Microsoft has announced that it is gradually rolling out the Microsoft Whiteboard Preview app—a freeform digital canvas where people, ideas, and content can come together for creative collaboration.

Microsoft Whiteboard Preview (pictured) is built for anyone who engages in creative, freeform thinking before getting to their final output. It’s designed for teams that need to ideate, iterate, and work together both in person and remotely, and across multiple devices, enabling them to:

• collaborate effortlessly
• work naturally, and
• create digitally

Additionally, intelligent ink can be used with the preview of the Microsoft Whiteboard, which recognises freeform drawings and turns them into standard shapes, so it’s easy to create great-looking tables, diagrams, and flowcharts.

In a blog post, Microsoft said: “In the course of our private beta, we saw startups use it to put together images, mockups, and notes as an inspiration board for their next big idea. We witnessed marketing agencies use it in online meetings as they work with clients on product designs in real time. And our team uses it to diagram engineering plans, with remote participants filling in their respective areas on the same working canvas. Ultimately, we see Microsoft Whiteboard Preview as enhancing how people go from personal ideation, team brainstorms, and group discussions to their finished products.”

The blog post added: *The Microsoft Whiteboard Preview is rolling out to all English versions of Windows 10 within the next 24 hours, and will roll out to additional languages in the coming months. The app is free to use for anyone with a Windows 10 device, but one participant with an Office 365 personal, work, or school account is needed for multi-party collaboration. For SurfaceHub customers, the Microsoft Whiteboard Preview will eventually replace the native whiteboard app currently running on your SurfaceHub. In the meantime, you can install the preview of the Microsoft Whiteboard alongside your existing app.”