Whiteboard in Microsoft Teams: How to Use All the Features

Whiteboard is a great way to collaborate in Microsoft Teams. Sharing a whiteboard in Teams allows you and other team members to share text, notes, images, drawings, comments, and reactions. You can share a Whiteboard in Teams with people from your own organization. This wikiHow teaches you how to use Whiteboard in Teams.

Share a Whiteboard in Teams

If you have the right type of account, Whiteboard is integrated into Microsoft Teams. While in a Microsoft Teams meeting, click Share in the upper-right corner. Click Microsoft Whiteboard and select the whiteboard you want to share. Alternatively, you can open Whiteboard and share the window.

Section 1 of 11:

Starting a Whiteboard in Teams

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1
Open Teams. Teams has a purple icon that resembles two people. Click the Teams icon to open the app.
- If you have a personal or free account, Microsoft Whiteboard may not be integrated into your version of Teams. In this case, you will need to download and install Microsoft Whiteboard separately. You can do so for free using the Microsoft Store on Windows. Alternatively, you can download it for Windows or Mac from the official download site.
2
Join or start a meeting. To do so, click the Calendar in the menu bar to the left. Click the meeting you want to join and click Join.
- To start a new meeting, click the Calendar in the menu bar to the left. Then, click New Meeting in the upper-right corner. Give your meeting a name and fill out any additional information you want. Then click Save. Click the meeting in the calendar and click Join.
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3
Share Whiteboard. To do so, click Share in the upper-right corner of the Meeting screen. Then click Microsoft Whiteboard.
- If you don’t see Microsoft Whiteboard in the Share menu, open the Whiteboard app. Then click the Share menu in Teams. Click Window to share a window and select Microsoft Whiteboard in the list of windows.
- If Whiteboard is not available at your organization, you may need to contact your administrator and have them enable Whiteboard in Teams.
4
Select a whiteboard to share. Whiteboard will typically open to the last whiteboard you had open. To select a different whiteboard, click the icon that resembles a house in the upper-left corner. Then click a Whiteboard. Click New Whiteboard to create a new whiteboard.^{[1]
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5
Stop sharing a Whiteboard. When you are finished sharing your whiteboard, click Stop Sharing in the upper-right corner to stop sharing.

Section 2 of 11:

Allow Others to Participate

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1
Enable Follow Me (optional). Enabling Follow Me will make it so that participants will see what you are showing on the screen. If you zoom in or scroll, they will zoom in or scroll with you. Click Follow Me in the upper-right corner to enable Follow Me.
- Alternatively, you can click Start with Follow Me before selecting a whiteboard on the Home menu.
- You can also invite others to follow you in Whiteboard. To do so, click your profile icon in the upper-right corner and click Everyone follow me. This will send an invitation to everyone to follow you. They will have 20 seconds to respond.^{[2]
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- Toggle the Follow Me option off in the upper-right corner to turn off Follow Me.
2
Allow other participants to edit (optional). If you want to allow other participants to edit, click the Gear/Settings icon in the upper-right corner. Then click the toggle switch next to Other participants can edit.
3
Enable collaborative cursors (optional). With collaborative cursors enabled, you will be able to see other team members' mouse movements, their names, and the edits they make. To enable collaborative cursors, click the Gear/Settings icon in the upper-right corner and click the toggle switch next to Collaborative cursors.^{[3]
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Section 3 of 11:

Navigating the Whiteboard

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To select an item, click the cursor icon in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. It resembles a triangle. Then click the item you want to select.
2
Zoom in and out. To zoom in and out, click the plus (+) and minus (-) icons in the lower-right corner. Alternatively, you can roll your mouse wheel forward and backward to zoom in and out.
3
Pan the whiteboard. To pan, click the icon that resembles a hand in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. Then click and drag to pan the whiteboard. Alternatively, you can click and drag while holding the spacebar, or click and drag with the mouse wheel.

Section 4 of 11:

Adding Text

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1
Click the text icon. It’s the icon that has a “T” in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. You can use this to add text to a whiteboard.
2
Click where you want to add text. You can click anywhere in the whiteboard.
3
Select a color for the text. To do so, click the colored circle above the text. Then click one of the colored swatches to select a color for the text.
4
Select a format. To do so, click the B icon above the text cursor. Then click the B icon for Bold, I for italic, or U for underline.
5
Type your text. Type whatever you want to write to add text.
6
Edit the text. To edit your text, select the cursor icon at the bottom of the screen and click the text. Click the pencil icon, then use your keyboard to edit the text.
7
Delete text. To delete text, click the cursor icon in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. Then click the text. Click the trashcan icon to delete the text.^{[4]
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Section 5 of 11:

