Microsoft today announced a new app that lets users turn their computer screens into whiteboards that can be edited and annotated by colleagues.
The appropriately named Whiteboard app is rolling out in a public preview today. It works on any Windows 10 device, and it allows multiple Office 365 subscribers to work on a document at the same time, across multiple devices. Microsoft has offered similar capabilities on some devices, specifically the giant Surface Hub device.
The app lets people mock up documents with either their hands or a pen. Photos can be dropped in, and rulers and other tools allow for precise measurements.
Here’s how it has been used during a private preview, according to Microsoft:
We saw startups use it to put together images, mockups, and notes as an inspiration board for their next big idea. We witnessed marketing agencies use it in online meetings as they work with clients on product designs in real time. And our team uses it to diagram engineering plans, with remote participants filling in their respective areas on the same working canvas.
The app automatically transforms inexact drawings into standard shapes. And whiteboards save automatically, meaning users don’t have to email changes back and forth.
The app is available for download on the Microsoft store. The company said the new app will replace the native Surface Hub whiteboard app when it becomes generally available in a “few months.”
