Introducing Canvas

Instead of redesigning and reintegrating your external applications, you can now use these tools to integrate your technology within Canvas. Canvas includes tools that handle:

• Authentication—If your application requires authorization, you can implement it by using a signed request or OAuth 2.0.
• Context—API support that enables you to retrieve context information about the environment in which the canvas app is running.
• Cross-domain XHR—JavaScript support for cross-domain XML HTTP requests back to the Salesforce domain.
• Resizing—Methods that support the ability to resize your canvas app.
• Events—Events provide a JavaScript-based way to send and receive events between canvas apps. Use events to enable communication between multiple canvas apps on a single page.
• Canvas Apps in Aura—An Aura component that lets you expose your canvas app in a custom Aura component.
• Canvas Apps in Visualforce—A Visualforce component that lets you expose your canvas app on a Visualforce page. Canvas apps embedded in Visualforce using <apex:canvasApp> serialize parameters as part of a redirect URL during load with known limitations.
• Canvas Apps in the Publisher—Lets you add a canvas app as a custom action and expand the publisher to include a canvas app.
• Canvas Apps in the Chatter Feed—Lets you expose your canvas apps as feed items.
• Canvas in the Salesforce Mobile App—Makes your canvas apps available in the Salesforce mobile app.

The third-party app that you want to expose as a Canvas app can be written in any language. The only requirement is that the app has a secure URL (HTTPS).