The idea board: first steps

A free canvas for the venue, items, references, notes and tasks. Frames group materials into concepts.

Learn more: Help · Features.

Reviewed: 2026-10-19

How to use it

In a project open the «Idea» step and on the «Idea board» card click «Open board» (or «Create board» if there is no board yet): the board opens on the whole screen. At the top is one bar: on the left the «Back to the project» arrow, the project name in small print and «Idea board» in large print, the saving status; on the right the people who are on the board right now, «Discussion», «Show», «Team» and the «⋯» menu. In the middle on the left is the tool rail with captions under the icons: «Select» (V), «Hand» (H or Space), then «Sticker» (N), «Text» (T), «Arrow» (L), «Draw» (P), then «Frame» (F) and the «+ Add» button. The hint on an icon names the tool and its key.
Everything you put on the board (photos, files, products, templates, shapes, lists and board templates) is gathered in the «+ Add» button: it opens the «Add to board» panel with the tabs «Photos and files», «Products», «My templates» and «Elements and templates». What you add appears in the work area; drag it to place it. On an empty board the center of the field offers «Add a photo of the hall», «Use a template» and «From the catalog».
For a note, click «Sticker» on the toolbar (or N) and start typing right away. Clicking outside the note finishes editing.
Above a selected object, a dark action bar appears: color, aligning several objects, «Lock», «Comment» and «More actions» (bring to front and send to back, «Duplicate», «Delete»). For a frame, this bar starts with «Visualization from frame» and «To the presentation». All settings open with the «Options» button in the top right corner of the canvas or the I key: the settings panel does not slide out until you ask for it, and it remembers whether it is open only until you close the browser tab. Group materials with a frame to show them or to create a visualization.
Watch the saving status next to the board name. In the bottom right corner are the minimap and the zoom «− 75% +»: clicking the percentage fits all objects into the screen (Shift+1). In the bottom left corner are «Undo», «Redo» and «?»: it opens «Help and keys».

All boards and a new board

Open «All tools» (on a computer through the menu under your avatar, on a phone through «More» at the bottom) and in the «Lists across all projects» group choose «Idea boards»: it holds the boards of all your projects and of projects you were invited to. The «Cards / List» switch changes the view, and the search finds a board by its name or project. You can also start a new board from the «Create» window: open the «More» row and choose «Idea board».
Click «New board», enter the «Board name» and click «Create board»: AURA creates a project with that name and opens its board right away. To start a board in an existing project that has no board, choose it in the «Where to create the board» field and click «Open board». The «My board» button beside it opens your personal board for notes and ideas outside projects: there is one, it appears on the first open and is not among «My projects».
Each board lives in its own project: that is where its team, access and visualizations from frames are. «Back to project» on a board card opens the project.

A project's board lives in its project, so it can only be deleted together with the project. «My board» is not a project: it is not among «My projects» and stays with you. Task lists belong to a different tool and are in the «Tasks» section.
A client who has been given only chosen options does not see a project's boards, neither in the project nor in the «Idea boards» list.

Good to know

On a phone the bottom bar has five buttons: «Photo», «Sticker», «Text», «Comment» (if you may comment) and «More». «More» holds «Draw», «Figure», «Frame», «Add a product or a file», «Frames», «Show», «Discussion» and «Board history». A double tap opens text editing.
The «Draw», «Connection» and «Comment» modes change what a click does. A hint in the work area explains the next step; Esc returns you to normal work.
If the board is view-only, adding and editing are hidden. Comment access lets you discuss objects.
The board background and the exact zoom are chosen in the «⋯» menu → «Board settings»: the «Board background» block («Waves» by default, «Dots» or «No background»), the «Zoom, %» field (on a computer), the language and the theme. The background is a setting of your own view: it is remembered in this browser and does not change for colleagues or in the export.
If instead of the board you see «The idea board is unavailable right now. Refresh the page a little later», the board is temporarily switched off on our side and your access to the project is fine: press «Refresh page» in a few minutes. «You have no access to the board of this project» means the project is not open to you: ask the owner to invite you.

The project board in the mobile app

In the mobile app, open «Idea boards» in the studio library or «Idea board» inside a project. A project has one board. The collection lets you find a board by name and create a new project with a board.

Add cards from the bottom bar: notes, images, links, tables, palettes and other materials. Forms open from the bottom. Your local changes become visible to colleagues after «Save board».

If the reply about saving was lost, use the save check. The app repeats the same batch of changes with the same key. In case of a conflict your edits stay stored locally; you can load the current state or create copies of the changed cards.

Templates and teamwork on the phone

The top strip of the mobile board offers templates, discussion, history and participants. Before inserting a template you can preview it and cancel the insertion with the ordinary cancel button. Changes become shared after the board is saved.

History lets you return to a saved state of the board. Restoring needs confirmation and can remove zones and chats that did not exist in the chosen state. Finish your local edits first. If the server reply was lost, check the result by reading the data instead of repeating the restore.

Actions with a frame and an image

In the options of a saved frame you can prepare a visualization and check its price. For a reference or product image you can remove the background, with a preview before you apply it. Generating and replacing an image are confirmed separately.

Watching the board together with a colleague

In the mobile app, the participants who are online are shown above the board. Tap the participants row and choose a colleague to follow their area of the board. Touching the canvas, zooming or the «Whole board» button returns manual control.

Colleagues' pointers are not included in the export. Watching together adds no rights and does not open hidden zones. With the restrictions of a private zone, the shared channel may be unavailable.