Creating and building a board
Making a board, starting from a template, using shape packs, changing the canvas, and exporting what you've drawn.
Making a board
From the Whiteboards page, click New whiteboard. You can also create one from inside a space, folder or project, and it will be filed there.
Give it a name you'll recognise later — User journey map beats Untitled whiteboard when there are twenty of them.
Starting from a template
Open the canvas menu and choose Templates. Pick one and it's added to your board, ready to edit:
| Template | What you get |
|---|---|
| Flowchart | Steps, a decision and a loop back |
| Mind map | One central idea with six branches |
| Retrospective | Went well · Didn't go well · What to do |
| SWOT | Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats |
| Brainstorm board | Ideas moving from parked to committed |
| User journey | Five stages, what people do and what hurts |
| Blank | An empty canvas |
Templates are added, never substituted — nothing already on the board is replaced. Drop two on the same canvas if a session needs both.
Shape packs
Shape packs put ready-made pieces into your shape library, so you can drag them onto any board whenever you need them:
- Flowchart — start, process, decision, error and sub-process
- Wireframe — browser window, card, button, text field, nav bar, avatar
- Sticky notes — six colours, hand-drawn
- Planning — columns, swimlanes, milestones, a legend and people
Add a pack once and it stays in your library for every board.
Changing the canvas
From the canvas menu you can set:
- Grid — dots, lines, or none. Lines by default, which makes it much easier to line things up.
- Background — the colour behind everything you draw.
These are settings on the board itself, so everyone opening it sees the same thing.
Exporting
Open the board menu and choose Export:
| Format | Best for |
|---|---|
| PNG | Dropping into a slide deck, an email or a chat message |
| SVG | Printing large, or handing to a designer — stays sharp at any size |
| .excalidraw | A file you can bring back into a whiteboard later |
You can also Copy link to send teammates straight to the board.
Housekeeping
- Archive a board you're finished with. It disappears from the main list but stays fully usable by its link, and you can bring it back any time. It also stops counting toward your plan's board limit.
- Delete moves the board to the workspace Trash, where it can be restored.
- A board can hold 5,000 items. If you hit that, group things into frames, clear out what you've finished with, or continue on a second board.
Frequently asked questions
Does a template wipe what's already on my board?
No. A template is added to the canvas next to what's there. You can add several to the same board, or add one to a board you've already been working on.
What's the difference between a template and a shape pack?
A template drops a whole ready-made layout onto the board. A shape pack adds individual pieces to your shape library so you can drag them in one at a time, on any board.
Can I duplicate a board?
Yes — "Duplicate" in the board's ⋯ menu copies everything on it into a new board. Large boards take a moment to finish copying.
Where did my board go?
Check the Archived filter on the Whiteboards page, and then the workspace Trash. Archived boards are hidden but fully usable; trashed boards can be restored.