Pre-production is where projects succeed or fall apart Most production problems trace back to the same root cause: things weren't aligned before the shoot started or the animation began. Pre-production is supposed to solve this. But it's also the phase that gets squeezed. Boords is built for video teams who run multiple projects at once and can't afford for pre-production to slow them down. <div style="position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;"><iframe style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ixhHlc5nFFU" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div Follow the step-by-step guide below to understand how to run your first project in Boords:  Step 1: Script In Boords, the script lives in the same project as the storyboard, so the writing stage and the boarding stage never drift apart. The three quickest ways in: 1. Write the script in Boords. Create a script from Home or any project (New Script) and write it there: free-form, or as a two-column AV script with voiceover timing built in. Share the review link so the client can comment on exact lines, keep each round as a version, and when the words are approved press Storyboard to turn the script into editable frames. See the Scripts overview to get started. 2. Import a finished script into a storyboard. Already have the script as a file? Upload it when you create a storyboard and Boords converts it into a storyboard structure automatically. Scenes become frames, ready to fill. 3. Start with notes. Drop in rough ideas, a brief, a concept, a few bullet points, and the Boords Agent will help shape them into a script to build from. Prefer to work straight from a blank canvas? You can also jump directly into frames without a script. !Project page in Grid view showing storyboards and scripts together, with All, Storyboards and Scripts tabs <div style="position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;"><iframe style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nqhay3fCQZo" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div <div style="position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;"><iframe style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UQIN7XnJn0Q" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div Use the script to test the brief before you build anything. Misalignments that aren't obvious in a brief become obvious in a script. Catch it now and it costs an afternoon. Catch it after the boards are built and it costs a week. ⚠️ Common mistake: Keeping the script and storyboard in separate tools. When they live apart, they drift apart. By review time, the client is reacting to two different versions of the same project. Step 2: Storyboard The storyboard is where the production takes shape. For the client, it's the first real look at what the piece will become. For the team, it's the document that drives everything downstream: shot lists, animatics, production schedules, animator briefs. !Doorstep Commercial · Boords 2026-06-15 at 12.26.47 PM Large Boords gives you flexibility in how you build it. Generate frames using the AI image generator, or bring in your own artwork as a starting point. Frames can be as rough or as refined as the project requires. <div style="position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;"><iframe style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XQs7u1Dkn88" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div Iterating is fast. Drag frames to reorder, duplicate in a click, and the numbering takes care of itself. No manual renumbering or layout work every time something shifts. 💡 The quality of your notes determines the quality of your handoff. Frame fields keep every production detail on the frame. The more precise the storyboard, the fewer decisions get made on set or in the studio without you. ⚠️ Common mistake: Over-polishing early boards before the direction is locked. It delays decisions that matter more than the artwork at this stage. 📖 Want to know more? Learn more about editing storyboards in Boords. Step 3: Animatic Static boards show you what's in each shot. The animatic shows you how the whole piece flows. Set the timing per frame, add a scratch voiceover or temp track, and Boords generates a timed video of the entire piece. <div style="position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;"><iframe style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gY_a1eRAeNY" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div This is where timing problems surface. Shots that feel right on paper but play too slow, sequences that need breathing room, transitions that don't land. Issues invisible in static boards show up immediately when it plays, and at this stage they're still straightforward to fix. For animation teams, the After Effects export carries timings and audio across directly. For edit teams, the Premiere / Resolve export opens the approved board as a timeline in Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve, with every frame at its signed-off timing, notes on markers and the soundtrack underneath. Nothing gets lost between sign-off and the edit. 📋 In practice: A scratch voiceover is enough. Once the client can hear and watch the piece together, alignment conversations close faster. 💡 Your most persuasive tool: Send the animatic when static boards aren't landing. Clients who watch it align on the creative direction faster than clients stepping through frames. 📖 Want to know more? Learn more about animatics in Boords. Step 4: Share Getting boards in front of the right people at the right time is one of the more frustrating logistics of pre-production. Boords simplifies this. Share a link and the client has immediate access to a clean, client-ready view of the storyboard and animatic. No account or software needed, no friction on their end. <div style="position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;"><iframe style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3UCLAApgl5A" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div A storyboard in Boords can have multiple versions, each with its own link. As it moves through rounds, you decide what the client sees and when. Early concepts, revised directions and near-final cuts can all be shared independently. !Zight 2026-05-28 at 1.51.41 PM Large !Zight 2026-05-28 at 2.27.39 PM (1) Large You control what each link shows: the board, the animatic, and the current status. Clients can view and comment directly, and password protection keeps work that isn't ready for wider eyes with the right people. <div style="position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;"><iframe style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ptXBLmx6y3Q" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div 💡 You control what the client sees, and when. Choose whether the client can switch between versions or is locked to the one you've shared. Early concepts stay separate from near-final work until you're ready. 📖 Want to know more? Learn more about sharing in Boords. Step 5: Review Client feedback is where pre-production most commonly breaks down. Notes arrive across email, Slack and WhatsApp, from multiple people, often contradicting each other. Comments are missed, and by the time revisions start nobody can agree on what was actually said. In Boords, clients leave comments directly on the frame they're referring to via the shared link. No account needed. They can annotate on frames, attach reference images, and reply in threads. Feedback lands where it belongs: on the work. !Doorstep Commercial (frame 10) (Frame Editor) · Boords 2026-06-02 at 12.42.15 PM Large On the team side, every comment, mention, and reply surfaces in the notifications inbox. Follow a storyboard or an entire project and nothing gets missed, including notes from guest reviewers. Tag a teammate with an @mention and they're pulled into the conversation immediately. <div style="position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;"><iframe style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aAT5l6w4JJU" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div Team-only comments keep internal notes separate from what the client sees. Useful for aligning internally before responding to client feedback. <div style="position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;"><iframe style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XjS1bypCZIM" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div 📋 In practice: Use @mentions to pull specific teammates into individual comments. It keeps conversations focused and makes it clear who's responsible for actioning each note. ⚠️ Common mistake: Sharing the review link without a clear decision-maker. Conflicting feedback from multiple reviewers is harder to action than no feedback at all. Establish who holds sign-off authority before the link goes out. Step 6: Sign off As the storyboard moves through review rounds, each iteration lives as a version within the same storyboard. When the client is happy, that version becomes the record of what was agreed. !Doorstep Commercial · Boords 2026-05-31 at 9.41.45 PM Large In Boords, sign-off is a status change. Mark individual frames or the entire storyboard as Approved. The person who approved it, the version, and the timestamp are recorded automatically in the Activity Log. !Activity • Boords 2026-06-01 at 5.45.48 PM Large 💡 Protect your margins. Sign-off in Boords is a timestamped record. When the "one small change" conversation starts, the Activity Log shows exactly what was agreed and when. ⚠️ Common mistake: Treating verbal or email approval as sign-off. A client saying "looks good" on a call isn't a record. A status change in Boords is. 📖 Want to know more? Learn more about the Activity Log in Boords. Step 7: Deliver Approved boards are only useful if the right people have them before production begins. The handoff is where pre-production work either carries forward or gets lost. Boords exports everything the production team needs from the same source: the approved storyboard. The storyboard can be viewed as a shot list, or exported as a spreadsheet shot list and shared with the wider team. !Doorstep Commercial · Boords 2026-06-15 at 5.29.15 PM Large For the client, a branded PDF gives them a clean record of what was approved. For the editor, export a Premiere / Resolve timeline. !Doorstep Commercial · Boords 2026-06-15 at 5.30.51 PM Large 💡 Toggle to the shot list view during pre-production to sense-check the breakdown before anything goes to the wider team. When it's ready, export as a spreadsheet. ⚠️ Common mistake: Delivery isn't the end of the process. The approved boards in Boords are a live reference. If scope questions come up mid-production, the record is already there. 📖 Want to know more? Learn more about export formats in Boords. Boords fits into how you already work Boords is built to sit alongside the tools your team already uses. Connect Boords to Slack and your notifications arrive as DMs. Mentions, replies, and new comments on storyboards you follow are delivered directly to you without leaving Slack. 📖 Set up Slack notifications for Boords. For teams with existing production pipelines, a public API and webhooks are also available to connect Boords to the tools and systems you already use.

Understand Boords' key features and how to run your first project

Quick Start

Understand the key building blocks of Boords so you can organise your work and navigate efficiently. | Concept | Description | |---------|-------------| | Project | A folder for grouping related storyboards and scripts together | | Storyboard | A collection of frames that tells your story | | Frame | An individual panel within a storyboard | | Animatic | A video preview of your storyboard with timing and audio | | Script | A rich-text document for the writing stage, with versions, anchored comments, and a review link | | Status | Where a storyboard or script sits on its way to sign-off. Every team starts with Draft, In progress, In review, Changes requested and Approved. The team Owner and Admins can rename these and add their own in Team settings | Projects !Project page in Grid view with the Projects list in the sidebar, All, Storyboards and Scripts tabs, and the Sub-projects shelf Projects are the top-level containers for organising your work. Think of them as folders that group related storyboards and scripts together. Every storyboard and every script lives inside a project. You might create a project for each client, campaign, or production. This keeps your work organised and makes it easy to find what you need. Home shows every project's storyboards and scripts in one place, so you can see where each one stands without opening each project. Sub-projects !A project with its Sub-projects shelf of cover cards, and the same sub-projects nested under it in the sidebar For larger productions, you can nest projects inside other projects. This lets you create hierarchies that match your workflow — for example, a main project for a TV series with sub-projects for each episode. Storyboards A storyboard is a sequence of frames that visualises your story, scene, or concept. It's where you'll spend most of your time in Boords. Edit view !rev-edit The Edit view is your workspace for building and refining your storyboard. Here you can add and arrange frames, draw or generate images, write dialogue and action descriptions, and adjust timing for your animatic. Share view !rev-share The Share view is a clean, client-ready version of your storyboard. It strips away the editing interface, making it perfect for sharing with collaborators, clients, or stakeholders. Open it with the Review option in the storyboard header's Edit / Review toggle. You can customise what information appears in the Share view through the Share settings panel. Learn more about sharing links. Versions !cp-versions Versions let you save snapshots of your storyboard at different stages. This is useful for tracking revisions, comparing changes over time, or rolling back if needed. Each version captures the complete state of your storyboard at that moment. Frames !cp-frames Frames are the individual panels that make up your storyboard. Each frame typically represents a single shot, scene, or moment in your story. A frame can contain an image (drawn, generated, or uploaded), plus fields for dialogue, action, notes, and other information. You can customise which fields appear on your frames to match your workflow. Image Generator !cp-image-gen The Image Generator uses AI to create images from text descriptions. Simply describe what you want to see in your frame, and Boords will generate an image for you. This is a fast way to visualise ideas and iterate on concepts before committing to detailed artwork. Learn how to generate images for your storyboards. Frame fields !cp-text-fields Frame fields hold the information that goes with each frame image. By default these include dialogue and action, and you can add your own: text for notes like camera directions, a date for a shoot day, a dropdown with coloured options for things like shot type or location, or a checkbox for a yes or no. Frame Editor !cp-image-frame-editor The Frame Editor is a built-in drawing tool for creating and editing frame images. You can draw freehand, add shapes and text, work with layers, and use various brushes and effects. It's designed for quick sketching and visual communication rather than final artwork. Learn more about the frame editor. Scripts !Project page in Grid view showing storyboards and scripts together, with All, Storyboards and Scripts tabs A script is a rich-text document for the writing stage of a video, before there is anything to board. Scripts live inside a project alongside its storyboards. The project page shows both in one collection, and the Scripts tab filters it to scripts only. Like storyboards, scripts have versions, so each round of feedback can be kept as its own draft with its own status. Comments on a script are anchored to the exact lines of text, and each script has a review link that clients can open without an account. When the script is approved, you can turn it into a storyboard in the same project. Learn more in the Scripts overview. Animatic !cp-animatic An animatic is a video version of your storyboard. It shows each frame for a set duration, giving you a sense of pacing and timing before you move into production. You can adjust how long each frame appears, add an audio track, and export the result as an MP4 video. This helps you spot timing issues and communicate your vision to others in a dynamic format.

Understand storyboards, projects, and frames

Concepts

Connect Boords to Claude, ChatGPT or another AI app so you can create and update your projects, scripts, storyboards and frames by asking in plain English. See also: Claude and ChatGPT, overviews of what each AI app can do with Boords. <div style="position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;"><iframe style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PFJ9V0QvZvA" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div Connections are in beta and included on every plan, including Free, at no extra cost. Usage limits may apply in future. How Connections work Boords runs an MCP server. MCP is an open standard that lets an AI app use the tools inside another product. Once you connect, you can ask things like "Turn this script into a storyboard" or "Summarise the unresolved comments on the launch film storyboard", and your AI app does the work in Boords for you. A connection uses your own Boords account. Your AI app can see what you can see, across every team you belong to, including teams you join later. What it can change depends on your role: Owner, Admin or Full access can create and edit projects, scripts, storyboards and frames through a connection. Owner or Admin is needed to read, add, edit or delete comments through a connection. Restricted members and guests can read through a connection but can't make changes, even where they can edit in the app. See Team users and roles for how roles work. You set up Connections in Settings → Team → Connections. Before you start You'll need: A Boords account on any plan, including Free. Your AI app works within your plan's limits. An AI app that supports remote MCP servers. Boords has guided setup for Claude, ChatGPT and Claude Code. Other tools, such as Cursor, work with the server URL. You don't need an API key. You sign in to Boords from your AI app and approve access once. Connect Claude Boords is listed in Claude's connector directory. This works on claude.ai and in the Claude desktop app. 1. Open Boords in Claude's connector directory. You can also go to Settings → Team → Connections, pick Claude and click Add to Claude 2. Click Connect in Claude, sign in to Boords, then approve access Boords now works in every Claude chat. If you're in a Claude Team or Enterprise organization, an Owner or Primary Owner enables Boords for the organization first. If they haven't, click Request on the Boords listing to ask them. Each person then connects their own Boords account. Connect ChatGPT Boords is listed in ChatGPT's plugin directory. You don't need a server URL or Developer mode. 1. Open Boords in ChatGPT's plugin directory, or open Plugins in ChatGPT and search for Boords 2. Click Install plugin. ChatGPT sends you to Boords to sign in and approve access To use Boords in a chat, type @ and pick Boords, or try one of the starter prompts on the listing. ChatGPT applies your pick to that message, so pick Boords again when you start new Boords work. Which ChatGPT plans can use plugins is set by OpenAI. See OpenAI's guide to MCP apps in ChatGPT for the current rules. On a ChatGPT Business or Enterprise workspace, admins control which plugins are available, so an admin may need to allow Boords first. Connect Claude Code 1. Open a terminal and run:    ``    claude mcp add boords --scope user --transport http https://app.boords.com/mcp    ` 2. Start Claude Code and type /mcp 3. Choose boords, then Authenticate. A browser tab opens for you to sign in to Boords and approve access Boords now works in every Claude Code session. Connect another app Any tool that supports remote MCP servers with OAuth sign-in will work. Give it this server URL and choose OAuth if it asks how to sign in: ` https://app.boords.com/mcp ` When the tool asks you to sign in, use your Boords account and approve access. Approving access When you connect, Boords shows an approval screen with the account you're signed in as and the access the app has asked for: Read: view projects, scripts, storyboards, frames, assets, comments and teams you can access Read and write: create and update projects, scripts, storyboards, frames, images, frame order and comments If an app hasn't been verified by Boords, you'll see a warning and need to confirm you started the connection yourself. Only continue if you did. Your role still applies on top of the access you approve (see How Connections work). A connection stays active until you disconnect it or your AI app's sign-in expires. What your AI app can do With a connection, your AI app can work with: Projects: list, create and update projects Scripts: create, edit, duplicate, archive and restore scripts, and save versions Storyboards: create storyboards, including frames from a script, and update their details. Your AI app gets a link to open each storyboard in Boords Frames: add, update, delete and reorder frames, and attach images, including images made in another tool Asset Library: add, rename, file and delete images and folders in the Asset Library Comments: read, add, update and delete comments, and @mention teammates. Comments need an Owner or Admin role Notifications and activity: read and mark your notifications, and read your team's activity feed if your plan includes the Activity Log Statuses: read your team's statuses and move a storyboard or script to any of them, including your own custom statuses such as Client review Anything destructive, such as deleting a frame or a folder, needs an explicit confirmation before it runs. What's not available yet Boords' own image generation, restyling, styles and webhook settings aren't available through a connection. Use the app for those, or the Boords API and webhooks for automation. Managing connections Every app you've connected is listed under Connected tools in Settings → Team → Connections, with its access level, when you connected it and when it was last used. Click Disconnect to remove an app. It loses access to Boords immediately. To use it again, connect it from scratch. Connections belong to you, not your team. Each teammate connects their own account, and you only see your own connections. Troubleshooting My AI app says I've reached a plan limit Your AI app has the same limits as your plan in the app. If you're on Free and hit the storyboard, frame or script limit, upgrade your plan and ask again. My AI app can't find a project Your AI app can only see what you can see in Boords. Check that you're a member of the team and project, and that you signed in with the right Boords account when you connected. My AI app can't make changes Check two things. First, your role: making changes through a connection needs an Owner, Admin or Full access role, and comments need Owner or Admin. Restricted members and guests can read only (see Team users and roles). Second, the connection's access level, shown under Connected tools in Settings → Team → Connections. A connection with Read access can't make changes. I can't connect Boords in Claude If you're in a Claude Team or Enterprise organization, an Owner or Primary Owner has to enable Boords in your organization's connector settings first. Click Request on the Boords listing to ask them. If your organization doesn't allow directory connectors, ask an Owner to add Boords as a custom connector with the server URL https://app.boords.com/mcp`. I'm being asked to sign in again Your connection may have been disconnected, or your AI app's sign-in may have expired. Sign in and approve access again from your AI app. Do I need an API key? No. You sign in to Boords from your AI app and approve access once, and the connection runs on your own account. API keys are for the Boords API and won't work for a connection. Which plans include Connections? Connections are included on every plan, including Free, at no extra cost while they're in beta. Your AI app works within your plan's limits, so on Free it can create as many storyboards, frames and scripts as you can in the app. Does everyone on my team need to connect? Yes. Each teammate connects their own account, so their AI app only ever gets their permissions. There's no shared team connection to hand around. Can my AI app generate images in Boords? Not yet. Your AI app can attach images to frames, including ones it made with another tool, but Boords' own image generation, restyling and styles aren't available through a connection. Use the AI image generator in the app for those. Is this sending my storyboards to an AI model? Boords only returns what your AI app asks for, when you ask it, over the connection you approved. What Claude or ChatGPT then do with that data depends on your plan and settings with them, so check those if your clients have strict terms. How is this different from the Boords API? The API is for code: your own scripts and pipelines call Boords with an API key, and webhooks tell you when things change. Connections are for people: you ask Claude or ChatGPT in plain English and it uses the same underlying actions.

