Concepts

Quick Start

Boords is the sign-off layer for video preproduction. One tool for storyboards, animatics, and client sign-off, so the idea gets approved before anyone spends money making it. This guide covers the essentials, from your first storyboard to client sign-off. Intro to Boords Watch our quick intro to see how Boords keeps preproduction organized from script to sign-off. <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 Learning Library Short videos covering how teams use Boords, from storyboarding to client sign-off. Setting up Boords for your team Now that you've got an overview, it's time to see how Boords works for your team. Sign up with your work email and create your first storyboard. It takes a few minutes.

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 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 | Projects !cp-projects Projects are the top-level containers for organising your work. Think of them as folders that group related storyboards together. Every storyboard 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. Sub-projects !cp-projects-2 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 !cp-sb 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. Presentation view !cp-prez-1 The Presentation 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.  !cp-prez-2 You can customise what information appears in Presentation view through your storyboard's share settings. 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 text 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 are the text areas that accompany each frame image. By default, these include dialogue and action, but you can add custom fields to capture any information your workflow requires — camera directions, sound effects, timing notes, or anything else. 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. 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

There are three ways to create a new storyboard in Boords: import an existing script, write with AI, or start from a blank canvas. This guide walks you through each method so you can choose the best approach for your project. <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/a90k-Z111vE" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div Opening the new storyboard dialog To create a new storyboard, click New Storyboard from within any project. !import-1 You'll see three tabs at the top of the dialog: | Tab | Best for | |-----|----------| | Import Script | Converting existing screenplays, scripts, or shot lists into storyboards | | Write with AI | Generating a complete storyboard from a brief description | | Blank | Starting from scratch with manual control over every frame | !import-12 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-2 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. Write with AI Write with AI generates a complete storyboard from a text description. This is perfect for brainstorming, creating initial concepts, or when you want AI to handle the creative heavy lifting. Enter a description of what you want your storyboard to contain. Be as specific or general as you like—for example: "A 30-second coffee commercial showing someone's morning routine" "An explainer video about how solar panels work" "A dramatic scene where two detectives discover a clue" !import-12 You'll also configure the same settings as Import Script: Language, Aspect Ratio, and Cast Images. See Configuring your import above for details on each option. Once you click Write with AI, the process follows the same flow as Import Script—including cast detection and character generation if you have Cast Images enabled. 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. !import-13 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 Custom text fields Sharing settings !import-9 To use a different template or create one without a template, click the template selector. Templates are available on the Team plan. Learn more about Templates. Custom note fields  In addition to templates, you can customise the text fields that appear on each frame. These fields let you add notes about each frame and provide context for your team or clients. 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 storyboard Select __+Add custom fields__ to add more note fields.  !custom field Rename fields and assign different icons. !icon Drag fields to reorder them, or remove them entirely. !remove field 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 editor__ add or edit text across multiple frames. Changes sync automatically with the frame fields __Sidebar__ notes can also be viewed and edited while using the Editor or Animatic Tool  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 text 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. What's the difference between Import Script and Write with AI? Import Script converts an existing document (screenplay, shot list, script) into a storyboard. The AI analyses your content and extracts scenes, dialogue, and action descriptions. Use this when you already have production documents. Write with AI generates a complete storyboard from scratch based on a brief description you provide. The AI creates the scenes, dialogue, and action for you. Use this for brainstorming, pitching concepts, or when you want AI assistance with the creative process. Both methods support cast creation for character consistency, and both produce storyboards ready for AI image generation.

