13 tips to get the most out of Microsoft Whiteboard

When you need to sketch out and share ideas visually, nothing beats a digital whiteboard. These online apps replicate the collaborative dynamic of a physical whiteboard in an office meeting room but accommodate a hybrid workforce — and each board you create remains accessible and can be added to over time.

Microsoft Whiteboard is the digital whiteboard app included with the company’s Microsoft 365 suite. You can draw on and add shapes, text, and other elements to whiteboards you create in the app. If you use Whiteboard by yourself, it’s basically a simple drawing tool. But when it’s used as a collaborative tool, you and your co-workers can illustrate and map out ideas on a shared canvas.

You can use Microsoft Whiteboard as an online app through a web browser, as a desktop app for Windows, or as a mobile app for Android or iOS devices. If you’re using a Mac, a Linux PC, or a Chromebook, you can use the web app through your preferred browser.

You can also integrate Whiteboard into Microsoft Teams, and that’s where it reaches its full potential. You can create a Whiteboard tab in a Teams channel or chat that your team can use as a shared workspace for synchronous or asynchronous collaboration. Or you can share a whiteboard during a Teams meeting for real-time brainstorming, then continue to work with the whiteboard later.

To use Microsoft Whiteboard, you must have a Microsoft 365 account (personal, business, or school) or a free Microsoft account. Whiteboard offers more features under a paid Microsoft 365 account, most of which are helpful for collaboration. Also note that some features are available only to users under Microsoft 365 commercial plans.

In this guide, we go over the basics of using Microsoft Whiteboard and provide several tips to help you get the most out of this whiteboard tool.

Getting started

Launch the Windows, Android, or iOS Whiteboard app or open the Whiteboard web app in your browser. Eventually this home screen will show all the whiteboards you’ve created and that your colleagues have shared with you. If you and your team haven’t created any yet, you’ll see a mostly empty page.

Create a new whiteboard: Click or tap the New Whiteboard button.

You’ll be taken to a blank whiteboard with a Create panel at left that you can use to add various elements to your whiteboard, such as text, shapes, or sticky notes. An Inking toolbar near the top of the whiteboard lets you pick from a variety of pens and other tools for drawing.

Add text to the whiteboard: Click the Text button on the Create panel, place your cursor on the whiteboard, and start typing.

Add other elements: Click the appropriate button and make a selection. To add a shape, for instance, click Shapes and choose from the shape options that appear. To add an image, click Images, choose whether you want to upload an image stored on your device or search Bing Images, select the image you want, and click Open or Insert.

Draw on the whiteboard: Choose one of the pens from the toolbar at the top of the whiteboard and start drawing with your mouse, touchpad, or finger on a touch-enabled device.

Move an element: Select the item you want to move, then drag-and-drop it anywhere else on your whiteboard. If you’re in inking (drawing) mode, you might need to first click the Select icon on the toolbar at the left (a cursor arrow) before you’re able to select an element.

Resize an element: Select the element, then drag one of the circles that appear at its four corners.

Delete an element: Select the element, then click the trash can icon that appears above it.

Return to the home screen: Click the home icon at the upper left.

You can perform most of these same actions in the mobile app. Click the + icon at the bottom of the screen to see the Create panel.

That’s all you need to know to get started using Whiteboard. In the rest of the story, we’ll cover ways to get the most out of the app.

Putting together your whiteboard

Drawing on and adding elements to a whiteboard is easy — so easy that whiteboards can quickly become messy and hard to follow. Here are some tips for designing a better whiteboard.

1. Use sticky notes for text

If you need to add a lot of text (for example, detailed information to explain an image on your whiteboard), use sticky notes. On the Create toolbar, click Notes, and on the pane that appears, choose a color from the options in the “Notes” section.

A sticky note appears as a square card on your whiteboard; inside it, you can type in text. You can change the text style (bold, italic, underline) and the background color of the note.

You can move or resize a note just like any other element on the whiteboard. The size of the text inside the note automatically gets bigger or smaller as you resize the note.

Compared to adding text as an element directly on your whiteboard, a sticky note is more visible and more flexible and makes it easier to manage lots of text. As a general rule, adding text as an element directly on the whiteboard works best when you need a headline or just a snippet of text to identify something very briefly.

2. Use a note grid for even more text

When you need to add even more information to your whiteboard, use a note grid. This is a group of sticky notes locked together in a grid layout. Each sticky note inside a note grid can be edited and manipulated like a regular sticky note, such as formatting its text and changing its background color.

On the Create toolbar, click Notes, and on the pane that appears, choose a color from the options in the “Note grids” section. (In the mobile app, click the + icon at the lower right and click Note Grid on the Create panel.) Click Add title at the upper left of the note grid, and then type in a title for the note grid. To add another sticky note to a note grid, click Add Note at the upper right of the grid. An additional, blank note will appear inside the note grid.

You can move or resize a note grid just like any other element on your whiteboard. As you resize a note grid, the sizes of all the sticky notes inside it adjust accordingly.

