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Lucidspark is a virtual whiteboarding tool. With Lucidspark’s intuitive canvas, your team can collect and organize ideas — and then turn them into action. Lucidspark makes it easy to create a canvas from scratch or from a template, customize it to your liking, collaborate with your team, and put your ideas to work.
- Facilitate effective meetings, planning sessions, and workshops with the right balance of structure and flexibility.
- Ideate in real time with teammates.
- Provide feedback, organize and vote on your team’s ideas, and create action items.
Note: Lucidspark is currently in pilot mode and only available to a limited number of groups. More information on expanded availability will be posted here when it is released to the entire community
FAQs
Lucidspark is a virtual whiteboard where teams connect and convey their greatest ideas to light. The goal is to allow teams to brainstorm and share their ideas through teamwork and better organization.
Lucidchart is a web-based collaborative diagramming application that allows you to create and share technical diagrams. It also allows you to import environment information directly from sources such as AWS, and will automatically generate diagrams from that data. The goal is to allow teams to propel and visualize business ideas with clarity, collectively, and swiftly.
Coming Soon!
Pan: Right click + drag
Zoom with trackpad: Pinch fingers
Zoom with mouse: Press spacebar + scroll wheel
In order to see an overview of all content or jump to another area, click the Mini Map icon in the Canvas View Controls. The solid blue lines on the map show what portion of the canvas is being displayed in your current view. To jump to another area, simply click the spot on the map that you’d like to jump to.
Add a Frame
To add a frame to the canvas, follow these steps:
- Select the Frames icon from the Primary Toolbar.
- Click Create Frame.
- Click and drag on the board to draw out your frame to your desired size.
Note: You can draw the frame around existing shapes, images, etc.
Table of Contents for Frames
Access the Table of Contents to view all of your frames listed out in one place and quickly navigate to any frame on your board.
To access a frame from the Table of Contents, follow these steps:
- Select the Frames icon from the Primary Toolbar.
- Click Table of Contents.
- Select the desired frame from the list.
Mouse: Hold space key down + scroll wheel
Trackpad: Pinch two fingers
Not at this time, Lucid is looking into this as a future enhancement.
To create a new Breakout Board:
- Selectthe Breakout Board icon from the Primary Toolbar.
- Click the tile to “Add new breakout”.
A Breakout Board will be automatically labeled. To rename a board, join the board you’d like to update and type the new title in the upper left-hand corner.
To start the breakout session, select Start Breakout. The Breakout Boards panel will become visible to all participants and they'll be able to select a board to join, which will send them to a separate Lucidspark board.
You can also share a direct link to a Breakout Board. You can do this by selecting Copy direct link from the three-dot menu in the Breakout Board panel and from within a Breakout Board by selecting in the upper-right corner.
Note: Shareable Links will need to be enabled from the Main Board's Share settings to allow creation of and access to direct links.
When the session is over, select Call Back to bring everyone back to the Main Board. Participants can also navigate back to the main board themselves at any time by clicking in the upper-left side corner.
Not at this time, Lucid is looking into this as a future enhancement.
To create a new Breakout Board:
- Selectthe Breakout Board icon from the Primary Toolbar.
- Click the tile to “Add new breakout”.
A Breakout Board will be automatically labeled. To rename a board, join the board you’d like to update and type the new title in the upper left-hand corner.
To start the breakout session, select Start Breakout. The Breakout Boards panel will become visible to all participants and they'll be able to select a board to join, which will send them to a separate Lucidspark board.
You can also share a direct link to a Breakout Board. You can do this by selecting Copy direct link from the three-dot menu in the Breakout Board panel and from within a Breakout Board by selecting in the upper-right corner.
Note: Shareable Links will need to be enabled from the Main Board's Share settings to allow creation of and access to direct links.
When the session is over, select Call Back to bring everyone back to the Main Board. Participants can also navigate back to the main board themselves at any time by clicking in the upper-left side corner.
Lucidspark keeps a log of all changes made to a board using the Revision History tool! It's accessible within the menu near the title of your board.
The board’s edit history will display as a list of stacked tiles, with each tile representing a past version of the board. Each tile will display the date and time the changes were made, as well as the full name or email address of the user who made the changes.
Add a Note to a Shape
To add a note to a shape, right click on the shape and select “Add Note” from the dropdown.
Note Icon on Shape
After adding a note to a shape, you will see the note icon on the top right corner of the shape. If you click on the note icon, it will show the note you added.
Delete a Note from a Shape
To delete a note from a shape, right click on the shape and select “Delete Note” from the dropdown.
- Selectthe Breakout Board icon from the Primary Toolbar.
- Hover your cursor over the board you’d like to join.
- Click Join.
- Select in the upper left-hand corner of your canvas when you’re ready.
You can also join a Breakout Board by clicking a direct link the facilitator or another participant has shared with you.
You have multiple options when managing Breakout Boards. To access this menu, hover over a board’s tile and select the three-dot menu.
