Microsoft has announced the gradual roll out of the Microsoft Whiteboard Preview app – a free freeform digital canvas where people, ideas and content can come together for creative collaboration.
Microsoft Whiteboard Preview is built for anyone who engages in creative, freeform thinking before getting to their final output. It’s designed for teams that need to ideate, iterate, and work together both in person and remotely, and across multiple devices.
The Microsoft Whiteboard Preview is rolling out to all English versions of Windows 10 devices initially, and is expected to roll out to additional languages in the coming months.
During the course of Microsoft’s private beta, the technology giant saw start-ups use it to put together images, mock-ups, and notes as an inspiration board for their next big idea.
It also witnessed marketing agencies use it in online meetings as they work with clients on product designs in real time. Additionally, Microsoft itself uses it to diagram engineering plans, with remote participants filling in their respective areas on the same working canvas.
According to Microsoft, the Microsoft Whiteboard Preview has been ultimately arose from an desire to “enhance how people go from personal ideation, team brainstorms, and group discussions to their finished products”.
Collaborate effortlessly
The limitless surface ensures that imagination has room to grow and provides space for everyone’s ideas. Bring in teammates—whether they’re across the hall or in a different part of the world—with real-time collaboration across multiple devices.
You can see where everyone is on the board and the updates they’re making—whether they’re adding images, putting up sticky notes, or creating diagrams. Now even remote workers can easily join in and contribute to the discussion.
Work naturally
Microsoft Whiteboard Preview lets you create in whatever way feels most natural to you. The pen-first, touch-first technology lets you make fluid gestures with your fingers or draw out finer details with your pen.
Using your pen, you can jot down notes, draw precise illustrations, or search for images on the web. Using your fingers, you can swipe to different sections of your board, turn the virtual ruler to the angle you want, and drag and drop images to create a photo stack.
Create digitally
With the preview of Microsoft Whiteboard, you can use intelligent ink that recognises your freeform drawings and turns them into standard shapes, so it’s easy to create tables, diagrams, and flowcharts.
Furthermore, unlike traditional whiteboards, the app automatically saves your boards, so you can pick up where you left off or share links to your boards, so others can build on top of your work. No need to take photos of your canvas or email photos to others when you need to get them up to speed.