Creating storyboards

The AI Image Generator lets you create images for your storyboard frames using text prompts. Reference images are the most powerful way to maintain consistency across your storyboard, allowing you to carry characters, locations, and visual elements from frame to frame.  This guide covers how to use the generator effectively, from basic prompts to advanced techniques. Choosing an image style Before generating images, select a visual style that matches your project. Click the Style dropdown to see available options. !image-generator-style-selector 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. Tip: Experiment with different styles early in your project to find the best match for your creative direction. Get consistent images  Reference images help maintain consistency across your storyboard. You can use existing frame images, generate images in the playground, or upload your own assets as references. Important: The AI doesn't automatically remember previous frames. Writing "the same character" or "the location from frame 3" in your prompt won't work—you must attach the reference image for the AI to see it. Using reference assets !image-gen-assets-only Upload and use your own images as references, or use assets generated in the playground: | Feature | Description | |---------|-------------| | Upload images | Add character designs, location references, or style guides | | Reuse across frames | Same asset available for all frames in your storyboard | 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 Understanding 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. The AI 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. The AI 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. 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: Avoid phrases like "the same as before" or "from frame 5" in your prompts. The AI only sees what you attach as reference images—it doesn't have context about your other frames unless you explicitly attach them. Using the "Show me" prefix !image-gen-show-me When working with reference images, start your prompt with "Show me" for better results: | Prompt type | Example | |-------------|----------| | Without prefix | "The character walking through a forest" | | With prefix | "Show me the character walking through a forest" | The "Show me" prefix helps the AI understand you want to see the referenced content in a new context. Important: When using reference images, remember to start your prompt with "Show me" for best results. Using shot types When generating images 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"). Image credits The AI Image Generator uses a credit system: | Action | Credit cost | |--------|-------------| | Generating preview variations | Free | | Inserting an image into your storyboard | 1 credit | !image-gen-credits You can generate as many preview variations as you like without using credits. Credits are only consumed when you choose to insert an image into your frame. Note: Your monthly credit allowance depends on your plan — Pro gets 1,000/mo, Team gets 2,000/mo, and Agency gets 3,000/mo. See Billing & plans for details. Why aren't my images consistent? The AI doesn't automatically remember previous frames or understand references like "the same character" or "frame 3's location" in your prompt. You must attach reference images for the AI to maintain consistency. Common mistakes: Writing "the same character as before" without attaching a reference Mentioning "the character from frame 5" without attaching that frame Assuming the AI remembers previous generations For consistent characters and settings: 1. Attach reference images from previous frames using the Frames tab 2. Upload character reference sheets to the Assets tab 3. Start prompts with "Show me" when using references 4. Use the same style throughout your storyboard Why are my images taking so long to generate?  Most images should generate in less than 60 seconds. In some cases, if there is particularly high load, images may take longer to generate.  If you believe an image has gotten stuck, you can click the cancel button in the top left of the image and try again, or try a different style.  Your image credits won't be used unless you insert images. Why is the generate button disabled? The generate button requires: A prompt (the text field cannot be empty) Available credits (or a Workflow subscription) No active generation in progress Why do I have to wait between generations? Trial accounts have a brief waiting period between generations. Upgrade to a paid plan for unlimited preview generation without time limits. Can I use my own images as references? Yes! Use the Assets tab in the reference picker to upload your own images. These can be character designs, location references, style guides, or any image you want the AI to reference. How do I get better results with reference images? 1. Start your prompt with "Show me" 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

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. 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 lets you upload and manage a collection of images for your project. This is useful when working with recurring characters, locations, or props that appear across multiple frames. Adding images to the library !img-lib 1. Open the Images 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 for reuse Applying library images to frames !img-lib-replace Once images are in your library, click __Replace Frame__ to use that image in a storyboard frame. Your uploaded images can also be used as references for AI image generation. Learn more in Generating images 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

The project view is where you organise and manage your storyboards. Projects act as folders that keep related storyboards together, and you can nest projects within each other to create a structure that matches how your team works. 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. You can also hover over any existing project and click + to create a sub-project inside it. !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 its contents: Sub-projects — Any projects nested inside the current one Storyboards — All storyboards in this project Both sections can be collapsed using the disclosure arrows if you want to focus on just one. !pj-sub-sto Sorting contents !pj-sort Use the sort controls in the header to organise how sub-projects and storyboards are displayed: Name — Alphabetical order Date created — When items were first created Date modified — When items were last updated Click the arrow button to toggle between ascending and descending order. Grid and Kanban views You can switch between two ways of viewing your storyboards using the toggle in the header. Grid view !pj-grid The default view displays storyboards as cards in a grid. Each card shows: A thumbnail preview of the storyboard The storyboard name When it was last updated Hover over a storyboard card to see the scrubber (if the storyboard has multiple frames) and access the actions menu. Kanban view !pj-board The Kanban view organises storyboards into columns based on their status. This is useful for tracking progress across your team's workflow. The five columns are: Draft — Storyboards with no status set In Progress — Work currently being done Review Needed — Ready for feedback Changes Required — Needs revisions Approved — Signed off and complete Drag storyboards between columns to update their status. The status change is saved automatically. Sharing a project Share an entire project with people outside your team using a public link. Click the Share button in the project header to open the sharing dialog. !pj-link-1 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 Pro plans and above) 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 any storyboard card onto a project in the sidebar to move it into that project Drag any sub-project card onto a project in the sidebar to nest it inside that project 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 moving !pj-bar-move Select multiple items by clicking their cards, then use the toolbar that appears at the bottom to move them all at once. Archiving To remove a project or storyboard without permanently deleting it, use the Archive option from the three-dot menu. Archived items are moved to the Archive where they can be restored later. Archiving a project also archives all storyboards inside it. 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 !pj-actions

