How to use the online whiteboard, step by step
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Open the whiteboard
Go to the canvas. There is nothing to install and no account to create. To start from something, open the menu (top left) and choose Templates.
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Pick a tool from the toolbar
The toolbar sits at the top of the screen (at the bottom on phones). Buttons with a small corner mark hold more than one tool — click them to choose, for example, a diamond instead of a rectangle. Every tool also has a key, such as R for rectangle.
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Draw shapes and sticky notes
With a shape tool, drag on the canvas to draw it, or just click to drop one at a standard size. Hold Shift for a perfect square or circle. A sticky note (N) is ready for typing as soon as you place it.
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Connect things with arrows
Choose the arrow (A) and drag from one shape to another. The ends attach, so the arrow follows the shapes when they move. Select an arrow and drag the dot in the middle of it to add a bend.
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Write with the pen and highlighter
The pen (P) is for handwriting and sketches; an Apple Pencil or stylus adds pressure. The highlighter (M) is see-through, for marking things up. The laser pointer (K) leaves a trail that fades by itself.
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Type text and labels
Choose the text tool (T) and click anywhere, or double-click empty canvas, then type. Double-click a shape or an arrow to give it a label. Press Esc or click away when you're done.
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Select, move, resize and rotate
With the select tool (V), click something to select it, or drag a box around several things. Drag to move, pull the square handles to resize and the round handle above to rotate. Shift-click adds to the selection.
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Change colours and styles
The style panel on the left shows the settings that fit what you've selected — stroke and fill colours, line width, sloppiness and corners for shapes; font and size for text; colour and size for the pen. On phones, tap the palette button at the top to open it.
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Zoom and move around the canvas
Scroll to pan, and hold Ctrl while scrolling to zoom (or pinch on a trackpad or touchscreen). Hold Space and drag, or use the hand tool (H), to move the canvas. Shift+1 fits the whole board on screen.
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Undo, redo and erase
Ctrl+Z undoes and Ctrl+Shift+Z redoes, with the buttons at the top left doing the same. The eraser (E) removes anything you drag it across; Delete removes the selection.
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Save, export and share
The board autosaves in your browser. From the menu, Save to file keeps a .whiteboard copy, Export image downloads a PNG or SVG, and Share a link creates a link that opens an editable copy.
Touch gestures on phones and tablets
| Gesture | What it does |
|---|---|
| One finger | Uses the current tool — draws, places a shape or selects |
| Two fingers, drag | Moves the canvas |
| Two fingers, pinch | Zooms in and out |
| Hand tool, one finger | Moves the canvas without drawing |
| Text tool, tap | Starts typing, or edits the text or shape label you tap |
| Apple Pencil or stylus | Draws with pressure — lines get thicker as you press |
Where your whiteboard is saved
Your board is saved automatically in this browser's storage on your device, about half a second after each change. Close the tab, restart the computer — it's there when you come back. It is never uploaded anywhere.
Browser storage belongs to one browser on one device, and clearing your browsing data for the site deletes it. For anything you want to keep, choose Save to file from the menu: the .whiteboard file holds the whole board, images included, and opens on any computer with Open.
Export a whiteboard to PNG, SVG or PDF
Export image in the menu shows a preview and lets you pick PNG or SVG, a size of 1×, 2× or 3× for PNG, whether to include the background, and whether to export only the selection. Copy to clipboard puts a PNG straight on your clipboard for pasting into chat or a document. For a PDF, open the exported image and print it to PDF.
Keyboard shortcuts for speed
Press ? on the canvas to see every shortcut, or read the full list of whiteboard keyboard shortcuts. The ones worth learning first: V select, R rectangle, A arrow, P pen, T text and Ctrl + Z undo.