Board

Create or open a board

Go to Board from the home page and click New Board. Each board is auto-saved and appears in your boards list sorted by last opened. Boards shared with you appear in a separate Shared with me section.

Add your first nodes

Drag an image file from your desktop onto the canvas to add an image card. Click the Sticky tool in the toolbar to place a sticky note. Use the toolbar to access all other node types. Every board has four tabs under its header: Board (the canvas), Filter, Tasks and Calendar.

Connect nodes

Hover the edge of any node until the connector handle appears, then drag to another node. Connection lines snap between nodes and stay attached when nodes are moved.

Track tasks

Open the side planner panel on any image card to add tasks with statuses and due dates. Use the Filter, Tasks and Calendar tabs under the board header to review flagged images, every task on the board, and your deadlines.

Pan

Click and drag the empty canvas background. On mobile, drag with one finger.

Zoom

Scroll wheel or trackpad pinch. On mobile, pinch with two fingers. The zoom level is saved per board.

Fit to content

Click Fit view in the toolbar to zoom so all nodes are visible at once.

Zoom in / out

Use the + and − buttons in the toolbar, or scroll on the canvas.

Select multiple

Click and drag on the empty canvas to draw a selection box-any node the box touches is selected, not just fully-enclosed ones.

Select

Default mode. Click a node to select it, drag to move it, drag the canvas to pan. Press Escape to deselect.

Annotate

Places an annotation pin on the canvas. Annotation pins can be linked to a specific point on an image card and carry a status (To Do / In Progress / Done), a link URL with automatic open-graph preview, and reference images. Drag the pin handle to reposition the anchor point on the image.

Sticky note

Places a sticky note. Click the note to edit text. A colour picker appears above the note-choose from five colours: amber, green, blue, pink, and purple. The note resizes automatically to its content and can also be resized manually.

Text

Places a free-floating text node. Click to edit. The text formatting toolbar appears above the node with bold, italic, font family (Inter, Space Grotesk, Georgia), font size, text colour, and list type options.

Draw

Freehand drawing mode. Three sub-tools: Pen (solid strokes, adjustable width and colour), Highlighter (semi-transparent strokes, adjustable width and colour), and Eraser (removes strokes by drawing over them). Strokes drawn over an image or sticky note attach to it and move with it.

Shape

Places a shape node. Five shape types: Rectangle, Oval, Triangle, Line, and Arrow. Seven fill colours: white, amber, blue, green, pink, purple, and red. Shapes are resizable.

Emoji

Opens an emoji picker. The selected emoji is placed as a node on the canvas at click position.

Table

Places a structured table with typed columns. Field types include Text, Number, Select, Date, Status, Tags, Priority, Formula and more. Drag a CSV or XLSX file onto the canvas to import it as a table, a plain grid, or a view-only file card.

Upload

Opens a file picker to upload an image. Images are stored in cloud storage exactly as you upload them, up to 20 MB each. Supports JPEG, PNG, WEBP, and GIF.

Comment

Places a comment pin at the clicked position. Enter your comment text and press Enter to submit. Comments are visible to all board viewers and sync in real time.

Lock / unlock

Locks a selected node's position so it can't be accidentally dragged. Appears in the per-node action toolbar.

Group / ungroup

Groups multiple selected nodes so they move and resize together; ungroup to release them individually again.

Copy / paste

With an image card selected, Ctrl / Cmd + C copies the image itself and Ctrl / Cmd + Shift + C copies the card; Ctrl / Cmd + Shift + V pastes a copied card, including onto another board. Paste an image from your clipboard with Ctrl / Cmd + V.

Import

Import content onto the board-including dragging CSV/XLSX/PDF files directly onto the canvas.

Zoom in / out / fit

Three dedicated zoom buttons in the toolbar for convenience.

Version history

Opens the version history panel listing automatic snapshots. The board is snapshotted automatically every 5 hours. Click any snapshot to restore the board to that state.

Ctrl / Cmd + Z

Undo

Ctrl / Cmd + Y or Ctrl / Cmd + Shift + Z

Redo

Delete

Delete selected node(s)

PageUp

Bring selected node to front

Shift + PageUp

Bring selected node forward one layer

PageDown

Send selected node to back

Shift + PageDown

Send selected node backward one layer

Add image

Drag a JPEG, PNG, WEBP, or GIF file directly onto the canvas, or use the Upload tool in the toolbar. The image is uploaded to cloud storage as it is, up to 20 MB. A larger image is refused with a message instead of being shrunk.

Resize

Drag any of the four corner handles to scale the image proportionally.

