Boords Changelog

As part of the new Image Library feature, we’ve moved the following functions into a new sidebar toggle menu:

• Commenting
• Script Editor
• Image Library
• Storyboard Settings
• Activity Log

To access the sidebar, click the ‘Show sidebar’ icon in the grid view:

Then, click the icons to access the various sub sections:

We hope that collecting these features together makes them easier to navigate and by extension your pre-production process that bit more efficient.

Introducing the new Image Library!

Storyboards often re-use variations of the same image several times. Previously, if you wanted to use an existing storyboard image again, you had to duplicate the frame and delete the text or upload it again from your computer. No more! Now you can drag and drop your images right from the Image Library.

You’ll find the Image Library in the sidebar of your storyboard.

The Image Library has three tabs - ‘Assets’, ‘Frames’ & ‘Stock’. Any images that you upload to your storyboard will automatically show up in the ‘Frames’ tab. You can also upload images to the ‘Assets’ tab without having to upload them as frames. Perfect for replacing images further down the line!

Frame images, assets and stock images can also be added to the Editor. Just drag and drop from the siedbar onto the frame.

For more about the Image Library, check out this article.

Making changes is part & parcel of the storyboarding process. Sometimes you’ll find that a frame is better suited to another storyboard, so we’ve made this much easier to achieve!

Now you can move frames from one storyboard to another by selecting the frame and clicking the “Move to storyboard” icon. You’ll then see a list of storyboards that you can move the frame to.

The frame will show up at the beginning of the target storyboard and you’ll be automatically redirected there once the frame has moved.

Starting today, you can download your storyboards as Google Sheets-compatible spreadsheets. They’re the perfect way to take your storyboard to the next stage of production. Spreadsheet downloads are available on all plans.

To download your xlsx spreadsheet file, select Google Sheets from the Download menu:

Next, select File > Import in Google Sheets, and upload your xlsx file. Voila! Your storyboard is now available in an ultra-flexible spreadsheet format.

Keeping track of changes can be a toughie. The new activity log makes this a lot simpler!

The activity log tracks storyboard and project events, like when a storyboard is created or deleted. It also keeps up with changes to the team, such as when a new teammate is added or has their role changed.

You can access the activity log:

• On your storyboard, by clicking the dropdown menu > Storyboard activity

• In the settings section > Activity

Events will be tracked from April 19 2021. For a full list of the events that are tracked, check out this article.

Frame statuses are useful to highlight what’s happening with a particular frame. You can set them in the edit view.

Until now, you could only see them in the edit view but from now on, you can choose to show them in the shareable view, too! Toggle them on in the ‘share’ menu.

Now you can see the word count of your storyboard while you edit! Like when exporting a script file, it counts the words in all fields except the Label field. The word count will be shown on both the edit view and the sharable view and is super helpful when estimating the read time for a voice over.

The word count will be off by default but can be enabled in the Storyboard Settings dropdown.

Custom colors are here to stay!

Now you can save your custom color swatches in the drawing tool, which will be accessible across all of your storyboards. When you’re finished with a color, double-click to delete it and make space for more dazzling options.

Comment section looking cluttered? Worry no more! We’ve added the option to hide ‘complete’ comments from your storyboards, making it much easier to work through your feedback. Out of sight, out of mind!

Hiding ‘complete’ comments only applies to your view of comments. They’ll still be visible to teammates or others viewing through the shareable link.

Sometimes you want to quickly flick through your storyboard and see everything at a glance. We understand. To make this easier, we’ve added a shot list view to Boords!

Now you can view your storyboards as a table, tab through fields, view your comments and update frame statuses in a new compact format. With a quick glimpse, you can see which frames need updates and highlight the frames that are still waiting for feedback.

Simply click “Shot list view” on any storyboard to view it as a shot list and you’re off to the races!

Storyboards aren’t one size fits all. People use storyboards for many different reasons - to map out a marketing video, to design an e-learning course and even to write a novel.

With this in mind, we’ve created some pre-made storyboard starter templates for films, video, UX, and more. They include custom fields and a structure specific to each category (you can still edit the fields and structure; the template is just a starting point!).

When you create a new storyboard, select your Template from the dropdown menu.

Spend less time setting up the fields while learning your industry’s best practices for storyboarding. It’s a win-win all round! We’ve also created an accompanying guide for each template. Check ‘em out here.

We’ve launched a new ‘Google Slides’ export option! Gone are the days of screenshotting PDFs. Now you can download your storyboard as perfectly formatted PNGs, ready to drop into your next Slides presentation. Plus, you can now edit fonts, colour, layout and more with our improved export tool.

Want to learn more? Check out this blog post!