Everything on a Storyflow board is an element: a note, a wall, a table, an image, a whole nested board. This article covers what you can add and the four ways to add it.

Where the tools are

The toolbar runs down the left edge of the canvas. The tools people reach for most sit on it directly: Note, To-do, Wall, Table, Line, Link, Folder, Tactics, AI Image, Images, Upload, Draw and Comment.

The More button at the end of the rail opens the all-tools panel with the full set, including the ones that are not on the rail: Heading, Ticket, Doc, Kanban, Audio, Video and Color.

The four ways to add something

1. Click it on the toolbar. Click a tool and it arms: a ghost preview follows your cursor showing the size and shape of what you are about to place, at the board's current zoom. Click the canvas to drop it there. Dragging a tool off the toolbar still works exactly as it did.
2. Press its key. Move the cursor to where you want the element and press a single key. This is the fastest method by a wide margin, because the element appears at the cursor instead of in the middle of the view.
3. Right-click the canvas where you want it and pick from the context menu.
4. Drag a file in from your desktop, or paste from the clipboard.

Every element type

Text and tasks

• Note (N): the everyday card. Rich text, colours, labels.
• Heading (H): a single line of large text for titling a section.
• To-do (T): a checkable task list.
• Ticket (E): a task card with a status, assignee and dates, for board-style tracking.

Structure

• Wall (W): a titled container. Put elements inside it to group them, and the wall moves, themes and collapses as one unit.
• Folder (F): a nested whiteboard shown on the canvas as a folder tile. Opening it gives you a whole canvas of its own.
• Kanban (K): columns of tickets on the canvas.
• Table (R): rows and columns, with typed cells.
• Line (L): a connector or a plain line between elements.

Media

• Images: opens your uploaded image gallery to place one you already have.
• Upload: put a file on the canvas. Files stay previewable in place.
• AI Image (G): describe a picture and it is generated onto the board.
• Video (V): an embedded, playable video.
• Audio (U): an audio player.
• Color (P): a colour swatch, for building palettes beside the work they belong to.

Writing and frameworks

• Doc (D): a full document that opens in its own editor, stored on the board.
• Tactic (B): an expert framework as a set of cards, added from the Tactics library.

Collaboration and markup

• Comment (C): a comment thread pinned to the canvas.
• Draw (J): freehand strokes over the board. Press J again or Escape to leave drawing mode.

Images and files in more detail

There is no single "image" tool, because pictures arrive in four different ways: Upload for a file from your machine, Images for something already in your gallery, AI Image to generate one, and simple drag and drop from your desktop onto the canvas. Dropping several images at once lays them out for you rather than stacking them in one spot.

Elements the AI creates

A few element types are built by the AI assistant rather than placed from the toolbar: charts and dashboards, mind maps, diagrams, and small self-contained interactive widgets. Ask for them in the AI panel and they appear on the board as normal elements you can move, resize and delete.

Tips and tricks

Point, then press. Single-key shortcuts create at the cursor. Hovering where you want the card and tapping N is quicker than clicking the toolbar and then dragging the result into place.

Type straight into a new card. A newly created note, to-do or heading is ready for text, and on an existing one you can select it and just start typing without opening it first.

Build inside a wall. Create the wall first, then add elements while the cursor is over it, and they become children of that wall. Colouring the wall afterwards re-themes everything inside it in one action.

Alt-drag to copy. Holding Alt while dragging an element leaves the original in place and drags out a duplicate.

Good to know

Single-key shortcuts are suspended while you are typing, so pressing N inside a note types the letter rather than making a new note.

On a board shared with you as view-only, the creation tools are hidden. If the owner enabled commenting you keep a reduced toolbar with Comment and Draw.