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

# Get started in Preview

> A quick tour of how a project comes together in Preview, from your first canvas to a fully organized shoot.

Preview is a collaborative canvas for making and organizing AI video and image projects, start to finish. Here's the shape of a project, step by step.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create a project">
    Select **New Project**. Your project is the top-level container for canvases, shot lists, collaborators, and saved files; it starts as "Untitled Project", renameable anytime from the project menu.

    <Frame>
      <img src="https://mintcdn.com/preview-ba0f310c/8IkxIOqWtPDfyhOG/images/preview/getting-started-create-project.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=8IkxIOqWtPDfyhOG&q=85&s=d898b8339989a6fe57cb5121cc90e30c" alt="Create a project in Preview" width="3456" height="1990" data-path="images/preview/getting-started-create-project.png" />
    </Frame>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Land on your first canvas">
    An infinite, multiplayer workspace. Everyone on the project can see and generate here together, in real time.

    <Frame>
      <img src="https://mintcdn.com/preview-ba0f310c/8IkxIOqWtPDfyhOG/images/preview/getting-started-work-on-first-canvas.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=8IkxIOqWtPDfyhOG&q=85&s=38364cbfa914ddfc5ce0f98e64207bcd" alt="Your first canvas in Preview" width="3442" height="1988" data-path="images/preview/getting-started-work-on-first-canvas.png" />
    </Frame>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Generate your first file">
    Two ways to make something:

    * **[Prompt box](/preview/prompt-box-overview)** (bottom of the canvas): write what you want, pick a model, and generate directly.

          <Frame>
            <img src="https://mintcdn.com/preview-ba0f310c/8IkxIOqWtPDfyhOG/images/preview/getting-started-prompt-box.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=8IkxIOqWtPDfyhOG&q=85&s=f6440c7d43b98eecf5463b68e81e761b" alt="Generating from the prompt box" width="1721" height="958" data-path="images/preview/getting-started-prompt-box.png" />
          </Frame>

    * **[Preview Agent](/preview/agent)**: describe what you want in chat and let it build it for you.

          <Frame>
            <img src="https://mintcdn.com/preview-ba0f310c/8IkxIOqWtPDfyhOG/images/preview/getting-started-preview-agent.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=8IkxIOqWtPDfyhOG&q=85&s=7bca06a9e78553f8c06dae20371b6e15" alt="Generating with Preview Agent" width="1723" height="956" data-path="images/preview/getting-started-preview-agent.png" />
          </Frame>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Turn it into a shot">
    The **[Sequence Timeline](/preview/scene-timeline)** sits at the top of your canvas. Assign a file to a shot (a slot for one piece of your story) and it lands there immediately, so your sequences (the scene groupings that make up a shot list) take shape as you generate.

    <Frame>
      <img src="https://mintcdn.com/preview-ba0f310c/8IkxIOqWtPDfyhOG/images/preview/getting-started-turn-to-shot.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=8IkxIOqWtPDfyhOG&q=85&s=981c49b09bc60b38e3a827860b179d4d" alt="Assigning a file to a shot in the Sequence Timeline" width="1724" height="957" data-path="images/preview/getting-started-turn-to-shot.png" />
    </Frame>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Take control of your creations">
    Click any file on canvas to bring up its **toolbar**: iterate on it with Quick Actions or Preview Agent, inpaint part of it, reuse its prompt, or add it as a reference, all without leaving the canvas. See [File Toolbar](/preview/file-toolbar#the-toolbar).

    <Frame>
      <img src="https://mintcdn.com/preview-ba0f310c/8IkxIOqWtPDfyhOG/images/preview/getting-started-control-creations.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=8IkxIOqWtPDfyhOG&q=85&s=f23e63d40103369d921cecb497228d18" alt="The toolbar below a selected file" width="1721" height="956" data-path="images/preview/getting-started-control-creations.png" />
    </Frame>
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Scale up: more canvases, more shot lists

Two different ways to expand a project and stay organized:

* **[Canvases](/preview/canvas-overview)**: from the picker in the top-left corner of Studio, create as many as you need. Canvases belong to the project, not any one sequence, so use one per part of the project, or a scratch space to experiment visually.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/preview-ba0f310c/8IkxIOqWtPDfyhOG/images/preview/getting-started-scale-up-canvas.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=8IkxIOqWtPDfyhOG&q=85&s=60e816b9de85f62fe2aae91cc49e9e13" alt="Canvas picker showing multiple canvases" width="1722" height="955" data-path="images/preview/getting-started-scale-up-canvas.png" />
</Frame>

* **[Shot lists](/preview/shotlists-overview)**: a project can hold multiple shot lists, each an independent set of sequences. You can use them to version sequences or track side ideas without touching your main cut.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/preview-ba0f310c/8IkxIOqWtPDfyhOG/images/preview/getting-started-scale-up-shotlist.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=8IkxIOqWtPDfyhOG&q=85&s=93c50ce3d64b01390c7c29af473eda58" alt="Shot list switcher showing multiple shot lists" width="1719" height="958" data-path="images/preview/getting-started-scale-up-shotlist.png" />
</Frame>

## Stay consistent

Before you're deep into managing shots, it's worth saving anything you'll reuse: a character's face, a location, a prop. Save it once and call it back into any prompt instead of re-describing it from scratch.

