User guides

Zone 2 - Sticky Note

The sticky note is a virtual presentation on a whiteboard canvas. You can record your ideas in notes and then move, combine, and organize your thoughts on the canvas. Unlike paper versions, sticky notes on Pixso Whiteboard are scalable and provide more space for exploring ideas. Pixso Whiteboard will add your name to any note you create, so you can easily express your ideas and let collaborators know who is expressing what. You can quickly add notes from the toolbar or create them quickly using the shortcut key N.

Sticky notes can be used for:

  • Brainstorming and various meetings
  • Review meetings
  • To-do lists or project management
  • Categorization or task assignment
  • Anything else you can think of, involving notes of different colors.

Create Sticky Notes

There are several ways to create sticky notes on Pixso Whiteboard.

From Toolbar

  • Click Sticky note from the left-side toolbar.
  • Hover your mouse in the proper place.
  • Click again to create a note.
  • You can also click and drag the sticky notes to the canvas or press the shortcut key N. Once successfully, you can enter text in the notes.

Note: When you open a Pixso Whiteboard file, the note's color is fixed, but you can change it from the floating menu bar's color tab when you select a note from the canvas.

From Existing Notes

Select an existing note on the canvas.

Use shortcut keys Ctrl + C/Ctrl + V, Ctrl + D or drag your mouse while pressing Alt.

A new blank note will show up next to the original one and you can edit text in it.

Note: The note size automatically fits to the text length.

Add Connection Lines

Connect sticky notes to turn them into a chart or build a display path based on other rules.

  • Select a sticky note.
  • Click any of the control points displayed around the note.
  • Click the drag to connect it with other notes.

Note Signature

Your user ID will be displayed in the bottom right corner of the note, which is helpful in team collaboration. By default, your signature depends on the account settings. To add or delete the signature/show avatar or date:

  1. Add a note on the canvas.
  2. Click the signature tab of the floating menu to enable or disable the signature/avatar/date.

Size

The note size will vary vertically depending on the text content, and it can be widened by dragging the side. You can also drag a corner to scale their size equally. Shapes with text can be resized to different sizes regardless of their content. Currently, notes support square and rectangular shapes, and you can also switch notes through the toolbar.

Pixso Whiteboard offers a wide selection of shapes that help you build various diagrams, such as flowcharts, BPMN diagrams, UML diagrams, and more. Capture your ideas by combining shapes and quickly establish connections with connection lines.

You can create various graphics in Pixso Whiteboard files, including:

  • A variety of basic shapes (rectangle, rounded rectangle, square, triangle, parallelogram, etc.)
  • Annotation shapes (annotation, speech bubble, etc.)
  • Flowcharts
  • BPMN diagrams
  • UML diagrams
  • Four default graphic styles

About Shapes

In Pixso Whiteboard, shapes are the fundamental tools for any project. Shapes can be resized, rotated, and given a dashed or solid outline. Shapes are especially useful for:

  • Basic drawing compositions
  • Flowcharts
  • UML diagrams
  • BPMN diagrams
  • User journey maps
  • Site maps
  • Data flow diagrams

Create Shapes

There are several ways to create shapes in Pixso Whiteboard.

From Toolbar

  • Click Shape from the left-side toolbar.
  • Choose a tab you like to add different shapes.
  • Click on any space on the canvas to create a shape.
  • You can also drag the shape to the canvas or press the shortcut key R to create a rectangle quickly.

From Existing Shapes

  • Create or select an existing shape by pressing shortcut keys:

macOS: ⌘ Command + D

Windows: Ctrl + D

  • Press Alt and then click and drag from an existing shape.
  • Press Ctrl+C/Ctrl+V or perform the same operation from the right-click menu.
  • In any case, the original shape and its related properties will be copied.

Add Connection Lines between Shapes

There are several points for you to connect shapes.

"+" control point: When the mouse hovers over it, preset shapes, positions, and relations of the connection lines will appear. If using a flowchart, clicking the "+" control point will automatically add a flowchart rectangle.

"Circle" control point: Long-press and drag the mouse to create a shape at any position on the canvas. The shape will be chosen based on its type, including basic shapes, flowcharts, UML diagrams, and BPMN diagrams. It also supports creating the same shape and establishing relations with connection lines.

Edit Colors

You can change the color, thickness, opacity, rounded corners, line style, fill, or hide fill of a shape using the colorpicker in the toolbar. Simply click the corresponding floating menu button to do it.

Note: You can change shape colors, text, and other common properties in batches by selecting multiple shapes.

Resize Shapes

There are two ways to resize a shape:

  1. Drag the diagonal position of the shape and hold down Shift to enlarge or reduce the shape proportionally.
  2. Drag the diagonal position or the top, bottom, left or right border of the shape to customize the length and width of the shape. This way, you can turn an equilateral square into a rectangle, or turn a perfect circle into an ellipse.

Note: When you use text in a shape, if the text exceeds the display range of the shape, it will automatically scroll up to load the text. At this time, you need to stretch the shape to display all the text.

Rotate Shapes

To rotate a shape:

  1. Select the shape you want to rotate.
  2. Hover the cursor near the diagonal.
  3. Click and drag the cursor in the direction you want the shape to rotate.
  4. When you rotate a shape, its contents also rotate along with it.

Note: "Snap to grid" is a feature that helps to align and organize shapes at regular intervals of 45 degrees. When this feature is enabled, shapes will snap to the grid lines, allowing for more precise placement and alignment.

Insert Flowchart

When using a flowchart, if you forget to add a process in the middle, you can simply place the process shape between two existing shapes, and the shape will be inserted automatically.