Use Boords from Claude, ChatGPT and other AI apps over MCP

MCP server

The Generate sidebar is the primary surface for creating and editing storyboard frame images in Boords. Open it from any frame to sketch a layout, prompt a new frame, edit part of an existing image, change the artwork style, or reframe the shot. Every generation is saved as a frame revision, so you can page back through the history at any time. See Frame revisions for how revisions work. Use reference images to carry the same characters, locations and props from frame to frame. You can select saved images and earlier frames with @ in your prompt or attach them through the reference picker. The Generate sidebar Open any frame and switch to the Generate tab in the sidebar. Generate has three sub-tabs: Canvas for sketch-to-frame composition, prompting a frame from scratch, and editing parts of an existing image. Camera for reframing the current image to a new angle, height, or distance. Restyle for changing the artwork style of the current image without rebuilding it. !Canvas controls with a frame reference and Nano Banana 2 selected This guide focuses on Canvas. See Styles & restyling for Restyle, and the Camera sub-tab section below for reframing. Choosing an image model Open the Image model menu beside the generation controls. Depending on the space available, the button shows the model name or its provider's logo. Choose a model before generating your next image. !The Image model menu showing all three models and the 0.5K and 1K resolution controls | Model | Free and trial plans | Paid plans | Estimated time | | --| --| --| --| | Nano Banana 2 | Upgrade required | Included | ~20 seconds | | GPT Image 2.5 Flare | Included | Included | ~30 seconds | | GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst | Upgrade required | Included | ~60 seconds | These times are estimates, not a countdown. A request can take longer when a provider is busy. Free and trial teams start with GPT Image 2.5 Flare. Paid teams start with Nano Banana 2 unless you've already chosen another model. Boords remembers your choice in this browser and shares it across the frame generator, Playground and storyboard Agent. Choosing a resolution Use 0.5K or 1K at the top of the Image model menu. Free and trial teams use 0.5K. Paid teams can choose either resolution and start at 1K. Boords remembers your resolution choice in this browser too. Nano Banana 2, GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst and 1K resolution require a paid plan. Selecting an upgrade option opens the plan chooser. Unavailable models A model marked Unavailable doesn't support the current combination of style, operation or references. If your preferred model isn't compatible, Boords shows a compatible model for that generation. Your saved preference remains available when you return to a supported setup. Some styles and operations use a specific model automatically. The Image model menu is hidden when none of the three selectable models supports the operation, including Camera reframe. See Styles & restyling. Choosing a model doesn't increase the frame generator's limit of four content references. Images selected with @ and through the reference picker share that limit. Canvas Canvas is the main generation surface. It works in three modes, switched by the Source picker at the top of the panel. | Source | What it does | |--------|--------------| | Blank | Generate a new image from scratch using your brush layout and prompt | | Current | Edit the current image in this frame by brushing over the region to change, then prompting the change | | Another frame | Use another frame's image as a reference point for generation | !canvas-source Brushing a layout The Canvas toolbar gives you a brush, size and colour controls, and a prompt field. Block out the composition with rough shapes (stick figure for the actor, rectangle for the window, circle for the cup of coffee) and write a prompt describing what you want. The brush gives the AI a layout to follow. Add a prompt like "woman in her thirties working at a sunlit desk, soft morning light from the left" and click Generate. The result keeps your composition while filling in the prompt's details. Iterate the prompt without losing the layout. !canvas-brush Editing an existing image Set the Source to Current to edit the image already in the frame. Brush over the part you want to change, then prompt the change. Boords focuses the work on the brushed region and keeps everything outside it close to the original. The brush mark is a hint, not destructive. It's discarded after the request. Useful examples: "Replace the man with a woman in a navy blazer." "Swap the coffee cup for a glass of water." "Remove the laptop from the desk." The previous version is saved as a frame revision, so you can page back if the change doesn't land. !canvas-modify Seeing the prompt behind an image When a frame's image was generated from scratch, Canvas shows the prompt that made it in an Image prompt panel above the prompt field. It shows when you're working from this frame's current image. Collapsed, it shows the reference thumbnails and the start of the prompt. Click it to see the style and shot, the full prompt with its @ references, and the reference images. Boords remembers whether you left it open or closed. Click Reuse to load the prompt, references, style and shot into a new Blank draft, ready to change and generate again. If that would replace text you've typed, brush marks or references you've picked, Boords asks first. !The Image prompt panel in Canvas, showing the style, shot and full prompt with @ references Boords records the prompt for images generated in Canvas from a prompt or a sketch, and for images the Agent generates for a frame. Edits, restyles, camera reframes, crops, uploads and images made from another frame don't record one. Images generated before October 2026, and copies made by duplicating a frame or storyboard, show no panel. Camera reframe The Camera sub-tab takes the current image and regenerates it from a different angle, height, or distance. Pick a preset and Boords renders the same shot from the new viewpoint. Use it when the composition is right but the camera position isn't. !camera Each reframe is saved as a frame revision, so you can compare angles side by side and revert if a take doesn't land. Get consistent images Reference images help maintain consistency across your storyboard. You can use existing frame images, generated assets, or your own uploaded files as references. The AI doesn't automatically remember previous frames. Select an @mention or attach a reference image to show it what to reuse. Writing "the same character" without a reference doesn't identify that character. Using @mentions Type @ in the Canvas prompt to choose an image from your team's Asset Library. 1. Type @, then start typing the image's name or tag to narrow the list. 2. Browse the folders and check the image preview. 3. Click the image to insert it. You can also use the arrow keys to move through the list and press Enter to select. 4. Finish your prompt and generate the image. !The Generate prompt with the asset picker open and Alex's reference image preview visible For example, write "Show @alex holding @box in @office." Select Alex, Box and Office from the picker as you write. Each selected mention appears in the prompt, with its reference thumbnail above it. !Alex, Box and Office selected as references in the Generate prompt For the result below, we used the Sketch style and specified a small box held at waist height, with realistic proportions for Alex and the office furniture. !A generated sketch of Alex holding a small box in an office aisle, with desks and chairs on either side Describe what each subject should do, and add details such as the shot size or lighting. To use the same cast in another frame, select the same references in that frame's prompt. You can use up to four content references in a generation. Mentions and images added through the reference picker share this limit. To remove a mentioned image, remove its tag from the prompt or use the remove control on its reference thumbnail. Choose the image from the picker so Boords can attach the reference. Typing a name as ordinary text won't attach it. If an image doesn't appear, check that it is in the team's Asset Library rather than only in Project assets. If you don't have it yet, type its name after @ and click Upload as @name below the list to add an image from your computer, or click Generate in Playground to create one. See Asset Library for naming and tags. Mentioning frames You can also type @ to reuse an earlier frame from the same storyboard. The picker has a Frames group listing every frame with an image, except the frame you're generating. The frame's current image is sent as a reference, and the mention shows as Frame 3 in your prompt. Mentions stay correct if you reorder frames. Your wording decides what carries over from the frame: "Same scene as @frame-3, now at night" keeps the setting. "The woman from @frame-3 in an office lobby" keeps the subject and changes the setting. Mentioned frames count toward the same limit of four content references, and a frame counts once even if you also pick it in the reference picker. Frame mentions work in the Generate tab, Quick Generate and Boords Agent. Using reference assets !image-gen-assets-only The Assets tab of the reference picker shows your team's Asset Library alongside images uploaded to this project, plus anything saved from the Playground: | Feature | Description | |---------|-------------| | Team Asset Library | Characters, locations and props your team has saved once, available in every storyboard | | Upload images | Add character designs, location references, or style guides on the spot | | Reuse across frames | The same asset is available for all frames, and for every project on the team | You can attach up to four reference images to a single generation. Using reference frames !image-gen-frame-continuity-1 Use existing storyboard frames as references: | Feature | Description | |---------|-------------| | Maintain consistency | Reference a frame to keep characters or settings consistent | | Build sequences | Use the previous frame to maintain visual continuity | | Best for | Continuing scenes, character consistency, location matching | Combining references !image-gen-multiple-references You can attach multiple reference images to combine elements: Add a character reference and a location reference Combine multiple character references for group scenes Mix assets and frames for maximum flexibility Choosing a style Pick a visual style that matches your project. Click the Style dropdown to see available options. !The current Image Style picker, including No preset, Sketch and Editorial Each style produces distinctly different results. Preview the style thumbnails to find one that suits your needs. You can change styles at any time and regenerate images. Some styles also support a custom color palette for brand consistency. Tip: Experiment with different styles early in your project to find the best match for your creative direction. See Styles & restyling for the full list and colour palette controls. Writing effective prompts The prompt describes what you want to see in your image. Good prompts are specific and descriptive. Prompt basics | Approach | Example | |----------|----------| | Be specific | "A detective in a trench coat examining a clue under a streetlight" rather than "a person" | | Include details | Describe lighting, mood, colors, and environment | | Mention important elements | Characters, objects, settings, and actions | Note: Select the images you want to reuse with @mentions or the reference picker. Typing "from frame 5" as plain text doesn't attach that frame's image. Type @ and pick Frame 5 instead. Camera angles and shot framing When generating an image in Canvas without reference images attached, you can select a shot type to control the camera framing. Click the Shot type dropdown to choose from available options. !image-gen-shot-type | Shot type | Description | |-----------|-------------| | Auto | AI determines the best framing | | Close up | Tight framing on subject's face or details | | Mid shot | Subject framed from waist up | | Wide shot | Full subject with surrounding environment | | From below | Camera looking up at subject | | From above | Camera looking down at subject | | Aerial | Bird's eye view from directly above | Note: The shot type selector is only available when no reference images are attached. When using references, specify your desired camera angle in the prompt instead (e.g., "Show me a close up of the character"). For reframing an existing image to a new angle, see the Camera reframe section above. Restyle The Restyle sub-tab changes the artwork style of the current image without rebuilding the scene. The layout, characters, and poses stay intact while the style swaps over. See Styles & restyling for the full walkthrough. Revisions Every Canvas generation, Camera reframe, Restyle, drag-dropped local image, and inline grid generation creates a frame revision. Revisions survive reload, ride with the frame, and can be paged through, locked, or deleted. See Frame revisions for the full guide. Image credits The image generator uses a credit system: | Action | Credit cost | |--------|-------------| | Generating a new frame image or variation | 1 credit | | Restyling or reframing an image | 1 credit | | Saving an already generated image to your library or storyboard | No additional credits | On credit-based plans, credits are used when you generate an image, including a Playground preview. Generating another variation uses another credit, even if you later choose a different revision. Saving the generated image to your library or storyboard does not use another credit. The three selectable models use the same one-credit charge, at either resolution. Legacy Workflow and Lifetime plans include unlimited image generation. Note: Your monthly credit allowance depends on your plan. Solo gets 250/mo, Pro gets 1,000/mo, Team gets 2,000/mo, and Agency gets 3,000/mo. See Billing & plans for details. The inline grid generator The storyboard grid also has a quick generator for first-pass populating frames. It shows on each frame in the Storyboard tab by default. To hide it or bring it back, click View options (the eye icon) and switch Show generator off or on. Use it when you want to fill a fresh storyboard fast, then refine individual frames from the Generate sidebar. Each grid generation saves as a frame revision, so any sketch, restyle, or edit you make later keeps the history. You can type @ in the inline prompt to select library images, just as you would in the Generate sidebar. The same four-reference limit applies. Inline generator states The generator input field changes color to indicate its current state and what type of generation will occur. Prompt only (blue) !image-generator-state-blue A blue outline indicates standard generation mode. Boords will create an image using your prompt text and selected style settings. This is the default state when no reference images are attached. Reference attached (yellow) !image-generator-state-yellow A yellow background indicates that reference images are attached. Boords will use these references along with your prompt to generate an image that incorporates elements from your reference images. Reference required (red) !image-generator-state-red A red background indicates a problem: you've attached a reference to another frame, but that frame doesn't have an image yet. You need to generate or upload an image to the referenced frame first, then return to continue. Tab to autocomplete When your frame has text content (like action or dialogue fields), press Tab in an empty prompt field to automatically generate a prompt based on that content. !image-gen-autocomplete This feature: Reads your frame's text fields Generates an appropriate image prompt Optionally finds a relevant reference image from your storyboard Tip: Tab autocomplete is a fast way to generate images that match your script content. Why aren't my images consistent? Give the AI reference images for the characters and settings you want to keep. Type @ and select an image from your team's Asset Library or an earlier frame, or attach an image using the reference picker. Selecting an @mention includes that image as a reference. Common mistakes: Writing "the same character as before" without attaching a reference Typing "the character from frame 5" as plain text instead of selecting Frame 5 with @ Assuming the AI remembers previous generations For consistent characters and settings: 1. Select saved characters, locations or props, or earlier frames, with @ in your prompt 2. Use the reference picker to attach existing frames or uploaded images 3. Describe what each referenced subject should do in the scene 4. Use the same style throughout your storyboard Why are my images taking so long to generate?  The Image model menu shows an estimated generation time for each model: about 20 seconds for Nano Banana 2, 30 seconds for GPT Image 2.5 Flare and 60 seconds for GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst. These are estimates, and requests can take longer when a provider is busy. Why is the generate button disabled? The generate button requires: A prompt (the text field cannot be empty) Available image credits, or a plan with unlimited image generation No active generation in progress Why do I have to wait between generations? Wait for the current generation to finish before starting another in the same control. Generation times vary by model; the Image model menu shows an estimate. On credit-based plans, each new generation uses an image credit. Can I use my own images as references? Yes. Save your images to the team's Asset Library, then type @ in a prompt and select them. You can also upload images through the Assets tab in the reference picker. Character designs, locations and props all work as references. How do I get better results with reference images? 1. Describe what to keep or change about each reference 2. Use Precise mode for higher fidelity (paid plans) 3. Be specific about what you want to keep or change from the reference 4. Use high-quality reference images when possible

Choose an image model and resolution, then generate images with prompts and references

Generating images

There are several ways to add your own images to a storyboard in Boords, whether you're uploading in bulk, replacing a single frame, or building a reusable Asset Library for your team. Uploading multiple images When you have a set of images ready to turn into a storyboard, you can upload them all at once. From a blank storyboard !img-global When you open an empty storyboard, click Add Images to see your upload options. Select Upload images to choose multiple files from your computer — Boords will create a new frame for each image. Drag and drop to the canvas You can also drag multiple images from your computer directly onto the storyboard canvas. Each image becomes a new frame, added in the order you selected them. Replacing a frame image To change the image on an existing frame: Drag and drop onto a frame !img-single The quickest method — simply drag an image file from your computer onto any frame to replace its current image. Using the frame menu !img-actions Hover over a frame and click the three-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner. From here you can: Upload image — Choose a new image from your computer Remove image — Clear the frame image entirely Copy from... — Reuse an image from another frame in the storyboard Cloud storage integrations !img-db-gd You can also import images directly from cloud storage: Dropbox — Select images from your Dropbox account Google Drive — Import from Google Drive Navigating folders in Google Drive The Google Drive file picker requires a few extra steps to browse folder contents. 1. Open the __Advanced search options__ dropdown and select __Folders__ to display your folders !google drive (1) 2. Double-click the folder you want to open 3. Remove the __Folders__ filter from the search bar. Your images within the folder will then appear and can be uploaded to the storyboard  !remove folder Using the Image Library The Image Library tab in the storyboard sidebar holds images you can drop onto frames without re-uploading. It has two sections: Project assets: images uploaded to this project only. Saved Assets: your team's Asset Library, organised in the folders your team has set up. These are available in every project. Adding images to the library !img-lib 1. Open the Image Library tab in the right sidebar 2. Drag images into the upload area, or click browse to select files 3. Your images are saved to the project under Project assets To make a project image available to the whole team, open its menu and choose Add to Asset Library. It moves to the team library's Unfiled folder. See Asset Library for folders, renaming and permissions. Applying library images to frames !The image's three-dot menu in Saved Assets, with Replace Frame highlighted in red Open the image's three-dot menu and choose Replace Frame, then select the frame you want to update. You can also drag an image from either section directly onto a frame. Move reusable images into the team Asset Library to select them by name with @ in AI prompts. Learn more in Using @mentions and Playground. Video to GIF You can extract animated GIFs from video files to use in your storyboard. GIFs can be up to 5 seconds in length. !img-import-1 1. Open the frame menu and select Import from video 2. Drop a video file into the dialog, or click to browse 3. Use the trimmer to select which portion of the video to capture 4. Click Trim to generate a preview 5. Click Upload to add the frame to your storyboard !img-import-2 The video import tool converts your selected clip into an animated GIF, which displays in your frame. This is perfect for capturing motion or showing brief action sequences. Supported file formats Boords accepts JPG and PNG image files. For video import, most common video formats are supported including MP4, MOV, and WebM. For best results, use images that match your storyboard's aspect ratio to avoid cropping.

Adding your own images

Boords supports multiple visual styles for your storyboard images. Each style produces distinctly different results, and some styles offer additional color customization options. You can pick a style anywhere you generate or restyle a frame in the Generate sidebar (Canvas, Camera reframe, or Restyle). Available styles !The current Image Style picker, including No preset, Sketch and Editorial Choose from the following styles when generating images: | Style | Description | |-------|-------------| | Sketch | Traditional storyboard-style pencil sketches with loose linework | | Editorial | Aesthetic photographic images with naturalistic lighting | | Cine HD | High-definition cinematic images with dynamic camera and composition | | Natural | Natural-looking snapshot photography style | | Dynamic | Stylised images with bold strokes, good for movement and action | | Anime | Expressive Studio Ghibli-inspired anime style | | Doodle | Simple vector-style line art illustrations | | Vector | Clean vector illustrations with smooth lines and flat colors | | Grain | Digital illustrations with a textured, grainy finish | | Comic | Bold comic book style with dynamic compositions | | Commercial | Professional commercial photography style | | No preset | Specify your own style in the prompt (e.g. "noir", "isometric") | Tip: The Sketch, Editorial, and Cine HD styles work well for most storyboarding needs. Try the Doodle, Vector, or Grain styles when you need consistent brand colors across your images. Styles and image models Choose the visual style you want, then check the Image model menu before generating. Model availability depends on the style and operation. An incompatible model is marked Unavailable; Boords shows a compatible choice if your preferred model can't be used. Some styles use a specific model automatically. In that case, and when using Camera reframe, the Image model menu is hidden. Your saved model preference is kept for the next compatible generation. The same compatibility checks apply when restyling an existing frame. See Choosing an image model for the available models, resolution controls and plan limits. Using the color palette Some styles support a custom color palette, giving you control over the colors used in your generated images. This is especially useful for maintaining brand consistency or creating a cohesive visual style across your storyboard. !style-color Styles with color palette support The following styles support color customization: Doodle Vector Grain Comic Commercial When you select one of these styles, a color palette selector appears below the style dropdown. How to use colors !style-color-picker 1. Select a style that supports color palettes (Doodle, Vector, Grain, Comic, or Commercial) 2. The color palette selector will appear with default colors 3. Click any color swatch to open the color picker and choose a new color 4. Click the + button to add additional colors (up to 4 total) 5. Click the × on any color swatch to remove it The AI will use your selected colors when generating the image, helping ensure your visuals stay on-brand. Copying colors across frames To apply the same color palette to all frames in your storyboard: 1. Set up your desired colors on any frame 2. Click the menu icon (three dots) next to the color palette 3. Select Copy to all frames !style-color-all-frames This copies your current color settings to every frame in the storyboard, ensuring visual consistency throughout your project. Tip: Set up your brand colors on the first frame, then copy them to all frames before generating images. This saves time and keeps your storyboard visually cohesive. Restyle existing images Want to try a new visual direction without rebuilding your frame from scratch? Restyle lets you change the artwork style while keeping the layout, characters, and poses exactly as they are. !Restyle Current Image Feature How to restyle a frame Open the frame you want to restyle and switch to the Generate tab in the sidebar. Open the Restyle sub-tab. !Restyle controls with the current styles and Nano Banana 2 selected Boords generates a new version of your frame in the selected style, keeping the scene layout, characters, and poses intact. Every restyle is saved as a frame revision, so you can page back to the previous version at any time. See Frame revisions for more on how revisions work. !Restyled Frame Result Restyling makes it easy to explore different looks, adjust the tone of your storyboard, or create quick alternatives, all without starting over.

Styles & restyling

Every image change on a frame is saved as a revision. Revisions survive reload, ride with the frame, and let you page back to any earlier version of the image.  They're independent of generation, so anything that changes a frame's image (a Canvas sketch, a Restyle, a Camera reframe, a drag-dropped image, or an inline grid generation) becomes its own revision in the history. Frame revisions are different from storyboard versions. Storyboard versions duplicate the whole storyboard. Revisions are the image history inside a single frame. !revisions-element What creates a revision A new revision is created whenever the frame's image changes. Common sources: Canvas generation (Blank, Current, or Another frame as Source) Restyle Camera reframe Drag and drop a local image onto the frame Paste an image from the clipboard The inline storyboard-grid generator Crop The revisions drawer The revisions drawer shows every revision for the current frame as a row of thumbnails. Open it from the frame's sidebar to see the full history. !revisions-drawer The active revision is highlighted. Older revisions appear in reverse-chronological order from newest to oldest. Paging through revisions Click any thumbnail in the drawer to make it the active revision. The frame's main image updates to match. You can page through revisions as often as you like without losing any of them. The active selection is saved with the storyboard. !revisions-switch Locking a revision Lock a revision to protect it from accidental overwrite. A locked revision can't be replaced by a new generation on the same frame; you'll need to unlock it first or page to a different revision before generating.  !revisions-unlocked Use lock when: You've agreed a frame at sign-off and want to make sure no one regenerates over it. You're keeping two contrasting takes side by side and don't want either one accidentally replaced. Anyone trying to unlock a revision with see a warning. Lock and unlock events are tracked in the team activity log. !revision-warning Deleting a revision Delete a revision from its row in the drawer. The active revision pointer moves to the previous one. The storyboard keeps every other revision in place. !revisions-delete Tip: Hold shift when you click delete to skip the warning dialog.  Revisions and storyboard versions Revisions are per-frame image history. Storyboard versions are full duplicates of the whole storyboard. Use revisions to compare image takes on a single frame. Use a storyboard version when you want a separate copy of the whole storyboard to iterate on without affecting the original. Related Generating images for the Generate sidebar that produces most revisions. Styles & restyling for the Restyle sub-tab. Frame editor for the manual frame canvas tools.

Page back through every image change on a frame

Frame revisions

The Playground lets you generate characters and other assets, then save them to use in your storyboards. Accessing the Playground In a storyboard, open the Image Library side panel and select Create. !The Image Library sidebar with Create selected and a link to Team Playground You can also open Assets from the dashboard and switch to Playground. Both places let you save images to your team's Asset Library. Generating a character Start with a description of the character you want to create. You don't need a reference image. 1. Describe their appearance, clothing and pose. 2. Choose a visual style. For this example, select Sketch. 3. Open Image model beside the style control and choose a model and resolution. 4. Click the generate arrow or press Cmd/Ctrl + Enter. For example: "Full-body character design of Alex, a woman with shoulder-length dark hair, a light grey casual jacket, white T-shirt, jeans and trainers. Standing in a relaxed neutral pose on a plain white background. Crisp black-and-white pencil storyboard sketch, no colour." !A character description in the Playground prompt with Sketch selected and the Image model control visible The preview appears above the prompt. Check the character's appearance before saving it. !A new black-and-white character preview with Reference and Save buttons Refining the character To change a preview, click Reference on the image. It appears above the prompt, ready for instructions such as "Give her a shorter jacket and keep the rest the same." Generate another preview and save the version you want to reuse. For more details on styles, see Styles & restyling. Choosing a model and resolution !The Playground Image model menu with three providers and resolution controls Open the Image model menu below the prompt. In a narrow panel, look for the provider's logo. The menu lists Nano Banana 2, GPT Image 2.5 Flare and GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst, with an estimated generation time beside each name. Free and trial teams can use GPT Image 2.5 Flare at 0.5K. Paid teams can use all three models and choose 0.5K or 1K at the top of the menu. A model marked Unavailable doesn't support your current settings. Your model and resolution choices are remembered in this browser and shared with frame generation and storyboard Agent. Changing the model doesn't increase Playground's limit of four content references, including images selected with @. See Choosing an image model for defaults, plan access and compatibility limits. Saving the character for later 1. Click Save on the preview. 2. Enter a name you will recognise. We've used Alex sketch. 3. Select Characters, another folder or Unfiled. You can also create a new folder. 4. Click Save in the dialog. !Saving Alex sketch to the Characters folder Your character is now in the team's Asset Library, ready to use across projects. Find it under Assets in the dashboard or in the storyboard's Image Library → Assets tab. Using a saved character Open a frame's image generator and type @ in the prompt. Select your saved character, then describe the scene you want. For example, use Alex sketch as a reference for a shot of her waving to a colleague. See Using @mentions for the frame-generation walkthrough. Mentioning library images in the Playground You can also use a saved character to create more assets in the Playground. Type @, start typing its name and select it from the picker. Then describe the pose, clothing or other change you want. !The saved Alex sketch character selected in a Playground prompt for a waving pose Mentions and images added through Add reference images share a limit of four content references. Remove a tag from the prompt or use the remove control on its thumbnail to remove that reference. Only team library images appear in the mentions picker. See Asset Library for tags and moving project images into the library. Other image actions In a storyboard's Playground, open a preview's three-dot menu for more options. !The current Playground image menu Use in Shot Choose Use in Shot to save the preview and add it as a reference for the storyboard's image generator. Describe the scene you want to create with that character. Replace Frame Choose Replace Frame to use the preview directly as a storyboard frame. Select a frame from the popover and confirm. This updates its image while keeping its text and comments. Copy, download or expand Use Copy image, Download image or Expand from the menu to copy the image, save a local file or inspect a larger preview. Discarding images Choose Delete to remove a preview from the Playground. This doesn't affect images you've already saved to your assets or used in frames. Understanding credits On credit-based plans, generating a preview in the Playground uses one image credit. Each new variation uses another credit. This charge is the same for all three selectable models and both resolutions. Workflow and Lifetime plans include unlimited image generation. Saving an existing preview to your library doesn't use another credit. If you use it as a reference to generate a new shot, that new generation uses one credit. See Billing & plans for your credit allowance. Tips for reusable characters Use a plain background so the character is easy to see. Describe clothing and appearance clearly to establish details you want to keep. Save your chosen version before using it across scenes. Reference the saved character when generating new shots to help maintain their appearance.