Crop

Right-click the image and select Crop. Drag the crop handles to set the visible region and click Apply Crop. The crop is non-destructive-the original image is preserved.

Info

Right-click and select Info to see the image filename, dimensions, and upload date.

Duplicate

Right-click and select Duplicate, or use the floating action panel that appears when the card is selected.

Arrange

Right-click and hover Arrange to access Bring to Front, Bring Forward, Send to Back, and Send Backward. The same actions are available via keyboard shortcuts.

Flag

Click the flag button on a selected image card to cycle it between Unflagged, Picked and Rejected. Use the Filter tab to see images by flag.

Task badge

If the card has open tasks or linked annotation pins, a badge showing the count appears in the top-left corner. Click it to open the planner panel for that card.

Planner panel

Click the clipboard icon on an image card to open a side panel where you can add tasks, set statuses, and assign due dates for that specific image.

Colours

Five colours available: Amber, Green, Blue, Pink, and Purple. The colour picker appears in the floating toolbar above the selected note.

Text formatting

When editing, the text formatting toolbar appears with Bold, Italic, font family (Inter, Space Grotesk, Georgia), font size, and text colour options.

Checkbox list

Switch to checkbox list mode from the formatting toolbar to turn the note into a checklist. Each line gets a checkbox.

Resize

Drag the corner handles to resize the note. The text reflows automatically.

Duplicate / Delete

Use the floating action panel that appears when the note is selected, or right-click for the context menu.

What it is

An annotation pin is a note card that can be anchored to a specific point on an image card. A line connects the pin to its anchor point and moves with it when the image is dragged.

Status

Each annotation has a status: To Do, In Progress, or Done. Click the status badge on the pin to cycle through. The status is reflected in the Planner panel and Tasks tab.

Link URL

Paste a URL into the link field on the pin. The app automatically fetches the page's open-graph metadata-title, site name, favicon, and preview image-and displays them as a link card.

Reference images

Upload additional reference images directly on the annotation pin. These are stored in cloud storage alongside board images.

Anchor point

When placed near an image card, the pin connects to a point on that image. Drag the small circle anchor handle to reposition the connection point.

Column types

Twenty field types: Text, Number, Select, Multiple select, Date, Person, Link, Formula, Description, Status, Start date, End date, Estimate, Assignee, Tags, Blocking, Blocked by, Parent, Child and Priority. Number and Estimate fields can be shown as a plain number, a percentage or a currency amount. Changing a field's type clears the cells in that column, and you are warned first.

Add columns / rows

Click the + button at the end of the header row to add a column. Click + at the bottom of the table to add a row.

Rename / reorder columns

Click a column header to rename it or change its type. Drag column headers to reorder.

Cell formatting

Click a cell to edit it. The formatting toolbar appears above the selected cell with bold, italic, font, size, colour, and alignment options.

Row context menu

Right-click a row to access Duplicate and Delete.

Column context menu

Right-click a column header to rename it, change its type, sort ascending or descending, insert a column to the left or right, duplicate, or delete it.

CSV / XLSX import

Drag a CSV or XLSX file onto the canvas and an Import options dialog asks how to bring it in: Convert to table (editable rows and columns with sorting), Convert to grid (a plain black-line grid with all rows and columns), or Add as file (a view-only reference card).

Search

A search field appears inside the table header. Type to filter rows in real time.

Text node

Free-floating text with the same formatting options as a sticky note-font, size, bold, italic, colour, and checkbox list mode. Use it for headings or labels that don't need a coloured background.

Shape

Five shapes: Rectangle, Oval, Triangle, Line, and Arrow. Seven fill colours. Fully resizable. Useful for diagrams, flow charts, and highlighting areas.

Emoji

A large emoji placed as a standalone node. Resizable. Useful as visual dividers or emotional tone markers.

Drawing stroke

Pen and highlighter strokes created with the Draw tool. Strokes that overlap an image card, sticky note, or link card attach to that node and move with it.

Group

Select two or more nodes and click the Group button in the floating action panel. Grouped nodes move together as a single unit. Click Ungroup on the group to release them.

Grid / file card

A CSV or XLSX file imported as a grid becomes a plain spreadsheet-style node with search; imported as a file it becomes a view-only reference card. Choose between these and a Table when the Import options dialog appears.

PDF

Dropping a PDF onto the board creates a dedicated PDF node you can preview inline.

Connections

Drag from the edge connector of any node to another node to draw a connection line with an arrowhead. Click a connection line to select and delete it.

Bring to Front

Moves the selected node above all others on the canvas. Keyboard: PageUp.

