Visual Space manual, Live Apps, Collaborate Review And Export
Use this walkthrough to turn an existing Whiteboard into a calm live review, attach decisions to the work, confirm that the result survives a reopen, and save a focused PNG snapshot. It is designed for a facilitator or collaborator who can edit the board and contribute to its linked article and comments.
Use this walkthrough to turn an existing Whiteboard into a calm live review, attach decisions to the work, confirm that the result survives a reopen, and save a focused PNG snapshot. It is designed for a facilitator or collaborator who can edit the board and contribute to its linked article and comments.
Prepare The Review
Open the board before participants arrive so access questions and unfinished layout work do not consume the review itself. If the board still needs its core diagram, follow Build a Visual Plan. If it needs tables, charts, or pinned workspace sources, complete Add Data and Workspace References first.
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Open the existing board - Find it in the Whiteboards explorer or Docs location that owns it. Confirm that its title and expected objects match the review you are about to run.
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Confirm your editing state - Select one harmless object and look for its selection handles and contextual controls. If the board opens read-only, you can review it but cannot move objects, use undo, add an annotation, or link a comment to an object.
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Check participant expectations - Ask each expected collaborator to confirm that they can open the board through its normal space and area access. Meeting attendance does not grant access to a private area or to content that a participant could not otherwise open.
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Check the linked surfaces - Open Article and Comments once. Confirm that you can make the kind of contribution the session requires, then close the panels so the canvas has room. Canvas access and article or comment access are related user experiences, but one does not replace the permissions of the other.
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Choose a review viewport - Pan and zoom until the main flow, decision point, and evidence are easy to scan together. Leave secondary material nearby, but do not shrink the central work merely to fit the entire board.
The participant avatars and count can include people who opened the board previously. Use visible cursors, selections, and pointer effects to judge current activity, not the remembered participant count.
Guide Attention Without Moving The Work
Whiteboard has separate tools for collaborative pointing and object editing. Make the distinction explicit at the beginning of a busy session so a gesture intended as “look here” does not become an accidental move.
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Choose Pointer to direct attention - Pick a pointer color and point or pulse over the object being discussed. Other people viewing the same board can follow the live cue, but its trail is temporary and does not become part of the saved canvas.
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Use focus cues briefly - Point to one decision, label, or reference at a time. When several collaborators point at once, pause and name the object aloud so the group can re-establish a shared focus.
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Switch to Select before editing - Use Select when you intend to choose, move, resize, restyle, or reorganize an object. The visible selection and handles tell the group that the next gesture may change the board.
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Watch collaborator activity - A remote cursor, selection, active tool, or panning cue can show that someone else is working in the same region. Let that gesture finish before editing the same object whenever practical.
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Return to Pointer after the change - Use it to show the updated result without leaving the object selected as if another edit were still underway.
Pointer presence belongs only to the live session. Reopening the board later should restore authored objects and context, not old pointer trails, pulses, or cursor positions.
Correct Your Own Gesture Carefully
Undo and redo are designed around the current editor's recent actions during collaborative work. They are useful for reversing a misplaced object or restoring a change you just checked, but they are not a board-wide revision browser.
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Make one small review adjustment - With Select, move a non-critical note or shape once. Let the gesture finish so the movement becomes one meaningful history step.
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Choose Undo in the board header - Confirm that your move reverses without intentionally rolling back another collaborator's separate contribution.
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Inspect the shared result - If another person edited the same object close to your action, stop and check the visible state before doing anything else. Do not press Undo repeatedly in an attempt to discover older versions of the room's work.
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Choose Redo only when the restored move is still wanted - Verify the result again after it returns. If the group has changed direction, make a new explicit edit instead of relying on history to reconstruct a previous plan.
This history is personal correction, not shared moderation. Coordinate aloud when several people are editing the same cluster, and use comments or the paired article to record decisions that should be understandable later.
Attach Lightweight Context To An Object
Use an annotation when one supported object needs a short clarification that is not a conversation. Annotations appear as an info badge on the object and return with the board.
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Choose the target - Switch to Select, then select a shape, note, card, table, chart, or other supported non-stroke object. Freehand strokes do not accept annotations.
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Open its context menu - Secondary-click the selected object and choose Add info.
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Write the review note - Add a concise label such as Owner confirmed or Needs legal review, then save it. Annotation text is limited to 500 characters; use the paired article when the explanation needs more room.
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Confirm the badge - Look for the object's info badge. Activate it to edit the note, and close the editor without saving if you want to leave the saved text unchanged.
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Keep the note purposeful - Retain it when it helps future readers interpret the object. Choose Delete info from the object's context menu when the note no longer belongs on the finished board.
An annotation is stored with the visual object, so it works best for a compact fact or reminder. For authorship, replies, or a decision that may develop, use a linked comment instead. Collaboration and Context explains this boundary in more detail.
Link Discussion To The Visual Target
Open Comments beside the board before deciding whether feedback belongs to the whole board or one object.
A linked comment uses the board's shared Comments discussion while keeping a visible route back to the relevant object. You can create a new linked comment from the object or attach an existing eligible comment to it.
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Start a new linked discussion - Select the object, open its context menu, and choose Add comment. The Comments panel opens with that object waiting for the next created comment.
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Create the comment - Write the feedback or decision and submit it. Confirm that the object gains a comment badge with a count; this shows that the discussion has been attached to the visual target.
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Reopen the exact context - Close Comments, then activate the object's comment badge. The panel should reopen focused on the latest linked comment and its discussion.