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 directly from a project or storyboard using the share menu. !team-2 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 and all projects | | Restricted | Can only view and edit projects they're assigned to | The Restricted role is available on the Team plan. Billing Additional team members are billed per seat. You'll see a note about billing when adding someone to your team. 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 plan. 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. 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 If you've been invited to join a Boords team, this video will explain everything you need to know about finding your way around! <div style="padding-bottom:56.25%"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/294115266" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>

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 the Pro plan. 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. 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. 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'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, 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. 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 | 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 | Comment notifications Boords sends email notifications when comments are added to storyboards, helping your team stay on top of feedback without constantly checking the app. How notifications work When someone leaves a comment on a storyboard, 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 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.

Activity & notifications

Boords offers several export formats to help you share storyboards with clients, collaborate with production teams, and integrate with your existing workflows. Accessing exports You can export your storyboard by clicking the Download button in the storyboard toolbar. This opens a menu with all available export options. !export-1 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 — Add branded front and back covers to your storyboard Multiple layouts — Choose between list, portrait, or widescreen layouts Paper sizes — Export in A4, A4 Portrait, or Widescreen formats Font options — Select fonts with support for multiple character sets Image sizing — Control how frame images appear on each page 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. !Screenshot 2025-12-12 at 10.41.59 The Word export includes: Voiceover and dialogue text Action descriptions Scene headings and frame labels Word count for each frame 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. Spreadsheet Export your storyboard as an Excel-compatible spreadsheet (.xlsx) that works with Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel, and other spreadsheet applications. !export-3 You can choose to include: Frame images — Embed thumbnail images directly in the spreadsheet Comments — Include all frame comments for reference 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. 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. You can customise filenames to use frame labels, making it easy to organise and reference images in other applications. This export is useful when you need to: Import frames into editing software Share individual shots with specific team members Archive storyboard assets Animatic Export your storyboard as an MP4 video with frame timing, transitions, and audio. The animatic is generated automatically based on your timeline settings. !export-5 The animatic export includes: Frame timing based on your timeline Any voiceover or audio tracks you've added Subtitle support Animatics are processed in the background — you'll receive an email notification when your video is ready to download. This format is perfect for presenting timing and pacing to clients, or for sharing early-stage previews with your production team. Google Slides Export your storyboard in a widescreen format optimised for importing into Google Slides. This creates presentation-ready images that you can easily add to your slide deck. !export-6 This format is useful when you need to incorporate your storyboard into a larger presentation, such as a client pitch deck or creative brief. Export formats at a glance | 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 | | Google Slides | Images | Pitch decks, creative briefs |

Export formats

Gather feedback from clients and collaborators directly on your storyboard frames, 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. Grid view (quick comments) Click the comment icon on any frame thumbnail to quickly add a comment without leaving the grid 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 plan. 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. 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 status indicator — Display the storyboard's approval status Show word count — Include dialogue/action word counts Show version numbers — Display which version they're viewing Allow version switching — Let guests navigate between versions Allow comments on old versions — Control whether guests can comment on previous versions Notifications Stay informed when new comments are added to your storyboards. Email notifications To receive email notifications for new comments: 1. Enable comment notifications in Settings → Account → Notifications 2. On individual storyboards, you can opt in or out via the comments settings panel You'll receive an email whenever someone adds a comment to storyboards where you've enabled notifications. Activity log This feature is available on the Pro plan. Comment activity also appears in your team's Activity Log, providing a complete audit trail of all feedback across your storyboards. You can filter by action type to see only comment-related events. Learn more about Activity & notifications.