Bring Forward

Moves the selected node one layer up. Keyboard: Shift + PageUp.

Send to Back

Moves the selected node below all others. Keyboard: PageDown.

Send Backward

Moves the selected node one layer down. Keyboard: Shift + PageDown.

Open

Click the clipboard icon on an image card to open its planner panel.

Add task

Click Add task inside the planner panel. Enter the task description and press Enter.

Task status

Three statuses: To Do, In Review, and Done. Click the status badge on a task to cycle through. Done tasks are struck through.

Due date

Each task has an optional due date. Click the date field next to a task to open the date picker. Tasks with past due dates are highlighted.

Annotation tasks

Annotation pins linked to an image card also appear in that card's planner panel. Their statuses (To Do / In Progress / Done) are synced between the pin on the canvas and the planner panel.

Access

Click the Tasks tab under the board header (on mobile, in the bottom navigation bar). It shows all tasks from all image cards and annotation pins on the board, plus General Tasks that are not attached to any image.

List or Kanban

Switch between List and Kanban views. Kanban shows To Do, In Review and Done columns side by side.

General tasks

Use Add General Task to create a task that is not tied to an image card. Tasks can also carry a Low, Medium or High priority; click the priority badge to cycle through them.

Status filter

Filter tasks by All, To Do, In Review, or Done using the tabs at the top of the Tasks view. The header shows the count for each status.

Grouped by card

Tasks are grouped under their parent image card. Each group shows the card's filename and the count of tasks within it.

Jump to node

Click any task in the list to pan and zoom the canvas to the image card it belongs to.

Status update

Click a task's status badge in the Tasks tab to cycle its status without opening the planner panel.

Flags

Every image card can be flagged Unflagged, Picked or Rejected. Click the flag button on the selected card to cycle through them.

Filter tab

Toggle Picked, Unflagged and Rejected to collect the matching images into one catalogue view, like a photo-culling workflow. The tab shows a count of the images currently shown. Your filter choice is personal to you and is not saved with the board.

Access

Click the Calendar tab under the board header.

Month and Agenda

Switch between a Month grid and an Agenda list of upcoming items.

Deadlines and notes

The Calendar holds its own entries, separate from your task checklist. Add a Deadline, Milestone, Meeting or Reminder with a date, optional colour and notes, for client deadlines, delivery milestones and site visits. Click a day in the Month view to add an entry for that date.

Auto-snapshots

The board is snapshotted automatically every 5 hours while it is open and being edited. The last 10 snapshots are kept.

Access

Click the Clock icon (Version history) in the toolbar. A panel slides in from the right listing all saved snapshots with timestamps.

Restore

Click a snapshot in the list to restore the board to that state. The current state is replaced. This action cannot be undone, so review the snapshot before restoring.

Copy board link

Open the Share panel (board owners only) and click Copy board link. The first time, this creates a share link for the board; the button then reads Link copied!. If your browser blocks copying it shows a message so you can select and copy the link yourself.

Invite

Open the Share panel, enter the collaborator's email address, choose Can edit or Can view, and click Send invite. If they do not have an account yet the invite is saved as pending.

Roles

Editor: can add, edit, move, and delete any node, place comments, and manage tasks. Viewer: read-only access-cannot modify any content.

Access list

The Share panel (titled Manage board access) lists the owner and everyone invited, each marked Can edit or Can view. Pending invites are marked PENDING.

Remove access

Use Remove access next to a person to revoke their access. For a pending invite the button is Cancel invite.

Live cursors

When multiple people have the board open, each user's cursor appears on the canvas in a unique colour with their name. Up to six distinct cursor colours are assigned automatically.

Comments

Use the Comment tool to drop a comment pin anywhere on the canvas. Enter your text and press Enter to submit. All collaborators see new comments in real time.

Auto-save

All edits are saved automatically as you work. There is no manual save button.

My boards

The Board home page lists all boards you own, sorted by last opened by default. Switch the sort order to Name or Date created using the sort dropdown.

Shared with me

Boards that others have shared with you appear in a separate Shared with me section below your own boards.

Rename

Click the board title in the list to rename it inline. Press Enter or click away to save.

Favourite

Click the star icon on a board to mark it as a favourite. Favourited boards appear at the top of the list.

Delete

Click the ⋯ menu on a board and select Delete. A confirmation dialog appears-deletion is permanent and cannot be undone.

Export

Click the ⋯ menu and select Export to download the board as a self-contained .zip file. It contains the full canvas state plus every image as its own file, so it can be imported into any CreativeArc environment.

Import

Click Import on the Board home page and select a board .zip (or an older .board file). A new board is created from the imported file.