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How to Use Microsoft Whiteboard
Whiteboard allows meeting participants to draw and write together
4 min. read
Updated onMay 17, 2024
updated onMay 17, 2024
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Key notes
Microsoft has a newwhiteboardcalled just like that, MicrosoftWhiteboard. What was in 2017 just a piece of leaked information, now, with Windows 10 version 2004, has become a full-fledgedapplicationthat will probably replace the old Microsoft Sketch Board.
MicrosoftWhiteboardis a freeform, digital canvas where people can collaborate on new projects and ideas. In other words, wherever you are in the world, you can use MicrosoftWhiteboardto hold a meeting with your team online.
How can I use Microsoft Whiteboard on my PC?
1. Download and install the app
You can also install it on your iOS device from the App Store and if you’re acommercial user, you can use MicrosoftWhiteboardin a browser, on theMicrosoft Whiteboard site.
Lastly, if you’re a Surface user, you just have totap on theWhiteboardicon from the Start Screen.
2. Share Microsoft Whiteboard with team members
Users can share a whiteboard to make it available to all participants in a meeting. The same whiteboard is available simultaneously in all the Whiteboard applications on Windows 10, iOS, and the web app.
This can be done via the app’s built-in options, in a few clicks. New members can be invited using a custom-made link that Microsoft Whiteboard generates for you.
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Launch Microsoft Whiteboard.
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Click on the person sketch from the top right corner.
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Select theWeb sharing linkbutton to turn the feature on.
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Copy the link and send it to your team members.
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People can access your Microsoft Whiteboard by clicking on the link.
3. Change the settings in Microsoft Whiteboard
To access the settings, you just need to tap or click on the three horizontal lines from the top right corner.
From there the most important or most used settings are the Export option where you can export the board as a PNG image or a high-quality SVG image and the Clear canvas option.
You might also want to play with the Toolbar location. By default, the tools are at the bottom but you can also place them on the left or right of the screen.
Are you looking for online collaboration tools? Read about thebest collaboration software for small businesses in 2022.
4. Other Microsoft Whiteboard settings options
Object snapping– It helps you align your content by providing a visual cue. When you move an object, a line appears close to another object.
Ink to shape–When Ink to Shape is active and you’re trying to draw a shape it will automatically change the hand-drawn ink strokes to a precise shape on yourwhiteboard.
Ink to the table– The whiteboardallows you to create tables with just a few ink strokes.
To begin a table, first draw a square on the canvas. Once it is recognized byWhiteboard, cross the shape with a vertical or horizontal line to create columns and rows, respectively.
After the first stroke, + and – signs will appear on the screen if you want to add more rows or columns faster like in the example below.
Format background– You can change the background color or you can add different orientation marks like dots, squares, or even graph paper.
How can I use the tools in Microsoft Whiteboard?
1. The Inking tool
The first tool is the Inking tool, and the most important because there are the active tools that you will need to draw.
You have several color pens and if you click/tap them once again you get to select a color and the width of the line as you draw.
When you change the thickness of the line, you will also change the pressure sensitivity gradient in you’re using an active pen.
Other tools for inking include the basic ones that you can find in any other drawing apps like a highlighter, a ruler, a lasso select, and the Undo and Redo buttons.
2. Adding a picture and a sticky note
The next two tools from the tool menu are pretty self-explanatory. They are for adding pictures and sticky notes.
3. Adding a menu and other pictures and documents
The next button is a complex menu in itself because you can add a lot of content:
Microsoft Whiteboard seems like a very business-oriented app extremely well molded to corporate needs. You can alsouse it in your Teams appfor collaborative purposes or theSurface Hub 3for your presentations.
Tell us what you think about it in the comments.
More about the topics:collaboration software
Claudiu Andone
Windows Toubleshooting Expert
Oldtimer in the tech and science press, Claudiu is focused on whatever comes new from Microsoft.
His abrupt interest in computers started when he saw the first Home Computer as a kid. However, his passion for Windows and everything related became obvious when he became a sys admin in a computer science high school.
With 14 years of experience in writing about everything there is to know about science and technology, Claudiu also likes rock music, chilling in the garden, and Star Wars. May the force be with you, always!
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Claudiu Andone
Windows Toubleshooting Expert
Oldtimer in the tech and science press, with 14 years of experience in writing on everything there is to know about science, technology, and Microsoft