Create characters from scratch, save them to your library and reuse them in storyboards

Playground

The Frame Editor is a powerful canvas-based tool for creating and editing your storyboard frames. You can draw, add text and shapes, import images, and annotate your frames with camera movement indicators. This guide covers the Frame Editor's manual canvas tools. To generate or edit frame images, open the Generate tab in the frame-focus sidebar on your storyboard, or see Generating images. For the per-frame image history that those generations populate, see Frame revisions. Opening the Frame Editor To open the Frame Editor, double-click on any frame in your storyboard. The editor opens in a modal window with your frame canvas in the centre, a toolbar at the bottom, and a sidebar on the right. !fe-overview Tip: if you can't see the editor or sidebar, check you have the Editor & Elements tabs enabled. !fe-elements-sure The Sidebar The sidebar on the right side of the editor gives you access to images, frames, and camera movement overlays. The Frame Editor sidebar covers manual elements like photos, icons, overlays, and shapes. For AI generation, sketch-to-frame composition, and image edits, use the Generate tab in the frame-focus sidebar on your storyboard. See Generating images for the full guide. !fe-sidebar Image Library There are several ways to add images to your frame using the sidebar. Unsplash Search millions of free, high-quality photographs from Unsplash. Enter a search term or browse by category to find images. !fe-sb-photos Click an image to add it to your canvas. The image will be placed in the centre of your frame, ready to be moved and resized. Icon Library Open Elements, then Icons to browse the Boords Icon Library. It includes 13,265 icons and illustrations for adding people, objects, symbols, and other visual references to your frames. Search in English, or browse Popular, Categories, and Styles. Open a collection and click an icon or drag it onto your canvas to add it. Use Load More to see more results. Bookmark a collection to find it again under Saved in the same browser. Collections saved in the previous IconFinder library do not carry over, so bookmark the ones you want to use again in the new catalogue. Adding Images from Other Frames Click the Frames tab in the sidebar to see all frames in your storyboard. Click any frame to add its image to your canvas as an object you can move, resize, and transform. !fe-sb-frames This is useful for: Copying elements from one frame to another Building composite images from multiple frames Referencing previous frames while working Adding Images from Your Computer You can also add your own images: Drag and drop — Drag an image file from your computer directly onto the canvas Paste from clipboard — Copy an image and press Ctrl+V (Windows) or Cmd+V (Mac) Camera Movement Overlays Camera movement overlays are visual indicators that show planned camera movements on your frame. These are essential for communicating shot direction to your team or client. Click the Overlays tab in the sidebar to see the available options: !fe-sb-camera | Overlay   | Description                                        | | --------| -------------------------------------------------| | Zoom In   | Indicates the camera moving closer to the subject  | | Zoom Out  | Indicates the camera pulling away from the subject | | Pan Left  | Indicates the camera moving to the left            | | Pan Right | Indicates the camera moving to the right           | | Tilt Up   | Indicates the camera tilting upward                | | Tilt Down | Indicates the camera tilting downward              | Click an overlay to apply it to your frame. Overlays appear as semi-transparent graphics on top of your frame content. They're automatically sized to match your storyboard's aspect ratio. To remove an overlay, click it again in the sidebar to deselect it. Adding Shapes !fe-tb-4 Click the shapes icon in the sidebar to select from: Circle — An ellipse that can be resized Rectangle — A rectangle with adjustable rounded corners Triangle — An equilateral triangle Arrow — A directional arrow for indicating movement or focus Click and drag on the canvas to draw your shape. Once placed, select a shape to see its context menu with these properties: | Property      | Description                           | | ------------| ------------------------------------| | Fill colour   | The interior colour of the shape      | | Stroke colour | The border colour                     | | Stroke width  | The thickness of the border (0–100px) | | Border radius | Rounded corners (rectangles only)     | Tip: Hold Shift while creating a shape to maintain equal proportions (e.g., a perfect circle or square). The Toolbar The toolbar at the bottom of the editor contains your drawing tools and canvas actions. !fe-toolbar-close Editing Modes The left side of the toolbar contains four editing modes: | Tool       | Description                                                      | | ---------| ---------------------------------------------------------------| | Select | Click to select, move, resize, and rotate objects on your canvas | | Text   | Click on the canvas to add a text box                            | | Eraser | Remove brush strokes from your drawing                           | | Draw   | Freehand drawing with a pressure-sensitive brush                 | !fe-tb-1 Drawing with the Brush Select the Draw tool to start freehand drawing on your canvas. A context menu appears above your cursor where you can adjust: Brush size — Choose from 5 preset sizes (8px to 64px) Colour — Pick from 9 preset colours or use the colour picker for a custom colour Opacity — Adjust the transparency of your brush strokes   !fe-tb-2 Tip: Hold Shift while drawing to create perfectly straight lines. Using the Eraser The Eraser tool removes brush strokes you've drawn. It doesn't affect other objects like shapes, text, or images — only freehand drawing. Adding Text Click the Text tool, then click anywhere on the canvas to create a text box. Start typing to add your text. !fe-text-1 With text selected, a context menu appears with these options: | Property  | Description                          | | --------| -----------------------------------| | Font      | Choose from the Google Fonts library | | Size      | 8 size levels from small to large    | | Alignment | Left, centre, or right               | | Colour    | Any colour with opacity support      | !fe-text-2 Double-click existing text to edit it. Canvas Actions The right side of the toolbar contains actions that affect your entire canvas or manage frames: !fe-actions | Button              | Description                                   | | ------------------| --------------------------------------------| | Clear           | Remove all objects from the canvas            | | Onion Skin      | Toggle the previous frame overlay (see below) | | Undo            | Undo your last action                         | | Redo            | Redo an undone action                         | | Flip Horizontal | Mirror the entire canvas left to right        | | Flip Vertical   | Mirror the entire canvas top to bottom        | | Resize and Crop | Adjust your frame's background image          | | Duplicate Frame | Create a copy of the current frame            | | New Frame       | Add a new blank frame after this one          | | Delete Frame    | Remove this frame from the storyboard         | Tip: Hold Shift and click Clear to remove only the background image while keeping your drawings and objects. Onion Skinning Onion skinning is an animation technique that shows a faint image of the previous frame as a reference. This helps you create smooth transitions and consistent positioning between frames — particularly useful when planning animated sequences or ensuring continuity between shots. To toggle onion skinning, click the Onion Skin button in the toolbar. When active, you'll see a semi-transparent overlay of the previous frame behind your current canvas. !fe-os-wide Note: Onion skinning is only available from the second frame onwards — the first frame has no previous frame to reference. Working with Objects Selecting Objects Switch to the Select tool, then: Single select — Click on any object to select it Multi-select — Hold Shift and click to add objects to your selection, or drag across multiple objects Select all — Press Ctrl+A (Windows) or Cmd+A (Mac) Deselect — Click on an empty area of the canvas or press Escape !fe-select Moving and Transforming With an object selected, you'll see handles around it: Drag the object to move it Drag the corner handles to resize Drag the rotation handle (top) to rotate Hold Shift while resizing to maintain proportions Copy, Paste, and Duplicate Copy — Ctrl+C / Cmd+C Paste — Ctrl+V / Cmd+V (pastes with a slight offset) Quick duplicate — Hold Alt and drag an object to create a copy Layer Order Objects can overlap. Right-click an object or use the context menu to change the stacking order: Send to Front — Bring the object to the top Send to Back — Move the object behind everything else Flipping Objects You can flip individual objects horizontally or vertically using the context menu: Alignment When you select an object, alignment options appear in the context menu. These align the object relative to the canvas: | Option              | Description                     | | ------------------| ------------------------------| | Centre              | Centre the object on the canvas | | Centre horizontally | Align to the horizontal centre  | | Centre vertically   | Align to the vertical centre    | | Align top           | Align to the top edge           | | Align bottom        | Align to the bottom edge        | !fe-align Arranging Multiple Objects When you select multiple objects, you can arrange them relative to each other: | Option              | Description                              | | ------------------| ---------------------------------------| | Align left          | Align all objects to the leftmost edge   | | Centre horizontally | Centre all objects horizontally          | | Align right         | Align all objects to the rightmost edge  | | Align top           | Align all objects to the topmost edge    | | Centre vertically   | Centre all objects vertically            | | Align bottom        | Align all objects to the bottommost edge | Deleting Objects Select an object and press Delete or Backspace to remove it, or use the delete option in the context menu. Keyboard Shortcuts Here are the most useful keyboard shortcuts for the Frame Editor: | Shortcut                  | Action               | | ------------------------| -------------------| | V                     | Select tool          | | B                     | Brush/Draw tool      | | E                     | Eraser tool          | | T                     | Text tool            | | R                     | Rectangle shape      | | O                     | Circle/Ellipse shape | | A                     | Arrow shape          | | [                     | Decrease brush size  | | ]                     | Increase brush size  | | Ctrl/Cmd + Z          | Undo                 | | Ctrl/Cmd + Y          | Redo                 | | Ctrl/Cmd + A          | Select all           | | Ctrl/Cmd + C          | Copy                 | | Ctrl/Cmd + V          | Paste                | | Delete                | Delete selected      | | Escape                | Deselect all         | | Shift (while drawing) | Draw straight line   | | Alt (while dragging)  | Duplicate object     | Saving Your Work Your changes are saved when you close the Frame Editor. If you have unsaved changes and try to close or navigate away, you'll be prompted to save or discard your work. Why can't I erase a shape or image? The Eraser tool only removes freehand brush strokes. To delete shapes, text, or images, select them with the Select tool and press Delete, or use the delete option in the context menu. Why is the Onion Skin button disabled? Onion skinning shows the previous frame as a reference overlay. It's only available from the second frame onwards — the first frame in your storyboard has no previous frame to reference. How do I remove a camera movement overlay? Click the Overlays tab in the sidebar, then click the currently active overlay to deselect it. The overlay will be removed from your frame. Can I use my own fonts in the Frame Editor? The Frame Editor includes the full Google Fonts library with hundreds of font options. Custom font uploads are not currently supported. Why does my image look blurry after resizing? Images may appear less sharp if scaled up significantly beyond their original resolution. For best results, use high-resolution source images and avoid enlarging them too much.

Draw, add assets, and edit individual frames

Frame editor

The Asset Library is one place for the characters, locations, props and reference images your whole team reuses, available in every project and every storyboard. Opening the Asset Library Click Assets in the left sidebar of your dashboard. The library opens with All images selected, your folders listed on the left, and the image grid on the right. !The Asset Library showing folders, image names and mention tags The library belongs to your team, not to a project. Anything you add here is available to everyone on the team, in any storyboard they open. Uploading images Click Upload images in the first tile of the grid, or drag files from your computer anywhere onto the grid. You can drop several files at once. !The Upload images tile at the start of a folder's grid New uploads land in whichever folder you are viewing. If you are on All images, they go to Unfiled. Boords accepts PNG, JPG and GIF files up to 20 MB each. Adding images from a project Images uploaded inside a storyboard belong to that project only. To share one with the whole team, click Add from project, tick the images you want, and click Add assets. They move into Unfiled. !The Add from project dialog with two project images selected You can do the same from inside a storyboard. Open the Image Library tab in the storyboard sidebar, hover over an image under Project assets, and choose Add to Asset Library from its menu. Organising with folders Folders keep a large library easy to scan. Most teams start with a folder per kind of asset: characters, locations, props, brand elements. Create a folder: click the + next to Folders, or click New folder at the bottom of the list. Move images: drag an image onto a folder in the left rail, or open the image's ⋯ menu and choose Move. The Move dialog lets you create a new folder on the spot. Rename or delete a folder: hover over the folder and open its ⋯ menu. Reorder folders: drag them in the left rail, or use the sort button next to Folders to switch between A to Z, Z to A, Newest and Oldest. !The Move dialog listing Unfiled, the team's folders and New folder Deleting a folder does not delete its images unless you tick Also delete images in folder. Left unticked, the images move to Unfiled. Folders are one level deep. You cannot nest a folder inside another. Finding and viewing images Filter by name or tag: type in the search box above the grid. The filter applies within the folder you are viewing. Sort: choose Name, Date created or Date modified from the sort menu, and click the arrow to flip the order. Your choice is remembered per team. Grid size: use the slider to make thumbnails larger or smaller. Expand: double-click an image, or choose Expand from its menu, to view it full size. Download: choose Download from the image's menu to save the original file. !An expanded image shown full size Renaming images Open an image's ⋯ menu and choose Rename. Give images names your team will recognise, such as "Alex", "Office" or "Box". The dialog shows a preview of the mention tag that will be created from the name. !Renaming Alex in the Asset Library, with the mention tag preview below the name Mention tags Each named library image has a tag below its thumbnail. For example, Alex becomes @alex, and Hero product becomes @hero-product. Tags use lowercase letters, numbers and hyphens. If a tag is already taken in your team, Boords adds a number, such as @alex-2. You can also click the tag below a thumbnail to edit the image's name. Renaming the image updates its tag too. If an older image shows Add tag, click it and save a name. Type @ in an AI prompt and select the image from the list to use it as a reference. Your team's folders help you find the right character, location or prop, and the preview lets you check it before selecting. If the image you need isn't in the library yet, use the actions below the list: Generate in Playground opens the Playground so you can create it and save it to the library. Upload image adds a PNG, JPG or GIF from your computer to Unfiled and adds its tag to your prompt. If you've already typed a name after @, the button reads Upload as @name and the image is saved with that name. Otherwise it takes the file name. Both actions need a role that can create storyboards. Project-only images don't appear in the mentions picker. Use Add from project to move them into the team library first. Selecting several images Click an image to select it, then click others to add them. Hold Shift and click to select a range. A toolbar appears at the bottom of the screen with Move and Delete for everything selected, plus Clear selection. !Three images selected with the Move and Delete toolbar at the bottom Deleting images Choose Delete from an image's menu, or select several and click Delete in the toolbar, then confirm. Deleting is permanent. Frames that already use the image keep their picture, but AI generations that used the image as a reference can no longer resolve it. Using library images in a storyboard Use library images to replace a frame's picture or as references when generating images. Replacing a frame image Open the Image Library tab in the storyboard sidebar. Under Saved Assets you will see your team folders; Project assets above them holds images uploaded to this project only. Drag any image onto a frame to replace that frame's picture. !The storyboard sidebar showing Project assets and the team's Saved Assets Click Manage in the Saved Assets header to jump back to the full Asset Library. Reference images for AI generation In the Generate sidebar, type @ in the prompt and select a library image. For example, select Alex, Box and Office while writing "Show @alex holding @box in @office." Boords includes those images as references for the scene. You can use up to four content references, including any images added through the reference picker. To use that picker, click the reference button and open the Assets tab. !The Generate sidebar reference picker with the Assets tab open See Using @mentions for the full walkthrough. You can also select library images in the storyboard Agent. The Playground tab If AI image generation is enabled for your team, the Asset Library has a Playground tab. It is the same Playground you use inside a storyboard, but scoped to the whole team: generate a character or prop here, click Save, and it lands in Unfiled ready for every project. !A generated character in the Playground tab with the Reference and Save buttons Type @ in the Playground prompt to select a library image and generate a new asset that matches it. You can also use Add reference images to open the reference picker. For prompts, styles and credits, see Playground. Tips Name before you need to search. A library of "Untitled image" is hard to use six months in. One folder per kind of asset. Characters, Locations, Props and Brand cover most teams. Keep reference images clean. Full-length characters on a plain background and empty locations give the AI the clearest starting point when you combine them. Promote, don't duplicate. If a project has a good image, use Add from project rather than uploading it again. Public API Developers can manage library images and folders programmatically. See the Public API guide. Who can see the Asset Library? Everyone on your team can browse and download library images, including reviewers and guests. Uploading, organising, renaming and deleting need a role that can create storyboards, so read-only members see the library without the upload tile or action menus. What happens to a project's images when I add them to the Asset Library? They move. The image leaves the project's own assets and appears in the library's Unfiled folder, where every project on the team can use it. Frames that already use the image are not affected. Can I use library images as references for AI generation? Yes. Type @ in Generate, Playground or the storyboard Agent and select a library image to include it as a reference. You can use up to four content references. You can also select images through the reference picker. Can I recover an image after deleting it? No. Deleting from the Asset Library is permanent and there is no trash folder. Download a copy first if you are unsure. Frames that already use the image keep their picture, but AI generations that referenced it may no longer resolve that reference. Is there a limit on how many images I can store? There is no cap on the number of images or folders. Each file can be up to 20 MB, in PNG, JPG or GIF format.

Save, organise and @mention characters, locations and props across your team

Asset Library

Boords opens on Home, where you see your team's projects and every storyboard and script you can open in one place. Projects act as folders that keep related storyboards and scripts together, and you can nest projects within each other to create a structure that matches how your team works. Home Home is your team's view across every project. To get back to it, click Home in the sidebar or the team name at the start of any project or editor breadcrumb. Switching team takes you to that team's Home. !Home in Grid view with the Projects shelf and storyboards and scripts from every project Projects sit on a shelf at the top, in the current sort order. The row shows the first 12. Click View all to see the rest, 48 at a time with Show more. If you can create projects, the row ends with a New project card. Storyboards and scripts from every project you can open sit underneath, and each card shows which project it's in. Use the All, Storyboards and Scripts tabs to filter, and switch between Grid, Board and List, the same as in a project. Sort by Date modified (the default), Date created or Name. Manual and Status sorting are only available inside a project. Change a status from the card, or drag the card to another column in Board view. Board and List show every status with its count. If a status has more items than fit, click Show more at the bottom of it. !Home in Board view with a column for each status and cards labelled with their project Creating from Home Click New and choose Storyboard, Script or Project. For a storyboard or script, Boords asks which project it should go in. !The New storyboard dialog on Home asking which project the storyboard should go in If you can manage the team, the menu next to the team name on Home has Name and logo and Team members. Search your workspace On Home or in any project, click the search button at the top right, next to New, or press ⌘K on a Mac (Ctrl+K on Windows). On wide screens the button reads Search workspace. !The search button on Home and the search palette with results grouped into Projects, Storyboards and Scripts Results are grouped into Projects, Storyboards, Scripts and Templates, and only include projects you can open. Each script appears once, as its newest version. Use the arrow keys to move through the results, Enter to open one and Esc to close. In a text field, ⌘K keeps its usual job, such as adding a link in a script. The sidebar The sidebar on the left shows all your projects in a collapsible tree view. Click any project to see its contents in the main area. !pj-1 Expanding and collapsing projects Projects with sub-projects show a folder icon with a chevron. Click the chevron or folder icon to expand or collapse the project and reveal its sub-projects. Your expansion state is remembered, so projects stay open or closed as you left them. Sorting projects Click the three-dot menu at the top of the Projects section to change how projects are sorted: A to Z — Alphabetical order Z to A — Reverse alphabetical order Newest — Most recently created first Oldest — Oldest projects first Favourite projects Mark projects you access frequently as favourites by clicking the star icon in the project header. Favourite projects appear in their own section at the top of the sidebar for quick access. !pj-fav To remove a project from favourites, hover over it in the Favourite Projects section and click the star icon. !pj-fav-rem Creating projects Click the + button in the sidebar header to create a new project. To add a sub-project, open the project and choose New Sub-project, or hover over any project in the sidebar and click +. !Xnapper-2025-12-10-15.17.51 When creating a project, you'll need to: 1. Enter a name for the project 2. Choose a location (which project it sits inside, or at the top level) Project contents When you select a project, the main area shows everything in it in one place. Sub-projects sit on a shelf of cover cards at the top. If they don't fit on one row, click View all to see every card. You can also collapse the shelf to a single line, and Boords remembers this for each project. Storyboards and scripts share one collection underneath. Use the All, Storyboards and Scripts tabs to filter by type. Each tab shows how many items it holds. Switch between Grid, Board and List to see the collection as cards, as one column per status, or as a list grouped by status. The toolbar with the tabs, view switch and sort menu stays pinned to the top as you scroll. An empty project shows Start this project, with cards to create your first storyboard or script. If you can't add to the project, you'll see a short note instead. If you pick Storyboards or Scripts and there are none yet, Boords says so and links back to All. !Project page in Grid view showing storyboards and scripts together, with All, Storyboards and Scripts tabs Adding storyboards, scripts and sub-projects Click New in the header and choose Storyboard, Script or Sub-project. The New tile at the start of the grid offers Storyboard and Script. With the Storyboards or Scripts tab selected, the tile reads New storyboard or New script and creates one straight away. In Board view, click New at the bottom of the Draft column. Script cards show the script name, when it was last modified, its comment count, its status and a preview of the document. Scripts are covered in full in the Scripts overview. Sorting contents !Project Sort by menu with the direction switch Click the sort button in the toolbar to choose how sub-projects, storyboards and scripts are ordered: Manual: your own order. In Grid view with the All tab selected, drag cards to rearrange them. Storyboards and scripts share one order. Name: A–Z or Z–A Date created: newest or oldest first (the default is newest first) Date modified: newest or oldest first Status: Draft first or Approved first, following your team's status order Pick the direction at the bottom of the same menu. Manual has no direction, so the switch is hidden when it's selected. Grid, Board and List views Switch between Grid, Board and List with the view switch next to the sort menu in the project toolbar. It appears once the project has storyboards or scripts in it. Grid is the default, and Boords remembers the view you pick for each project in your browser. Grid view !Project page in Grid view with the Grid, Board and List switch Grid is the default view. It shows your storyboards and scripts together as cards. Each card shows: A preview: the storyboard's frames or the opening lines of the script The name, with a Storyboard or Script label When it was last modified, and how many comments it has Its status, which team members can change from the card Hover over a storyboard card to see the scrubber (if the storyboard has multiple frames) and access the actions menu. Board view !Board view with storyboards and scripts in status columns, including custom statuses Board view puts every storyboard and script in the project on one board, with one column for each status in your team's workflow, from Draft to Approved. Each column shows how many items it holds. Out of the box there are five columns: Draft: not ready for anyone yet In progress: being worked on In review: waiting for feedback Changes requested: feedback to act on Approved: signed off Owners and Admins can rename these, add their own and reorder them within each category in Team settings, under Statuses. If your team adds its own statuses, each one gets its own column in its category's colour. Custom statuses are available on every plan. Drag a storyboard or script into a column to set that exact status. The change saves automatically. Each version has its own status and a new version starts at Draft, so a card always shows the status of its newest version. !Board view filtered to scripts, with each script in its status column List view List view shows your storyboards and scripts as rows, grouped by status in the order your team set. Click a group's heading to collapse it to a one-line summary of what it holds. !List view with storyboards and scripts grouped by status Each row shows a thumbnail, the name, whether it's a storyboard or a script, its status, when it was last modified and how many comments it has. Change an item's status from its row. On narrower screens each row shows just the thumbnail, name and status. Click a row to select it, then click it again or click its name to open it. Drag rows to move them. Open the ⋯ menu on a row, or right-click it, to Share link, Duplicate, Move to or Archive. Sharing a project Share an entire project with people outside your team using a public link. Click Share in the project header and choose Share project link to open the sharing dialog. !Share menu in the project header with Share project link highlighted Enabling public access Toggle Enable public link to generate a shareable URL. Anyone with this link can view the project and its storyboards without needing a Boords account. !pj-link-2 Link settings Once sharing is enabled, you can customise what viewers see: Include project description — Show the project description on the shared page Include sub-projects — Allow viewers to navigate into sub-projects Add password protection — Require a password to access the shared project (available on all paid plans) If password protection is enabled, a randomly generated password is created automatically. Share both the link and the password with your recipients. Moving projects and storyboards You can reorganise your workspace by moving items to different locations using either the menu or drag and drop. Moving via the menu 1. Click the three-dot menu on the project or storyboard 2. Select Move to 3. Choose the new location from the project tree 4. Click Move Drag and drop Drag and drop provides a quick way to reorganise your workspace: From the main content area: Drag a storyboard or script card onto a sub-project on the shelf, or onto a project in the sidebar, to move it there. While you hover, the sub-project card shows what will move, such as Move 1 storyboard here. Drag a sub-project card onto another sub-project on the shelf, or onto a project in the sidebar, to nest it there. Any other items you've selected move with the card you drag. Within the sidebar: Drag projects up and down to reorder them Drop a project onto another project to make it a sub-project Drop a project at the root level (the Projects header) to move it out of its current parent When you drag an item, valid drop targets highlight to show where you can release it. The drop is prevented if it would create an invalid structure (such as moving a project into itself or one of its own sub-projects). Bulk actions !Three storyboards selected in Grid view with the bulk action toolbar Select multiple items by clicking their cards, then use the toolbar that appears at the bottom to move or archive them all at once. When only storyboards are selected, click Download as PDF to get each one as a PDF in a ZIP file. The project menu Click the three-dot menu next to the project name to Rename the project, Move to another location, or manage Project members. Under Storyboards, choose Set template to pick the template new storyboards in this project start from, or Download all as PDF. Archive project sits at the bottom. You only see the options your role and plan allow. Download a project as PDFs To send a client every board in the project, click the three-dot menu next to the project name and choose Download all as PDF. See PDF exports. Available on paid plans and during a trial. Archiving To remove a project, storyboard or script without permanently deleting it, open its three-dot menu, choose Archive (Archive project for a project) and confirm. Archived items go to the Archive, where you can restore them later. Archiving a project also archives its storyboards, scripts and sub-projects. Restoring the project brings them back. Archiving a script archives its whole version history and frees one of your active script slots. Storyboard actions Hover over any storyboard card to reveal the actions menu (three dots). From here you can: Share link — Get a shareable link to the storyboard Duplicate — Create a copy of the storyboard in the same project Move to — Move the storyboard to a different project Archive — Send the storyboard to the archive !Storyboard card menu with Share link, Duplicate, Move to and Archive Script actions Script cards have the same actions menu: Share link (the review link), Duplicate (a new, independent copy of the current version), Move to, and Archive. See Versions and exports for the difference between duplicating a script and creating a new version.

