Adding images and links
Drop images and videos onto the whiteboard, paste links to get preview cards, and build moodboards and mockup grids.
Last reviewed October 11, 2026
Most design thinking needs pictures: reference art, your own card images, a competitor's box, a rules video. This page covers putting images, videos and links on the whiteboard and arranging them into a moodboard or a mockup grid.
What this page helps you do
- Drop images and videos onto the canvas.
- Paste a web link and get a preview card.
- Crop, resize and arrange images.
- Build a moodboard or a card mockup grid.
You'll start from any page of the Whiteboard.
Drag and drop
Drag a file from your computer onto the canvas and let go. It lands where you dropped it.
Helpful details
- Key areas: images (PNG, JPG, GIF, WebP, SVG) and videos (MP4, WebM) become shapes on the board. Several files dropped at once land side by side.
- What you can do: paste a screenshot or a copied image with Cmd+V / Ctrl+V while the canvas is focused. Or click Asset on the toolbar (or the main menu's Upload media) and pick a file.
- Good to know: files upload to Boardssey's whiteboard storage, so teammates see them at once and they stay when you close the tab. PDFs, Word files and spreadsheets do not render on the board; export those to images first, or add a link to them (see below).
Paste a link
Copy a web address and paste it onto the canvas.
Helpful details
- Key areas: the link becomes a bookmark card with the page's title, description, picture and site icon when the site provides them.
- What you can do: keep rulebook PDFs in your cloud drive, BGG pages, Kickstarter pages or reference articles one click away from your sketches. Click the card to open the link.
- Good to know: the card is a snapshot. If the page changes its title or picture later, the card does not update; delete it and paste the link again.
Work with an image
Click an image to select it. Handles appear on its corners and edges.
Helpful details
- Key areas: drag a corner to resize, use the rotation handle above the image, and use the Opacity control on the style panel to fade a reference.
- What you can do: double-click an image to crop it, dragging the edges to trim without changing the file. Right-click for Duplicate, Toggle locked, Reorder (Bring forward, Send backward) and Flip horizontally / Flip vertically.
- Good to know: to replace an image, delete it and drop the new one. Locking a background reference stops it moving while you draw on top of it.
Build a moodboard
- Add a page (or open the game's page) and drop 10 to 20 reference images.
- Draw a Frame around each cluster and name it: "Art style", "Box ideas", "Card layouts".
- Add a Note or two to each cluster with what you like about it.
- Annotate with the Draw tool as conversations happen.
Helpful details
- Key areas: frames keep clusters together when you move them; see Drawing, writing, and shapes.
- What you can do: teammates drop their own finds onto the same page live; see Pages and Collaborators.
- Good to know: export a single frame as a PNG when you want to send one cluster to a publisher or artist. See Exporting from the whiteboard.
Build a card mockup grid
- Drop your card images onto the canvas.
- Select them all and use right-click > Arrange to align and distribute them evenly.
- Add Text labels above rows and columns (version, faction, cost).
- Mark decisions with Notes: "this style for v0.7", "swap green for blue".
Helpful details
- Key areas: hold Shift while dragging a corner to keep an image's proportions as you resize it.
- What you can do: group a row (right-click > Group) so it moves as one.
- Good to know: when the grid is final, export the frame as PNG or SVG for a reference sheet.
Tips & common questions
An upload is slow or fails. Large files are the usual cause. Resize the image before dropping it (a JPG at quality 85 is plenty for reference), then try again. If it keeps failing, check your connection.
Can I link to an image on the web instead of uploading it? Paste the address. If it points straight at an image file you get the image; if it points at a web page you get a bookmark card.
Can I put a PDF on the board? Not as pages. Convert the pages to PNG first, or paste a link to the PDF in your cloud drive so it is one click away.
Will images make the board slow? Hundreds of large images on one page can. Spread them over pages, and keep reference images at screen size rather than print size.