9 Best Microsoft Whiteboard Keyboard Shortcuts to Boost Productivity

Whiteboards are great for brainstorming with your team, collecting ideas, or drawing a plan. You can also use the whiteboard in the Microsoft Teams app and Zoom. Microsoft offers its Whiteboard application free of charge to all Windows 10 users. You can also install it from the Microsoft Store. For those who use it regularly, you should know Microsoft Whiteboard keyboard shortcuts. Do not worry. We’ve compiled a list of the most useful Microsoft Whiteboard keyboard shortcuts in this article.

Microsoft Whiteboard is primarily suitable for touch devices. That said, you can also use it with the mouse and keyboard. Although the number of keyboard shortcuts is limited, you shouldn’t feel discouraged. Unfortunately, you don’t get shortcuts for selecting pens, changing pen size or color, inserting objects into the whiteboard. Hopefully Microsoft will change this in the future.

But there are other useful keyboard shortcuts that will come in handy when using the whiteboard. Let’s check them out.

Note: The plus sign (+) between shortcuts means that you must press both keys simultaneously.

1. Basic keyboard shortcuts

The following basic keyboard shortcuts also work in the Whiteboard:

• Copy: Use Ctrl + C shortcut to copy any item on the whiteboard such as text, image, notes, drawings, etc.
• Dough: Use the Ctrl + V shortcut to paste the item from your clipboard. You can paste images and text from the whiteboard or outside of it from another application.
• Undo and Redo: If you accidentally delete an object (text, images, notes, templates, etc.) from the whiteboard, you can bring it back using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Z. Similarly, use Ctrl + Y to redo the changes.
• Select all: If you want to select all the elements in your whiteboard, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + A. You can move, delete, or resize them among other operations.

2. Delete items

To remove an item from the whiteboard, first select it. You will see a blue selection box around the item. Then press the Delete key on your keyboard to delete it.

Shortcut: Delete key

3. Clear canvas

If you want to erase your entire canvas or the current whiteboard, select all items using the shortcut Ctrl + A, then press the Delete key. Unfortunately, there is no direct shortcut at this time.

Shortcut: Ctrl + A followed by Delete

4. Select multiple objects

Typically, you click once on the object in the whiteboard to select it. To select multiple items, press the Shift key, and while holding it down, drag the mouse with its left key down over the items you want to select.

Shortcut: Shift + left mouse button

5. Display the insert menu

Anytime you want to insert additional items in the whiteboard, you can right click anywhere to display the context menu. You can also use the generic Shift + F10 keyboard shortcut to open the context menu. You can use this shortcut in any application instead of right clicking.

Shortcut: Shift + F10

Point: Did you know you can add PDF, Word, PowerPoint, and Bing image files to your whiteboard? Use the context menu for this. Then tap on the three-dot menu icon.

6. Move objects

To move an object, select it, and then use the arrow keys on the keyboard to move the element on the whiteboard. Use the Tab key to edit the currently selected item on the whiteboard. You can also use the Tab key and the arrows to move between the different menu items.

Shortcut: Directional keys

7. Resize objects

After adding objects to the whiteboard, you can resize them to any shape you want. You can change the size of text, drawings, images, tables, etc. Use the keyboard shortcut Shift + Up Arrow or Shift + Down Arrow on the selected object to increase or decrease the size.

Shortcut: Shift + up and down arrow keys

8. Rotate objects

Using keyboard shortcuts, you can rotate your objects in the whiteboard. Use the Alt + Left and Alt + Right arrow keys to rotate the selected object as needed.

Shortcut: Alt + left and right arrow keys

9. Insert Smiley

To insert a smiley face in your whiteboard, first add a text box. Then use the Windows key + period (.) Keyboard shortcut to open the emoji panel. Select the emoji from the list. You can use emojis to personalize your notes, lists, and various whiteboard designs.

Shortcut: Windows key +. (it’s a dot / dot at the end)

Bonus: Zoom on the whiteboard

The whiteboard gives you endless space to write down your thoughts and ideas. To view other areas of the whiteboard or to get an overview of the whiteboard, you can zoom in and out on the whiteboard. Scroll up and down using two-finger gestures on the keyboard’s touchpad to zoom in and out. Likewise, double-click and drag the whiteboard to move the whiteboard canvas.

Point: The Zoom app also offers a whiteboard. Find out how to use the whiteboard in Zoom.

Microsoft, are you listening?

I agree the shortcuts aren’t that good, but that’s what’s available with Whiteboard right now. We hope Microsoft will add more keyboard shortcuts to add a stylus, switch between handwritten and normal mode, etc. You can request the feature by clicking on the three bar icon at the top of the whiteboard. Then select Send Feedback. Or you can express your opinion on Whiteboard’s user voice page.