Drawing

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1
Click the pen icon. It’s in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen.
2
Select a marker type. There are a few different marker types you can select at the bottom of the screen. There are three different color pens and a highlighter. Click the one you want to use.
3
Change the pen color. To change the color of a pen, click the pen icon again after you select it. Then click one of the colored circles to select a color.
4
Change the line thickness. To change the line thickness, click the pen icon again after you select it. Then click and drag the slider at the top of the pen menu to adjust the line thickness.
5
Change the opacity. To make a line more transparent, click the pen icon again after you select it. Click and drag the second slider at the top to adjust the color opacity.
6
Click and drag to draw. Use your mouse to draw. Just click and drag anywhere in the whiteboard.^{[5]
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7
Use the ruler. To use the ruler, click the ruler icon in the pen selection bar at the bottom. Click and drag the ruler to where you want to place it. Roll your mouse wheel to adjust the angle of the ruler. Use one of the pen tools to draw a straight line along the edge of the ruler.^{[6]
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- To turn off the ruler, click the ruler icon again in the pen selection bar at the bottom.
8
Use the eraser. If you want to erase a line you’ve drawn, click the eraser tool in the pen selection bar at the bottom of the screen. Then click and drag over the section you want to erase.

Section 6 of 11:

Adding Shapes

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It’s the icon with a square and a circle. It’s in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen.
2
Select a shape. You can select several shapes, including a square, circle, triangle, pentagon, diamond, and oval. You can also select a line, dotted line, and several types of arrows.
3
Click where you want to place the shape. Click anywhere in the whiteboard to place the shape.
4
Change the color of the shape. To change the color of a shape, click it with the cursor to select it. Click the colored circle above the shape. Then click one of the colored circles. Click the white circle to select no color.
5
Change the color of the border. To change the color of the border, click the icon that resembles a circle with a thick outer line above the shape. Then click the color you want the border to be. Click the icon with no border to turn the border off.
6
Change the size of the shape. To change the size of the shape, click it with the cursor tool to select it. Then click and drag the corners to adjust the size of the shape.
7
Add text to the shape. To add text to the shape, click the center of the shape and type the text you want to add.
8
Format the text. To format the text, click the B above the shape. Then click the B icon for Bold, I for italic, or U for underline.

Section 7 of 11:

Adding a Note

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1
Click the Note icon. It’s the icon that resembles a yellow sticky note in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen.
2
Click a note color. Click one of the color sticky note icons to select a color.^{[7]
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- Alternatively, you can click the icon that resembles 4 squares to add a multi-note box to the whiteboard.
3
Click where you want to add a note. This will add a colored square to the whiteboard.
4
Adjust the size of the note. To do so, click and drag the corners of the note box.
5
Add text to a note. To do so, double-click the note box. Then type the text you want to add to it.
6
Format the text. To do so, click the B icon above the note. Then click the B icon for Bold, I for italic, or U for underline.
7
Delete a note. If you want to delete a note, click the note box to select it. Then press the Delete key on your keyboard.

Section 8 of 11:

Uploading Pictures and PDFs

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1
Click the More icon •••. It’s the icon with three dots in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. This displays more options.
2
Click Images or My Device. To upload an image to the whiteboard, click Images. It has an icon that resembles a photograph. To upload a PDF to the whiteboard, click My Device. It has an icon that resembles a sheet of paper.
3
Select a file you want to upload. Navigate to the image or PDF you want to upload in the File Explorer window. Then click it to select it. Click Open in the File Explorer window.
4
Click and drag the image to change its position. You can place the image or file anywhere you want by clicking and dragging it.
5
Change the size of the image or file. To change the size of the image or file, click it to select it. Then click and drag the corners of the box around the image.
6
Add alt text to an image or file. To add a description of the image or file, click the image or file to select it. Then click the icon that resembles a photograph with a menu icon next to it above the image or file. Then enter the text you want to add to the image, and click Save.
7
Delete an image or file. To delete an image or file, click it to select it. Then click the trashcan icon above the image or file or press the Delete key.

Section 9 of 11:

Adding and Viewing Comments

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1
Click the word bubble icon. It’s the icon that resembles a blue word bubble in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen.
2
Click where you want to place the comment. Click anywhere in the whiteboard to place your comment.
3
Type your comment and click the Send icon
. The Send icon is the icon that resembles a paper airplane. This places your comment on the whiteboard.
4
View a comment. To view a comment, click a word bubble left in the whiteboard. It will have the profile image of the person who left the comment. This will display the comment.
5
Reply to a comment. To reply to a comment, click the comment to view it. Then click Reply below the comment. Type your reply and click the Send icon.^{[8]
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Section 10 of 11:

Adding a Reaction

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1
Click the heart icon. It’s in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. This displays a menu with several icons you can use as reactions.
2
Select an icon or emoji. You can select various icons, such as a heart, checkmark, star, question mark, flame, thumbs-up, smiley face, confused face, and more. Click the icon you want to use.
3
Click where you want to place the reaction. Click anywhere in the whiteboard to place the reaction.
4
Change the size of the reaction. To change the size of a reaction, click it to select it. Then click and drag the corners of the box around the reaction to change its size.
5
Delete a reaction. To delete a reaction, click it to select it. Then click the trashcan icon above the reaction or press the Delete key.

Section 11 of 11:

Undoing an Action

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If you make a mistake and want to undo the action you just did, click the circular arrow in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen to undo the last action.