How to Use Whiteboard in Microsoft Teams (2026)
Microsoft Whiteboard is the built-in canvas inside Teams meetings for brainstorming, planning, and sketching ideas together in real time. It opens straight from the meeting’s Share tray, everyone can draw on it at once, and the board is saved automatically so it’s there after the call ends. Here’s how to open it, what you can add, who can edit, and how to find the board later.
1. Open Whiteboard in a meeting
- Join or start a Teams meeting.
- Click Share (the up-arrow inside a monitor icon) in the meeting controls.
- In the share tray, select Microsoft Whiteboard.
- The whiteboard opens full-screen for everyone in the meeting at once.
By default, the meeting organizer owns the board, but presenters and attendees can draw on it unless editing is locked.
2. Draw and add content
The toolbar runs along the edge of the canvas. From it you can:
- Inking / pen — freehand draw; pick color and thickness.
- Sticky notes — click the note icon to drop a colored note and type in it.
- Text — add a text box anywhere on the canvas.
- Shapes — insert rectangles, circles, arrows, and connectors.
- Reaction / emoji — react on the canvas.
- Templates — click the template icon to start from a ready-made layout (brainstorm, retrospective, kanban, mind map, and more).
- Images — insert pictures from your device.
Use +/- to zoom and drag empty space to pan around a large board.
3. Collaborate live
Everyone in the meeting with edit access can add to the board simultaneously. You’ll see other people’s contributions appear in real time. The board saves automatically as you work — there’s no Save button.
To present without others editing, the organizer can lock contributions (see below).
4. Control who can edit
- Open the Settings (gear) inside the whiteboard, or use the ⋯ More options menu.
- Choose Other participants can edit to allow everyone, or turn it off to make the board view-only for attendees while you present.
Only the organizer/owner can change this lock during the meeting.
5. Access the board after the meeting
The whiteboard persists after the call.
- Open the Microsoft Whiteboard app (web at whiteboard.office.com, desktop, or mobile).
- Find the board in your board list — meeting whiteboards are saved to the organizer’s OneDrive for Business.
- You can also reopen it from the meeting chat or the meeting’s Recap tab, where a link to the board appears.
Because the board lives in the organizer’s OneDrive, attendees see it only if it’s shared with them — the organizer can use Share inside Whiteboard to add people.
On mobile
Install the Microsoft Whiteboard app on iOS or Android. In a Teams meeting on mobile, tap ⋯ More > Share > Microsoft Whiteboard. Touch and pen input work for inking, and you can add sticky notes and text the same way as on desktop.
Troubleshooting
Whiteboard isn’t in the Share tray
Whiteboard can be disabled by your admin in the Teams/Whiteboard admin settings, and it’s often blocked for external or guest participants. If you’re a guest in another org’s meeting, you may not see it. Ask the organizer or your admin to confirm Whiteboard is enabled.
Can’t edit the board
The organizer may have set the board to view-only. Ask them to open Whiteboard settings and turn on Other participants can edit. Guests and external users sometimes get view-only access regardless.
Board is missing after the meeting
Meeting whiteboards save to the organizer’s OneDrive, so attendees won’t see it in their own board list unless it’s shared. Ask the organizer to open the board and use Share to grant access, or check the meeting chat/Recap for the board link.
Quick Reference
| Goal | What to do |
|---|---|
| Open it | Share > Microsoft Whiteboard |
| Add ideas | Pen, sticky notes, text, shapes, templates |
| Let others edit | Settings > Other participants can edit |
| Present only | Turn that setting off (view-only) |
| Find it later | Whiteboard app / meeting Recap > organizer’s OneDrive |
A whiteboard captures the sketch, but not the conversation around it — to keep a written record of what was decided, see the best AI note-takers for Zoom, Teams, and Meet, or hand follow-ups to an assistant like Carly that works across Teams, Outlook, and 200+ apps.
Related Teams guides: Schedule a meeting in Teams · Blur your background in Teams · Best AI note-takers for Zoom, Teams & Meet
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