How to Use Whiteboard in Teams Meetings

Some ideas need a drawing. Microsoft Whiteboard gives every Teams meeting a shared canvas where everyone can scribble, add sticky notes and move things around at the same time.

1. Click Share in the meeting toolbar.
2. Under Whiteboard, choose Microsoft Whiteboard.
3. The board opens for everyone in the meeting. People can start drawing straight away.

Anyone in the meeting can open one; you don't need to be the organiser.

The toolbar runs along the bottom:

• Pens and highlighter — draw with a mouse, finger or stylus. Click a pen twice to change its colour and thickness.
• Eraser — rub out a stroke, or use Clear canvas under the menu to start again.
• Notes — sticky notes and note grids. Perfect for brainstorming.
• Text — plain text boxes.
• Shapes and reactions — arrows, boxes and a few emoji stamps.
• Templates — ready-made layouts for retrospectives, SWOT analysis, pros and cons, and more.

Hold Ctrl and scroll to zoom, or drag with the hand tool to move around. The canvas is effectively endless.

Draw a wobbly box and Whiteboard can snap it into a neat shape. Turn on Ink to shape in the settings menu. Scribble text and Ink to text converts it to typed words.

By default, everyone in the meeting can edit. If you'd rather present and keep control, open the Settings menu (the cog) and switch off Other participants can edit.

The board is saved automatically:

• Open the meeting chat and click the Whiteboard tab.
• Or go to whiteboard.office.com or the Whiteboard app, where it's listed with the meeting's name.

You can keep working on it after the meeting and reopen it in the next one.

The Whiteboard app on Windows, iPad and the web works without a meeting. Click Share on a board to invite colleagues, then present it in Teams later by sharing your screen.

The whiteboard option is missing from Share. Guests from outside your organisation can't start a whiteboard, and some organisations switch it off. Ask the organiser to open one, or share the Whiteboard app from your screen.

Drawing is laggy. Close other apps and use a wired connection if you can. A stylus on a touchscreen is much smoother than a mouse.

Someone keeps erasing things. Turn off Other participants can edit and let people add ideas in the chat instead.

Share > Microsoft Whiteboard opens a canvas everyone can draw on. Use sticky notes for brainstorms, templates for structure, and find the board again in the meeting chat whenever you need it.