Commenting overview

The AI Image Generator supports multiple visual styles for your storyboard images. Each style produces distinctly different results, and some styles offer additional color customization options. Available styles !image-generator-style-selector Choose from the following styles when generating images: | Style | Description | Color palette | |-------|-------------|---------------| | Sketch | Traditional storyboard-style pencil sketches with loose linework | No | | Krea | Aesthetic photographic images with naturalistic lighting | No | | Cine HD | High-definition cinematic images with dynamic camera and composition | No | | Natural | Natural-looking snapshot photography style | No | | Dynamic | Stylised images with bold strokes, good for movement and action | No | | Anime | Expressive Studio Ghibli-inspired anime style | No | | Doodle | Simple vector-style line art illustrations | Yes | | Vector | Clean vector illustrations with smooth lines and flat colors | Yes | | Grain | Digital illustrations with a textured, grainy finish | Yes | | Comic | Bold comic book style with dynamic compositions | Yes | | Commercial | Professional commercial photography style | Yes | | Studio | Professional studio portrait style with clean backgrounds | Yes | | Any | Specify your own style in the prompt (e.g. "noir", "isometric") | No | Tip: The Sketch, Krea, 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. 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 Studio 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, Commercial, or Studio) 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 Switch to the Generator view in your storyboard. Choose the image you'd like to restyle and open the Image Generator. !Open Image Generator Select Restyle current image to use your existing image as the base. !Select Restyle Current Image Choose a new style from the dropdown. !Choose New Style Click Apply. Boords generates a new version of your frame in the selected style, keeping the scene layout, characters, and poses intact. !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

The Boords API gives you programmatic access to your projects, storyboards, frames, and comments — so you can build custom integrations, automate workflows, and keep your tools in sync. 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 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 Set up webhooks — get notified when things change in your Boords workspace Use with AI agents — The Boords API works great with AI-powered tools like Claude and Cowork. Give your AI assistant an API token and it can create projects, import scripts, update frames, and manage your storyboards on your behalf — all through natural conversation. Prerequisites To use the Boords API, you'll need: A paid Boords plan — see pricing An API token generated from your team settings Creating an API token API tokens are managed in Settings → Team → API. You'll need an Admin or Manager role to create tokens. To create a token: 1. Go to Settings → Team → API 2. Click Create token 3. Give your token a name (e.g. "Zapier", "CI Pipeline", "Custom Integration") 4. Choose an expiry period 5. Copy the token — it's only shown once Tokens start with bap_ and are tied to your user account. Any actions performed with your token use your permissions and appear as your activity. Token security Store tokens securely — treat them like passwords Use descriptive names — so you know what each token is for Rotate tokens regularly — you can rotate a token at any time, which revokes the old one and issues a new one Revoke unused tokens — if you no longer need a token, revoke it from the same settings page Authentication Include your API token in the X-API-KEY header with every request: `` X-API-KEY: bap_your_token_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 each storyboard has frames. Comments are attached to individual frames. 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 | Admin | Manager | Supermember | Member | |--------|-------|---------|-------------|--------| | Read projects, storyboards, frames | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | Create and edit content | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — | | Manage comments | ✓ | ✓ | — | — | | Manage team members | ✓ | ✓ | — | — | 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 — useful if you need to update those fields later. For the full request and response format, see the Create Storyboard endpoint in the API reference. 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. Webhook-driven sync — For real-time updates, set up webhooks to receive notifications whenever content changes. This avoids the need for polling entirely. 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 token. 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 | | Retry-After | How long to wait (returned with 429 responses) | 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 doesn't have permission for 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 and 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 tokens 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 to start a workflow whenever a storyboard is created or a frame is updated. What are the rate limits? Each API token can make up to 120 requests per minute. Check the X-RateLimit-Remaining response header to monitor your usage, and the Retry-After header if you receive a 429 response. 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

