvas state in Diagram Editor #418

Description

@lornakelly

Description

The diagram editor currently does not handle a blank/empty canvas state. When the text editor is initialised with no content (blank state), the diagram fails to render appropriately or may show errors.

Expected Behaviour

  • Diagram should display an appropriate empty state when no workflow content is present
  • Empty state should provide helpful guidance (e.g., "Start by adding workflow content in the text editor")
  • No errors should be thrown when initialising with blank content
  • Smooth transition from empty state to populated diagram when content is added

Motivation

Supporting a blank canvas state is critical for delivering a complete authoring experience, particularly for The Newcomer persona

Proposed Implementation

No response

Definition of Done

  • Implementation: Fully implemented according to the Open Workflow spec.
  • Unit Tests: Comprehensive unit tests are included and passing.
  • Integration Tests: Verified within the monorepo and target environments (Web/VS Code).
  • Documentation: Updated README.md, ADRs, or official docs.
  • Performance: No significant regression in editor responsiveness.
  • Accessibility: UI changes comply with accessibility standards.

Activity

  1. changed the title [-]feat: handle Blank Canvas State in Diagram Editor[/-] [+]feat: handle blank canvas state in Diagram Editor[/+] on Sep 11, 2026
Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment

Metadata

Metadata

Labels

enhancementNew feature or request

Projects

Milestone

No milestone

Relationships

None yet

Development

No branches or pull requests

Issue actions