If you are one of our beloved platform users and you would like to add some beautiful visuals in your spaces then follow these instructions :)

We are here to spread some clarity and share tips and tricks on how to best use the fully open source program supported by our platform to contribute visually: Excalidraw! Through this program, you together with us, can create appealing and useful templates in our Whiteboard tool section of the platform.

Excalidraw is not very different from Miro or other similar collaboration tools, however it has been chosen by us becuase it is a fully open source tool that everyone can access. It is a versatile and intuitive online whiteboard tool that allows users to create diagrams, sketches, and illustrations easily.

Here's a basic guide on how to make the most of Excalidraw and use it to its fullest potential.

Getting Started

You'll be presented with a blank canvas. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the user interface.

As you can see this is the white canvas or better the whiteboard that you will be working on.

Basic Drawing

To start drawing, simply click and drag your cursor on the canvas. Excalidraw uses a simple and minimalist drawing style.
Use the top right toolbar to select different shapes, such as rectangles, circles, lines, arrows, and text.
Experiment with the various drawing tools and options to get comfortable with their functionality.

Further Drawing Features

Layering: Arrange elements in front or behind others using the "Move to Front" and "Move to Back" options in the context menu (right-click on an object).

Duplication: Copy an object by selecting it and choosing "Duplicate" in the context menu. This is handy when you want to create multiple similar shapes.

Grouping: Select multiple objects by dragging a selection box around them. Right-click and choose "Group" to treat them as a single entity.
You can also select multiple items and then click shift and keep clicking on the other figures to group them all.

Alignment and Distribution: Use the alignment and distribution tools to organize your elements neatly. Select multiple objects, right-click, and choose the desired option (e.g., align horizontally, distribute vertically)

Customization

Customize the appearance of your drawings using the right sidebar options.
Choose different stroke widths, colors, and opacity levels for your drawings.

Keyboard Shortcuts:
Excalidraw offers several keyboard shortcuts to speed up your workflow. Press "?" on your keyboard to view the list of available shortcuts.

Some common shortcuts include "V" for selecting the pointer tool, "R" for creating rectangles, "A" for arrows, and "T" for adding text.

Export and Sharing

To save your drawing, click on the button with the 3 lines on the top left corner. You can export or save your work on Alkemio on in your files or just press the save botton on the bottom right.