The Playground is your creative space for generating characters, props, and assets that you can use throughout your storyboards. Accessing the Playground You'll find the Playground in the side panel when viewing your storyboard. Click the Create tab to open it. !pg-1 Generating images To create an image in the Playground: 1. Type a description of what you want to generate in the text field 2. Choose a visual style (optional) 3. Click the generate button or press Cmd/Ctrl + Enter Your generated image will appear in the preview grid above the prompt field. !pg-prompt-1 !pg-prompt-2 Writing effective prompts Describe your subject clearly and include relevant details like: Character appearance and clothing Pose and expression Setting or background elements Any specific props or accessories For example: "Professional adult in smart casual clothing, confident and approachable expression, standing in a neutral pose" Choosing a style Click the style selector to browse available visual styles. Each style gives your generated images a distinct look—from realistic to illustrated. Some styles support custom colour palettes, letting you match your brand colours or maintain visual consistency across your storyboard. For more details on styles and generation options, see Styles & restyling. Working with playground images Once you've generated an image, hover over it to see your options. !pg-menu Use in Shot This is the most powerful feature of the Playground. Click Use in Shot to add your generated character or asset as a reference image in the current frame of the AI image generator. This lets you: Create consistent characters that appear across multiple frames Combine several characters in a single scene Describe how characters interact while maintaining their appearance When you click Use in Shot, the image is saved to your assets and automatically added as a reference. You can then open any frame, describe your scene, and the generator will incorporate your character. !pg-ref Learn more about using reference images in the AI image generation guide. Replace Frame Click Replace Frame to use your generated image as a frame in your storyboard. A popover will show all your frames—click one to select it, then confirm the replacement. !pg-replace This keeps all your existing text fields and comments intact, only updating the image. Re-use prompt !pg-reuse Click the pencil icon to copy the prompt back into the input field. This is useful when you want to iterate on an idea—tweak the wording and generate again to refine your result. Save to assets !pg-save-to-assets Click the save icon to add the image to your asset library without using it immediately. You can access saved images later from the Assets tab in the side panel. !pg-assets-tab Create variation !pg-variation Click the blocks icon to use the image as a reference for generating similar images. The image will be added as a reference, and you can describe the changes you'd like to make. Discarding images Click the X button on any generated image to remove it from the Playground. This doesn't affect images you've already saved to your assets or used in frames. Understanding credits Generating preview images in the Playground is free—you can experiment and iterate without using credits. Credits are only used when you save or use an image: Use in Shot — uses one credit Replace Frame — uses one credit Save to assets — uses one credit Your current credit balance is shown next to the generate button. If you run out of credits, you can purchase more or wait for your monthly allocation to refresh. !pg-credits Tips for using the Playground effectively Build a character library — Generate your main characters first, save them to assets, then use them as references throughout your storyboard Iterate quickly — Use the re-use prompt feature to refine your descriptions Maintain consistency — Once you have a character you like, use it as a reference rather than regenerating from scratch Try different styles — The same prompt can produce very different results depending on the style you choose

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. Looking for AI image generation? This guide covers manual editing tools. To learn about generating images with AI, see Generating images. 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 & Frame Builder tabs enabled.  !fe-sure The Sidebar The sidebar on the right side of the editor gives you access to images, frames, and camera movement overlays. !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. IconFinder Search for icons and illustrations from IconFinder. These are perfect for adding visual elements, symbols, or simple graphics to your frames. !fe-sb-icons 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.

Frame editor

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, managing scripts or sharing your work.   Global view The global view gives you a big-picture overview of your storyboard. This is the first view you’ll see when opening a storyboard.  !global view 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 script editor, image library, note settings, and the activity log  Download your storyboard as a PDF or other formats Open the animatic player   Storyboard edit views The storyboard edit views let you focus on specific parts of your storyboard. Generator view (AI image generator)  The generator view is for generating or editing AI-generated images for your frames. !gen view __Best for:__ Quickly visualizing ideas or iterating on visuals using AI.  Grid view The grid view shows all frames in a classic grid layout.  !grid view __Best for:__ Reviewing shot order, rearranging frames, and making edits across multiple frames. Shot list view The shot list view presents your storyboard as a structured shot list.  !shot list Script editor The script editor can be accessed from the sidebar in the global view.  !sidebar It lets you quickly view and edit the text notes for your storyboard.  !script editor With the script editor, 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 The sharing link lets you send your storyboard to others for review. !sharing view Viewers can access the storyboard in their browser and add comments A Boords account is not required. They’ll view your work as guests __Best for:__ Sharing your storyboard externally and collecting feedback from clients or collaborators.

Storyboard views 

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.  <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/ZGanUycotlg" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div Available storyboard statuses Draft In Progress Review Needed Changes Required Approved Changing a storyboard status You can change a storyboard's status in two places: From the project dashboard, using the status dropdown selection !sb status You can also manage storyboard statuses using the Kanban view. Switch to the Kanban board on the project dashboard, then drag storyboards between columns to update their status. !kanban 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 !sb grid status 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 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.  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__  !archive dashboard 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

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. Both options allow reviewers to see the animatic as intended, without needing access to the Boords storyboard itself.