* **Save it**: right-click an image on canvas or use its three-dot menu on the toolbar and choose **Add to...** to save it as a Character, Location, or Prop.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/preview-ba0f310c/8IkxIOqWtPDfyhOG/images/preview/getting-started-consistent-save-it.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=8IkxIOqWtPDfyhOG&q=85&s=3b4e879d211310af011b34c82a0d3ab8" alt="Saving a file as a Character, Location, or Prop via Add to..." width="1722" height="957" data-path="images/preview/getting-started-consistent-save-it.png" />
</Frame>

* **Library**: everything you save collects here, all in one place, organized by Character, Location, and Prop. See [Project Library](/preview/project-library).

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/preview-ba0f310c/8IkxIOqWtPDfyhOG/images/preview/getting-started-consistent-library.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=8IkxIOqWtPDfyhOG&q=85&s=fe3f62f8179306f9b6a0a20c5a0ba7dc" alt="The project library" width="3456" height="1992" data-path="images/preview/getting-started-consistent-library.png" />
</Frame>

* **Reference it**: type `@` in any prompt to pull a saved Character, Location, or Prop back in, same face, same set, same object, every time. See [Referencing with @](/preview/at-references).

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/preview-ba0f310c/8IkxIOqWtPDfyhOG/images/preview/getting-started-consistent-reference-it.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=8IkxIOqWtPDfyhOG&q=85&s=f8be7da8a2f85fd98e03f8c63b5702fb" alt="Picking a saved Character with @ in the prompt box" width="810" height="506" data-path="images/preview/getting-started-consistent-reference-it.png" />
</Frame>

## Manage it all in Production

Once there's real structure to track, click **[Production](/preview/shotlists-overview)** at the top of the screen, beside Studio.

* **Shotlist** and **Storyboard**: detailed metadata, shot-by-shot breakdown.
* **Kanban**: where your team tracks status at a glance and moves work through pipelines.

All three stay synced live, and so does the canvas. Change something in one place and it updates everywhere.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/preview-ba0f310c/8IkxIOqWtPDfyhOG/images/preview/getting-started-shotlists-switcher.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=8IkxIOqWtPDfyhOG&q=85&s=f77c6b5017751532b109f0e7c8c31b4c" alt="Shotlists view switcher" width="3456" height="1990" data-path="images/preview/getting-started-shotlists-switcher.png" />
</Frame>

## Always within reach

* **[History](/preview/history)**: every file ever created or imported in the project, always browsable, filterable by who made it. Click the **History** icon in the left sidebar to open it.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/preview-ba0f310c/8IkxIOqWtPDfyhOG/images/preview/getting-started-within-reach-history.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=8IkxIOqWtPDfyhOG&q=85&s=ff5d962c1c8c059e7dfd2042f3fbd1ea" alt="History sidebar" width="1720" height="960" data-path="images/preview/getting-started-within-reach-history.png" />
</Frame>

* **[Files view](/preview/canvas-overview#files-view)**: flip any canvas into a live feed of everything generated on it, for reviewing a batch before deciding what's worth placing. Switch to it from the **Files view** tab on the canvas pill, top left.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/preview-ba0f310c/8IkxIOqWtPDfyhOG/images/preview/getting-started-within-reach-gen-studio.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=8IkxIOqWtPDfyhOG&q=85&s=79933695e4504aa5beb78a270a82334e" alt="Files view grid" width="1721" height="957" data-path="images/preview/getting-started-within-reach-gen-studio.png" />
</Frame>

## Share your work

When a project's ready for eyes outside your own, share it two ways from the **Share** button in the app's upper-right corner.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/preview-ba0f310c/8HqQQVIulnLO7aZW/images/preview/sharing-share-menu.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=8HqQQVIulnLO7aZW&q=85&s=6bda7a763b01c246be6ae7e8f01e7f36" alt="Share menu" width="1750" height="1032" data-path="images/preview/sharing-share-menu.png" />
</Frame>

* **[Invite a collaborator](/preview/sharing#collaborator-invites)**: add someone by email with a role (Can edit, Can comment, Can view). They'll need a Preview account and get real access, for people doing actual work in the project with you.
* **[Send a review link](/preview/sharing#review-link)**: no account needed, just a link. Anyone who has it can browse the project and leave comments, perfect for clients and stakeholders who just need to see the work and weigh in.

## Export

The last piece: take everything you've built and move it into an editing system, either by right-clicking a sequence and choosing **Export sequence** for just that one, or from the Project menu's hamburger icon, choosing **Export** for everything in your active shot list. Either way, you get an FCPXML timeline for Final Cut Pro or DaVinci Resolve, ready to keep working with outside Preview.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/preview-ba0f310c/8IkxIOqWtPDfyhOG/images/preview/getting-started-export.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=8IkxIOqWtPDfyhOG&q=85&s=05aadb7a9763e4b4641b30d18a43ccfb" alt="Exporting a shotlist" width="3456" height="1992" data-path="images/preview/getting-started-export.png" />
</Frame>

* **[Export](/preview/settings-menu#export)**: from the Project menu, exports every sequence in your active Shotlist as a ZIP with media and an FCPXML timeline.
* **Export just one sequence**: right-click any sequence in the timeline and choose **Export sequence** for the same export, scoped to just that one.

## Vocabulary

* **Shot list**: a full set of sequences and shots; a project can have multiple.
* **Sequence**: how you organize shots within a shot list.
* **Shot**: where you save your selects.
* **Select/Take**: a file saved to a shot.
* **File**: a single generation.

## Continue

* [Studio](/preview/canvas-overview) for the full canvas layout, collaborators, and where new files appear.
* [Prompt Box](/preview/prompt-box-overview) for generation and references in depth.
* [Preview Agent](/preview/agent) for the chat-based path through all of this.
