Do you know that once you share a display screen in a Microsoft Groups assembly, you may annotate with one other on something that’s in your display screen? It might be a advertising advert, new visuals, funds – even any app working in your desktop. Annotating is mainly inking on prime of your display screen. The cool factor? Everybody within the Groups assembly can be part of you on the identical time (you may allow / disable their entry) so you may co-create collectively very simply. And just lately annotations have gotten new options, which can be very helpful.
Begin annotationInteract with the background Take a snapshot Annotations are whiteboards
Begin annotation
Let’s begin sharing the display screen. The display screen sharing toolbar has gone by way of an replace just lately. It may be pinned (sure!) and it’s a lot simpler to make use of with bigger icons.
Optimize within the toolbar means optimizing the display screen share for video content material. This was earlier behind a shortcut key – now it may be achieved simply utilizing menus.
First, begin by choosing begin annotation from Groups display screen share toolbar.
We are able to see we’ve got fairly acquainted instruments for us to make use of.
Inking, feedback, reactions, notes, textual content and shapes might be discovered there.
Now we have additionally settings below the gear, simply as earlier than.
There are two new options to find out about.
Work together with the background
When you choose work together with the background from the annotations toolbar, you may work on any app you have got in your desktop. Maybe you have to open the subsequent web page or tab. Simply activate interplay (the leftmost device) by clicking it.
You possibly can scroll, change tabs, open new apps.. something you normally do on the desktop. Inking, notes and different annotation objects will not be proven if you end up interacting with the background.
And when you achieved, simply click on the work together once more, to cease the interplay.
Take a snapshot
One other nice new characteristic is the power to create a snapshot of what’s being displayed on the display screen, together with annotations. This isn’t a print display screen or display screen seize, as an alternative the snapshot saves your display screen to the whiteboard board. Learn on.
Annotations are whiteboards
When annotations have been launched, it was clear that it was a whiteboard. However at the moment, they weren’t saved – you wanted to make use of display screen seize to have the ability to save the end result. Now there may be the snapshot button, that may save no matter is seen within the display screen and all annotations. There’s a one whiteboard board for annotations, the place all objects are saved.
You possibly can simply click on open annotations in whiteboard to go on to annotation boards.
Or you may simply open them from the whiteboard starter display screen.
What is basically cool, is that for those who open the annotations whiteboard on the identical time you make annotations, you may see it up to date actual time
Animated image makes this fairly clear; I feel. You possibly can annotate on the display screen and edit the whiteboard concurrently. Discuss potentialities with Floor Hub..
While you take a snapshot, you could find that snapshot in the identical annotation whiteboard.
While you take a snapshot
The background (behind inking) is captured as a picture
Inking (drawings, notes, shapes, emojis, … each whiteboard object) is saved as a whiteboard on prime the captured picture.
While you press snapshot once more, it inserts a brand new snapshot to the identical whiteboard.
This implies, that you may share that annotations whiteboard within the assembly if you wish to – and all snapshots might be discovered from the identical board. All objects are simply whiteboard objects – you may work together with them usually – similar to you have been utilizing whiteboard by taking a screenshot, putting it onto the whiteboard after which inking. With annotations this loads simpler and extra productive.
All snapshots are similar to this one – all the things achieved in annotation is editable with whiteboard instruments. I’ve to confess that after I found this one, it was higher than what I anticipated. Thanks, whiteboard group at Microsoft, that is wonderful work!
When zooming out the whiteboard, you may see each the true time annotation and all snapshots you have got taken – and it doesn’t matter for those who rejoin the assembly later.
That is opening loads (a LOT) of potentialities for a way you need to use annotations in conferences. For instance, open the primary design on the display screen, begin annotating with others, take a snapshot, work together with the background and convey a second design to the display screen. At this level you wish to delete all annotations from the display screen – in any other case they might be simply complicated as they have been achieved to the earlier design. Collaborate usually with annotations, take a snapshot, work together with the background to herald the third design, clear annotations, annotate, take a snapshot, … and so forth. And all the things might be saved to the whiteboard for post-meeting work. And you’ll make the most of Copilot in Whiteboard as nicely to categorize and summarize info from notes.. and presumably from extra content material sooner or later.
I do know I might be utilizing annotations loads to any extent further. These new options make an enormous distinction on usability.
You possibly can share these to the Groups assembly as nicely, so you may proceed enhancing the board afterward – or simply open it to the observe up assembly. That’s achieved usually – simply share a whiteboard and choose the one you wish to use: there isn’t any distinction between annotation or unusual whiteboard.
Immediately (the day I used to be scripting this weblog) I did a Groups webinar to 200+ attendees. And naturally, I demonstrated for them these new annotation options. What’s enjoyable, that whiteboard/annotations labored rather well – no lagging, no delays, no signal of efficiency points. It simply works.
Oh sure, there have been lots of people annotating on the identical time, as there have been 200+ folks within the assembly, however not everybody. I’m glad not all of them have been actively inking or annotating – however there have been loads of collaborative cursors till message popped out that collab cursors are turned off resulting from variety of folks.
I took just a few snapshots to avoid wasting these “moments”
What I didn’t have time to do, was to clear present annotations after taking a snapshot. Since this was only a fast demo, and nothing actual, it didn’t matter. 😊
And you too can discover the real-time annotations within the whiteboard, even with out taking a snapshot. Nevertheless, I might take a snapshot simply in case, and after I really feel the collaboration about one thing is getting near the tip (=to avoid wasting that second)
Blissful Annotating!
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I work, weblog and talk about Metaverse, AI, Microsoft Mesh, Digital & Blended Actuality, The Way forward for Work, Digital Twins, and different providers & platforms within the cloud connecting digital and bodily worlds and other people collectively.
I’m extraordinarily keen about Metaverse, AI, pure language understanding, Blended & Digital Actuality and the way these applied sciences, with Microsoft Groups and Microsoft Azure & Cloud, allow to alter how folks work collectively. Azure OpenAI Companies – sure, I construct AI options utilizing these and different Azure AI providers.
I’ve 30 years of expertise in IT enterprise on a number of industries, domains, and roles.
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