Animatics

Share your storyboards 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. Where to find the share link You can access a storyboard's share link from several places: Project view — Click the three-dot menu on any storyboard card and select Share link !share-1 Edit view — Click the Share button in the toolbar !share-2 Presentation view — Click the Share button in the header !share-3 Security Password protection This feature is available on the Pro plan. Add a password to your shareable link to control who can access it. Toggle Passphrase on and enter your chosen password. Anyone visiting the link will need to enter this password before viewing the storyboard. !share-4 Presentation settings Control how your storyboard appears to viewers. !share-5 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 approval status badge on individual frames. This shows whether each frame is marked as Draft, In Progress, Review Needed, Changes Required, or Approved. !share-6 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. Permissions Control what viewers can do and see on your shared link. !Xnapper-2025-12-11-16.07.11 Show storyboard status pill Display the overall storyboard status (Draft, In Progress, Review Needed, Changes Required, or Approved) as a pill badge on the shared view. This gives clients visibility into where the storyboard sits in your workflow. !share-8 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 !share-9 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 the Share button in the project header 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-10 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. Animatic sharing is available on the Standard plan and above. 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? Boords doesn't currently track views on shareable links. You'll know someone has viewed your storyboard when they leave comments or provide feedback through other channels. 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.

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.  Accessing the PDF exporter Open your storyboard and select __Download__. 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 Choose a layout  Choose how frames are arranged in your storyboard by selecting from a range of layout options:  !format pdf 6-frame grid  Frame list  4-frame grid 3 up  2 up  Full page  2 columns You can also fine-tune the layout using the controls below: __Image size slider.__ Adjust the percentage to control how large your images appear on the storyboard. !image size __Widescreen option.__ Check the widescreen box to enable a wider layout. With widescreen enabled, the 8-frame grid layout becomes available. !widescreen Fonts Customise how text appears in your PDF by changing the 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 choose whether certain elements are shown or hidden for example, image borders and frame numbers. 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 Once you’re happy with your settings, export the PDF and it's ready to share!  !export

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 plan. 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 Settings: Choose which custom text fields appear on each frame. 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 Set template on the project. Choose the template you want to apply. Click Save to confirm. The assigned template will now appear at the top of the project. Creating storyboards with templates When a template is assigned to the project If the project has a template assigned (shown in blue at the top), that template applies automatically to new storyboards. Click New Storyboard to create a storyboard with the assigned template. Templates aren't available when using the AI Assistant. Disable the AI Assistant to use a template. To remove the template from the project, click Remove. To choose a different template, use the template dropdown on the project. 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.

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 plan. 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.

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 → Password. 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. 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 plan. Enabling 2FA To enable 2FA, go to Settings → Account → Password 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 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 | |------|-------------------| | Pro | 1,000 | | Team | 2,000 | | Agency | 3,000 | Your credits replenish at the start of each billing cycle. Unused credits don't roll over — they reset when your new billing period begins. You can check your remaining credits from the AI Image Generator panel. 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 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 We want you to be totally happy with your Boords purchase. If for any reason you're not happy with Boords and would like a refund, please contact us. Refunds are considered on a case-by-case basis. 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. Can I use run paid ad campaigns? No. We do not allow search engine ads (especially on branded terms or domain names), Facebook ads, or other ads that would compete with our own marketing and cause potential confusion for customers. How much does Workflow cost? Workflow is free to try for 5 days for existing customers. If you choose to upgrade, Workflow is $99/month plus $15/month for each additional user. Your existing plan won't change unless you choose to upgrade during or after your trial.

Billing & plans

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 whenever an event occurs — like a storyboard being created or a frame being updated. 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. You'll need an Admin or Manager 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 Available 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 name, status, or details change | | storyboard.archived | A storyboard is archived | Frames | Event | Fires when | |-------|----------| | frame.created | A new frame is added to a storyboard | | frame.updated | A frame's content, image, or status 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 | 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 follows the same format as the corresponding API resource, so you can use the same parsing logic for both webhook payloads and API responses. 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 | | 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: Every event is guaranteed to be delivered at least once 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 delivery with exponential backoff. This gives your service time to recover without being overwhelmed by retries. 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 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 to receive Boords webhook events. Set up your Boords webhook to point to the Zapier webhook URL, and you can trigger any Zap whenever a storyboard is created, a frame is updated, or any other Boords event occurs. What happens if my endpoint is down? Boords retries failed deliveries with exponential backoff, giving your service time to recover. If your endpoint remains unavailable for an extended period, deliveries will eventually stop retrying. 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.

Receive real-time notifications when projects, storyboards, frames, or comments change in your Boords workspace.