Whiteboards
The whiteboard is a tool that you use to create designs and plans while collaborating or brainstorming the same way you would using an actual whiteboard. There are options to add shapes, lines, text, and freehand drawings. There are also templates available to help you get started quickly.
Adding Whiteboards
Whiteboards are only available for hybrid views in Projects. Once enabled, whiteboards will be available as a tab in the board.
To enable whiteboards to a board in your project:
- Open the Boards list by clicking the bulleted list icon in the upper-left corner of the page, just below the AdaptiveWork logo.
- Hover over the board you want to edit to reveal the ellipsis icon and click it to open the Actions menu.
- From the menu, click Settings.
- Click the Layouts and Views tab.
- Click the Whiteboards toggle to On.
- Click Save.
Whiteboards will now be available for users as a tab in the board you selected.
To create a new whiteboard:
- In a board, open a project and click the Whiteboards tab.
- Click Create whiteboard or select one of the templates.
- Click Create.
A new whiteboard opens in the project. It will be automatically linked to the project.
Whiteboard Templates
You can create whiteboards based on standard templates. This helps users get started quickly using standard templates such as:
- Mindmap
- Retrospective
- Flowchart
- Lean Coffee
- SWOT Analysis
- ROAM
Working with Whiteboards
To edit or add to the whiteboard:
- To rename the whiteboard, click the menu icon > Rename. The menu icon is in the upper-left corner of the whiteboard.
- To add elements (shapes, lines, arrows, text, etc.) to the whiteboard, click the relevant icon in the center of the view or you can use our predefined libraries. When you select an element, the element options appear on the left side of the whiteboard.
TIP
Try out the various options by selecting an icon and experimenting. If you want to add text within a shape, click any element that is a shape and then either press Enter or double click in the shape and start typing text.
- To change the background color of the whiteboard, click the menu icon > Change background color.
- To access the help for the whiteboard, click the question mark icon at the bottom right.
- To reset the whiteboard and start over, click the menu icon > Wipe the whiteboard.
- To save the whiteboard, click the menu icon > Save.
- To copy the whiteboard to the clipboard, click the menu icon > Copy to clipboard.
- To save the whiteboard in PNG, SVG, or JSON file format, click the menu icon and then select the option.
To add images to the whiteboard:
- Click the image icon.
- Select the file you wish to add to the whiteboard by either dragging and dropping it onto the whiteboard, or choosing it from File Manager (bottom green arrow).
- Move file to desired location on whiteboard.
You can also paste an image (copied to clipboard) onto the whiteboard as well.
File formats supported:
* svg
* png
* jpg
* gif
* webp
* bmp
* ico
* avif
* jfif
File size limit is 1 MB.
Adding Frames to a Whiteboard
Frames can be added via the whiteboards toolbar. You can add elements to frames for better organization, or constraint, which helps for exports.
To add a frame:
- Click the More tools icon.
- Click the Frame tool.
- Drag your cursor on the whiteboard to create the frame.
- Images that you add can be "constrained" in the frame so that only what is in the frame will appear. (Note that the left side text in the lower image "disappears" when the image is positioned in the frame differently from that of the upper image.)
Timer
When the team is having timebound sessions, such as for brainstorming or a retrospective it can be helpful to keep track of time with the timer. This functionality helps users be aware of the time they work on a particular topic. Also, in scenarios where a group of people is collaborating to find consensus, the timer functionality can help the group arrive at a consensus with relative ease.
To set a timer:
- Click the timer icon in the upper-right corner of the whiteboard.
- Set the time using the time interval buttons in the timer popup.
- Click Start timer.
Libraries
Whiteboard libraries are a collection of digital tools and resources that can be used to create and collaborate on whiteboard-style diagrams and illustrations. These libraries typically provide a variety of shapes, icons, and other visual elements to create diagrams, flowcharts, mind maps, and other forms of visual representation. You can find the libraries feature in the top right center of the view. When you open the Libraries section you can drag and drop the diagrams and illustrations onto your whiteboard and resize and edit the shapes.
You also have the possibility to add more libraries to the list and also remove those that are not relevant. Visit Excalidraw Libraries where you search for libraries that are relevant to you and download the libraries you want to use. To upload the new libraries into the whiteboard, open Libraries and click on the upload icon to upload libraries from your system. The new library or libraries that are uploaded will then be available in all whiteboards.