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Whiteboards Overview

Whiteboards in Copera provide an infinite canvas for visual collaboration. Built on top of the Excalidraw drawing engine, they give your team a flexible space for brainstorming, diagramming, wireframing, process mapping, and any other task that benefits from freeform visual thinking --- all in real time with multiple participants.

What Are Whiteboards?​

Each whiteboard is a full-featured drawing canvas where you can create shapes, draw freehand lines, add text, insert images, and connect elements with arrows. Whiteboards are stored in your workspace and can be accessed from the Collaborate section of the sidebar or launched directly inside a meeting channel session during meetings.

Whiteboards use Yjs for real-time synchronization, which means every stroke, shape, and text change is shared instantly with all connected participants. You will see other users' cursors and selections as they work, creating a natural co-editing experience.

Key Features​

  • Excalidraw drawing engine --- Access a full set of drawing tools including rectangles, ellipses, diamonds, arrows, lines, freehand pencil, and text. The hand-drawn visual style keeps whiteboards approachable and informal.

  • Real-time collaboration --- Multiple team members can draw simultaneously. Each participant's cursor is visible with their name, so you always know who is working where.

  • Light and dark themes --- Whiteboards follow your workspace theme preference, switching between light and dark canvas backgrounds automatically.

  • Multi-language support --- The drawing interface is available in English, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese, matching your workspace language setting.

  • Grid mode --- Toggle a background grid to help align elements precisely. Access it from the main menu.

  • Export options --- Save your whiteboard as an image or export the scene for use in other tools. The main menu includes options for saving, exporting, and loading scenes.

  • Meeting integration --- Start or reopen a whiteboard directly inside a meeting channel session. All meeting participants can see and interact with the whiteboard in the meeting tiles, making it ideal for live visual collaboration during calls.

  • Canvas controls --- Change the canvas background color, clear the entire canvas, search for elements, and access help documentation from the built-in main menu.

Where Whiteboards Appear​

Whiteboards can be accessed from two places in Copera:

  1. Collaborate section --- Standalone whiteboards are accessible from the sidebar under Collaborate. Open a whiteboard from Drive or from the Sessions section associated with a channel.

  2. Meeting channel sessions --- During a meeting, any participant can start a whiteboard that appears as a tile alongside video feeds. All meeting participants can join and draw together in real time.

Next Steps​