Start from Home to see every project, keep scripts, storyboards and sub-projects together, and track them by status in Grid, Board or List view

Projects

Boords is built for teams. Whether you're a studio managing multiple projects or an agency collaborating with clients, you can invite your team and control exactly what each person can access. Inviting team members You can invite people to join your team so they can collaborate on storyboards. Each person you invite will receive an email with a link to join your team. !team-1 How to invite someone 1. Open the team menu in the sidebar 2. Click Invite 3. Enter their email address 4. Choose a role from the dropdown 5. Click Invite The person will receive an email invitation. Once they accept, they'll appear in your team list and be able to see and edit the projects they've been granted access to. You can also invite people from a project. Click Share in the project header and choose Invite to edit, or click the avatars next to the project name to open Project members. !Project members dialog for Autumn campaigns with an invite by email field, Full access role picker, and All projects and Project-level member sections Choosing a role !team-3 When inviting someone, you'll choose what level of access they have: | Role | Access level | |------|--------------| | Full access | Can view and edit all projects | | Admin | Can manage the team, the team's statuses and all projects | | Restricted | Can only view and edit projects they're assigned to | The Restricted role is available on the Team and Agency plans. Billing Your plan includes a set number of seats. Solo is for one person, Pro includes 5 seats, Team includes 10, and Agency includes 30. If you need more seats, you can upgrade your plan any time from Billing. Resending an invitation If someone hasn't accepted their invitation, you can resend it: 1. Open the team menu in the sidebar 2. Find the pending invitation 3. Click to resend Using an invite link Instead of inviting people by email, you can share a link that lets anyone join your team. Invite links are available on the Team and Agency plans. To enable the invite link: 1. Open the team menu in the sidebar 2. Click the link icon next to "Invite via link" 3. Toggle Enable invite link on 4. Copy the link and share it Anyone who joins through this link gets full access to all team projects. Each person who joins will be added to your team and count towards your total seats. You can disable the invite link at any time to prevent new people from joining. Guest access You don't need to invite clients or stakeholders as team members just to get their feedback. Guests can view and leave comments on shareable storyboards without creating an account or using a seat on your team. This is ideal for sharing work with clients for review and approval. Simply share a link to your storyboard and they can view it and leave comments straight away. Only invite someone as a team member if you want them to actually edit storyboards. Team roles You can give your teammates different permissions according to the level of access that you'd like them to have. If you need to change someone's role on the team, click the menu next to their name and select the new role you'd like to give them. You'll also be able to remove them from the team here, if necessary. Owner The person who first sets up a team automatically becomes the Owner. This person is responsible for billing and is able to access all projects within the team. They can also administer teammates (invite new teammates, change roles and remove teammates). Teams can have only one Owner. Admin Team members with an Admin role can do everything that an Owner can do, except access billing information. Teams may have as many Admins as they need. Owners and Admins can also manage the team's statuses in Team settings. Full access and Restricted teammates can set a status on any storyboard or script they can open, but they can't change the list. Full access Full access users can see all projects within the team account. They can also create new projects, but they aren't able to administer teammates. Restricted access Restricted access users can only view the projects that they've been added to. Unlike full access users, they won't be able to view all projects within the team account. They can edit storyboards and scripts and can comment on frames but they can't create or delete storyboards and they won't be able to access the admin settings (e.g. to add or remove teammates). Managing project access To grant or remove a restricted user's access to a project: 1. Open the project from the dashboard, or open any storyboard within the project 2. Open the team menu 3. Find the user under "project-level access" 4. Use the toggle to grant or remove their access !team-4 You can manage access from either the Project Dashboard or from within any storyboard — whichever is more convenient. Two-factor authentication status Team admins can see whether each team member has enabled two-factor authentication (2FA). This helps you monitor your team's security posture. Each team member shows one of three statuses: | Status | Meaning | |--------|--------| | Signs in with Google | User authenticates via Google | | Two-factor enabled | User has 2FA set up | | Two-factor not enabled | User has not enabled 2FA | !Team members 2FA status Joining an existing team When you accept an invitation or join with an invite link, Boords opens the team you joined, on any device you sign in from. Everyone on Boords also has a team of their own. If yours is on the Free plan and nobody else is in it, Boords marks it as your personal team so you don't put work there by mistake: In the team list on the left, it shows a person icon and sits below your other teams. Hover over it to see Personal · only you. It has a Personal label under the team name. A banner explains that storyboards in your personal team aren't shared with your other teams. Its Switch to button takes you back to the other team you used last. !A personal team in Boords: the person tile in the team list, the Personal label under the team name, and the banner with a Switch to Beacon Ads button Boords remembers the last team you picked, so you come back to it next time you sign in. When you create a storyboard, the New storyboard dialog shows the team and project it will go into, so check it before you start. !The New storyboard dialog showing the destination team and project, Tom Team / Demo Project, with the Personal label

Inviting & managing users

Learn how you can stay up to date with activity in your Boords account. Activity Log The Activity Log is available on all paid plans. The Activity Log gives your team a clear, chronological history of the work happening in your Boords workspace. Whether you're reviewing changes on a single storyboard or looking at everything happening across your team, the Activity Log helps you stay informed. The Activity Log appears in two places: Team activity page You'll see a small pink unread badge in the sidebar, which means that there's new team activity since you last viewed it. !Sidebar with Activity showing a pink unread badge, next to the Autumn campaigns project header When you click it, you'll see a full history of your workspace's activity, accessible from the Project Dashboard for owners and admins. Storyboard activity panel A focused view in each storyboard's sidebar that shows the activity for the storyboard you're currently editing. The same feed also appears under the Activity tab of the Share settings panel when you're in the Review view. Searching & filtering The Activity Log updates regularly (about every 90 seconds), so it always feels close to real-time. You can also refresh the page manually if you want the latest information straight away. Many entries include handy links, directly to frames or storyboards, so it's easy to jump to the thing that's changed. Actions from guests on shareable links appear too, using the name they enter when performing an action. When you email a review link, the log also records when each reviewer first opens the storyboard. When you're looking at the Team Activity page, you can filter the feed to quickly find exactly what you need. You can: Search by text Filter by time range Filter by teammate or guest Filter by storyboard, project, team status, or other targets Filter by action type (e.g., status change, comment, export) If the feed looks empty, try widening your filters or clearing them entirely. Visibility Within a workspace: Account owners and admins can access the full team activity page. Full and restricted access teammates won't see the team activity page, but they can view the storyboard-level activity panel for storyboards they have access to. If you don't see Activity where you expect it, check your role or plan. The Activity Log includes a wide range of actions, everything from storyboard creation to exports, comments, approvals, status changes, and more. Status changes on storyboards and scripts show your team's own status names. A move between two statuses in the same category is logged too, for example from Internal review to Client review, which both sit under In review. Guest activity is recorded too, labelled with the name they provide when performing actions like commenting or approving. Note: If something doesn't appear immediately, remember the feed auto-refreshes, or you can refresh manually to see the latest updates. Events list The Activity Log can display the following events:  | Target | Action | Action Type | Summary | | --| --| --| --| | storyboard | created | create | Actor created a storyboard in project | | storyboard | status_updated | update | Actor changed storyboard status | | storyboard | commented | create | Actor commented on storyboard (optionally frame N) | | storyboard | comment_completed | update | Actor marked a comment as complete | | storyboard | comment_reopened | update | Actor marked a comment as incomplete | | storyboard | exported | read | Actor exported the storyboard to a filetype | | storyboard | shared | create | Actor sent a review link for the storyboard to reviewers in project | | storyboard | viewed | read | A reviewer opened a shared storyboard in project | | storyboard | new_version_source | create | Actor created a new version (source side) | | storyboard | new_version_destination | create | Actor created a new version (destination side) | | storyboard | duplicated_source | create | Actor duplicated (source side) | | storyboard | duplicated_destination | create | Actor duplicated (destination side) | | storyboard | duplicated | create | Actor duplicated storyboard | | storyboard | access_granted | update | Actor granted access to a member on a storyboard | | storyboard | access_removed | update | Actor removed access to a member on a storyboard | | storyboard | moved | update | Actor moved storyboard to another project | | storyboard | renamed | update | Actor renamed storyboard | | storyboard | restored | update | Actor unarchived storyboard | | storyboard | archived | delete | Actor archived storyboard | | storyboard | deleted | delete | Actor permanently deleted storyboard | | project | created | create | Actor created a project | | project | renamed | update | Actor renamed project | | project | restored | update | Actor unarchived project | | project | archived | delete | Actor archived project | | project | deleted | delete | Actor permanently deleted project | | team_membership | role_changed | update | Actor changed a teammate's role | | team_membership | project_access_granted | update | Actor granted project access to a teammate | | team_membership | project_access_removed | update | Actor removed project access from a teammate | | team_membership | deleted | delete | Actor removed a teammate from the team | | invitation | sent | create | Actor sent an invite (team or project) | | invitation | resent | update | Actor re‑sent an invite | | invitation | revoked | delete | Actor deleted an invite | | invitation | accepted | update | Recipient accepted an invite | | team_status | created | create | Actor added a status to a category | | team_status | renamed | update | Actor renamed a status | | team_status | reordered | update | Actor reordered the statuses in a category | | team_status | made_default | update | Actor made a status the default for its category | | team_status | deleted | delete | Actor deleted a status and moved its storyboards and scripts to another status | Script activity panel !Script editor with the Activity panel open, listing read receipts from two client reviewers, an approval, comments, a share, and a status change to In progress Scripts have their own Activity panel in the script sidebar (the Activity tab). It records the script's history: comments and completed threads, status changes such as an approval, new versions, shares, and read receipts showing when each direct-send recipient opened the script. Script events also appear in the team activity page. See Review and sign-off for how the approval trail works. Comment notifications Boords sends email notifications when comments are added to storyboards and scripts, helping your team stay on top of feedback without constantly checking the app. How notifications work When someone leaves a comment on a storyboard or a script, team members receive an email summary. These emails are batched together, so you won't be flooded with individual emails if there's a busy discussion happening. When someone marks your comment as complete, you'll also receive an email letting you know it's been addressed. New comments and completed comments also appear in the Activity Log, so you can see everything in one place. Managing notifications You can control comment notifications at three levels: !comment-notifs Account level Turn all comment emails on or off in your account settings. This applies to all storyboards and scripts across your workspace. Storyboard level Storyboard owners can disable notifications for a specific storyboard in the comment settings panel. When turned off, no team members will receive emails for that storyboard. Personal preferences Even if a storyboard has notifications enabled, you can choose not to receive emails for specific storyboards. Open the comment settings panel and toggle off your personal notifications for that storyboard. You'll still be able to see comments in the Activity Log. Script notifications Each script has its own bell in the script header, working just like the storyboard bell: turn on Follow in Inbox to get an inbox notification for every new comment on the script (including guest comments on the review link), and use Email me about new comments to control comment emails for that script. Following a script covers every version of it. Mentions, replies, and completed threads on scripts appear in your inbox, email, and Slack in the same way as storyboard comments. See Notifications for the details.

Activity & notifications

Boords offers several export formats to help you share storyboards and scripts with clients, collaborate with production teams, and integrate with your existing workflows. See also: Exports, an overview of every export and what each one is for. Accessing exports Click Export in the storyboard header to open the export options. On a narrow window it shows as a download arrow only. !The storyboard Export menu with PDF, Slides, Animatic, Images, After Effects, Premiere / Resolve, Script and Google Sheets PDF PDF is the most popular export format for client presentations and internal reviews. Boords generates professional, print-ready PDFs with customisable covers, layouts, and styling options. !export-2 Key features include: Custom covers. Build a front cover from your logo, upload your own, or leave it out, and add a back cover. Eight layouts. Six frame grid, Eight frame grid, Four frame grid, Three up, Two up, Frame list, Full page and Two Columns. The layouts on offer depend on your paper and frame shape. Paper. Pages are A4 landscape by default. Tick Widescreen for a wider page. Frame list always prints on A4 portrait. Font options. Select fonts with support for multiple character sets. Image sizing. Set how large frame images appear, from 40 to 100%. On the Free plan, every page carries a "Boords.com • Free Version" watermark. During a trial, PDFs are watermarked previews with lower-resolution images. To download every storyboard in a project, choose Download all as PDF from the project's three-dot menu. You get each storyboard's latest version as a PDF, in one ZIP file. This is available on paid plans and during a trial. For full details on PDF export options, see PDF exports. Word document Export your storyboard script as a Word document (.docx) for easy editing and sharing with writers, directors, or clients who prefer working in Microsoft Word. Choose Script, then click Download .docx. !Screenshot 2025-12-12 at 10.41.59 The Word export includes: The storyboard name, version and the date it was generated A table with one row per frame: the frame number, then one column for each frame field you have turned on, headed with your own field names One total word count under the title, if your storyboard shows a word count Text formatting such as bold, italic, strikethrough, colour, highlights and links is kept. Date fields read like 3 Nov 2026, dropdown choices appear as shaded labels in their option colours, and checkboxes show as ☑ or ☐. The document has no images. The Label field is included only when your word count is set to count all fields. This format is particularly useful when you need to share scripts with voiceover artists or get sign-off on dialogue from clients before moving into production. To send a full AV script as a two-column document, export it from the script editor instead (see Script exports). The Word export is available on paid plans. On Free and during a trial, you'll see an upgrade prompt. Spreadsheet Export your storyboard as an Excel-compatible spreadsheet (.xlsx) that works with Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel, and other spreadsheet applications. Choose Google Sheets, then click Download .xlsx. !export-3 The spreadsheet has one row per frame, with columns for the frame number, the frame image, each frame field you have turned on, the frame status, and comments. You can choose to include: Frame images. Embed thumbnail images in the spreadsheet. This is on by default. Comments. Include each frame's comments and replies. This is off by default. Bold, italic, strikethrough and text colour are kept. Links are not. Date fields arrive as real dates, such as 3 Nov 2026, that you can sort. Dropdown choices keep their option colours, and checkboxes read TRUE or FALSE. The spreadsheet format is ideal for production planning, shot tracking, and sharing detailed breakdowns with your production team. Many studios use this format to create shooting schedules or track progress across departments. For ideas, see Google Sheets and Excel. The spreadsheet export is available on paid plans. On Free and during a trial, you'll see an upgrade prompt. Images Download all your frame images as a ZIP archive. Each frame is exported as an individual image file and sent to your email address. !export-4 Because image exports can be large, Boords processes them in the background and emails you a download link when your ZIP file is ready. The link works for 24 hours. Files are named frame-0001.jpg and so on, or turn on Use 'Label' as filename to name them after your frame labels, making it easy to organise and reference images in other applications. The ZIP also includes a text file with each frame's label and notes, and your soundtrack, if your storyboard has one. SVG frames are not included. This export is useful when you need to: Import frames into editing software Share individual shots with specific team members Archive storyboard assets The image export is available on paid plans. It isn't available on Free or during a trial. Animatic Export your storyboard as an MP4 video. Each frame plays for its duration on your timeline, with your storyboard's soundtrack underneath. Frames without a duration play for 2 seconds, and frames cut straight to the next one. !export-5 To export, choose Animatic (or click the download button in the player), then click Start a new render. The animatic renders in the background, and a Download button appears in the same panel when it's ready. You can cancel a render while it runs, or start a new one after you make changes. An animatic can have up to 500 frames and run for up to 13 minutes. This format is perfect for presenting timing and pacing to clients, or for sharing early-stage previews with your production team. The animatic export is available on paid plans. During a trial, animatics are watermarked. It isn't available on Free. After Effects Choose After Effects to take your timed frames and soundtrack into an After Effects composition. You do not need to install a plugin. For what the composition includes, see After Effects. 1. Click Download AE project. Boords prepares a ZIP in the background and emails you a download link when it is ready. The link works for 24 hours. 2. Download and unzip it. Keep the script, images, and other files together in one folder. 3. Open After Effects. Choose File → New → New Project first if you want a separate project. 4. Choose File → Scripts → Run Script File and select Open in After Effects.jsx from the unzipped folder. 5. Choose File → Save to save the project. The script creates the composition but does not save it for you. The composition uses your storyboard's aspect ratio, frame timings, and soundtrack, if you have one. Frame markers show the frame numbers and labels. Full frame notes are stored in layer comments and in a hidden Boords notes guide layer, which you can show while working without including it in renders. Keep the unzipped assets in place after importing: the After Effects project links to those files. The After Effects export is available on paid plans. It isn't available on Free or during a trial. Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve Choose Premiere / Resolve to take your timed frames, soundtrack and frame notes into Adobe Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve as an editable timeline. You do not need to install a plugin. For more on each editor, see Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve. Click Download XML timeline. Boords prepares a ZIP in the background and emails you a download link when it is ready. The link works for 24 hours. Download and unzip it, and keep the files together in one folder. The ZIP contains an .xml timeline, every frame image sized to the timeline, your soundtrack if you have one, a text file of your frame notes, and a README.txt with these steps. Each file name ends with a short code unique to that download, so your editor never links a file from an earlier download by mistake. Import into Premiere Pro 1. Choose File → Import and select the .xml file from the unzipped folder. 2. If the Link Media window opens, click Locate and select any one image in the unzipped folder. The rest link automatically. 3. Open the new sequence. Import into DaVinci Resolve 1. Create a new, empty project. 2. If you use the Mac App Store version of Resolve, add the folder before you import. On the Media page, right-click in Media Storage, choose Add New Location and select the unzipped folder. 3. Choose File → Import → Timeline and select the .xml file. 4. Leave Automatically import source clips into media pool turned on. 5. When Resolve asks whether to search another folder, click Yes and choose the unzipped folder itself. If the numbered images arrive as one image sequence instead of separate stills, set the Media Storage frame display mode to Individual on the Media page and add the images to the Media Pool. Then import the timeline again with Automatically import source clips into media pool turned off. What you get The timeline runs at 25fps and starts at 01:00:00:00. It matches your storyboard's aspect ratio, for example 1920×1080 for 16:9 or 1080×1920 for 9:16. The supported ratios are 16:9, 9:16, 1:1, 4:5, 4:3, 1.85:1 and 2.4:1. Other ratios export at 1920×1080. Each frame is a still clip at its Boords timing. Frames without a duration last 2 seconds. In Premiere Pro, each clip is named with its frame number and label. Resolve names clips after the image files. In both, a marker on each frame holds its label and notes, and the soundtrack sits underneath. If the soundtrack runs longer than the frames, the last frame holds until it ends. Limitations Frames shorter than one video frame at 25fps are left out of the timeline. Frames whose image couldn't be added appear as grey Missing frame clips. SVG frames aren't exported as images, so they appear as grey Missing frame clips. In Resolve, a stereo soundtrack arrives as two mono tracks, both panned to the centre. Pan the first track left and the second right to hear it in stereo. The timeline links to the unzipped files, so keep them in place after importing. The Premiere / Resolve export is available on paid plans. It isn't available on Free or during a trial. Slides (PowerPoint) Choose Slides to export your storyboard as a widescreen slide deck. There are two formats: PowerPoint downloads an editable .pptx deck for PowerPoint, Keynote and Google Slides. Frame text becomes real text boxes, keeping bold, italic, strikethrough, colour, links and lists, and images are embedded at full resolution. Date fields read like 3 Nov 2026, dropdown choices appear as coloured pills, and checkboxes as a ticked or empty box beside the field name. Images downloads a ZIP with one PNG per slide, 3840 pixels wide, ready to drop into any presentation tool. Pick a layout, then set the appearance and footer, and click Export PowerPoint or Export images. When the export is ready, click the download button in the window that appears (Download PowerPoint for a deck). For step-by-step import instructions, see how to use Boords with Google Slides. !The Slides export window with PowerPoint selected, a slide preview, and Appearance and Footer settings Slides don't include covers, speaker notes or the Frame list layout. Fonts aren't embedded in the deck, so a computer without your export font shows a similar one instead. PowerPoint export is available on paid plans. On Free and during a trial, Slides exports watermarked images instead. This format is useful when you need to incorporate your storyboard into a larger presentation, such as a client pitch deck or creative brief. Script exports Scripts have their own Export menu in the script header, with four formats: PDF (a typeset document with searchable text, working links, and AV columns intact, in A4 or US Letter with an optional statistics page), Word (.docx), Markdown (.md), and plain text (.txt). Files are named after the script and version. The Word export keeps AV scripts as two-column tables. !The script Export menu open in the header PDF is available on every plan, with a watermark on Free. Word, Markdown and plain text are available on paid plans and during a trial. For full details, see Versions and exports. Export formats at a glance Storyboards | Format             | File type                             | Best for                                                                              | | -----------------| ------------------------------------| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | PDF                | .pdf                                  | Client presentations, print-ready documents                                           | | Word               | .docx                                 | Script sharing, voiceover briefs                                                      | | Spreadsheet        | .xlsx                                 | Production planning, shot tracking                                                    | | Images             | .zip                                  | Importing into editing software, archiving                                            | | Animatic           | .mp4                                  | Timing previews, client reviews                                                       | | After Effects      | .zip with a .jsx script and assets    | Continuing animation with frame timings, notes, and sound                             | | Premiere / Resolve | .zip with an .xml timeline and assets | Continuing the edit in Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve with timings, notes, and sound | | Slides             | .pptx or .zip                         | Editable pitch decks, creative briefs                                                 | Scripts | Format     | File type | Best for                                      | | ---------| --------| --------------------------------------------| | PDF        | .pdf      | Client sign-off, VO record sessions, printing | | Word       | .docx     | Editing in Word, sharing with writers         | | Markdown   | .md       | Pasting into other tools                      | | Plain text | .txt      | The words only, anywhere                      | See Versions and exports for script export details and plan availability.

Download PDFs, decks, spreadsheets, animatics and editing timelines

Export formats

Gather feedback from clients and collaborators directly on your storyboard frames and script lines, keeping all your revision notes in one place. <div style="padding-bottom:56.25%"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/j4P7W2SxaWM" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div Adding comments You can add comments to any frame in your storyboard from multiple locations, making it easy to capture feedback wherever you're working. Storyboard view (quick comments) Click the comment icon on any frame thumbnail to quickly add a comment without leaving the Storyboard view. This is useful for rapid feedback sessions where you need to note changes across multiple frames. !comments-1 Frame editor When editing a single frame, use the comments panel in the sidebar to add detailed feedback. This view is ideal for in-depth discussions about specific frames. !comments-2 Animatic player While reviewing your animatic, you can pause on any frame and add comments directly. This helps capture timing-related feedback during playback review. !comments-3 Shareable links When you share a storyboard with clients or collaborators, they can add comments directly on the shareable link — no Boords account required. See Guest comments for more details. !comments-4 Comment features Threaded replies Comments support threaded replies, allowing you to have focused conversations about specific feedback. Reply threads can be collapsed or expanded to keep your comment panel tidy during busy review rounds. Attachments Attach reference images to your comments to share visual references, approved artwork, or examples of the changes you're requesting. To add an attachment, click the image icon in the comment editor toolbar before submitting your comment. You can select an image from your device or paste a URL. !comments-8 Once attached, the image appears as a thumbnail preview in your comment. Other reviewers can click the thumbnail to view the full-size image. !comments-9 Annotations Draw directly on frames to highlight specific areas when leaving feedback. Annotations help you pinpoint exactly what you're referring to, making feedback clearer for your team and clients. 1. Open the annotation tool Click the pen icon in the comment editor toolbar. This opens the annotation overlay on the frame. !comments-5 2. Draw your annotation Once the annotation toolbar appears, use the drawing tools to mark up the frame: Selection tool — Move and resize your drawings Freehand draw — Sketch freely on the frame Arrow — Point to specific elements Line — Draw straight lines Eraser — Remove parts of your annotation !comments-6 3. View annotations on comments Annotations are saved with your comment. To view an annotation, click the pen icon below the comment text — this shows and hides the annotation overlay on the frame. !comments-7 Team-only comments This feature is available on the Team and Agency plans. Keep internal notes separate from client-facing feedback with team-only comments. When enabled, these comments are only visible to your team members and hidden from guests viewing shareable links. Team-only comments are visually distinct with an orange border and a lock icon, making it easy to identify which comments are internal. !comments-10 To create a team-only comment, toggle the visibility dropdown from "Everyone" to "Team only" before submitting. @mentions and notifications Type @ in any comment to mention a teammate. They'll get a notification in their inbox, and an email summary if they have direct attention emails turned on. See Notifications for the full picture, including how to follow storyboards, watch projects, and manage your notification preferences. Comment links  Copy a direct link to any comment and share it with your team. Click the ⋮ menu on a comment and select __Copy link__.  !comment link Anyone who follows the link will be taken to the same view storyboard, editor, or shareable with that comment highlighted. !link comment (1) This is useful for calling out specific feedback in a message or email without asking people to hunt it down themselves. Managing feedback Marking comments as complete As you work through feedback, mark comments as complete by clicking the checkmark icon. This helps you track which notes have been addressed during revision rounds. !comments-12 Completed comments show a filled checkmark, giving you a clear visual indicator of your progress. !comments-13 Hiding completed comments To focus on outstanding feedback, you can hide completed comments from view. Click the filter icon in the comments panel to toggle completed comments on or off. When comments are hidden, you'll see a notice indicating how many are filtered from view. Your actual comment count remains unchanged. Guest comments Guest comments allow anyone with your shareable link to leave feedback without creating a Boords account — perfect for client review rounds. Enabling guest comments 1. Open your storyboard and click Share 2. In the Share panel, ensure Comments is toggled on 3. Share the link with your reviewers !comments-11 When guests comment, they'll be asked to enter their name, which appears alongside their feedback. Additional shareable settings Fine-tune what guests can see and do on your shareable links: Show storyboard status pill: Show guests the storyboard's status as one of Draft, In progress, In review, Changes requested or Approved. Guests see these categories, not your team's own status names. Word count: Show a word count from all frame fields or one you choose, such as dialogue Show version number: Display which version they're viewing Allow guest version switching: Let guests navigate between versions Allow on old versions (under Comments): Control whether guests can comment on previous versions Comments on scripts Comments work on Scripts too, with the same threads, replies, completion, team-only comments, @mentions, and guest behaviour as storyboards. The difference is where they attach: on a script, comments are anchored to the exact text you select rather than to a frame. Select the words, click the comment bubble, and the thread keeps the quoted text at the top. Anchors survive edits, and if the text is deleted the thread stays in the panel with its original quote. !The guest review view of a script with a comment anchored to a line Guests comment on scripts through the review link without an account, and you control comments per script in its settings. See Review and sign-off for the full picture.

