Collaborative canvas
A shared canvas your audience can build on with you
Sticky notes, shapes, images and arrows on an infinite board that participants edit from their own devices, with permissions you set per object type, named saves you can restore, and Excalidraw for free-hand drawing.
Objects
What goes on the board
Six object types and the connections between them cover most of what a whiteboard gets used for.
Sticky notes
The workhorse for brainstorming. Participants add their own; you color, cluster and connect them.
Text boxes
Headings, labels and longer explanations, with text formatting.
Rectangles and circles
Frame areas of the board, build diagrams, or mark zones for groups.
Images
Drop in photos, diagrams or exported slides and annotate around them.
Emojis
Quick visual markers for mood, priority or a show of hands.
Arrow connections
Link objects with arrows in the color, width and line style you choose to show flow or dependency.
Arrange
Style, lock and layer without fighting the board
Format text, rotate objects, set opacity and move things between layers. Lock what should not move, such as the agenda, the axes of a matrix or the template you spent time on, and leave the rest open for editing. Pick a canvas theme per workspace.
- Text formatting on notes and text boxes
- Lock, layering, rotation and opacity per object
- Canvas theme per workspace
- Live cursors of the other people on the board
Permissions
Decide exactly what participants may touch
Canvas permissions are set per workspace and per object type. Let participants add sticky notes but delete nothing, allow connections but not images, or open the whole board for a design session. Change the rules mid-session when you move from collecting ideas to cleaning up.
- Add, modify and delete rights for objects and for connections
- Allowed object types for participants
- Participants join anonymously or with verified accounts
- Reactions and comments on any object
Versions
Save a named snapshot before you change anything
Named canvas saves capture the board at a moment you choose: before the vote, after clustering, at the end of the session. Restore any of them later. The built-in Excalidraw board keeps its own history you can step back through, and the AI assistant can generate a canvas template from a prompt to start the next session from.
- Named saves and restore for the canvas
- Excalidraw free-hand drawing with history and restore
- AI-generated canvas templates, editable before use
- Canvas sharing on the Pro plan
In practice
Four ways people use the canvas
The board is deliberately simple. What makes it useful is the combination with polls, permissions and saved versions.
Brainstorm and cluster
Everyone adds sticky notes at once, then the group drags them into themes and reacts to the strongest ones.
Learn moreMind maps and concept maps
Build a concept map live during a lecture and save a snapshot for students to revisit.
Learn moreRetro and task boards
Rectangles for columns, sticky notes for cards: a retrospective or priority board in minutes.
Sketch with Excalidraw
Switch to the built-in Excalidraw board for free-hand drawings, rough diagrams and quick arrows.
How a canvas session runs
Prepare, collect, consolidate
A pattern that works for a brainstorming session, a concept map in a lecture or a design review.
- 1
Prepare the board
Lay out the frame yourself or ask the AI assistant for a template. Lock the template objects, set participant permissions to the object types you want contributions in, and save a named version.
- 2
Collect contributions
Share the PIN. Participants add notes and shapes from their own devices while you watch the cursors move. Reactions and comments let the group signal which ideas resonate without a separate vote.
- 3
Consolidate and keep
Cluster notes, connect them with arrows, tighten permissions for the presentation, and save another named version. Run a ranking poll on the clusters if you need a decision.
Excalidraw, built in
When a rough sketch says it better
Not everything fits into notes and shapes. The workspace includes an Excalidraw drawing board for free-hand sketches, hand-drawn diagrams and quick annotations, with a history you can restore. Use the object canvas for structure and Excalidraw for the parts you would normally draw on a flip chart.
Included on every plan
- Collaborative canvas with all six object types and connections
- Excalidraw drawing board with history
- Per-object permissions for participants
- Named canvas saves and restore
- Reactions, comments and live cursors
- AI-generated canvas templates
Canvas sharing and 500 participants per workspace are part of Pro.
Frequently asked questions
Do participants need an account to edit the canvas?
No. Anyone who joins with the PIN can edit within the permissions you set. If you need names attached to contributions, require registered users or an invite-only whitelist in the workspace settings.
Can I stop participants from deleting things?
Yes. Add, modify and delete rights are separate settings, for objects and for connections, and you can restrict which object types participants may use. Individual objects can also be locked.
What happens if someone breaks the board?
Restore a named save. Save a snapshot before you open the board to participants and again at key moments. The Excalidraw board keeps its own history as well.
Is there free-hand drawing?
Yes. Excalidraw is built into the workspace for sketches and rough diagrams, alongside the object-based canvas.
Can I share the canvas outside the session?
Canvas sharing is part of the Pro plan. On every plan you can save named versions, reopen the workspace later, and let the AI assistant generate canvas templates for new sessions.
How many people can work on it at once?
Everyone in the workspace, up to the participant limit of your plan: 30 on Starter, 50 on Basic and 500 on Pro. Live cursors show where the others are working.
Open a canvas for your next session
The free Starter plan includes the collaborative canvas and Excalidraw. Participants join with a PIN and nothing to install.