Drawing tools

The tool rail runs down the left edge, along the bottom on a phone. Each tool shows its key in its corner. Notes, text and shapes are placed where you click and you are back to selecting; the pen and highlighter stay on until you pick another tool.

Sticky note (N)

A 220 by 180 note, yellow by default. Double-click to write.

Text (T)

Free text on the board, large by default.

Shapes

Rectangle (R), rounded rectangle, ellipse (O), diamond (D), triangle, star, speech bubble and cylinder. The shapes button remembers the last one; press it to pick another. Double-click a shape to write in it.

Arrow (A) and line (L)

Press, drag and let go. A line is an arrow without heads.

Frame (F)

A named area that holds what is inside it. See Frames and arranging.

Draw (P) and highlighter (M)

Freehand, with pen pressure when your stylus reports it.

Eraser (E)

Wipe over drawings, notes and shapes; they go when you let go, and one undo brings them all back.

Add images or documents (9)

See Files, images and the web.

While either is active, a small bar beside the rail sets its color and size: Fine, Medium or Broad. The pen draws in the eight board colors, the highlighter in six see-through ones, and both take a custom color. Your choices are remembered in this browser.

The eraser leaves AI sheets, documents, frames and locked items alone. Select those and press Delete instead.

Start or end an arrow on an item and it attaches there; the item glows while it would. From then on the arrow follows the item when it moves, and stops just short of its outline, whatever its shape. Deleting the item leaves the arrow where it was.

Routes

Straight, elbow or curved, from Arrow route in the toolbar.

Heads

An arrowhead at the start, the end, both or neither.

Bends

Drag the middle grip of a selected arrow to bend it; the small grips add points.

Labels

Double-click the line and type.

Select items and the toolbar shows what they can take:

Color

Ink, gray, red, orange, green, blue, violet or pink, or any custom color.

Fill

None, paper, yellow, and pale yellow, gray, red, green, blue, violet or pink.

Line

Thinner and thicker, and solid, dashed or dotted.

Text size

Small, medium, large or extra large.

Opacity

From 10 to 100 percent.

Turning

Shapes, notes, text, images and drawings turn by the handle below them. Hold Shift for 15 degree steps.

Board colors follow light and dark mode, so a drawing stays readable when someone switches. A custom color stays exactly that color.

Copy and paste work between boards. Images and documents come along, conversations stay behind. Undo (⌘Z) only undoes your own changes, never someone else's or the AI's. Every key is on Keyboard shortcuts.