Commenting overview

The Boords API gives you programmatic access to your projects, scripts, storyboards, frames, and comments, so you can build custom integrations, automate workflows, and keep your tools in sync. See also: API and webhooks, an overview of what teams automate with Boords. The Boords API is currently in Beta. The core functionality is stable, but some details may change as we refine the experience. For the full endpoint reference, visit the API documentation. What you can do with the API The API lets you: Create and manage projects. Organise your work programmatically Create and edit scripts. Create, update and duplicate scripts, and save versions Build storyboards from scripts. Import structured content and generate storyboards with frames in a single request Read and update frames. Access frame content, images, and field data Upload images to frames. Use your own images, or generate them with any external tool (like Midjourney, DALL·E, or your own pipeline) and attach them to frames via URL or base64 Manage comments. Create, update, and resolve comments on frames Handle team members. Invite users, update roles, and manage project access Manage the Asset Library. Upload, organise and delete the team's shared images and folders (see Asset Library) Set up webhooks. Get notified when a storyboard or script changes status, or when work made through the API changes (see Webhooks) Using Claude or ChatGPT? You don't need an API key. Connect Boords to your AI app instead and sign in with your Boords account. The API is for your own scripts, pipelines and integrations. Prerequisites To use the Boords API, you'll need: A paid Boords plan (see pricing) An API key created in your team settings Creating an API key API keys are managed in Settings → Team → API. You'll need an Owner or Admin role to create them. To create a key: 1. Go to Settings → Team → API 2. Click Create API key 3. Give your key a name (e.g. "Zapier", "CI Pipeline", "Custom Integration") 4. Optionally, set an expiry date. Leave it blank for a key that doesn't expire 5. Copy the key. It's only shown once API keys start with bap_ and are tied to your user account. Any actions performed with your key use your permissions and appear as your activity. Key security Store keys securely. Treat them like passwords Use descriptive names. Name each key after what it's for Replace keys when you need to. Keys can't be rotated. Create a new key, switch your integration to it, then delete the old one Delete unused keys. If you no longer need a key, delete it from the same settings page Authentication Include your API key in the X-API-KEY header with every request: `` X-API-KEY: bap_your_key_here ` You can also include an optional X-API-CLIENT header to identify your integration: ` X-API-CLIENT: my-custom-tool ` This helps you track which integration made which changes in your activity log. Core concepts Base URL All API requests use the base URL: ` https://app.boords.com/v1 ` Resource hierarchy Boords organises content in a hierarchy: Teams → Projects → Storyboards → Frames → Comments Each team has projects, each project has storyboards and scripts, and each storyboard has frames. Comments are attached to individual frames. Library assets and their folders hang directly off the team at /v1/teams/{team_id}/library_assets and /v1/teams/{team_id}/library_asset_folders. Identifiers Teams, projects, and storyboards use short text identifiers (like t3n4xk or p4k9az). Frames and comments use numeric IDs. You'll find these identifiers in API responses and can use them in subsequent requests. Response format All API responses use a consistent JSON envelope: For a single resource: `json { "data": { "id": "p4k9az", "type": "project", "attributes": { ... } } } ` For a list of resources: `json { "data": [ ... ], "meta": { "next_cursor": "..." } } ` Pagination List endpoints return results in pages. Use the limit parameter (up to 100, default 25) and the cursor parameter to step through results. When meta.next_cursor is present in the response, there are more results available. Pass it as the cursor parameter in your next request. Filtering Most list endpoints support an updated_since parameter (ISO 8601 timestamp) to fetch only resources that have changed since a specific time. This is useful for building sync workflows. Roles and permissions What you can do via the API depends on your team role: | Action | Roles | |--------|-------| | Read projects, scripts, storyboards and frames | Owner, Admin, Full access, Restricted | | Create and edit content | Owner, Admin, Full access | | Read and manage comments | Owner, Admin | | Manage team members | Owner, Admin | | Create API keys and team webhooks | Owner, Admin | For more detail on team roles, see Team users and roles. Common workflows Import a script as a storyboard You can create a storyboard with pre-populated frames in a single API call. Send a POST request to /v1/storyboards with a frames array, and Boords will create the storyboard and all frames at once. Each frame in the array can include a label (which becomes the frame's reference field) and any number of custom fields like action, sound, or dialogue. Boords automatically generates field definitions from your data. The response includes a field_key_map in the meta object, which maps your original field names to the generated field IDs, which is useful if you need to update those fields later. Fields generated this way are text fields. To use date, dropdown or checkbox fields, create the storyboard with typed frame_fields first and then add the frames, or change a field's type later with a storyboard update. Changing a text field's type through the API doesn't convert its values. Text that isn't a valid option, date or checkbox value is hidden until the field is switched back to text, so send those values again after the switch (as option labels for a dropdown). In the Boords editor, Convert to Dropdown turns existing text into options. For the full request and response format, see the Create Storyboard endpoint in the API reference. Work with date, dropdown and checkbox fields Each field in a storyboard's frame_fields has a type: text, date, dropdown or checkbox. Dropdown fields also include multi_select and their options, each with an id, label and color. Built-in fields such as reference are always text. When you write a frame's field_data: Send dates as YYYY-MM-DD. Send a dropdown option by its label (any case) or its id. For a multi-select dropdown, send an array or a comma-separated list. Send checkboxes as true or false. An unknown dropdown option returns a 422 that lists the valid options. Writing a value never creates a new option. Frame responses also include field_display, readable text for date, dropdown and checkbox fields, such as 3 Nov 2026, Wide or Yes. frame.* webhooks carry it too. For the field types and value formats, see the API reference. Work with statuses Storyboards and scripts share one set of statuses. Your team sets them up in Team settings, and each one belongs to one of five categories: | Category | status value | |---|---| | Draft | null | | In progress | in_progress | | In review | review_needed | | Changes requested | changes_required | | Approved | approved | Storyboard and script responses include status, the category, and custom_status, your team's status as { "id", "name" }. To change a status with PATCH /v1/storyboards/{id}, POST /v1/scripts or PATCH /v1/scripts/{id}: Send status to move the item to that category's default status. You can send the value, the label (In review) or an older label (Review Needed). Send null, "" or "draft" for Draft. Send status_id to pick one of your team's statuses. Get the ids from GET /v1/teams/{team_id}/statuses. An id that isn't one of the team's statuses returns a 422. If you send status too, it must name the same category. If you send an item's current category, it keeps its team status. Sending a GET response back unchanged never moves it. New versions start at Draft. Duplicates keep their status. To see status history, read the team activity feed with GET /v1/teams/{team_id}/events. Status change events include status_change, with the status the item moved from and to, each as { "category", "id", "name" }. The name is the status name at the time of the change, so later renames don't alter it. status_change is null for other events and for status changes made before custom statuses. Sync storyboard data to an external tool To keep an external tool in sync with your Boords workspace: 1. Initial sync. List all projects, storyboards, and frames using the list endpoints. Use the cursor parameter to page through large collections. 2. Incremental updates. On subsequent syncs, use the updated_since parameter with the timestamp of your last sync. This returns only resources that have changed, keeping your requests efficient. 3. Status changes as they happen. Set up webhooks to hear straight away when a storyboard or script changes status, for example when a storyboard moves to Approved. Storyboards send storyboard.updated and scripts send script.updated. Most edits made in the web app don't send webhooks, so keep using updated_since to pick those up. Use external images in your storyboards The API lets you attach any image to a frame, whether it's a photo, a render from your 3D pipeline, or an AI-generated image from a tool like Midjourney or DALL·E. Use the frame image endpoint to upload an image by URL or base64 data. Boords automatically processes the image to generate the right sizes for your storyboard's aspect ratio. This means you can build fully automated pipelines: generate images with your tool of choice, then push them straight into your Boords storyboard via the API. For the full request format, see the API documentation. Rate limits The API allows 120 requests per minute per API key. Response headers tell you where you stand: | Header | Meaning | |--------|--------| | X-RateLimit-Limit | Your total allowance per window | | X-RateLimit-Remaining | Requests left in the current window | | X-RateLimit-Reset | When the window resets | If you receive a 429 response, wait until the time in X-RateLimit-Reset before retrying. If you're building a sync workflow, use updated_since filtering and webhooks to reduce the number of requests you need to make. Error handling When something goes wrong, the API returns a consistent error format: `json {   "error": {     "code": "forbidden",     "message": "You do not have access to this resource."   } } ` Common status codes: | Code | Meaning | |------|--------| | 400 | Invalid request. Check your request format | | 401 | Invalid or missing API key | | 403 | Your role or plan doesn't allow this action | | 404 | Resource not found (or not accessible to you) | | 422 | Validation error. Check the error message for details | | 429 | Rate limit exceeded. Wait until X-RateLimit-Reset`, then retry | For the full error reference, see the API documentation. Which plans include API access? The API is available on all paid Boords plans. You can view the API documentation on any plan, but you'll need a paid plan to create API keys and make requests. Can I use the API with Zapier or Make? Yes. While there isn't a native Boords app on Zapier or Make, you can use their generic HTTP/webhook actions to call the Boords API. You can also use Boords webhooks as triggers. For example, use Zapier's "Webhooks by Zapier" trigger, or a custom webhook in Make, to start a workflow when a storyboard is approved. What are the rate limits? Each API key can make up to 120 requests per minute. Check the X-RateLimit-Remaining response header to monitor your usage. If you receive a 429 response, wait until the time in the X-RateLimit-Reset header before retrying. Is image generation available via the API? Boords' built-in image generation isn't available via the API yet, but you can upload any image to a frame, including images generated by external tools like Midjourney, DALL·E, or your own pipeline. Use the frame image endpoint to attach images by URL or base64.

Boords API

Boords lets you view and work with your storyboard in different ways. Each view helps you focus on a specific task, whether you’re reviewing a storyboard, editing frames, editing frame text in bulk, or sharing your work.   Global view The global view gives you a big-picture overview of your storyboard. Storyboards open in the Storyboard tab unless you last switched to Shot list. Boords remembers your choice. !Global view of a storyboard From the global view, you can: Zoom in and out to make frames appear larger or smaller Scan the full storyboard   Open the sidebar to access comments, the storyboard script view, image library, note settings, and the activity log  Download your storyboard as a PDF or other formats Open the animatic player   Storyboard edit views Switch between the Storyboard and Shot list tabs at the left of the storyboard toolbar. Boords remembers the last view you picked and opens storyboards in it next time. Storyboard view The Storyboard tab shows all frames in a classic grid layout.  !Storyboard tab __Best for:__ Reviewing shot order, rearranging frames, and making edits across multiple frames. Image generator in the Storyboard view If your plan includes AI image generation, each frame in the Storyboard tab shows an image generator by default, for generating or editing AI images. To hide it or show it again, click View options (the eye icon) and switch Show generator off or on. !Show generator in View options __Best for:__ Quickly visualizing ideas or iterating on visuals using AI.  Shot list view Click the Shot list tab to see your storyboard as a structured shot list, one row per frame. The column headings stay pinned below the toolbar as you scroll. !Shot list tab Storyboard script view The storyboard script view can be accessed from the sidebar in the global view.  This is a view of your storyboard's frame text, laid out like a script so it is quick to edit. It is not a Script document. Scripts are separate, shareable rich-text documents that live in your project alongside storyboards; see the Scripts overview. !sidebar It lets you quickly view and edit the text notes for your storyboard.  !script editor With the storyboard script view, you can: Edit notes across multiple frames and have changes applied to the storyboard Focus on a specific scene or shot without scrolling through the whole board Keep your storyboard in sync. Updates are reflected immediately in the frames __Best for:__ Efficiently editing dialogue, shot notes, or other text across multiple frames. Frame editor  Double-click a storyboard frame to open the frame editor, where you can work on individual frames in detail. In the editor, you’ll see your frame on a canvas with a toolbar at the bottom and a sidebar on the right.  !frame editor The editor allows you to: Draw and annotate directly on the frame Place shapes to highlight elements or indicate movement Add text to a frame Import images from your computer, the image library, or other frames Use camera overlays (zooms, pans, and moves) to show shot direction You can find a full guide to all frame editor features here. __Best for:__ Fine-tuning individual frames sketching, annotating and communicating camera moves within a shot.  Sharing view Switch to the sharing view by selecting Review in the storyboard header's Edit / Review toggle. This opens the client-ready version of your storyboard that you can send to others for review. !rev-share Viewers can access the storyboard in their browser and add comments A Boords account is not required. They’ll view your work as guests Manage the shareable link, password, and display options from the Share settings panel Email the review link to reviewers and see when they open it, using the Share settings and Activity tabs __Best for:__ Sharing your storyboard externally and collecting feedback from clients or collaborators.

Switch between storyboard, script, and frame views

Storyboard views

Start planning your video by importing an existing script or creating a blank storyboard, then use Agent if you want help drafting the frames. Opening the new storyboard dialog To create a storyboard, open a project, click New and choose Storyboard. You can also use the New tile in Grid view. In an empty project, click the New storyboard card. !The project New menu with Storyboard, Script and Sub-project options, and the New tile in Grid view The dialog has two tabs: | Tab                  | Best for                                                                 | | -------------------| -----------------------------------------------------------------------| | Import Script    | Converting existing screenplays, scripts, or shot lists into storyboards | | Blank Storyboard | Starting from scratch, with manual editing or help from Agent            | !The new storyboard dialog with Import Script and Blank Storyboard tabs Import Script Import Script uses AI to convert your screenplay or script into a structured storyboard. This is ideal when you have existing production documents and want to quickly visualise them. Import Script vs Scripts. Import Script takes a script you already have as a file or pasted text and builds a storyboard from it in one go. If you want to write and review the script inside Boords first, use Scripts: a script document that lives in your project with versions, anchored client comments, and a review link. When that script is approved, the Storyboard button in the script header runs the same kind of conversion. See Turning a script into a storyboard. Choose Import Script, then paste your script or use Upload Script to add a file. Supported file formats You can upload scripts in the following formats: PDF (.pdf) Plain text (.txt) Markdown (.md) CSV (.csv) HTML (.html, .htm) Files must not exceed 2 MB, 250 pages, or 60,000 words. Alternatively, paste your script text directly into the text area. Configuring your import Before importing, configure these settings: Language: Select the language of your script content. The AI will generate frame text in this language. Aspect Ratio: Choose the frame dimensions for your storyboard. This cannot be changed after creation, so choose carefully. !import-3 | Aspect Ratio        | Use case                             | | ------------------| -----------------------------------| | Portrait (9:16)     | Social media stories, vertical video | | Landscape (16:9)    | Standard HD video, YouTube           | | Square (1:1)        | Social media posts                   | | Social (4:5)        | Instagram posts                      | | TV (4:3)            | Traditional broadcast                | | Widescreen (1.85:1) | Cinema                               | | Anamorphic (2.4:1)  | Widescreen cinema                    | Cast Images: Use the Auto-generate toggle to control whether Boords automatically detects characters from your script and creates reference images for them. When enabled, you'll be guided through creating consistent character designs after the import processes. When disabled, the import skips straight to creating your storyboard. !import-5 Starting the import !import-6 Click Import Script to begin processing. The AI will analyse your script and extract: Scene breakdowns Dialogue and voiceover Action descriptions Shot suggestions Image prompts for AI generation Importing long scripts For scripts with 100 or more scenes, Boords automatically breaks the script into smaller, manageable groups so you can import a section at a time. !script-breakdown How it works After you paste or upload a long script, Boords analyses the structure and divides it into contiguous scene groups of up to 80 scenes each. Each group is given a label and a short summary so you can identify the section you want. 1. Paste or upload your script as normal 2. Boords detects the scene count and automatically triggers the breakdown 3. A picker appears showing the available scene groups with labels and summaries 4. Select the group you want to import 5. The scene count is automatically set to match your selected group 6. Click Import Script to process just that section You can repeat this process to import additional sections of the same script into separate storyboards. Creating a cast for character consistency If you enabled Cast Images, Boords will identify the main characters from your script and guide you through creating reference images for each one. This ensures your characters look consistent across all frames when you generate AI images. !import-11 How cast detection works The AI analyses your script and identifies characters who appear in multiple scenes. For each character, it creates: A character name/identifier A visual description based on context clues in your script A list of which frames the character appears in Generating character reference images For each detected character, click the generate button to create a reference image based on their description. The AI creates a full-body reference image that will be used to maintain consistency when generating frame images later. Refining character images If you're not happy with a generated character image, you can: Regenerate: Click generate again to create a new variation Edit the description: Modify the character description to guide the AI differently !import-7 Completing cast setup Once all characters have reference images, click Continue with Cast to finalise the import. If you'd prefer to skip cast creation and add character references manually later, click Skip to proceed without cast integration. !import-8 If you want to use your own images, you can disable cast generation by turning off the "auto-generate" toggle when you import your script. Using your imported storyboard After the import completes, you'll be taken to your new storyboard with: Frames created for each scene in your script Text fields populated with dialogue, action, and descriptions Image prompts ready for AI generation Character references automatically linked to relevant frames (if you created a cast) When you generate images for frames that include characters from your cast, those reference images are automatically used to maintain visual consistency throughout your storyboard. !import-10 For more details on generating images, see Generating images. <span id='write-with-ai' / Draft frames with Agent To build a storyboard from a brief, create a blank storyboard, then open Agent in the editor sidebar. Describe the video and ask Agent to add frames and fill in their fields. For example: "Create three frames for a 15-second coffee commercial: a wide kitchen shot, a close-up of the pour, and a hand lifting the cup. Add an action line to each frame." Review the frame text, then ask Agent to generate images when you are ready. Image generation uses your normal image credits. See Boords Agent for how to enable Agent, attach references, and refine the results. If you want to draft and review the script before creating frames, start with Scripts, then turn the approved script into a storyboard. Blank storyboard Creating a blank storyboard gives you complete manual control. This is ideal when you have a clear vision and want to build your storyboard frame by frame. !The Blank Storyboard tab with a storyboard name and Frame Size control Setting up your storyboard Storyboard Name: Enter a name for your storyboard. This helps you identify it in your project. Aspect Ratio: Choose your frame dimensions. This cannot be changed after creation. If your project has an assigned template, the aspect ratio may be pre-selected. Using templates If your team has templates set up, you can apply one to your new storyboard. Templates pre-configure: Aspect ratio Default frame count Frame fields, including their types and dropdown options Sharing settings To use a different template or create one without a template, click the template selector. Templates are available on the Team and Agency plans. Learn more about Templates. Frame fields In addition to templates, you can customise the fields that appear on each frame. A field can hold text notes, a date, a choice from a dropdown, or a checkbox. Use them to add context for your team or clients, such as a shoot date, a shot type or whether a shot needs VFX. Default fields By default, every frame has: Label use it to identify or name the frame (e.g. "Scene 1") Sound for voiceover or dialogue notes Action for describing what's happening in the scene These fields can be enabled or disabled depending on the information you need to include. !label sound Adding and editing fields To change the fields that appear: Open the sidebar and go to Settings → Storyboard. !Settings tab in the storyboard sidebar Select + Add field, then choose a type: Text for notes, dialogue and directions Date for a single day, like a shoot date Dropdown to pick from coloured options Checkbox for a yes or no !Add field type menu Click a field to open its settings. From there you can rename it, change its icon and change its type. The icon picker suggests icons from the field's name, and you can search or browse more than 200 icons grouped by subject. For a dropdown, choose Single or Multiple selection, then add, rename, recolour or reorder its options. Built-in fields such as Sound and Action always stay as text. !Frame field settings Drag a field by its handle to reorder it. To remove a field, open its ... menu, choose Delete field, then confirm. This deletes the field on every version of the storyboard. !Delete field in the field menu Adding notes Once your fields are set up, you can add and edit notes: Storyboard edit view type directly into the fields under each frame. Use Tab to move between fields quickly Script view the storyboard's script-style text view, for adding or editing text across multiple frames. Changes sync automatically with the frame fields. This is a view of the storyboard, not a Script document Sidebar notes can also be viewed and edited while using the Editor or Animatic Tool Date, dropdown and checkbox fields instead of typing, pick a date, choose one or more options, or tick the box. You can set these on the frame cards in the Storyboard edit view, in the Sidebar, in the Script view and in the Shot list Creating your storyboard Click Create Storyboard to create your blank storyboard. You'll be taken to the editor where you can: Add frames manually Upload images or generate them with AI Fill in the fields for each frame Can I import Final Draft (.fdx) files directly? Boords doesn't currently support native Final Draft (.fdx) imports. To use the Import Script feature, export your script from Final Draft as a PDF or plain text file first. For best results with longer scripts, we recommend breaking your screenplay down into individual scenes or beats before importing. The AI works most effectively with focused, scene-level content rather than entire feature-length scripts. This approach also gives you more control over how your storyboard is structured. What's the maximum script length I can import? The Import Script feature accepts up to 25,000 characters, but works best with scripts up to around 5,000 characters (roughly 2-3 pages). For longer scripts, we recommend breaking them into scenes or sequences and importing each section separately. File uploads are limited to 10MB, which should accommodate most script documents. If you're working with a feature-length screenplay, consider importing it scene by scene to get the best results from the AI analysis. Can I skip the cast creation step when importing a script? Yes. After your script is processed, you'll see the cast detection screen. Click Skip to proceed directly to your storyboard without creating character references. You can always add character references manually later using the AI Image Generator. The cast feature is optional but recommended if you want consistent-looking characters throughout your storyboard. How many characters can be detected from my script? The cast detection feature identifies up to six main characters from your script. Characters are prioritised by how frequently they appear—those in the most scenes are detected first. To be included in the cast, a character must appear in at least two scenes. This ensures the reference images are useful for maintaining consistency across multiple frames. Can I create a storyboard from a brief instead of an existing script? Yes. Create a blank storyboard, open Agent, and describe your video. Agent can add frames and fill in their fields from your brief. See Boords Agent for setup and examples. If you already have a screenplay, script, or shot list, choose Import Script instead. It converts your existing content into storyboard frames and offers optional cast creation for character references.

