# Microsoft Whiteboard

Application: Microsoft Corporation

Also called whiteboard app, microsoft whiteboard

Microsoft Corporation, Productivity

A shared canvas used from Teams and the Store app. The process is Whiteboard.exe. It is not Paint.

## What you need to know

Whiteboard is a synced canvas. Paint is a local bitmap editor.

Whiteboard.exe and Teams share Microsoft Whiteboard boards. Paint is mspaint.exe. A meeting board is not a file in Pictures unless you export it.

- **What is it?**: Shared whiteboard

  **Still current?**: Yes, see Current status

  **Official download?**: Use the vendor link in this article

Feex says

If Whiteboard.exe is open after a meeting, that is the shared canvas, not Paint. Ending mspaint.exe will not close the board.

## What is Microsoft Whiteboard?

Microsoft Whiteboard is a cloud canvas. Whiteboard.exe is the Windows app. Paint is the local image editor. Teams can start a Whiteboard without you opening Paint.

## If you have never used it

If a Teams meeting opened a shared canvas, this is Microsoft Whiteboard, not Paint. Install or open the Store app, or join the board from Teams. Paint is mspaint.exe and a local bitmap. Whiteboard boards live in a Microsoft account or tenant. They are not a .png you saved from Paint.

## What is it used for?

**Meeting canvases**

A board inside a Teams meeting. Paint cannot host that live shared surface.

**Ink and sticky notes**

Pen and reactions on a board stored in Microsoft's service. A Paint file is a local bitmap.

**Follow-up after the call**

Reopen the board from the Whiteboard app. The meeting chat is not mspaint.exe.

## Who is it for?

- Teams users who were dropped onto a board
- Teachers using a shared canvas
- Anyone who should not save a meeting board as a Paint doodle and expect sync

## Current status

Actively developed. This article is the Windows Whiteboard app and the Teams surface, not Paint.

## How old is it?

Microsoft Whiteboard launched around 2018 as a Store and Teams surface. Paint has shipped with Windows since the 1980s. They share ink. They do not share a file.

## Versions

Major channels first. Exact build numbers are not all verified here.

Store app

Teams surface

## System requirements

Values follow the publisher's public guidance. Workload still changes the real need.

### Minimum

| Operating system | A current supported Windows 10 or Windows 11 release, per the vendor |
| ---------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| RAM              | Enough for Windows plus this app. Heavy projects want more.          |

## Resource profile

- **CPU demand**: Follows what you open inside the app

  **RAM demand**: Follows documents, tabs, or libraries

## Installed processes

These executables belong to this product when it is installed.

| Whiteboard.exe | Store / Teams whiteboard |
| -------------- | ------------------------ |

## Startup components

Whiteboard starts when you open a board or when Teams launches one. It should not start with Windows by default.

## File locations

| Typical install | C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.Whiteboard\_\*\\ |
| --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |

## File formats

Whiteboard boards (cloud), image export

## Common problems

### Board missing after the meeting

Sign into the same work or Microsoft account in the Whiteboard app. Paint will not have it.

### Ink lag on a cheap GPU

Update the display driver. That is still Whiteboard, not a Paint brush setting.

## Getting unstuck

### Open Whiteboard from Start or from the Teams meeting toolbar

mspaint is the wrong tile. The process you want is Whiteboard.exe.

### Install from the Microsoft Store if the app is missing

The product page is Microsoft Whiteboard, not Paint 3D.

### Check tenant policy if work boards will not create

An admin can disable Whiteboard. That is not a Paint restriction.

## Alternatives

Paint, OneNote ink, and a paper board overlap. Paint is the sibling this article is not.

## Official help and downloads

Start with the vendor. Random exe sites are not a support channel.

| Download      | [www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/microsoft-whiteboard ](https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/microsoft-whiteboard)Official installer or vendor page |
| ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Help          | [support.microsoft.com/whiteboard ](https://support.microsoft.com/whiteboard)Vendor support                                                            |
| Official site | [www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/microsoft-whiteboard ](https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/microsoft-whiteboard)Start here, not a random exe host |

## Related hardware

A pen display helps. A meeting board still wants a network.

## Technical details

Technical details

Vendor version numbers change. This article does not pin a build.

## Related

These entities connect to this article. Type is shown on every link.

[Microsoft Teams: Application](https://feex.it/wiki/software/microsoft-teams)[How to read Task Manager: Guide](https://feex.it/wiki/software/system/how-to-read-task-manager)

## Sources and verification

Reviewed by Feex editorial. Last verified August 2026 Status: Feex Reviewed. [How we research](https://feex.it/wiki/research).

- [Microsoft Whiteboard official site ](https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/microsoft-whiteboard)· Vendor product page
- [Microsoft Whiteboard help ](https://support.microsoft.com/whiteboard)· Vendor support
- [Microsoft Learn: Whiteboard ](https://learn.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/whiteboard/)· Admin and client notes
- [Foxhole process map ](https://foxhole.feex.it/)· First-party samples on Windows PCs. Not a lab benchmark.

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Quick facts

The short identity of this page. Specs, sources, and the full story stay in the article.

- **Developer**: Microsoft Corporation

  **Category**: Shared whiteboard

  **Process**: Whiteboard.exe

  **License**: Included with many Microsoft 365 and Teams identities

  **First released**: 2018

  **Official site**: [microsoft.com/whiteboard](https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/microsoft-whiteboard)

  **Mapped by Feex**: Seen on Windows PCs in Foxhole

Feex Reviewed: Last verified August 2026

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Source: [Canonical Feex Wiki page](https://feex.it/wiki/software/microsoft-whiteboard/)

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