How to Share Zoom Whiteboard and Let Participants Edit

Zoom has two whiteboard experiences. The newer Zoom Whiteboard is a cloud-based board you open from the meeting toolbar, and its editing rights are controlled through sharing permissions. The older classic whiteboard is shared through Share Screen, and participants contribute by annotating. Which one you see depends on your Zoom app version and your account settings, so first identify which one you have. The steps for sharing a board and letting others edit it differ between the two.

Before you start

• Update the Zoom desktop or mobile app. Whiteboard features and button labels change between versions, and participants on older versions may only be able to view a board.
• Check whether Zoom Whiteboard is turned on for your account. On managed accounts, an administrator can turn whiteboards on or off and limit sharing and external access. A missing button often has this cause.
• Confirm your meeting role. Hosts and co-hosts usually control screen sharing and annotation. A participant may need the host to allow sharing before they can open a board.
• Know where the content is stored. The newer Zoom Whiteboard keeps boards in Zoom's cloud service, not only on your computer. The classic whiteboard is shared like a screen and can be saved locally. If storage, retention or external access matter to you, check your organization's policy and Zoom's current documentation.

Step-by-step instructions

Share the newer Zoom Whiteboard in a meeting

• Start or join the meeting from the Zoom app.
• Select Whiteboards in the meeting toolbar. If you do not see it, look under More.
• Create a new whiteboard or open an existing one. Opening it during the meeting shares it with the people in the meeting.
• Find the whiteboard's share or permission options. Choose whether meeting participants can edit, comment or only view. The exact wording varies by version.
• To let everyone draw, choose the edit level for meeting participants. To keep control, leave participants on view-only and give edit access to specific people.
• Stop sharing from the whiteboard controls when you are finished. The board stays in your whiteboard list, so you can reopen it or change permissions later.

Permission changes are reversible. You can give participants edit rights for a brainstorming segment and switch them back to view-only afterwards without deleting anything they added. If the board is saved to your account, check who still has access after the meeting ends. Access granted for the meeting can differ from the board's own sharing settings.

Share the classic whiteboard

• Select Share Screen in the meeting toolbar.
• Choose Whiteboard from the share options, then start sharing.
• Participants draw by using the annotation tools on their side. On desktop, these are usually found in the view options of the shared content.
• As the sharer, check the More or annotation menu for an option that disables participant annotation. If it is turned on, turn it off so others can draw.
• Save the board from the whiteboard controls if you want a copy before you stop sharing.

Check the output

Ask one participant to add a short mark or note while you watch the board. If it appears for everyone, editing works. If a participant can see the board but has no drawing tools, their permission level is still view-only, or annotation is disabled. Check this before the meeting relies on group input. Testing with a second device or a colleague is the most direct way to see the participant view.

For the newer whiteboard, reopen the board after the meeting and confirm that participant edits were kept and that the access list is what you expect. For a classic whiteboard you saved, open the exported file and check that all annotations are included. A saved image or PDF is a static copy, so participants cannot keep editing it.

Common problems and next steps

Participants cannot draw or write

For the newer whiteboard, raise meeting participants to the edit level in the board's permissions. For the classic whiteboard, make sure participant annotation is not disabled. If the option is greyed out, an account or meeting setting set by an administrator may be blocking it. Also ask affected participants to update their app, since older versions can limit them to viewing.

Letting everyone write at once

Several people can edit the same board at the same time once they have edit rights. In large meetings, consider giving edit access only to the people who need it, or assign areas of the board, so contributions do not overwrite each other. You can lower permissions again at any point.

Guests and anonymous participants

People who join without signing in, or who come from outside your organization, may only be able to view a whiteboard, or may not see it at all. Whether they can edit depends on account-level settings for external and unauthenticated users, which an administrator controls on managed accounts. If guests need to collaborate, ask your administrator what is allowed. Remember that granting edit access to unauthenticated users means anyone in the meeting can change the board's contents.

The Whiteboards button is missing

Update the app and look under More in the meeting toolbar. If the button is still missing, whiteboards may be turned off for your account or meeting. Use the classic whiteboard through Share Screen in the meantime, and ask your administrator to review the whiteboard settings.