What you can do on this whiteboard
The board is an endless sheet that you can draw on, move around and zoom into. It is made for quick explanations: a sketch of a process during a call, the steps of a math problem, a floor plan with arrows, or a screenshot with the one button someone should click circled in red.
- Pen and highlighter. The pen draws smooth lines in three widths. The highlighter draws a wide, see-through stroke that marks things without hiding them.
- Shapes. Lines, arrows, rectangles and ellipses, as an outline or filled with a light tint. Hold Shift while drawing for straight lines at 45-degree steps, squares and circles.
- Text. Pick the Text tool, click and type. Press Ctrl+Enter or click outside to finish. Double-click a text with the Select tool to change it.
- Images and screenshots. Paste with Ctrl+V, drop files onto the board, or use Add image. Pictures from a phone, including HEIC photos from an iPhone, open as well.
- Pixelate. Draw a box over anything private, such as an email address on a screenshot, and it turns into unreadable squares.
- Laser pointer. A red trail that fades after a second, for pointing while you share your screen. It is never saved.
- Eraser. Drag over a stroke, shape or image to remove it in one piece.
Selecting, moving and resizing
With the Select tool, click an item to pick it, or drag a box around several items. Drag to move them; pull a corner handle to resize. Images and text keep their proportions, and shapes do too when you hold Shift. While something is selected, a small bar offers Delete, Duplicate, To front and To back. Picking a color or a width while items are selected changes those items.
Saving and sharing the board
Save PNG makes a sharp image of everything on the board with a small margin around it, at twice the size you see at 100% zoom. Copy image puts the same picture on the clipboard, so you can paste it straight into a chat or an email; not every browser allows a page to copy images, and the page tells you when yours does not. PDF makes one page the size of the board, which is handy for printing or for sending along with notes.
The grid, dots or lines of the background are left out of the saved image unless you tick Grid in the saved image. The dark background is kept, because the colors are chosen for it.
Save board file stores the whole board, images included, in one file on your computer. Open it later with Open board file, or drop it onto the board, and every item can be moved and changed again. That is also the way to hand a board to someone else.
Your board stays on this device
Everything happens in the browser tab. The board is kept in your browser's storage on this device, so a reload or a closed tab does not lose it. It is not synced to other devices, and a private window may forget it when it closes. A board with many large photos can be too big for the browser's storage; the page then says so, and a board file keeps it safe. Clear board empties the board after a second click, and Undo brings it back.
Keyboard shortcuts
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| V, H, P, M, E | Select, pan, pen, highlighter, eraser |
| L, A, R, O, T | Line, arrow, rectangle, ellipse, text |
| X, K | Pixelate, laser pointer |
| Space + drag | Move the board with any tool |
| Ctrl+Z, Ctrl+Shift+Z | Undo, redo |
| Ctrl+D, Delete | Duplicate, delete the selection |
| +, -, 0 | Zoom in, zoom out, fit everything |
On a Mac, use Cmd instead of Ctrl. The shortcuts only work after you click on the board, so they never get in the way while you read the rest of this page.
Tips for explaining with a whiteboard
For a video call, press the full screen button and share that window; the laser pointer then shows the other side where you are looking. Start with one color for the main drawing and keep red for the parts that matter. To annotate a single screenshot and crop the result to that picture, the annotate image tool does the same with less around it. For a neat diagram with boxes and connectors, see the free diagram tools, and for boards that a whole team edits at the same time, the free online whiteboards list compares apps that sync between people.
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Frequently asked questions
Do I need an account?
No. Open the page and start drawing. There is no signup, no email and no watermark on the saved image.
Is my board uploaded anywhere?
No. The board is drawn in your browser and kept in this browser on this device, so it is still there after a reload. Pasted screenshots and images stay on your device too. Nothing is sent to a server.
Can several people draw on the same board?
Not at the same time. This board runs only in your browser, without a server that could pass strokes between people. To work together, share your screen in a video call, or save a board file and send it; the other person opens it on this page and keeps drawing.
How do I paste a screenshot?
Take the screenshot, click on the board once and press Ctrl+V, or Cmd+V on a Mac. You can also drop an image file onto the board or use Add image. Pasted text becomes a text box.
How do I move around and zoom?
Use the Pan tool or hold the space bar and drag. On a phone or tablet, drag with two fingers and pinch to zoom. With a mouse or touchpad, pinch or hold Ctrl and scroll. The button with the frame zooms so everything fits on the screen.
What does the pixelate tool do?
It turns everything under the box you draw into large squares, so a name, an email address or a number on a pasted screenshot can no longer be read. The squares are part of the saved PNG, JPG or PDF.
Does it work on a phone or tablet?
Yes. One finger draws, two fingers move and zoom. On a tablet with a stylus, the stylus draws and a resting palm moves the board instead of drawing. On iPhone the full screen button makes the board fill the browser window, because iPhone browsers do not offer real full screen for web pages.