Creating storyboards

Boords includes a range of tools to help you edit and manage your storyboards as they develop. You can make changes to individual frames, organise feedback, and keep track of progress as your work moves forward.  From quick frame updates to managing statuses, versions, and archived work, these tools help you stay in control as your storyboard evolves. Frame actions  The frame actions toolbar brings common frame actions into one place, making it quicker to edit, organise, and manage your storyboard frames.  Accessing frame actions To open the frame actions toolbar, select one or more frames in your storyboard. !frame actions Selected frames will appear with a border around them. Once a frame is selected, the toolbar appears, showing the available actions. Some actions only appear when multiple frames are selected.  Using frame actions The frame actions toolbar lets you perform a range of actions without leaving the storyboard view.  Edit frames Open the frame editor to edit the frame image in detail  !open editor Add comments Share feedback by adding comments !comment  Track progress Set a status on frames to track progress or review stages !status Organise frames Move frames to a new position within the storyboard  !move Group frames together. This is available when selecting multiple consecutive frames  !group Move frames to another storyboard  !move to Manage frames Duplicate frames !duplicate Select all frames in the storyboard  !select all Delete selected frames  !delete Storyboard lifecycle As a storyboard moves from early ideas to final approval, Boords provides tools to help you track progress, iterate clearly, and keep projects organised.  These tools help you manage your storyboard as it evolves, and include: Statuses  Versioning Archiving Statuses Boords uses two types of statuses to help track progress:  Storyboard statuses show the overall progress of a storyboard  Frame statuses show the progress of individual frames within a storyboard Both are designed to make collaboration and review easier. Storyboard statuses  Storyboard statuses reflect the overall state of a storyboard and are useful for managing work at a project level. Status categories Every storyboard and script status belongs to one of five categories: Draft In progress In review Changes requested Approved Each category starts with one status of the same name. The team Owner and Admins can rename these statuses, add their own (up to 10 per category) and choose the default in Team settings Statuses, on every plan. For example, they can add Internal review and Client review under In review. Anyone viewing through a share link sees only the category name. Changing a storyboard status You can change a storyboard's status in two places: From a storyboard card on Home or in a project, using the status dropdown !Status menu on a project card You can also change status from the Board view on Home or a project page. Board view shows storyboards and scripts together, with one column for each of your team's statuses. Drag an item into a column to set that status. The List view groups the same items by status. !Project Board view with a column for each status When a storyboard status is changed, it's visible to collaborators, making it easy to understand what stage the storyboard is at.  From within the storyboard, using the same dropdown selection !Storyboard header status menu Frame statuses !frame status Frame statuses are used to track the progress of individual frames within a storyboard. This is especially useful when some frames are still being worked on, while others are ready for review or approval. Available frame statuses In Progress Review Needed Approved Frame statuses are separate from your team's storyboard and script statuses. They always use the three labels above, and changes made in Team settings Statuses don't affect them. Frame statuses make it easy to see which frames need attention and which are ready to move forward during production. Versioning Versioning allows you to create multiple versions of the same storyboard, making it easy to make changes while keeping earlier iterations intact.  Creating a new version At the top of the storyboard, you'll see the current version number (for example, v1). !version Click the version number to open the version menu. Select __New version__ to create a new version. !new version When creating a new version, you can choose to: Copy comments Copy frame statuses All storyboard content is copied into the new version, so you can continue making updates without affecting previous versions. The new version's storyboard status starts at Draft. Switching between versions Use the version dropdown to move between storyboard versions at any time. This makes it easy to review earlier iterations or compare changes as the storyboard develops. !versions Archiving Archiving helps keep your project dashboard organised once a storyboard is complete or no longer needed. Archiving a storyboard You can archive a storyboard from: The project dashboard. Use the menu to select __Archive__  !Storyboard card menu with Archive Within the storyboard itself, using the menu and selecting __Archive__ !archive Once archived, the storyboard is removed from your main dashboard view. Accessing archived storyboards Archived storyboards are stored in the __Storyboard Archive__: On the project dashboard, select __Archive__ from the left-hand menu  !archive side From the archive, you can restore a storyboard to bring it back to the project dashboard, or delete it permanently if it's no longer needed.  !delete restore

Edit frames and manage storyboards as they develop

Editing storyboards

An animatic is a timed sequence of storyboard frames, often used to test pacing, timing and flow before moving into production. The Animatic Tool turns your storyboard into an animatic quickly, allowing you to adjust frame timings, add audio and share the result for review. It’s a great way to preview how your storyboard will play out before moving into production. Accessing the Animatic Tool To start creating an animatic: Open the storyboard you want to work on. Click __Animatic__ in the top toolbar. !animatic The timeline view opens, showing all frames in sequence along with playback controls. !animatic view Animatic settings The settings let you customise how your animatic looks and plays. From the __Settings__ menu (bottom-right corner), you can: __Show frame thumbnails in timeline__ display a small preview of each frame on the timeline __Loop playback__ make the animatic repeat automatically __Show subtitles__ overlay frame notes during playback to help with syncing __Set animatic duration__ define the total length if no audio file is uploaded These options help you control both the visual presentation and playback behaviour of your animatic.  !animatic settings (2) Frame timings If you’re not uploading audio, you can set the total duration of your animatic in the settings. !duration If an audio file is uploaded, the duration of the animatic will be set to the length of the audio. This ensures your frames stay in sync with the soundtrack.  On the timeline, each frame can be stretched to adjust its length.  !timings Enable __Loop playback__ if you want the animatic to replay continuously. !loop playback Adding and syncing audio You can upload a sound file to synchronise your frames with audio. Click __Sound__, then select __Choose file__. !sound Upload a file from your device (max 20MB). Once uploaded, the timeline will match the duration of your audio file automatically. The waveform appears on the timeline to help you line up frames with key beats, making it easy to match visuals to sound. !waveform Enable __Show subtitles__ in the settings to see the storyboard notes for each frame overlayed on the playback. This can be a helpful guide when syncing.  !subtitles Timeline thumbnails You can enable __Show thumbnails in timeline__ to display small previews of each frame directly on the timeline. !thumbnails Thumbnails make it faster to navigate long animatics and check that frames are in the right order, without needing to play the animatic repeatedly. !thumbnail Sharing your animatic When your animatic is ready for review, you can: Share it using a sharing link, giving collaborators or clients easy access. Download it as an MP4 file for offline playback or presentation. See how the animatic export compares with the other formats. Hand it to your editor as a Premiere / Resolve timeline or an After Effects project, with every frame at its approved timing and the soundtrack underneath. Both options allow reviewers to see the animatic as intended, without needing access to the Boords storyboard itself.

Set frame timings, add audio, and share animatics

Animatics

Boords Agent is an AI assistant built into the storyboard editor. It sits in a chat panel beside your board, understands the storyboard you have open, and can build it out for you. Describe what you are storyboarding and it roughs out the frames. Ask it to add a scene, generate images, import a script, or tighten your pacing, and it does the work in the board while you watch. Agent already knows your storyboard's title, frame count, and the content of each frame, so you never have to copy and paste your board into a chat window. Agent is currently in beta. This guide covers how to turn it on, what it can do, and how to get the best results. Turning on Boords Agent Agent is a beta feature that a team admin enables for the whole team. 1. Go to Team settings and open Enable AI tools. 2. Switch on Enable Boords Agent. Once it is on, open any storyboard and look for the Agent tab (the robot icon) in the right-hand sidebar. On an empty storyboard, an Agent prompt also appears in the middle of the canvas so you can start building straight away. !agent-sidebar-location Starting a conversation Open the Agent tab, type into the message box at the bottom, and press Send or Cmd+Enter (Ctrl+Enter on Windows). Agent replies in real time and does the work directly in your board. On a new, empty storyboard, the Agent prompt offers a few quick ways to start: Add frames sets up a request to rough out a handful of frames. Import script lets you attach a script file to turn into a storyboard. Upload images turns images from your device into frames. See what's possible asks Agent what it can do. !Xnapper-2026-07-08-16.09.32 What Agent can do Build and edit your storyboard Ask Agent in plain English and it makes the change in your board: Rough out a whole storyboard from a description of what you are shooting. Add, edit, reorder, and delete frames. Fill in frame fields such as action and dialogue. Rename the storyboard, set its status (including your team's custom statuses), set frame statuses, change the aspect ratio, and update sharing settings. Anything that cannot be undone easily, such as deleting a frame or changing the aspect ratio when frames already have images, pauses for your approval first. See Approvals below. Generate and restyle images Agent can create and change frame images for you: Generate a new image for a frame from a prompt. Restyle an existing image into a different look. Reframe a shot to a new angle. Generate several images at once for different frames. Image generation works the same way as the Generate sidebar and uses the same image credits. For the full picture on prompting, references, and styles, see Generating images and Styles & restyling. Choose the image model Before sending an image request, open Image model below the Agent prompt. This control is available in both the empty-storyboard prompt and the Agent sidebar. In a narrow panel, the button shows the provider's logo. Choose Nano Banana 2, GPT Image 2.5 Flare or GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst, then select 0.5K or 1K at the top of the menu. Free and trial teams can use Flare at 0.5K; the other models and 1K require a paid plan. This choice applies to image generation. It doesn't change the assistant you chat with. Boords remembers the selection in this browser and shares it with Playground and the frame generator. Styles and operations can require a different model, including Camera reframe. See Choosing an image model for defaults and compatibility limits. On credit-based plans, each generated frame image uses one image credit, so a request that generates several images uses a credit for each image. Bring in your own material Import a script. Attach a PDF, TXT, Markdown, HTML, or CSV file and Agent turns it into frames. For long screenplays, Agent shows you the scenes it found and asks which range to import before it adds anything. Turn images into a storyboard. Upload images and Agent builds frames around them. Read a webpage. Paste a public web address into your message and Agent can read that exact page to inform what it creates. It only reads links you paste, and if it cannot read a page it will ask you to paste or upload the material instead. Manage versions and downloads Create a new version of the storyboard as a revision checkpoint. Duplicate the storyboard into an independent copy. Switch between existing versions. Prepare a ZIP of every image in the storyboard to download. Downloading images does not use any image credits. Manage your team If you are a team admin or manager, Agent can also help you run your team: invite teammates, change roles, and grant or remove project access. These options are only available to admins and managers. Everyone else gets the storyboard and image tools. Agent in scripts Agent is available inside Scripts too. Open a script and click the Agent tab (the robot icon) in the sidebar. This Script Agent reads the script that is open and edits it in place, so changes appear in the document rather than in the chat. !The Script Agent sidebar with the quick actions Four quick actions cover the common jobs, and you can type any request of your own: Draft from a brief: paste or describe the brief and get a first draft in the document. Tighten this script: cut the flab while keeping the meaning and the structure. Summarize open feedback: pull the open comment threads into a short summary. Send to storyboard: run the same conversion as the Storyboard button in the script header, after you confirm. The Script Agent can also rename the script, set its status (including your team's custom statuses), create a new version, and switch between versions. It applies the same approval rules as the storyboard Agent: large or sweeping edits, new versions, and sending to a storyboard all ask you first, so it cannot rewrite the document without you saying yes. Attachments are the route for bringing an existing script file into Boords. There is no file-import step when you create a script, so attach the PDF, Word document, or text file to the Script Agent and ask it to lay the script out for you. See Writing and formatting for the full guide. Attaching files, images, and links Use the paperclip button below the message box to attach material to your request. You can: Add images or script files from your device. Choose existing images from your Assets or Frames in the picker, which stays open so you can pick several. Paste an image straight into the message box with Cmd+V (Ctrl+V on Windows). You can also dictate your message instead of typing it, using the voice button in the composer. Mentioning library images and frames In storyboard Agent, type @ while writing a message to choose a character, location or prop from your team's Asset Library, or an earlier frame from the Frames group. You can also click Reference characters, props or locations below the message box to open the picker. Both options work in the sidebar and the prompt on an empty storyboard. Select an image from the list after checking its preview. For example, select Alex, Box and Office while writing "Show @alex holding @box in @office." Each image appears as a tag in your message and a reference thumbnail above it. !The storyboard Agent composer with Alex, Box and Office selected as references Finish your request, then send it. To remove a reference before sending, hover over its thumbnail and click its remove button. This also removes the matching tag from your message. A mentioned frame sends its current image, and your wording decides what carries over: "same scene as @frame-3" keeps the setting, while "the woman from @frame-3 in an office lobby" keeps the subject. You can include up to four content references, frames included, in a storyboard Agent message. The message can hold up to six attachments in total, including files. Project-only images need to be added to the team library before you can mention them. Asset mentions are available in storyboard Agent; Script Agent doesn't have this picker. If Agent generates frames with a named character, location or prop that isn't in your library, it may show a tip in the chat suggesting you save a reference. Click Generate in Playground to create one, or Upload as @name to add an image from your computer. After an upload, click Mention @name to add the tag to your message. Agent shows this tip at most once per chat, and only to people who can add images to the library. Keeping characters and scenes consistent To carry a character, location or prop from one frame to the next, select it or the frame it appears in with an @mention, or attach a reference image. You can use an existing frame, an uploaded image or an image Agent generated earlier. If you ask for a set of matching images, Agent will usually generate the first one, then use it as the reference for the rest. When there is no reference to work from and the look is ambiguous, Agent will ask a quick question rather than guess. For imported scripts, Cast Integration remains the most reliable way to keep the same characters across a whole board. Approvals Some actions are hard to undo, so Agent asks before it runs them. When this happens, you will see Approve and Deny buttons in the chat instead of having to type a confirmation. Approving runs the action, denying skips it. Actions that ask first include deleting a frame, changing the aspect ratio when frames already have images, creating a version, duplicating the storyboard, and, for admins, removing a teammate or sending and revoking invitations. You can also stop Agent at any time while it is working by clicking Stop. Chats, history, and custom instructions Multiple chats. Use the pen button in the panel header to start a fresh chat, and the history button to switch between, rename, or delete past chats. Chat history is saved and stays with the storyboard, and it is shared across every version of that storyboard. Custom instructions. Use the settings icon in the panel header to open a box where you can give Agent standing instructions for this storyboard, such as a house style or a persona to write in. Agent applies them on every message. Credits and plans Agent uses your normal Boords image credits when it generates, restyles or reframes images. On credit-based plans, each generation uses one credit, including a new variation. Workflow and Lifetime plans include unlimited image generation. Preparing an image download does not use credits. For allowances and upgrades, see Billing & plans. If you ask Agent about pricing or plans, it will point you to the right place to compare and upgrade. Tips for better results Be specific about what you want. "Add a wide establishing shot of a rainy city street at night" beats "add a frame". Select a library image with @ or attach a reference whenever a character or location needs to stay consistent. Review each frame before approving anything that replaces or deletes existing work. Pick a style early so new images match the rest of your board.

Build and edit storyboards by chatting with an AI assistant

Boords Agent

Scripts let you write, review, and sign off the script for a video inside the same project as its storyboard, so the writing stage and the boarding stage stop living in different tools. What a script is A script is a rich-text document that lives inside a project, alongside your storyboards. There is no separate Scripts area in the sidebar. Open a project and its scripts sit alongside its storyboards in one list. Select the Scripts tab above the list to show only scripts. Each script can hold several versions, carries comment threads that are anchored to specific lines of text, and can be shared with clients through a review link. When the words are approved, you can turn the script into a storyboard in the same project. !Project page in Grid view showing storyboards and scripts together, with All, Storyboards and Scripts tabs Creating a script There are four ways to start a script: Click the New tile in a project's Grid view and choose Script. With the Scripts tab selected, the tile reads New script and creates one straight away. In Board view, click New at the bottom of the Draft column. Open the project's New menu (top right, next to Share) and choose Script. In an empty project, click the New script card under Start this project. Choose to start with a script when you sign up and go through onboarding. New scripts start blank. Once the document opens, you will see three shortcuts to get going: a Blank script, a ready-made Two-column AV script structure, or Write with Boords Agent to draft from a brief. See Writing and formatting for the editor itself. The dashboard card Each script appears as a card in its project, alongside the project's storyboards. Choose the Scripts tab to show only scripts. In Grid view each script is a card with a preview of the document, its name, a Script label, when it was last modified, its comment count and a status menu. In Board view each column is one of your team's statuses, so you can drag a script card into another status column to change its status. List view groups scripts and storyboards by status. !A script card in the project grid with the status picker open Statuses Scripts use your team's statuses, the same as storyboards. Out of the box these are Draft, In progress, In review, Changes requested and Approved. The team Owner and Admins can rename them, add their own and reorder them within each category in Team settings under Statuses. Status is set per version. A new version starts at Draft, so an approved first draft stays approved when you open a second round. You can change status from the card on the project page, from the pill next to the script title in the editor, or by dragging the card into another column in Board view. !Board view filtered to scripts, with each script in its status column Duplicate, move, and archive Open the actions menu on a script card (or the ⋮ menu in the editor header) to duplicate, move, or archive it. Duplicate copies only the current version into a new, independent script. The copy does not carry the other versions with it. Move sends the whole script, with all of its versions, to another project. Archive removes the script and its entire version history from the project and frees up one of your active script slots. Archived scripts can be restored from the team Archive. Archiving a project also archives the scripts inside it. Restoring the project brings them back. Active script limits Free teams can keep 3 active scripts at a time. Paid plans include unlimited active scripts. Only active scripts count towards the limit: versions belong to their script rather than counting separately, and archived scripts do not count at all. When you reach the limit, creating a new script shows an upgrade prompt. To free a slot without upgrading, archive or delete a script you no longer need. !The Unlock Unlimited Scripts dialog shown at the three-script limit Scripts are included on every Boords plan. See pricing for what each plan covers, including the active script limit and the paid features mentioned in these docs. What Scripts is not Scripts is not screenplay software. There are no sluglines, no Final Draft or Fountain import or export, and no screenplay page formatting. It is built for the scripts video teams actually write: commercials, brand films, explainers, social cutdowns, treatments, and two-column AV scripts. If you write feature screenplays, a dedicated screenwriting tool will serve you better. Where to next Writing and formatting: the editor, the AV block, voiceover timing, real-time co-editing, and drafting with the Script Agent. Review and sign-off: review links, guest comments, passphrase protection, and the approval trail. Versions and exports: review rounds as versions, plus PDF, Word, Markdown, and plain text exports. Turning a script into a storyboard: the one-click conversion from approved script to editable frames. Which plans include Scripts? Scripts are included on every Boords plan. Free teams can keep three active scripts at a time; paid plans include unlimited active scripts. Archived scripts do not count towards the limit. Some features inside Scripts, such as creating new versions, passphrase-protected review links, and Word, Markdown, and plain text exports, are part of paid plans. See pricing for the details of what each plan covers. Is this screenplay software? No, and deliberately so. Boords Scripts is built for video teams writing commercials, brand films, explainers, and social cutdowns, not for feature screenplays. There are no sluglines and no Final Draft or Fountain import or export. If you write screenplays for film and television, a dedicated screenwriting tool will serve you better. Do versions count toward my script limit? No. The active script limit counts scripts, not versions. A script with five versions uses one slot. Duplicating a script does create a new, independent script and uses a slot, and archiving a script frees one.

Write, review, and sign off video scripts inside your projects

Scripts overview

The script editor is a pageless rich-text document with a first-class two-column AV block, real-time co-editing, and a Script Agent in the sidebar for drafting and tightening. The editor A script is a single pageless document: no page breaks, no screenplay margins, just the words. The formatting bar sits between the header and the document and covers everything you need for a video script: Text style: paragraph and headings 1 to 3 Bold, italic, underline, and strikethrough Text colour and highlight colour Font size Alignment Bulleted and numbered lists Blockquote and horizontal rule Tables and images (from the Insert menu) Press Cmd+K (Mac) or Ctrl+K (Windows) to add or edit a link on the selected text. That is the one custom shortcut; everything else uses the standard shortcuts you already know from other editors. !The editor with the formatting bar visible and the Insert menu open When you open a brand new script you will see three shortcuts instead of an empty page: Two-column AV script, Write with Boords Agent, and Blank script. Pick one to get started, or just start typing. !A blank script with the three starter shortcuts The AV block Two-column AV scripts are built in, not something you fake with a table. Open the Insert menu and choose AV Script to add an AV block. Each block has three fixed columns: Scene: numbered automatically, with a word count and runtime for that row. Audio / Voiceover: what the audience hears. Visual: what the audience sees. The Audio / Voiceover and Visual labels are editable if your team calls them something else. Rows can be added, duplicated, deleted, and dragged into a new order. The three columns themselves are fixed: you cannot add, remove, resize, merge, or split them. If you need free-form columns, insert a regular table instead. Voiceover timing Every AV block has a timing band across the top showing the total runtime and the audio word count for the block. Only text in the Audio / Voiceover column is counted, so visual descriptions and scene notes never inflate your runtime. Runtime is calculated at a reading speed you choose. The default is 130 words per minute. Click the WPM control to pick a preset, Slow (100), Normal (130), or Fast (160), or enter a custom value between 50 and 300 words per minute. Each block keeps its own reading speed. !An AV block with the timing band and the WPM control open Getting an existing script in Paste from Google Docs, Word, or anywhere else and the formatting comes with it: headings, bold and italic, lists, links, and tables all survive the paste. There is no file-import step when you create a script. A new script starts blank and you paste or draft into it. If you have a script as a file (a PDF or a Word document, for example), attach it to the Script Agent in the sidebar and ask it to lay the script out for you. Writing together Scripts are collaborative in real time. Everyone with edit access to the project can work in the same document at the same time, and you will see each collaborator's cursor and selection, labelled with their name, as they type. The facepile in the header shows who is in the document right now. !Two collaborators editing with live cursors and the header facepile Edits sync as you type. If your connection drops, you can keep writing: your changes are held locally and sync automatically when the connection returns. Boords tells you what is happening in two cases: Cannot connect on open: if the document cannot connect before it has loaded for the first time, the editor shows an unavailable state until the connection is made. Connection lost while editing: if you lose connection after the document has loaded, a banner appears at the top of the app and stays until the document is fully back in sync. A healthy connection shows nothing at all, so no banner means you are up to date. Drafting with the Script Agent The Script Agent lives in the editor sidebar. Open the Agent tab (the robot icon) and it reads the script that is currently open and edits it in place, so you see the changes appear in the document rather than in a chat window. !The Script Agent sidebar with the quick actions Four quick actions cover the common jobs: Draft from a brief: paste or describe the brief and get a first draft in the document. Tighten this script: cut the flab while keeping the meaning and the structure. Summarize open feedback: pull the open comment threads into a short summary you can act on. Send to storyboard: run the same conversion as the Storyboard button in the header, after you confirm. You can also type your own request, and attach files (images, PDFs, and text documents) for the Agent to work from. Large or sweeping edits ask for your confirmation before they are applied, so the Agent cannot rewrite the whole script without you saying yes. The Script Agent is available where your team has AI features switched on. Team admins control this in team settings. Your scripts, storyboards, and images are not used to train AI models. See Boords Agent for more on how the Agent works across Boords. Browser support The script editor is built for desktop browsers. Editing on a phone or tablet is not supported; the review view that clients see is responsive, so reading and commenting on a phone works fine. Safari is not part of the verified browser matrix for the collaborative editor, so for the smoothest editing experience use Chrome, Edge, or Firefox. Can I import a Final Draft or Word file? There is no file-import step when you create a script: a new script starts blank. Paste from Word or Google Docs and the formatting comes with it, or attach the file to the Script Agent in the sidebar and ask it to lay the script out for you. Final Draft (.fdx) and Fountain files are not supported, because Scripts is not screenplay software. How is the voiceover runtime calculated? The AV block counts the words in the Audio / Voiceover column only and divides by the reading speed you have set for that block. The default is 130 words per minute, with presets for Slow (100), Normal (130), and Fast (160), or any custom value between 50 and 300. Text in the Visual column and scene notes are never counted, so your runtime reflects what will actually be spoken. Can two people edit at the same time? Yes. Scripts are collaborative in real time, with live cursors so you can see who is working where. Edits sync as you type, and if your connection drops your work is held locally and syncs automatically when the connection comes back.

The editor, the AV block, voiceover timing, co-editing, and the Script Agent

Writing and formatting

Share a script with your client through a review link, take their feedback anchored to the exact lines they mean, and keep a record of who approved what and when. Edit and Review Every script has two modes, switched with the toggle in the header. Edit is your team's workspace: the live document, the formatting bar, and the sidebar with the Agent, comments, activity, and settings. Review is the shareable version of the script: a clean, read-only view of the same document with a comments panel, exactly as a client will see it. Click Review at any time to see the version you are editing the way a reviewer will. !The Edit and Review toggle in the script header The review link Each script has one stable review link. Copy it from the Settings tab in the sidebar, from the Share script dialog (click the facepile in the header), or from the Share action on the dashboard card. The link always shows the newest version of the script, so you can send it once at the start of a project and it stays correct through every round. Guests can open the link, read the script, and leave comments with no Boords account, no login, and no seat on your plan. If you copy the link while looking at an older version, you get an exact-version link instead. That link always shows that specific version, even after you create newer ones, which is useful when you need someone to look at a particular round. !The Share script dialog with the review link and passphrase field Comments anchored to the line Comments on a script are attached to text, not to the document as a whole. Guests and team members select the words they want to talk about, click the comment bubble that appears, and write. The thread shows the quoted text at the top so nobody has to guess what "this line" refers to. !The guest review view with a comment anchored to a line Anchors survive editing. Move a paragraph, rewrite the sentence around it, or add lines above it, and the comment stays with its text. If the text a comment was attached to is deleted, the thread is not lost: it stays in the comments panel, labelled Original text deleted, with its original quote so you can still act on the feedback. Threads work the way you would expect: reply to a comment, mark a thread as complete when it has been dealt with, and reopen it if the note comes back. Team members can also mark a comment as team only, so it is visible to your team but not to guests on the review link. !The comments panel in the editor showing anchored threads Mentions and notifications Type @ in a comment to mention up to five team members who have access to the project. Guests cannot be mentioned. Mentions, replies, and completed threads create notifications that land in your Boords inbox, by email, and in Slack if you have connected it. See Notifications for how to set that up. The bell in each script's header controls what you personally receive for that script: whether you get comment emails, and whether you follow the script in your inbox. Following covers every version of the script. Sending directly Instead of copying the link, you can send it from Boords. Add one or more email addresses in the Add reviewer emails field (in Settings or in the Share script dialog), write a personal message, and send. Each recipient gets an email with their own link to the script. Direct sends give you read receipts: the Activity panel records when each recipient first opened the script, when they last opened it, and how many times. You can send to up to 50 addresses per day. Passphrase protection You can lock the review link with a passphrase so that only people you have given it to can open the script. Turn on Passphrase in Settings or the Share script dialog and enter the phrase. Guests are asked for it before they see the document, and once they have entered it they stay unlocked for that script. Changing the passphrase instantly invalidates every previous unlock, so rotating it is a clean way to cut off access. Recipients you sent the script to directly bypass the passphrase through their personal link. Passphrase protection is available on paid plans. See pricing for details. Script settings The Settings tab in the sidebar holds the review link controls and the settings that shape what reviewers see. These settings apply to every version of the script. !The script settings panel showing the toggles | Setting | Default | What it does | |---|---|---| | Allow comments | On | Lets team members and guests comment on the script. Turn it off to make the review link read-only. | | Hide completed | Off | Hides completed threads for everyone viewing in Review. | | Allow on old versions | On | Lets people start new threads and reply on versions older than the newest one. | | Show version number | On | Shows guests which version they are looking at when the script has more than one. | | Allow guest version switching | Off | Lets guests switch between versions using the version dropdown in Review. | | Show new version message | Off | Tells guests looking at an older version that a newer one exists, with a link to it. | | Allow guests to download | Off | Shows guests the Export menu so they can download the script as PDF, Word, Markdown, or plain text. | | Show word count | Off | Shows a word count below the document in Edit and Review. | | Hide completed in Edit | Off | Hides completed threads for your team in Edit. | | Email team members | On | Sends comment emails to team members who follow the script. | Approval and the activity trail When the client is happy, set the version's status to Approved, or another status your team has added under Approved, using the status pill next to the title. The approval is recorded in the Activity panel against that version, with who did it and when, alongside every comment, status change, share, and read receipt on the script. Because status is per version, the record of which round was signed off stays intact when you open the next one. !Script editor with the Activity panel open, listing read receipts from two client reviewers, an approval, comments, a share, and a status change to In progress See Versions and exports for how review rounds work as versions. Do clients need a Boords account? No. Share the review link and anyone you send it to can read the script and leave comments anchored to specific lines. No account, no login, no seat on your plan. You can set a passphrase on the link, and you decide whether guests can download the script. Can I passphrase-protect the link? Yes, on paid plans. Turn on Passphrase in the script settings or the Share script dialog and enter a phrase. Guests are asked for it before they can see the document. Changing the passphrase instantly invalidates every previous unlock, and people you sent the script to directly bypass the passphrase through their personal link. Can guests download the script? Only if you let them. Allow guests to download is off by default. Turn it on in the script settings and guests will see the Export menu in Review, with the same formats your plan allows: PDF, Word, Markdown, and plain text.