You can pull any sticky note out from inside a note grid: Select the note, then drag it out of the grid and onto another area of the whiteboard. You can also do the reverse: Drag a sticky note over a note grid, and it will be added to the grid’s group of notes.

3. Add multimedia to your whiteboard — judiciously

Whiteboard lets you add several multimedia and informational elements, including images, pages from a PDF, slides from a PowerPoint presentation, links to files or web pages, and embedded videos from YouTube or other locations. You can even embed Microsoft Loop components created in Outlook and Teams chat.

It’s fairly obvious how to add images, links, and videos — just click on those icons on the Create panel and follow the instructions that appear. To embed a Loop component, copy it in Outlook or Teams, then right-click on your whiteboard where you want to embed the Loop component and select Paste. To add a page from a PDF or PowerPoint file, select Documents from the Create panel, navigate to the file you want, click Select, select the page(s) or slide(s) you want to add, and click Insert.

Like other elements on your whiteboard, you can move and resize all these elements on it.

We suggest exercising restraint, though — only include these media- and information-rich elements when they’re truly useful, and keep the number of them on your whiteboard to a minimum. A whiteboard should convey ideas in a simple way that’s easy to take in quickly, primarily through basic drawings, shapes, and text. Keep in mind that your colleagues may view your whiteboard on the smaller screens of laptops, smartphones, or tablets.

4. Start with a template

Staring at a blank whiteboard can be daunting. What’s the first thing you should put on it? To help you kickstart things, Microsoft Whiteboard provides more than 60 templates grouped into categories such as “Brainstorming,” “Design and research,” and “Project planning.” To browse through the available templates, click Templates on the Create panel, then select a category on the pane that appears.

Every template shows a helpful description of what it’s designed for when you hover over it. For example, under “Design and research,” the templates “Affinity diagram,” “Kano model,” and “Storyboarding” can be used to organize data and ideas regarding customer feedback.

To use a template, select it from the left pane and drag it onto your whiteboard. It’s added as a customized note grid to your whiteboard. You’ll want to resize it much larger. Inside this grid, there will be blank sticky notes and text boxes that you’ll fill in with your own text.

Sharing your whiteboard

Like a physical whiteboard in an office, virtual whiteboards are meant for team collaboration. Once you’ve set up a whiteboard, you’ll want to share it with your co-workers so they can contribute to it.

5. Share your whiteboard from the Whiteboard app

With the whiteboard open in the web app or Windows app, click Share at the upper right. In the mobile app, open the whiteboard, tap the three-dot icon at the upper right, and select Share.

If you’re using Whiteboard from a personal Microsoft account (whether free or under a personal Microsoft 365 subscription): A panel opens on the right. Click the Share link switch and then Copy link. A link to your whiteboard will be copied to your PC’s clipboard. You can paste this link inside an email or other message and send it to others.

As long as the person clicking this link has a Microsoft account, they can view your whiteboard through a web browser or using the Whiteboard Windows app or mobile app. And they will be able to edit it — so be aware that whatever changes another person makes to your whiteboard, you’ll see them when you access the whiteboard with your own account. (If you want to share your whiteboard but don’t want others to be able to alter it, see the instructions below for exporting it as an image.)

If you’re using Whiteboard from a work or school Microsoft 365 account: When you click Share, a “Share…” panel pops up over your whiteboard.

Enter the names, group, or email addresses of people who you want to collaborate on your whiteboard. By default, only people in your organization will be able to access your whiteboard, and they’ll be able to make changes to it. To change this, click the pencil icon; from the small panel that opens, click Can view — this lets people see but not make changes to the whiteboard (although this rather defeats the collaborative purpose of a whiteboard).

You can optionally type in a message for the link recipients. Then click Send. They will receive an email with the link to your whiteboard.

Alternatively, you can click Copy link. A link to your whiteboard will be copied to your PC’s clipboard. You can paste the link inside an email or other message and send it to others.

In addition to sharing whiteboards from the Whiteboard app, you can share and collaborate on them in Teams channels, chats, meetings, and 1:1 calls. These methods are covered below.

6. Export your whiteboard as an image

If you want to share your whiteboard outside your organization, you can export your entire whiteboard as an image file. Those who view it will not be able to edit it. This is also a good option if you have a personal Microsoft account and want to share your whiteboard without letting others make changes to it.

With your whiteboard open, click the gear icon at the upper right. On the menu that opens, click Export image. On the next panel, select Standard resolution or High resolution, then click Export. A screenshot of your entire whiteboard will be created in PNG format and saved to your PC or mobile device.

Next page: Tips for collaborating, using Whiteboard in Teams, more →

Collaborating on a whiteboard

Once you’ve shared a whiteboard (through the Whiteboard app or Teams), your co-workers can build on it using the same tools you used to create it. Here are some tips to enhance the collaboration experience, whether you and your co-workers are working on the whiteboard in Teams or in the Whiteboard app.

7. Use collaborative cursors

If you want to see what your collaborators are doing as it happens, click the gear icon at the upper right, and on the menu that appears, turn on the Collaborative cursors switch. Then you’ll see what other people do on the whiteboard in real time, and they will see your actions on it, too. Each person’s cursor will have a unique color and will be tagged with the person’s name.

