---
schema_version: "1"
id: 3bbfa1ccab84f9e9a3a8ec7a3577e6b42f7d1180c7b6fc35f96646a580d2ada8
title: Work with Canvas
collection: developer
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/developer/current/en-us/service-cloud/api-cti/guides/sforce-api-cti-canvas.md
canonical_url: https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/service/api-cti/guide/sforce-api-cti-canvas.html
source_site: developer.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: e4cdc4e438e1e3148698057b4b99e004618da1ddb3a4ceac97ddda0af2296fca
products:
  - Open CTI Developer Guide
  - Service Cloud Developer Content
---

# Work with Canvas

To integrate Open CTI with external applications that require authentication methods, such as signed requests or OAuth 2.0 protocols, Salesforce recommends that you use Canvas.

**important:** Open CTI for Lightning Experience doesn’t support Canvas.

Canvas and Open CTI are similar—they’re a set of tools and JavaScript APIs that developers can use to add third-party systems to Salesforce. However, one of the benefits of Canvas, is the ability to choose authentication methods.

**note:** For a canvas app to appear in a Salesforce console, you must add it to the console as a custom console component. For more information, see the *Canvas Developer Guide*.

When developing a canvas app, and you want to include functionality from Open CTI, do the following:


-   Include the Open CTI API in `index.jsp`.
-   Call `Sfdc.canvas.client.signedrequest()` to store the signed request needed by the console integration toolkit API. For example, if the Canvas method of authentication is a signed request, do the following:

    ```javascript
    Sfdc.canvas.client.signedrequest('<%=signedRequest%>')
    ```

    If the Canvas method of authentication is OAuth, do the following in the callback function used to get the context, as shown in the *Canvas Developer Guide*:

    ```javascript
    Sfdc.canvas.client.signedrequest(msg)
    ```


Consider the following when working with Open CTI and canvas apps:


-   The Open CTI API script depends on the signed request and should be added after the call to `Sfdc.canvas.client.signedrequest()` has executed. We recommend that you load the scripts dynamically.
-   To retrieve the entity ID of the record that is associated with the canvas sidebar component, do the following:

    ```javascript
    // Get signedRequest
    var signedRequest = Sfdc.canvas.client.signedrequest();
    var parsedRequest = JSON.parse(signedRequest);
    // get the entity Id that is associated with this canvas sidebar component.
    var entityId = parsedRequest.context.environment.parameters.entityId;
    ```

-   To retrieve the `entityId` for OAuth, do the following:

    ```javascript
    var entityId = msg.payload.environment.parameters.entityId;
    ```

    To see an example on how to retrieve `msg.payload`, see the *Canvas Developer Guide*.