What it gives
Every participant sees the changes of the others in real time: cursors, selection, presence. Nothing has to be saved by hand or refreshed in the browser.
When to use
All the time. There is no separate "collaboration" mode: a board is collaborative by default if people have access.
How it works
Every participant holds a connection to the board; edits go to the server and arrive at the rest. The cursor and presence are a separate stream; it does not change the document.
Follow is following a participant: your view repeats their camera. Follow stops from either side: you can leave, and the person being followed can stop their followers.
Bring everyone to me is an invitation with automatic follow: a person can accept and land straight in your part of the board. It is available when the board allows it.
Discussion is a server thread on an object or a point. A pin on the canvas marks the place, a reply reopens a resolved thread, unread threads are visible in the panel. The Commenter role may read and discuss without changing objects; a link visitor does not see threads.
Live reactions are six emoji, a burst near the cursor. They are an attention signal, not a record: no counter, history or badge on the object.
A lock protects an object from edits and deletion. It records its author; the author or a board manager releases it. A copy and a duplicate appear unlocked. This is coordination, not an ACL.
Example
Input: two participants on one board. Action: the first one turns on follow on the second. Result: the camera of the first repeats the movements of the second until one of them stops follow.
Limitations
- A participant with read-only permission sees changes but does not send their own.
- Follow grants no rights: it shows what the person could open anyway.
- Comments are online; a reply draft is kept and sending waits for the network.
- Reactions are not stored and are not in a backup.
- A lock is not a per-object permission: a raw client with
board.editcan bypass it. - When access is revoked, the tab goes into read mode.
Practical instructions
Quick start — check collaboration between two people.
- Work together on one board — follow, offline and a check.