Collaborative cursors are available when you’re working on a whiteboard in Teams as well as in the Whiteboard app.

8. Comment on a whiteboard

You and your co-workers can comment on a note or other element on a whiteboard.

Add a comment to a note or element: Right-click on the note or element. Then, from the toolbar that appears near or over the note or element, click the speech balloon (New comment) icon.

A small panel opens over the note or element, with an entry box for you to type in a brief comment.

Add a comment anywhere on the whiteboard: On the toolbar to the left, click the speech balloon icon. Your cursor turns into a speech balloon. Click on the whiteboard in the spot where you want to a comment to appear. Alternatively, right-click where you want to post a comment, and from the menu that opens, select New comment. Type your comment in the entry box that appears.

Read or reply to a comment: A comment appears as a speech balloon with the initials or a small headshot of the author on it. Click the balloon and a card opens with the comment. You can type a reply on this card. (You can also move a comment balloon by clicking, holding, and dragging it to another area on the whiteboard.)

9. Manage sticky note attributions

Another collaborative feature you may find useful is sticky note attributions. When one of your co-workers adds a sticky note to a whiteboard, it is tagged with their name at the top. If someone else edits that note, their name is added as well.

This feature is on by default but can be turned off: Click the gear icon at the upper right, and on the menu that opens, click Authors and turn the Show note authors switch off.

Integrating Whiteboard in Microsoft Teams

Whiteboard is a useful collaboration tool on its own, but it really shines when you use it in Teams. If you have a Teams channel for a particular project, for example, you can create one or more whiteboards in it for ongoing brainstorming, strategizing, project planning, and more. Whiteboards also make excellent brainstorming and feedback tools for Teams meetings, and your team can add to them later on.

10. Add a whiteboard to a Teams channel or chat

Open a Teams channel or chat and click the + icon (Add a tab) at the top of the channel or chat. On the panel that opens, click the Whiteboard icon (or type “whiteboard” inside the “Search for apps” box). A Whiteboard panel will open. Type inside the entry box to give the whiteboard a name. Click Save on the lower right, and your new whiteboard will be added to the channel or chat as a tab.

When you click this tab, the Whiteboard app will appear on it. Its interface is basically the same as in the web and Windows apps, and you and others in your Teams channel or chat can work together on the whiteboard. Don’t forget to enable collaborative cursors so you’ll know who’s doing what.

Note: As of now, you cannot add a whiteboard that you created in the Whiteboard app, or one that’s shared with you, to a channel or chat in Teams.

11. Use a whiteboard in a Teams meeting or 1:1 call

At the upper right of the Teams meeting screen, click the Share icon. On the panel that opens, select Microsoft Whiteboard. A large panel opens that shows thumbnails of the whiteboards saved in your Microsoft account, including any you’ve created within Teams. Click the one that you want to share in the meeting, or click New Whiteboard to share a blank whiteboard.

You'll see the familiar Whiteboard app interface with all the same tools in the Teams meeting window. If you find that others in the meeting aren’t able to contribute to the whiteboard (sketch on it, add elements to it, etc.), click the gear icon at the upper right. On the menu that opens, turn on the switch Other participants can edit. While you’re at it, turn on the Collaborative cursors switch too, so everyone can see who’s doing what on your whiteboard.

12. Share your whiteboard with additional participants in a Teams meeting or 1:1 call

When you share a whiteboard in a Teams meeting or call, everybody in that meeting or call is able to interact with it. If you want input from people who aren’t in the meeting, you can send them a link to the whiteboard from the meeting.

With the whiteboard open during a meeting, click the Share icon at its upper right. You’ll see the same “Share…” panel we covered in the “Sharing your whiteboard” section above, where you can invite specific participants and set access and read/edit permissions for the sharing link.

If the person outside the meeting whom you’re sharing the link with clicks the link in the email invite while the meeting is still happening, they do not enter the meeting. The Whiteboard app opens for them, and any changes they make to your whiteboard will be seen in the Teams meeting.

13. Access a whiteboard from a Teams meeting or 1:1 call later on

After a Teams meeting ends, you and others in your organization can continue to build out a whiteboard that your team worked on during the meeting.

Access a whiteboard created during a meeting or call: After a Teams meeting or call ends, go to the home screen of the Whiteboard app. A thumbnail of the whiteboard that was created during that session appears on this screen. Click the thumbnail to open it in the Whiteboard app.

Access a tabbed whiteboard that was shared during a meeting or call: If you shared a whiteboard that was a tab in a Teams channel or chat, simply navigate back to the channel or chat and click the tab for the whiteboard. It will now have any changes that were made to it during the meeting or call.

Managing your whiteboards

You can access all your whiteboards (even those created in Teams) from the home screen of the Whiteboard online app, Windows desktop app, or mobile app.

Open a whiteboard: Click its thumbnail.

Delete or rename a whiteboard: Click the three-dot icon on the lower right of the thumbnail.

Return to the home screen when you have a whiteboard open in the Whiteboard app: Click the home icon at the upper left.