SGImeeting Whiteboard

The whiteboard lets you import, annotate, and create graphics. In addition, work you do on the whiteboard can be saved to a file.

See also: Whiteboard Plugin Features

How do I...

draw graphical objects?
create and edit text objects?
move and delete graphical objects?
highlight text and images?
import and export graphics?
point at something on the whiteboard?
copy graphics to the clipboard?
navigate and organize pages?
add a new page?
"zoom" the whiteboard?
prevent others from making changes to the whiteboard contents?
save and load the whiteboard contents?
print the whiteboard contents?
make the whiteboard compatible with other whiteboards/change whiteboard modes?

Drawing Graphical Objects

To draw graphical objects in the whiteboard, first select the tool type by clicking one of the following buttons on the toolbar:

freehand pen
straight line
rectangle
filled rectangle
circle
filled circle

(These tools can also be selected on the Tools menu.)

Set the pen color and line thickness using the option buttons at the bottom and left of the drawing area, then draw the object by clicking and dragging the mouse. Releasing the mouse button adds the object to the whiteboard, where it will be seen by all other conference participants.

Creating and Editing Text Objects

To work with text objects, click the text tool button or select Text from the Tools menu.

To create a text object:

  1. Click on the place in the drawing area where you want to add some text.
  2. Type the message into the text entry dialog, and click OK.

To edit a text object:

  1. Click on the text object you wish to edit.
  2. Edit the text of the message in the text entry dialog, and click OK.

    The color and font can be changed with the option buttons at the bottom of the drawing area.

    Note: Text objects cannot be edited when the whiteboard is in T.126 mode.

Moving and Deleting Graphical Objects

To move or delete a graphic in the whiteboard, first click on the selector tool button (or select Selector from the Tools menu), then click on the graphic you wish to move/delete. If the graphic is hidden under another graphic, click again until the desired graphic is selected (indicated by the dashed outline).

To move the graphic, drag it to its new position with the mouse.

To delete the graphic, select Delete on the Edit menu or press the Delete key. If you delete an object by mistake, you can retrieve it by choosing Undelete from the Edit menu.

Highlighting Text and Images

To highlight areas of the whiteboard, click the highlight tool button (or choose Highlighter from the Tools menu), then draw the area to highlight using the mouse.

Capturing an Area of the Screen

To capture the contents of a window as an image to the whiteboard, click the capture window button or select Capture Window from the Tools menu. The whiteboard window is hidden. Select the window to capture simply by clicking on it.
To capture an area of the desktop (not necessarily a whole window), click the capture area button or select Capture Area from the Tools menu. The whiteboard window is hidden. Click and drag the mouse to select the area to capture. A screen snapshot of the selected area will appear on the whiteboard.

Importing and Exporting Graphics

To import an image from a file, choose Import from the File menu. In the Import dialog, specify the file to import and click OK. The image is added to the current page.

Note: In order to import PostScript files, the ghostscript program must be installed.

To export the current page to a graphics file, choose Export from the file menu. In the Export dialog, specify the name of the file to export to, and the desired image format and click OK. The contents of the current page are written to the file.

Pointing at Something on the Whiteboard

Others cannot see your cursor on the whiteboard, so when you want to call attention to a whiteboard item, use the remote pointer. It is a pointing hand symbol that everyone in the call can see.

Click the remote pointer button to show or hide it. You can select the pointer (with the selector tool) and drag it around to point out things on the page.

Copying Graphics to the Clipboard

There are two different ways you can transfer graphics to and from the X system clipboard:

Use the Cut/Copy/Paste commands on the Edit menu:

To cut or copy an object, first select the object then choose the Cut or Copy command from the Edit menu.

To paste an object into the whiteboard, simply select Paste from the Edit menu. The object appears on the current page.

(The cut, copy, and paste commands transfer objects via the X system clipboard and allow graphics or text objects to be pasted back into the whiteboard with their original formatting, or to other programs as pixmaps.)

Use the middle mouse button:

Select the text in the whiteboard or another application window. Use the middle mouse button to paste the text selections to the whiteboard or another window.

Navigating and Organizing Pages

To move between existing pages, use one of the following buttons:

Move to the first page.
Move back one page.
Move forward one page.
Move to the last page.

To move to a specific page number, choose Go to Page... from the Edit menu. Enter the page number in the dialog and click OK.

You can remove all graphics on the current page by selecting Clear Page from the Edit menu.

You can delete the current page by selecting Delete Page from the Edit menu.

To change the page order, select Move Page from the Edit menu. You are then presented with a submenu: select Back to move the current page before the previous page, or Forward to move the current page after the next page.

Adding a New Page

Click the new page button to insert a page after the current page.

The Insert Page command on the Edit menu also allows you to add a page, but additionally enables you to specify whether the page should be added before or after the current page.

Note: When the whiteboard is in T.126 mode, new pages are automatically added.

"Zooming" the Whiteboard

Use the zoom button (or select Zoom from the Tools menu) to change the magnification at which you view the whiteboard contents.

Locking the Whiteboard

When you lock the whiteboard you can still make changes to it, but other participants cannot make changes.

Clicking the lock button (or selecting Lock from the Tools menu) requests the whiteboard lock. After a short delay, either you will either have successfully locked the whiteboard, or you will be notified that the lock could not be obtained because another user already has locked the whiteboard or is in the middle of an operation that cannot be interrupted.

To release the lock you set, click the lock button again.

Note: When the whiteboard is in T.126 mode, locking is not available.

Saving and Loading the Whiteboard Contents

Choose Open or Save from the File menu to load or save the whiteboard contents.

The SGImeeting whiteboard format is compatible with the Microsoft NetMeeting whiteboard, which means:

SGImeeting whiteboard can read files created by the NetMeeting whiteboard.
NetMeeting whiteboard can read files created by the SGImeeting whiteboard.

Printing the Whiteboard Contents

Choose Print from the File menu to print the whiteboard contents. In the print window, specify the printer command to use or the file name to print to, and which pages you want to print.

Making the Whiteboard Compatible With Other Whiteboards (Changing Modes)

You can choose from two different whiteboard modes, depending on the compatibility you require. Choose Tools > Options, and select the mode you want:

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