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Link an existing comment when appropriate - In an editable desktop board, drag the comment by its handle onto a supported object. On mobile, long-press and drag instead. Watch for the valid target highlight before dropping.
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Avoid duplicate or misleading links - Do not drop an already-linked comment onto the same target, and do not use a freehand stroke or another unsupported object as the destination. If a pending new-comment link is no longer wanted, cancel it before creating a different board-level comment.
Use an object link only when that placement will help someone understand the discussion later. A general review summary can remain in Comments without being attached to one element.
Update The Article And Shared Discussion
The Article and Comments panels keep longer context beside the canvas. They do not replace the visual review, and opening or closing them does not close the board.
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Open Article - Use the board's side action to open the paired article while the canvas remains mounted behind it.
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Add the durable summary - Record the review purpose, decision summary, owners, or next checkpoint in the article. Keep detailed narrative here instead of squeezing it into several canvas annotations.
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Close Article and inspect the board - Confirm that the visual arrangement is still present and that the panel did not turn the board into a published post. The paired article has its own draft and publication lifecycle.
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Open Comments - Verify that the object-linked discussion appears in the shared thread, then add a board-level reply or follow-up when the point concerns the whole result.
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Close Comments without leaving - Return the space to the canvas and confirm that the linked badge remains on its object.
At the end of this pass, the board should tell the visual story, the Article should explain the durable context, and Comments should carry discussion that benefits from authorship and replies.
Reopen And Confirm The Durable Result
Reopening is the practical checkpoint that separates saved board context from temporary live presence.
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Finish active edits - Submit any open text or annotation editor and let the final move, resize, or comment-link action complete.
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Change away from the board - Open More and choose Change document. Select another compatible board or return through the explorer without deleting the reviewed board.
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Open the reviewed board again - Find the same item in its owning area and reopen it.
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Verify authored state - Confirm that object positions, styles, connector relationships, data, pinned references, the annotation badge, and the linked-comment badge have returned.
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Verify linked context - Open Article and Comments to confirm that the review summary and discussion are still available. Activate the object's comment badge and check that it returns to the linked discussion.
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Distinguish presence from content - Do not expect the previous pointer trail, pulse, cursor position, or active selection to return. Those cues describe a live session rather than saved board content.
If the connection was unstable during the review, wait until the current board state is visible and check the consequential objects before continuing. This reopen check confirms the stored result; it is not a promise that edits can be completed offline.
Frame And Export The Review Snapshot
The export action uses exactly the viewport visible behind the menu.
PNG export captures the board viewport currently visible on screen. Treat framing as part of the review deliverable: anything outside that viewport will not appear in the image.
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Compose the visible result - Pan and zoom until the main diagram, decision, relevant data, and essential references form one readable view. Keep text large enough to understand in the exported image.
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Use Center view only when it helps - This returns the viewport to its initial centered 100% view. If that makes the review subject too small or places important content outside the frame, continue panning and zooming manually.
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Scan every edge - Check that no label, connector, annotation badge, comment badge, table, or chart needed for the snapshot is clipped by the current screen boundary.
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Choose More > Save as PNG - Select a destination when the platform offers its save dialog and complete the save.
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Inspect the file - Open the PNG and confirm that it is non-empty, readable, and contains the intended visible viewport. If the composition is incomplete, return to the board, reframe it, and export a new snapshot.
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Keep the source board as the authority - The PNG is useful for a review message or asynchronous update, but it does not include off-screen content, preserve editable objects, or replace the board's Article and Comments.
Mobile saving depends on whether the device provides a compatible save option. Whole-board and vector export are not available, so use the editable Whiteboard when someone needs the complete current work.
Continue The Review In A Meeting
The reviewed board can also become a live-app feed in an activity meeting. It remains the same document-backed Whiteboard, with its ordinary access, canvas, panels, presence, and history; placing it on the meeting stage does not create a public copy or a temporary substitute.
Use Collaborate with Live Apps for the complete meeting sequence: open the meeting launcher, choose existing work, arrange the feed in Grid, Stage, or Focus, switch between active apps, and close the shared feed without deleting the board. Keep meeting controls in that workflow rather than repeating them during the standalone board review.
Resolve Common Review Problems
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Someone can see the board but cannot edit it - Confirm their Whiteboard app access as well as their membership in the owning space and any private area. An authorized read-only viewer can review an existing board, but editing tools and object-context changes remain unavailable.
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The pointer moved an object - Switch back to Pointer for live emphasis. Use Select only when you intend to change board content, and carefully undo your own accidental gesture if it is still the most recent relevant action.
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The participant count looks higher than the live group - The header can remember previous board participants. Look for current cursors, selections, and pointer cues to understand who is active now.
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An annotation action is unavailable - Confirm that the board is editable and that one supported non-stroke object is selected. Use Add info for a new annotation and the visible badge or Edit info for an existing one.
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A new comment did not attach to the object - Start again from the selected object's Add comment action and make sure the pending link remains active until the comment is created. For an existing comment, use its drag handle and drop only on a highlighted eligible target.
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The exported PNG misses content - Reopen the board, pan and zoom to the desired composition, inspect all four edges, and save again. Save as PNG exports the visible viewport rather than automatically fitting every object.
Continue With Whiteboards
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Whiteboards explains the board lifecycle, access model, linked article, and full workspace.
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Collaboration and Context compares live presence, participant history, personal undo, annotations, linked comments, and meeting continuity.
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Build a Visual Plan creates the notes, tasks, shapes, connectors, and review marks that make up a useful plan.
