Microsoft details roll out of updated Microsoft Whiteboard experience

In June Microsoft announced that a new Microsoft Whiteboard experience was coming.

The new features have now started rolling out to the web and Teams clients, and Microsoft has detailed the changes below:

Rolling out now

The below features are available on web and Teams:

• Sticky note colors: 10 colorful sticky note shades to choose from.
• Note grids – insert a grid of sticky notes in one of 12 available colors to help in workshops and ideation sessions.
• View objects created in native apps – Objects such as lists & templates inserted on native apps can be viewed on web and Teams as well.
• Ink pen colors: 15 new ink pen color options with a range of thicknesses to help visualize your content and bring your text to life.
• Highlighter colors: – 15 new highlighter color options enable users to emphasize content on the board.
• Ink shape recognition: – draw shapes with ink and then watch them straighten automatically.
• Improved mouse inking: – create smoother ink lines, making your strokes easier and cleaner when drawing with a mouse or trackpad.
• Read only mode for education accounts: – as a meeting facilitator or an educator, determine when and how students participate and collaborate by enabling or disabling their editing capabilities.

In Progress

The features below are in progress and will be rolling out soon.

Modern look and feel:

• Streamlined user experience: an unobtrusive app UI maximizes your canvas space.
• Creation gallery: a highly discoverable, simple way of finding and using objects and features in the application.

Collaboration features:

• Collaboration roster: see who is on the board and collaborating with you.
• Collaborative cursors: see where other people are on the canvas and what they are editing.
• Laser pointer: get other people’s attention as you share your best ideas.
• Improved performance: quickly open boards, pan and zoom, create content, and collaborate in real time with numerous editors at once during large working sessions.

Interactive content features:

• More than 30 customizable templates: get started quickly and collaborate, brainstorm, and ideate with brand new templates.
• Stickers: provide lightweight, contextual feedback with a set of fun stickers.
• Images: add images from your local drive to the canvas and annotate them to build visual interest on your boards.

Facilitation features:

• Copy/paste: copy and paste content and text within the same whiteboard.
• Object alignment: use alignment lines and object snapping to precisely organize content spatially.
• Format background: personalize your whiteboard by changing the background color and pattern .

Inking features:

• Ink arrows: smoothly draw single and double-sided arrows using ink to better facilitate diagramming.
• Ink effect pens: express yourself in a creative way using rainbow and galaxy ink.

The below features will change as part of the native app update:

• Ruler: for straight lines, users can now insert lines from the shapes menu or hold down shift when inking.
• Erase entire ink strokes: for faster erasing, users can now erase the entire ink stroke instead of a portion of it.
• Lock image: the ability to lock images and other canvas content will be available shortly after the update.
• Insert document: the ability to insert documents from local storage along with OneDrive and SharePoint will be available shortly after update.
• Like/unlike sticky notes: users can use stickers instead as a workaround for lightweight voting and liking. We will be releasing more enhanced voting capabilities in a future update.
• Sorting: the ability to organize and sort lists and note grids are being rebuilt and will be included in a future update.
• Export template to CSV and email summary: these features are being rebuilt and will be included in a future update, including different ways to export content from the board.
• Ink grab, Ink to table and Ink to text: these features are being rebuilt and will be included in a future update.
• Accessibility checker and alt text: these features are being rebuilt and will be included in a future update.
• Bing image search: users can download and insert images onto the canvas with the insert image feature.
• Easy share on Surface Hub: this feature is being rebuilt and will be included in a future update.

Roll out schedule

New features have begun rolling out to the web and Teams clients, more will continue to roll out between now and late September. The native clients will be upgraded starting in late September and will be complete by late October.

Microsoft will also be updating their native applications on Windows 10, Surface Hub and iOS to provide a uniform experience across all devices.

Demo

See Microsoft’s video demo of the new features below: