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URL capture is the core BenchCanvas workflow. Paste a URL and get a connected flow map in seconds.

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Start a capture

1

Open the new capture dialog

From your dashboard, start a new project. If your dashboard is empty, choose the option to paste a URL and capture.
2

Paste a URL

Enter the full URL of the page you want to start from, for example https://example.com or a deeper page like https://example.com/pricing. The starting URL anchors the capture.
3

Adjust options (optional)

Open the options to set a flow size, navigation style, and an email alert. The defaults work well for most sites.
4

Run it

Start the capture. The project is created and the capture begins. You can watch progress, or enable the email alert and come back later.

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What gets captured

BenchCanvas follows links and likely user navigation from your starting URL, then selects the most relevant screens for the journey. Each captured screen becomes a node with:
  • A screenshot in your chosen format (see Screenshots)
  • The page URL and a title
  • An auto-detected page type such as homepage, pricing, or signup
Screens are placed inside a frame and linked with connections that reflect the real navigation.

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Capture status

A capture moves through a few states while it runs (for example, discovering pages, then taking screenshots, then finalizing). When it completes, the canvas opens with your flow laid out automatically.
Turn on the email alert if you are capturing a large site with Deep exploration. BenchCanvas emails you when the capture is ready so you do not have to wait on the page.

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Tips for good results

  • Start from the most relevant page. To study pricing, start from the pricing URL.
  • Use a larger flow size for big sites and a smaller one for quick looks.
  • If a capture returns very few screens, BenchCanvas can fall back to the sitemap automatically.
  • For private or logged-in pages, use the Chrome extension.

Tune your capture

Learn about flow size, navigation style, and email alerts.