Review links, anchored guest comments, passphrases, and the approval trail

Review and sign-off

Review rounds are versions of the same script rather than new files, and when you need the script outside Boords you can export it as PDF, Word, Markdown, or plain text. A round is a version, not a new filename When a round of feedback comes in and you want to keep the previous draft intact, create a new version. Click the version pill next to the script title (it reads v1, v2, and so on) and choose New Version. !The version dropdown open, showing versions and the New Version button with the copy comments option The new version is a full copy of the document. By default, Copy comments is ticked, so every comment thread comes across still anchored to the right lines and a new round does not throw away the last one. Untick it if you want the new version to start with a clean comments panel. The review link keeps pointing at the newest version automatically, so clients do not need a new link for each round. See Review and sign-off for how the link behaves. Creating new versions is available on paid plans. See pricing for details. What each version keeps, and what is shared Each version keeps its own status and its own content. That is what makes the sign-off record work: v1 can stay Approved while v2 is In progress. A new version starts at Draft. The title, passphrase, and all of the script settings are shared across every version. Change any of them on one version and it applies to all of them. Switching and deleting versions Every earlier version stays readable. Open the version pill and pick any version to switch to it. In Review, guests can only switch versions if you have turned on Allow guest version switching in the script settings. Any version can be deleted as long as the script has more than one, including the one you are looking at. Version numbers are positions, so if you delete v2 of three versions the old v3 becomes v2. Links to remaining versions keep working. Version vs duplicate A new version continues the same script: same review link, same settings, shared history, and it does not use another active script slot. Duplicate (from the dashboard card menu or the ⋮ menu in the editor) creates a completely independent script from the current version only. It gets its own review link and its own history, and it counts as a new active script towards your plan limit. Use duplicate when you want to start a genuinely separate script from an existing one, and a new version for the next round of the same script. Exports Open the Export menu (the download icon in the header) to download the script in one of four formats: !The Export menu open in the header PDF: a typeset document with searchable text, working links, and tables and AV columns preserved. Choosing PDF opens a preview where you pick A4 or US Letter and decide whether to include statistics, which adds word count, reading time, and total voiceover runtime to the first page. Every PDF includes the script title, version, export date, and page numbers. Word (.docx): rich text with headings, formatting, images, tables, and AV blocks intact, so an AV script keeps its two-column layout in Word. Markdown (.md): plain Markdown for pasting into other tools. Plain text (.txt): the words only. !The PDF export modal with page size and statistics options Files are named after the script and version, for example Halo Running 30s brand film_v2.pdf, so a folder of exports sorts itself. Exports capture what is in the editor at the moment you click, including edits that have not finished syncing, so you never download a stale copy. PDF export is available on every plan. On Free, PDFs carry a Boords watermark. Word, Markdown, and plain text exports, and clean PDFs, are available on paid plans. See pricing for details. Guests and downloads By default, guests on the review link cannot download the script. Turn on Allow guests to download in the script settings to show them the Export menu in Review. Guests get the same formats your plan allows. What happens to comments when I create a new version? They come with you. Creating a version copies the comment threads across by default, still anchored to the right lines, so a new round does not throw away the last one. Untick Copy comments when you create the version if you would rather start clean. Each version keeps its own status, and the activity trail records who did what and when across all of them. What export formats are available? PDF, Word (.docx), Markdown, and plain text. The PDF export is a real typeset document rather than a screenshot: searchable text, working links, tables and AV columns preserved, and an optional statistics page with word count, reading time, and total voiceover runtime. PDF is available on every plan (with a watermark on Free); Word, Markdown, and plain text are part of paid plans.

Review rounds as versions, plus PDF, Word, Markdown, and plain text exports

Versions and exports

Once the script is approved, one click turns it into a storyboard of editable frames in the same project, with the scenes already broken out and your fields filled in. One button The Storyboard button sits in the script header, between Export and the Edit / Review toggle. Click it and Boords reads the script, works out where the scenes are, and builds a new storyboard in the same project with one frame per scene. !The Create storyboard button in the script header The button is disabled while the script is empty, still loading, or out of sync, so you cannot convert a half-saved document by accident. The dialog Before anything is created, a dialog lets you confirm three things: Field names: the frame fields the storyboard will have. Boords suggests them by reading your script (Action, Dialogue, and Sound, for example). Edit, add, or remove them as you like. A Label field is always added automatically. Number of scenes: how many frames to create, from 1 to 250. Boords suggests a count from the script; you can change it. Frame size: Landscape (16:9), Portrait (9:16), Square (1:1), Social (4:5), TV (4:3), Widescreen (1.85:1), or Anamorphic (2.4:1). It defaults to the size you used last. !The Create storyboard dialog with field names, scene count, and frame size Click Create storyboard and Boords gets to work. You can cancel while it is identifying scenes; once the storyboard is being written you will be taken to it as soon as it is ready. !The progress state while Boords identifies scenes and creates frames Long scripts If your script is screenplay length, Boords will not try to turn the whole thing into one enormous board. Instead the dialog shows a scene-range picker so you convert a section at a time, running the conversion once per range. What you get A structure-only storyboard: the right number of frames, in order, with your fields filled in from the script. No images are generated at this stage, so you start with the words in place and empty frames. !The resulting structure-only storyboard with fields filled in From there you work in the storyboard as normal: generate images for each frame, apply a style, upload your own artwork, or draw. See AI image generator and Adding your own images to keep going. One-way, one-shot The storyboard does not stay in sync with the script. It is a snapshot of the script at the moment you converted it, and edits you make in either place afterwards do not flow to the other. Conversion also does not append to an existing storyboard: each run creates a new one. If the script changes enough that you want a fresh board, edit the script and convert again. Via the Script Agent You can also ask the Script Agent to send the script to a storyboard. Open the Agent tab in the sidebar and use the Send to storyboard quick action, or just ask. The Agent runs the same conversion with the same rules, and always asks you to confirm before it creates anything. For screenplay-length scripts it will list the available scene ranges and wait for you to pick one. See Writing and formatting for more on the Script Agent. Does the storyboard stay in sync with the script? No. Conversion is one-way and one-shot: the storyboard is a snapshot of the script at the moment you converted it, and later edits in either place do not flow to the other. Conversion also does not append to an existing storyboard; each run creates a new one. If the script changes enough, edit it and convert again. Are images generated during conversion? No. Conversion creates a structure-only storyboard: the right number of frames, in order, with your fields filled in from the script. From there you generate images, apply a style, upload your own artwork, or draw, exactly as you would in any storyboard.

Convert an approved script into editable frames in the same project

Turning a script into a storyboard

Boords keeps you up to date on comments that need your attention. Your notifications inbox collects mentions, replies, and updates from storyboards you follow, all in one place. The notifications inbox Open your inbox from the bell icon in the left rail. The bell shows a pink badge when you have unread notifications. The inbox is separate from your email and from the team Activity Log, and only you can see your own notifications. !noti-inbox The inbox has four tabs: All shows every active notification. Unread shows what you haven't read yet. Read shows notifications you've opened. Archived shows anything you've cleared from the other three tabs. The inbox updates automatically while Boords is open. Click a notification to mark it read and jump straight to the comment. From the inbox panel header you can clear everything with Mark all as read, and from the Read tab you can clear everything at once with Archive all. You can also archive individual notifications from the row's menu on any tab. Mentions, replies, and status changes on your own comments (when someone marks them complete or reopens them) always appear in your inbox, even if you haven't followed anything. Following a storyboard or project adds every comment on that storyboard or project on top of those. Using @mentions Type @ while writing a comment to bring up a list of teammates you can mention, then pick a name to insert it. The list is scoped to teammates with access to the storyboard's project. The mentioned person gets a notification in their inbox, and an email summary if their global @mentions and replies preference is on. !mention-1 Large !mention-2 Large A few things to know: Guests commenting on shareable links can leave comments but cannot @mention. If you edit a comment to remove a name, that person's notification is cancelled. Following a storyboard Open the bell menu in any storyboard header and turn on Follow in Inbox. Every new comment on that storyboard then creates an inbox notification, including comments left by guests on the shareable link. The follow toggle only affects the inbox; your email preferences decide whether you also get a comment email, separately from the follow. !noti-sb-bell Right below the follow toggle, Email me about new comments controls whether this storyboard sends you comment emails. It only takes effect when your global comment-email preference is also on. To stop following, open the same bell menu and turn Follow in Inbox off. If you've set the toggle on a storyboard yourself, that choice sticks even when you change the project's follow setting. Following a script Scripts have the same bell in the script header. Turn on Follow in Inbox to get an inbox notification for every new comment on the script, including guest comments left on the review link, and use Email me about new comments to control comment emails for that script. Following a script covers all of its versions, so you do not need to follow each round separately. New scripts you create are followed for you automatically when Auto-follow new scripts I add is on in your account defaults, and following a project follows the scripts inside it as well as the storyboards. Following a project Following a project applies the same idea to every storyboard inside it. Open the bell menu on a project page and turn on Follow in Inbox to get notifications for every top-level storyboard in that project (the originals, not their versions), both current and future. !Project page bell menu open, showing Notifications with Follow in Inbox turned on and Email me about new comments A few rules to know: If you've turned Follow in Inbox off on a particular storyboard, following its project won't switch it back on. Turning the project follow off stops following the storyboards Boords had auto-added for you. Any storyboards you turned on yourself from the storyboard's own bell menu stay followed. New top-level storyboards added to the project are auto-followed for everyone watching the project. The project bell menu also has its own Email me about new comments toggle. This adds comment emails for storyboards in the project even when your global comment-email preference is off, and is independent of the inbox follow. Finding the projects you follow When your project list gets long, the Filter button at the top of the projects sidebar lets you narrow it down: All projects shows everything. Following shows only the projects with Follow in Inbox turned on. Not following shows the rest. !noti-follow Account defaults Manage your global preferences at Settings → Account → Notifications. The page splits them into two groups. Email notifications New comments on storyboards you follow. Receive batched emails for new comments on storyboards you have access to. The toggle is the master switch for comment emails; per-storyboard and per-project email overrides decide which specific storyboards send to you. @mentions and replies to your comments. Receive batched emails when someone @mentions you or replies to you. Inbox notifications Auto-follow new storyboards I add. Automatically follow any new storyboard you create or duplicate. New versions of an existing storyboard inherit the follow status of the master storyboard rather than getting their own. Auto-follow new scripts I add. The same for scripts: automatically follow any new script you create. Following covers every version of the script. New accounts have all three turned on by default. The page reminds you that mentions, replies, and status changes on your own comments always appear in your inbox regardless of follows. !noti-account Slack DMs Boords can also deliver your notifications as Slack DMs. The DMs cover the same five types as your inbox: mentions, replies, comments completed, comments reopened, and comments on storyboards and scripts you follow. They go only to you. Boords never posts in Slack channels or sends DMs to other teammates. See also: Slack, an overview of what Boords sends to Slack. Slack DMs are available on every Boords plan, including Free. Slack is set up per team. Each Boords team you belong to has its own Slack connection, and you connect your own Slack account separately for each one. Setting up Slack Setup is two steps: 1. Install the Boords app on your Slack workspace. A team Owner or Admin does this once, by clicking Install on the team's row in Settings → Account → Notifications. The person who installs is connected straight away. After that, everyone on the team can connect their own account. If you can't install it yourself, click Notify admin to email your team's Owners and Admins. 2. Connect your own Slack account. Open Settings → Account → Notifications and click Connect on the team's row. Boords sends you to Slack to authorise the DM, then back to your settings. !slack-install New notifications start arriving in Slack straight away. The DM has the same content as the inbox notification and links back to the comment in Boords. Click Send test on the team's row to send yourself a test DM. If a teammate edits a comment to remove your mention after the DM has gone out, the DM stays in Slack. If the connection expires, the row says so, and an Owner or Admin can click Reconnect. !slack-screenshot The Slack setup banner When your team's Slack workspace is connected but you haven't linked your own account, Boords shows a banner at the top of project pages and team storyboards. It reads "Get inbox notifications in Slack for your team", with your team's name in place. Click it to jump to the Slack row in your account settings. You can dismiss the banner if you don't want to use Slack for that team.  !slack-banner Disconnecting Slack Open Settings → Account → Notifications, click Disconnect on the relevant team's row and confirm. Your inbox and email notifications carry on as before. If someone uninstalls the Boords app from your Slack workspace, DMs stop for everyone on the team until an Owner or Admin sets Slack up again. Where to set what A quick reference for the change you might want to make: | I want to... | Go to | | --| --| | Get inbox notifications about a single storyboard | Follow in Inbox in the storyboard's bell menu | | Get inbox notifications about every storyboard in a project | Follow in Inbox on the project page bell menu | | Stop comment emails for a single storyboard | Email me about new comments in the storyboard's bell menu | | Override your global email preference for a whole project | Email me about new comments on the project page bell menu | | Change global email or auto-follow preferences | Settings → Account → Notifications | | Get Boords notifications as Slack DMs | Connect for the relevant team on Settings → Account → Notifications | | See which projects you're following | Filter button at the top of the projects sidebar | | Stop following | The same bell menu you used to turn it on | Inbox versus email The inbox and your email are independent surfaces. Your inbox collects activity aimed at you: mentions, replies, and status changes on your own comments, plus any comment activity on storyboards or projects you've followed. Your email delivers comment digests based on your email preferences. You can receive comment emails for any storyboard you have access to, regardless of whether you've followed it in the inbox. Following a storyboard does not subscribe you to its emails, and getting emails for a storyboard does not put it in your inbox. What triggers a notification Five kinds of notification can land in your inbox. The same table shows which ones also create an email. | Type | When you get it | In inbox | In email | | --| --| --| --| | Mention | Someone @mentions you in a comment. | Always | If your @mentions and replies email is on | | Reply | Someone replies to a comment you left. | Always | If your @mentions and replies email is on | | Comment completed | Someone else marks your comment complete. | Always | If your new comments email is on and the storyboard has comment emails enabled | | Comment reopened | Someone else reopens your completed comment. | Always | No | | Followed storyboard | A new comment on a storyboard you follow. | Always | Independent of the follow. You'll get a regular comment email if your email preferences are set to deliver one for that storyboard. | If a comment would trigger more than one notification for you, you'll see the most direct one only. Mentions beat replies, and both beat followed-storyboard notifications. See the FAQ below for an example. Edge cases Guests. Guests can comment but don't have a Boords inbox; they trigger your notifications but receive none themselves. Deleted comments. If a comment is deleted, its notification is hidden from your inbox. Lost project access. If you lose access to a project, its notifications are hidden from your inbox automatically. Edited comments. If a comment is edited to remove your @mention, that notification is cancelled. Related Commenting overview Activity & notifications for the team Activity Log. Developers can also access notifications via the Boords API and Webhooks. Are notifications on by default for new accounts? Yes. New accounts start with everything turned on: Auto-follow new storyboards I add, New comments on storyboards you follow, and @mentions and replies to your comments. You can change any of these at Settings → Account → Notifications once you've seen what's useful and what's noisy. How often are batched comment emails sent? Digest emails are sent roughly every 10 minutes, so a busy review session won't flood your inbox with one email per comment. @mentions and replies emails go out on the same 10-minute cadence: they're delivered alongside other comment activity in the next batched email, not as separate immediate sends. If 10 minutes feels too slow for your workflow, the in-app inbox updates automatically and is the fastest way to keep up with comments as they come in. Do guest reviewers receive notifications? No. Guests commenting on shareable links can leave comments and trigger notifications for the people you've shared the storyboard with, but they don't have a Boords account or inbox and don't receive notifications themselves. Guests also can't @mention teammates. If you need someone to receive notifications, invite them to your team instead of relying on the shareable link. Can I get browser or desktop push notifications? Not currently. Boords delivers notifications to the in-app inbox and as email summaries based on your preferences, but does not send browser push or desktop notifications. The in-app inbox refreshes automatically while you have Boords open, so you'll see new notifications without reloading the page. If you connect Slack, your Slack app's own notifications will alert you to Boords DMs. What happens when one comment triggers more than one notification type? Boords picks the most direct notification and skips the rest. A mention beats a reply, and both beat a followed-storyboard notification. For example, if a teammate replies to you and @mentions you in the same comment, you'll see a mention notification only. The reply and followed-storyboard versions are suppressed so your inbox isn't cluttered with duplicates of the same comment.

Stay on top of comments with the inbox, @mentions, and follows

Notifications

Share your storyboards, scripts, and projects with clients and stakeholders using shareable links — __no Boords account required for viewers__. Sharing storyboards Every storyboard has a unique shareable link that you can send to anyone. Viewers can browse frames, watch the animatic, and leave feedback directly on the link. Opening the shareable view Every storyboard header has an Edit / Review toggle. Switch to Review to open the shareable view, the clean, client-ready version of your storyboard that viewers see. Switch back to Edit to return to your workspace at any time. !rev-share-toggle You can also open a storyboard's shareable link straight from the project view. Click the three-dot menu on any storyboard card and select Share link. !share-1 The Share settings panel In the shareable view, your shareable link is shown ready to copy. Click the settings button to open the panel, which has two tabs. Share settings. Manage the shareable link, send it to reviewers by email, and control the password, display preferences, permissions, and zoom. Activity. See a feed of activity on this storyboard, including when reviewers open your link. A dot appears on the tab when there's new activity since you last opened it. The Activity tab is available on all paid plans. !rev-share Sending a link for review Rather than copying the link and pasting it into your own email, you can have Boords email the review link directly to your reviewers. In the Share settings tab, type one or more reviewer email addresses into the Add reviewer emails field. Each address becomes a chip. Press Enter, Tab, or comma to add another, and use Backspace to remove the last one. !rev2-send-to-client Once you've added at least one reviewer, an optional message field and a Send button appear. Add a short note if you like, then click Send. Each reviewer gets their own email with a link straight to your storyboard. Because Boords sends the link for you, it knows who your reviewers are. You can see when each person opens the storyboard in the Activity tab and the Activity Log. The Share storyboard window Owners and admins can also open sharing controls straight from the storyboard header, without switching to the Review view. Click the Share storyboard button in the header to open a window with two tabs. !rev2-modal Review link. Copy the shareable link, send it to reviewers by email, and manage the passphrase, permissions, and display options. This gathers the sharing controls described above into one window. Team access. Invite teammates to edit the storyboard. This is covered in Inviting & managing users. Security Password protection This feature is available on all paid plans. Add a password to your shareable link to control who can access it. Open the Share settings panel, turn on Passphrase, and enter your chosen password. Anyone visiting the link will need to enter this password before viewing the storyboard. !rev-passphrase If you email a review link directly to reviewers, they get in without entering the passphrase. Anyone else who only has the link still needs it. This keeps the passphrase out of your emails while the link itself stays protected. Display preferences Control how your storyboard appears to viewers from the Share settings panel. Share as grid When enabled, viewers see all frames displayed in a grid layout. This gives an overview of the entire storyboard at a glance. Viewers can click any frame to zoom in and see it in detail. Animatic When enabled, viewers can watch your storyboard as an animatic — a video-like playback of your frames with timing. This is ideal for reviewing pacing and flow with clients. You can enable both Share as grid and Animatic to give viewers the choice of how they want to review your work. If only Animatic is enabled, viewers go straight to the player view. Show image border Display a border around each frame image. Useful for frames with white or transparent backgrounds. Show frame numbers Display the frame number on each frame, helping viewers reference specific frames in their feedback. Show label text Show the labels for each frame field (such as "Action" or "Dialogue") alongside the content. Show icons Display icons next to frame fields for visual clarity. Show frame status Display the status badge on individual frames. Frames have their own three statuses, In Progress, Review Needed and Approved, which are separate from your storyboard statuses. Word count Display the word count on frames. Use the dropdown to choose whether to count words from All fields or a specific field like Dialogue or Action. This helps voice-over artists and editors estimate timing. Date, dropdown and checkbox fields Viewers see date, dropdown and checkbox fields but can't change them. Dates show like 3 Nov 2026 and dropdown options show as coloured pills. Checkboxes always show, ticked or not, and empty date and dropdown fields are left out. Permissions Control what viewers can do and see on your shared link from the Share settings panel. !rev2-permissions Show storyboard status pill Display the storyboard's status (Draft, In progress, In review, Changes requested or Approved) as a pill on the shared view, so clients can see where it sits in your sign-off process. Viewers only see these categories, never your team's own status names. For example, a storyboard set to a custom "Internal review" status shows as In review. Comments Enable viewers to leave comments on your storyboard. When turned on, guests can add feedback directly on frames without needing a Boords account. For full details on how commenting works, see Commenting overview. When comments are enabled, two additional options appear: Hide completed — Hide comments that have been marked as complete, so viewers only see outstanding feedback Allow on old versions — Let viewers comment on previous versions of the storyboard, not just the latest Show version number Display which version of the storyboard viewers are looking at. This helps avoid confusion when you've made multiple revisions. When enabled, additional options appear: Allow guest version switching — Let viewers navigate between different versions of the storyboard to compare changes Show new version message — Display a notification to viewers when a newer version is available, prompting them to view the latest Sharing scripts Scripts have a review link that works the same way as a storyboard's shareable link: guests open it in their browser, read the script, and comment on exact lines without a Boords account. Each script has one stable link that always shows the newest version, so you send it once and it stays correct through every review round. !The Share script dialog with the review link and passphrase field You will find the same controls you know from storyboards: Copy the review link, or email it directly to reviewers with a personal message and see read receipts in the script's Activity panel Passphrase protection for the link (paid plans), with direct-send recipients bypassing it through their personal link Permissions: allow comments, show the version number, allow guest version switching, show the new version message, and allow guests to download the script (off by default) Open these from the Settings tab in the script sidebar, the Share script dialog (click the facepile in the header), or the Share action on the script's dashboard card. See Review and sign-off for the full walkthrough. Sharing projects Share an entire project — including all its storyboards — with a single link. This is useful when you want to give clients access to multiple storyboards at once, such as all the episodes in a series or all the scenes in a campaign. Project sharing is covered in detail in Projects. Here's a quick overview: 1. Open the project you want to share 2. Click Share in the project header, then choose Share project link 3. Toggle Enable public link to generate the shareable URL 4. Optionally enable Include project description, Include sub-projects, or Add password protection 5. Copy the link and share it with your recipients !Share link to project dialog with Enable public link turned on, the link to copy, and link settings for project description, sub-projects and password protection Why can't guests see my animatic? Check that the Animatic toggle is enabled in your share settings. If it's turned off, guests will only see the grid or frame view. Current paid plans include the animatic editor; see pricing for the feature comparison. Can guests leave comments on my shared link? Yes, if you enable the Comments toggle in your share settings. Guests will be asked to enter their name when commenting. For more details on how commenting works, see Commenting overview. How do I know if someone viewed my shared link? On paid plans, open the Activity tab in your storyboard's share settings to see review activity. When you send review links through Boords, you can see when each named reviewer opens the storyboard in the Activity tab and the Activity Log. How do I disable sharing for a storyboard? Shareable links are always active, but you can add password protection to control access. If you've shared a link and want to revoke access, enable the Passphrase option and set a new password that you don't share, or you can simply archive the storyboard.

