> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.getrivet.ca/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Opening the whiteboard

> Share Screen → Whiteboard. What you'll see, what your client sees, and how to switch back.

The whiteboard lives behind the Share Screen button in the session toolbar.

## From your side

You're in a session. The toolbar at the bottom of your screen has the same
controls you've used throughout — mic, camera, Share Screen, end call.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Tap Share Screen">
    A small picker appears next to the button. Two options: **Share Screen**
    and **Whiteboard**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick Whiteboard">
    The canvas takes over your session view. The presets menu sits top-left,
    the export controls sit top-right, and the Two-way toggle sits at the
    bottom-center.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Draw">
    Use the pen, the shape tools, drop a preset, or drag in a sticky note.
    Everything you do appears on the client's side in real time.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Stop sharing when you're done">
    Tap Share Screen again. The canvas closes; you and your client are back
    on camera.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  If you want to keep what you drew, export to PDF or PNG **before** you stop
  sharing. Closing the whiteboard discards the drawing. See
  [exporting as PDF](/whiteboard/exporting-as-pdf).
</Tip>

## What your client sees

The moment you pick Whiteboard, the client's screen-share area fills with
your canvas. It looks identical to a shared desktop to them — same panel,
same layout, same "you're sharing something with me" cue they already
understand.

A few specifics worth knowing:

* **They don't need to install anything.** The whiteboard is rendered as
  video on their end, riding the same encrypted channel as the rest of the
  call.
* **They watch by default.** Until you flip Two-way ON, they can see the
  canvas but can't draw on it.
* **No icons, no toolbars, no buttons on their end.** Their view is just
  the canvas — the controls live on your side.
* **Your camera stays on.** If your camera was running before you opened
  the whiteboard, it stays on as a thumbnail tile so the client can still
  see your face.

## Why it lives behind Share Screen

Every video-call product worth the name puts the whiteboard inside the same
button as screen-share — Zoom, Meet, Teams, Doxy all do it the same way.
The reason is that practitioners and clients have already learned the muscle
memory: "the thing she's showing me lives in the screen-share area." Putting
the whiteboard behind a separate button would force everyone to learn a new
mental model for the same outcome. Behind Share Screen, it just works.

## Switching from screen share to whiteboard mid-session

You can move between them freely. Tap Share Screen again to stop the current
share, then tap it once more and pick the other option. The transition takes
about a second — the client briefly sees their normal video feed, then the
new shared content.

## Related articles

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Overview" icon="circle-info" href="/whiteboard/overview">
    What the whiteboard is, when to use it.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Drawing tools" icon="paintbrush" href="/whiteboard/drawing-tools">
    Pen, eraser, text, shapes, color.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Letting your client draw" icon="users" href="/whiteboard/client-collaboration">
    The Two-way toggle.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>