Share storyboards, scripts, and projects with a link

Sharing links

Exporting your storyboard as a PDF makes it easy to share your work with clients, collaborators, or anyone reviewing your project. The PDF exporter gives you control over layout, image sizing, font and branding, before it’s sent out to present or review. See also: PDF in Exports, an overview of the PDF export and the other formats. Accessing the PDF exporter Open your storyboard and click Export in the header. From the list of options, choose PDF. !export pdf This opens the PDF export settings, where you can customise the layout, styling, and content of your document. Custom covers PDF exports support front and back covers, allowing you to brand or title your storyboard export. Upload your own cover pages if you already have them. !custom front Or use the cover builder to add your logo. Upload your logo and Boords will generate a cover page for you automatically. !upload logo If you don't want a front cover, choose No front cover. Choose a layout Choose how frames are arranged in your storyboard by selecting from a range of layout options: !format pdf Six frame grid Eight frame grid (with Widescreen ticked) Four frame grid Three up Two up Frame list Full page Two Columns The layouts on offer depend on your frames' shape. Portrait (9:16) and 4:5 frames use Three up. You can also fine-tune the layout using the controls below: Image size. Choose a percentage from 40 to 100%, in steps of 10, to control how large your images appear on the page. !image size Widescreen option. Check the widescreen box to enable a wider layout. With widescreen enabled, the Eight frame grid layout becomes available. Pages are A4 landscape otherwise. Frame list always prints on A4 portrait, so the Widescreen option is hidden for it. !widescreen Fonts Customise how your PDF looks by changing the background colour, text colour, font and font size. Fonts support multiple languages. !font Frame settings Frame settings let you control how frames appear in the exported PDF, giving you more flexibility over the final look of your storyboard. !frame settings You can show or hide image borders, label text, frame numbers and field icons, and choose whether empty frames show a placeholder. This makes it easy to create a cleaner presentation or include more detail, depending on who you’re sharing the storyboard with. Footer customisation The footer can be customised to match your project or brand: Upload a footer logo Show or hide the version number Show or hide page numbers Show or hide the document name !footer Downloading your PDF Click Export when you are happy with the settings. Keep the window open while your browser generates the document. When the preview is ready, click Download PDF to save it to your device. The confirmation then says Please check your downloads folder. You can use Back to export settings to make changes and export again. Download every storyboard in a project When a campaign is ready for sign-off, you can send the client every board at once. Open the project, click the three-dot menu next to the project name and choose Download all as PDF. To download only some storyboards, select their cards and click Download as PDF in the toolbar at the bottom. Boords shows how many storyboards it will export. Click Download and keep the tab open until the download starts. Each storyboard downloads as its latest version with its own PDF settings, and the PDFs arrive together in one ZIP file. Very large projects download as several ZIP files. If your browser asks to allow multiple downloads, allow them. Archived storyboards, older versions and storyboards in sub-projects aren't included. If a storyboard can't be exported, the dialog lists it and the ZIP includes a failed-exports.txt file. Downloading a project or a selection as PDFs is available on paid plans and during a trial. Trial PDFs are watermarked previews, as they are for a single export. It isn't available on the Free plan. Watermarks On the Free plan, every page of the PDF carries a "Boords.com • Free Version" watermark. Upgrade to a paid plan to remove it. During a trial, PDFs are watermarked previews with lower-resolution images, and the file name ends in _preview. PDFs from paid plans have no watermark. Why does an old storyboard PDF link open export settings? Storyboard PDFs are generated in your browser. Old storyboard links ending in .pdf now open the current PDF exporter instead of downloading a server-generated file. Check your settings, click Export, then click Download PDF when it is ready.

Choose layouts, covers, and branding for PDF exports

PDF exports

Templates help your studio maintain consistency across client projects and reduce setup time when creating new storyboards. This feature is available on the Team and Agency plans. Whether you're working with multiple clients who each have specific format requirements, or you want to standardise how your team sets up storyboards, templates let you define the settings once and apply them instantly. | Role | Can create/edit templates | Can use templates | |------|---------------------------|-------------------| | Owner | ✓ | ✓ | | Admin | ✓ | ✓ | | Full teammate | — | ✓ | | Restricted teammate | — | ✓ | Accessing templates To access templates, click your team name in the sidebar and select Templates from the menu. !Xnapper-2025-12-10-10.42.22 You'll find several pre-built templates to get you started. To create your own, click + New Template. Setting up a template Here's how to configure your template: Label and Name Placeholder: Give your template a label to identify it (e.g. "Client A TV Spots"), and set a name placeholder to prompt consistent storyboard naming. Aspect Ratio: Choose the aspect ratio that matches your deliverable format. Default Frame Count: Set how many frames new storyboards should start with. Sharing Settings: Configure commenting and password protection. When comments are enabled, you can also choose whether to allow comments on previous versions. Frame fields: Choose the frame fields that appear on each frame. Click + Add field to add a Text, Date, Dropdown or Checkbox field. Field types and dropdown options, including their colours, carry over to every storyboard created from the template. !Frame fields in the template dialog Managing templates Your templates appear in the Templates section where you can edit, duplicate, or delete them. Assigning a template to a project You can assign a template to a project so that all new storyboards in that project use the same settings automatically. Click the ⋯ menu next to the project name, then choose Set template under Storyboards. !The project menu open next to the project name, with Set template under the Storyboards heading Choose the template you want to apply. Click Save to confirm. New storyboards in this project now start from that template. When you create one, the New storyboard dialog shows which template it's using. Creating storyboards with templates When a template is assigned to the project If the project has a template assigned, new storyboards start from it automatically. Click New and choose Storyboard. The project's template is already selected in the new storyboard dialog, and you can pick a different one there if you need to. !The New storyboard dialog showing Using Social (Reels) template with a Remove link Templates aren't available when using the AI Assistant. Disable the AI Assistant to use a template. Click Remove in the New storyboard dialog to create that storyboard without the template. To choose a different template for the project, click ⋯ next to the project name, choose Set template, pick another template and click Save. When no template is assigned If the project doesn't have a template, you can select an aspect ratio to continue without one. Or click Create using template to choose a template for this storyboard.

Build reusable storyboard templates for your team

Templates

Customise how your team appears across Boords and to your clients. Team name Your team name appears throughout Boords—in the sidebar, on shared storyboards, and in notification emails. To change your team name: 1. Go to Settings → Team → General 2. Enter your new team name 3. Click Save Team names must be at least 2 characters long. Team logo Your team logo appears in the sidebar and can optionally be displayed on shared storyboards. To upload a team logo: 1. Go to Settings → Team → General 2. Click on the avatar to upload a new image 3. Select an image file (JPG or PNG, less than 1MB) If you don't upload a logo, Boords will display your team's initial as the default avatar. Custom subdomain This feature is available on the Team and Agency plans. Create a branded workspace for your team and clients. Instead of the standard app.boords.com, your team can access Boords at yourcompany.boords.com. To set up a custom subdomain: 1. Go to Settings → Team → Domain 2. Enter your company name 3. Review the preview URL shown below the input 4. Click Save Your subdomain will be automatically formatted as a URL-friendly slug (lowercase, with hyphens replacing spaces). Once set, all your shared storyboard links will use your custom subdomain, giving clients a branded experience when viewing your work. Password rotation This feature is available on the Agency plan. Require everyone on your team who signs in with a Boords password to choose a new one every 90 days. People who sign in with Google are not affected. To turn on password rotation: 1. Go to Settings → Team → General 2. Scroll to Password rotation 3. Click Enable password rotation Only team admins can see this setting. !Password rotation in team settings Nobody is asked to change their password straight away. Each person's first deadline is 90 days after you enable the policy, or 90 days after they join the team if that is later. What your team sees Starting 14 days before their deadline, each person sees a banner in Boords with a link to change their password. Once the deadline passes, they must choose a new password before they can keep using Boords. They can't reuse their current password. See Team password rotation for the full member experience. Turning it off To stop requiring password changes, go to Settings → Team → General and click Disable password rotation. If you turn it back on later, everyone gets a fresh 90 days. Statuses Statuses track storyboards and scripts on their way to sign-off. They belong to the team, so every project in the team uses the same set. Statuses are available on every plan. Everyone on the team can pick them, but only the team Owner and Admins can change them. To change them, go to Settings → Team → Statuses, or choose Edit statuses at the bottom of any status menu. !The Statuses page in team settings, grouped by category Every status sits in one of five fixed categories: | Category | Use it for | | --| --| | Draft | Not ready for anyone yet | | In progress | Being worked on | | In review | Waiting for feedback | | Changes requested | Feedback to act on | | Approved | Signed off | Each category starts with one default status of the same name. You can: Add status to a category. A category holds up to 10 statuses. Each name can be up to 40 characters and must be unique in your team. Rename a status from its ⋯ menu. Drag a status to reorder it within its category. Board columns and status menus follow this order. Choose Make default for In review (or the matching category) from a status's menu to make it the default. Items get the default when they move into the category without a specific status, for example when the API sets only the status category. Items already on the old default stay where they are. Delete any status that isn't a default. Boords shows how many storyboards and scripts use it, then moves them to the category's default. !The delete status confirmation dialog Each change to your statuses, from adding one to deleting one, is recorded in the team Activity Log. A status takes its colour from its category and can't move to another category. People viewing a share link always see the category name, such as In review, never your team's status names. New versions start at Draft. Duplicates keep their status. Moving a storyboard or script to another team puts it on that team's default status in the same category. Custom statuses apply to storyboards and scripts. Frame statuses don't change. Does password rotation affect people who sign in with Google? No. The policy only applies when someone signs in with a Boords email and password. Anyone who signs in with Google is never asked to change their password. Will my team be locked out when I turn it on? No. Nobody is asked to change their password until 90 days after you enable the policy. People who join the team later get a full 90 days from the day they join. What if someone belongs to more than one team with password rotation? Boords uses the earliest deadline across all of their teams, so one password change covers every team.

Change your team name, logo, custom subdomain, password rotation policy and statuses

Team settings

Your profile settings control how you appear to other team members and include information used for billing. To update your profile, go to Settings → Account → Profile. Name Your display name appears throughout Boords — in comments, activity logs, and anywhere your contributions are shown. Enter your first and last name so team members can easily identify you. Email address Your email address is used for logging in and receiving notifications. To change it, you'll need to enter your current password for security. Profile image Upload a profile photo to help team members recognise you. Images should be JPG or PNG format, under 1MB in size. Country and VAT number You can optionally set your country of residence and VAT number. This information is used for billing and tax purposes. Password Manage your password and add additional security to your account at Settings → Account → Security. Changing your password To change your password, enter your current password followed by your new password twice to confirm. Passwords must meet minimum security requirements shown on the page. Google sign-in users If you signed up using Google, you can add a password to your account. This lets you log in with either your Google account or email and password — useful if you want a backup login method. Team password rotation Admins on Agency teams can require a new password every 90 days. If your team has this turned on, it applies when you sign in with your email and password. Signing in with Google is not affected. Starting 14 days before your password expires, a banner shows how long you have left. Click Change password in the banner to choose a new one. !Password expiry banner If your password expires, Boords asks you to choose a new one before you continue. Enter your current password, then your new password twice, and click Save new password. Your new password must be different from your current one. You can also click Sign out instead and change it later. !Choose a new password screen If you belong to more than one team with password rotation, the earliest deadline applies. Two-factor authentication Two-factor authentication (2FA) adds an extra layer of security to your account. When enabled, you'll need to enter a code from an authenticator app each time you log in, combining something you know (your password) with something you have (your device). This feature is available on the Team and Agency plans. Enabling 2FA To enable 2FA, go to Settings → Account → Security and scroll to the Two-factor authentication section. !2FA security settings Click Enable Two Factor Authentication. !Enable 2FA button You'll be prompted to scan a QR code with your authenticator app — for example, Google Authenticator, Authy, or 1Password. !QR code for authenticator app After successful setup, you'll see a list of backup codes. Save these somewhere safe — you can use them to sign in if you lose access to your authenticator app. These codes are only shown once. !Backup codes Once enabled, you'll see an option to disable 2FA on the same page. !Disable 2FA option Logging in with 2FA When 2FA is enabled, you'll see an additional screen after entering your email and password. Enter the code from your authenticator app, or use one of your backup codes. !2FA login screen Theme Boords comes in light and dark. To switch, click your avatar at the bottom left of the app, then pick an option on the Theme row: System follows your computer's light or dark setting. This is the default Light always uses the light theme Dark always uses the dark theme !The Theme row in the account menu, with System, Light and Dark options Your theme is saved in your browser, not your Boords account, so set it on each computer or browser you use. Share links follow each viewer's own setting, and PDF exports always stay light. Deleting your account If you need to delete your Boords account, you'll find the option at the bottom of Settings → Account → Profile. Account deletion is permanent and cannot be undone.

Learn how to update your profile settings

Profile

Whether you're an individual user or part of a team, your billing settings are managed from the same place. Team owners and admins are responsible for managing billing on behalf of their team. Accessing your billing settings To access your billing settings: 1. Click on your profile picture in the bottom-left corner 2. Select Billing This takes you to your billing dashboard where you can manage your subscription, view invoices, and update payment methods. Viewing and changing your plan To compare plans or change your subscription: 1. Go to Billing 2. Click See Features & Pricing or navigate to Settings → Billing → Plan From here you can: Compare features across plans Switch between monthly and annual billing (save money with annual) Upgrade or downgrade your plan Changes take effect immediately when upgrading. If you downgrade, you'll keep access to your current plan until the end of your billing period. Managing payment methods and invoices Boords uses Stripe to securely process payments. When you click Open Billing Dashboard, you'll be redirected to Stripe's billing portal where you can: Update your payment method Download invoices View your billing history Depending on your location, you can pay with credit/debit card, PayPal, and other local payment methods. AI credits and your billing cycle If your plan includes AI credits (for features like the AI Image Generator), these are allocated based on your plan tier: | Plan | Monthly AI Credits | |------|-------------------| | Solo | 250 | | Pro | 1,000 | | Team | 2,000 | | Agency | 3,000 | Your credits replenish at the start of each billing cycle. On annual plans, you receive the full year's credit allowance up front at the start of each annual billing period. Unused credits don't roll over — they reset when your new billing period begins. If you upgrade partway through a billing period, the difference between the two plans' allowances is added to your remaining credits. For example, moving from Solo to Pro adds 750 credits, and credits you've already used this period still count towards your usage. Switching between monthly and annual billing starts a new billing period, so your credits reset to the new plan's full allowance. You can check your remaining credits from the AI Image Generator panel. Image models and resolution Your team's plan determines which options you can use in the Image model menu: | | Free and trial plans | Paid plans | | --| --| --| | GPT Image 2.5 Flare | Included | Included | | Nano Banana 2 | Upgrade required | Included | | GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst | Upgrade required | Included | | 0.5K resolution | Included | Included | | 1K resolution | Upgrade required | Included | Free and trial teams start with Flare at 0.5K. Paid teams start with Nano Banana 2 at 1K unless they've saved another preference in the browser. Access follows the team that owns the storyboard or Playground. On credit-based plans, generating an image uses one image credit, including a Playground preview. All three selectable models use the same charge at either resolution. Saving a Playground preview to the library doesn't use another credit; generating a new variation does. Workflow and Lifetime plans include unlimited image generation. See Choosing an image model for the controls and compatibility limits. Scripts and your plan Scripts are included on every plan, with a few limits that depend on your tier: | | Free and Trial | Paid plans | |---|---|---| | Active scripts | 3 per team | Unlimited | | Creating new versions | Trial only | Included | | PDF export | Included, with a Boords watermark on Free | Included, no watermark | | Word, Markdown, and plain text export | Trial only | Included | | Passphrase on the review link | Not included | Included | The active script limit counts scripts, not versions: a script with five versions uses one slot. Archived scripts do not count, so archiving or deleting a script frees a slot. When you reach the limit, creating a script shows an upgrade prompt. Review links, guest comments, real-time co-editing, the AV block, and turning a script into a storyboard are available on every plan. See pricing for the full comparison. Switching to annual billing If you're on a monthly plan, you can save money by switching to annual billing. Look for the upgrade prompt on your billing page, or: 1. Go to Settings → Billing → Plan 2. Toggle to Annual pricing 3. Select your plan to complete the switch Cancelling your subscription If you need to cancel your subscription: 1. Go to Billing 2. Scroll to the Cancel Subscription section 3. Click Cancel Subscription and follow the prompts What happens when you cancel You'll keep access to your current plan until the end of your billing period Your storyboards, scripts, and data remain intact — you won't lose any work After your subscription ends, your account reverts to the free tier with limited features You can resubscribe at any time to regain access Refunds Every paid plan comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you're not happy with Boords, contact us within 30 days of paying and we'll refund you in full, no questions asked. Who can manage billing? Individual accounts: You manage your own billing Teams: Only the team owner (and users with admin permissions) can access and manage billing settings. Team members without admin access won't see billing options. What if I'm on a legacy Workflow plan? Workflow is a legacy plan. Check your billing dashboard for your subscription's price, included users, and renewal details. Current plans for new subscriptions are Solo, Pro, Team, and Agency, alongside a separate Free plan. See pricing to compare them.

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Webhooks let you receive automatic notifications when something changes in your Boords workspace. Instead of polling the API to check for updates, Boords sends an HTTP request to your server when an event occurs, like a storyboard moving to Approved. See also: Webhooks in API and webhooks, an overview of what you can automate with Boords. Webhooks are currently in Beta alongside the Boords API. The core functionality is stable, but some details may change as we refine the experience. Setting up webhooks You can create and manage webhook endpoints in Settings → Team → API, or via the API itself. Webhooks are available on paid plans, and you'll need an Owner or Admin role. A few things to know: Webhook URLs must use HTTPS Each team can have up to 10 webhook endpoints You can choose which events each endpoint receives Your signing secret is shown once, when you create the endpoint, so copy it straight away Use Send test in the endpoint's menu to send a sample project.created event Available events Most events fire for changes made through the Boords API or an AI connection, such as Claude or ChatGPT. Changes made in the Boords web app send only these events: storyboard.updated, when anyone changes a storyboard's status, including a move between two of your team's statuses in the same category. script.updated, when anyone changes a script's status, including when the Boords Agent sets it. frame.created, when the Boords Agent adds frames to a storyboard. notification.created, for personal notification endpoints (see Personal notifications). Comments, frame edits, changes to a script's text or name, and new projects, storyboards or scripts made in the web app don't send team webhooks. To keep track of those, read the team activity feed with the API (GET /v1/teams/{team_id}/events). Boords can notify your endpoint about the following events: Projects | Event | Fires when | |-------|----------| | project.created | A new project is created | | project.updated | A project's name or details change | | project.archived | A project is archived | Storyboards | Event | Fires when | |-------|----------| | storyboard.created | A new storyboard is created (including duplicates and new versions) | | storyboard.updated | A storyboard's status changes in the app or through the API, including a move between two of your team's statuses in the same category. Also fires when its name, details or frame order change through the API | | storyboard.archived | A storyboard is archived | Scripts | Event | Fires when | |-------|----------| | script.created | A new script is created | | script.updated | A script's status changes, in the app or through the API, including a move between two of your team's statuses in the same category. Also fires when its name or content change, or it's restored, through the API | | script.archived | A script is archived | Frames | Event | Fires when | |-------|----------| | frame.created | A new frame is added to a storyboard, including frames the Boords Agent adds | | frame.updated | A frame's content or image changes | | frame.deleted | A frame is removed from a storyboard | Comments | Event | Fires when | |-------|----------| | comment.created | A new comment is added to a frame | | comment.updated | A comment's text or status changes (e.g. marked as completed) | | comment.deleted | A comment is removed | Personal notifications | Event | Fires when | |-------|----------| | notification.created | You get an inbox notification: a mention, a reply, one of your comments marked complete or reopened, or a new comment on a storyboard you follow | notification.created fires for comments made in the app as well as through the API. It covers storyboard comments only, not script comments. It belongs to you rather than your team. Any team member can register one for their own account with a POST /v1/webhook_endpoints request. It can't be set up in Settings, and an endpoint can't mix it with team events. Payload format Each webhook delivery includes a JSON payload with the event details: ``json {   "id": "evt_123",   "event": "frame.updated",   "occurred_at": "2026-01-25T15:22:41Z",   "data": {     "type": "frame",     "id": 12345,     "attributes": {       "storyboard_id": "s9bx1z",       "reference": "INT. OFFICE DAY"     }   } } ` The data object uses the same type, id and attributes as the matching API resource, so you can use the same parsing logic for both webhook payloads and API responses. It doesn't include the API's revision field, the previous values, or who made the change. To find out who changed a storyboard's or script's status, read the team activity feed. Storyboard and script payloads carry two status fields. status is the status category: null for Draft, then in_progress, review_needed, changes_required or approved. custom_status is your team's own status, for example { "id": "<uuid>", "name": "Client review" }. A move between two statuses in the same category fires storyboard.updated or script.updated with status unchanged, so compare custom_status if you track your team's statuses. Editing your team's statuses in Team settings sends no webhooks, even when deleting a status moves items to its category's default. Verifying webhook signatures Every webhook delivery includes a cryptographic signature so you can verify it genuinely came from Boords. This prevents attackers from sending fake events to your endpoint. Each request includes two headers: | Header | Contains | |--------|--------| | X-Boords-Signature | HMAC SHA256 signature, as lowercase hex | | X-Boords-Timestamp | Unix timestamp of when the event was sent | To verify a delivery: 1. Concatenate the timestamp, a period (.), and the raw request body: timestamp.raw_body 2. Compute an HMAC SHA256 hash of that string using your webhook signing secret 3. Compare your computed signature with the X-Boords-Signature header If the signatures match, the request is authentic. We recommend always verifying signatures in production, though it's not strictly required to receive events. Delivery and retries Boords uses at-least-once delivery, which means: Boords keeps trying a delivery until your endpoint accepts it or the retries run out In rare cases, you may receive the same event more than once Design your webhook handler to be idempotent. Use the id field to detect and skip duplicate events If your endpoint is unavailable or returns an error (any non-2xx status code), Boords retries the delivery, waiting longer between each try. It makes 5 attempts in all, over about 6 minutes, and then stops. There's no delivery log or replay, so if your endpoint might be down for longer, use the API's updated_since filter to catch up. Tips for reliable webhook handling Respond quickly. Return a 200 status code as soon as you receive the event, then process it asynchronously Handle duplicates. Track event IDs to avoid processing the same event twice Check the timestamp. Boords doesn't enforce a time limit, so reject deliveries whose X-Boords-Timestamp is more than a few minutes old Filter what you need. storyboard.updated and script.updated fire for several kinds of change. Check status for the category, such as approved, or custom_status.id` for one of your team's own statuses. A status keeps its id when your team renames it. The payload doesn't include the previous status, so store the last status you saw for each item and act only when it changes Monitor your endpoint. If deliveries consistently fail, check your server logs and ensure your endpoint is accessible Can I use webhooks with Zapier? Yes. Use Zapier's "Webhooks by Zapier" trigger, or a custom webhook in Make, to receive Boords webhook events. Point your Boords webhook at the Zapier or Make webhook URL, and you can start a workflow when a storyboard is approved, or when any other Boords event occurs. What happens if my endpoint is down? Boords retries a failed delivery, waiting longer between each try. It makes 5 attempts in all, over about 6 minutes, and then stops. If your endpoint might be down for longer, use the API's updated_since filter to catch up on what changed. Do I need to verify webhook signatures? It's strongly recommended for security, but not strictly required to receive events. Signature verification ensures that webhook deliveries genuinely come from Boords and haven't been tampered with.

Get notified when a storyboard or script changes status, or when work made through the API or an AI connection changes.

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