With this menu you can:
- Join a board to participate
- Rename a board to customize its title
- Copy direct link to share with participants
- Duplicate a board
- Insert all content of a Breakout Board to the Main Board
- Delete a board
A few tips
- Anyone on your Enterprise account with edit permissions to a board can create Breakout Boards.
- View-only users can join and view Breakout Boards.
- Guest Collaborators and free users can participate in existing Breakout Boards.
- Participants will only see collaborators for the Breakout Board they are in.
- You can move over specific shapes from the Breakout Board to the main board.
- To add a single shape, copy the shape and paste it in the Main Board.
- To select multiple shapes, hold the Shift key while selecting shapes to copy, then paste in the Main Board.
- You can also add all content of a Breakout Board to the Main Board by dragging and dropping the thumbnail of a board from the Breakout Board panel onto the canvas.
To add a web link to an object:
- Select a shape.
- Click the link icon from the Context Toolbar.
- Paste the URL and click Apply.
- To change the shape to display a preview of the linked content, select Convert to Link Preview.
Link Preview
If you convert to Link Preview, a separate shape containing a thumbnail will be populated. You may see the following options in the Context Toolbar for the thumbnail:
- Refresh the thumbnail image(s)
- Navigate thumbnails will appear as arrows that will allow you to switch between the images, if there are more than one
- Extract thumbnails to extract the thumbnail image(s)
- Expand view if there is an iframe to display
Add a Web Link to text
To add a web link to specific text (whether in a text box or on an object), highlight the portion of the text that you would like linked and then follow the steps explained above — select the link icon from the Context Toolbar, paste in the URL, and hit “Apply.”
A blue line will appear under the selected text to indicate that a web link has been applied.
Trigger the Link
To trigger the link and open the linked webpage on a PC, press Shift + Ctrl and then click on the object or text that you applied a web link to. If you are using a Mac, press Shift + Command and then click on the object or text.
These instructions will also appear on your board if you hover over/click on an object that has a web link attached to it.
Add lines to a diagram
There are three ways to add a line:
- From a selected object
- From the Shape menu
- Directly to the canvas
Add a line from an object
- Hover your cursor over a shape.
- Click a round red node from the side of an object.
- Drag your cursor away from the object.
You can connect the line back to the same object, to a different object, or add a new object by selecting one from the menu that appears when you release the mouse on the blank canvas.
If you do not want to add a new object to a line, click anywhere on the canvas to exit the shape auto-prompt window.
To disable the shape auto-prompt window:
- Open your Account Settings by selecting your profile image or initials in the upper-right hand corner.
- Click Document Settings from the menu to the left of your screen.
- Select the Lucidchart tab.
- Find the “After Drawing Lines” section.
- Select “Do nothing.”
Add a line from the Shape Menu
- Click and drag the line and arrow icon from the “Standard” section of the shape menu.
- Move the line by dragging its body and lengthen it by dragging one of its ends.
Add a line directly to the canvas
- Right-click the canvas.
- From the menu that appears, select Draw Line.
Additional tips:
- If you move an object that is connected with a line to another object, the line will also move to maintain the connection.
- Hold the Shift key on your keyboard when drawing a line to make its path follow a straight line of 45˚ increments.
- Create a line that moves independently from a shape by toggling off "line connections" in Page Settings.
- Turning off line connections allows you to move a line in isolation by clicking the arrow keys on your keyboard, however, lines already connected to shapes cannot be moved in isolation.
Format and modify lines
Lucidchart’s many line modification options give you control over how your lines look. To make a change to an individual line, select the line and navigate to the corresponding section of the Formatting toolbar above your canvas. To set a document’s default line settings, ensure you have no lines selected before setting default line settings from the Formatting toolbar.
Line shape
Lucidchart offers three options for line shape:
- Straight
- Curved
- Elbow
The default setting for line shape in a new document is Elbow, which means that your lines’ directions will correspond with the background grid of your canvas and only bend at 90˚ angles.
To change line shape, follow these steps:
- Select a line or click the canvas’ background.
- Click the Line Options icon from the formatting toolbar.
- Select one of the three line shapes available.
- Note: If you are using the Elbow line shape, you can add rounding to the line’s angles by toggling the up and down arrows in the “ROUNDED” box in the line options window.
Line color
To change the color of a line, follow these steps:
- Select a line (or to set a default, click anywhere on the canvas).
- Clickthe Line Color icon from the formatting toolbar.
- Select a color from the color swatch window that appears.
Use a custom color by clicking the plus icon at the bottom of the color swatch window. From here, you can manually select a color by selecting a space in the color swatch or using the color slider. You can also select Hex, HSB, or RGB from the dropdown menu. Once selected, you can adjust the HSB or RGB values or type a Hex code.
Line width
To change the width of a line, follow these steps:
- Select a line (or to set a default, click anywhere on the canvas).
- Toggle the up and down arrows in the “Line Width” box of the formatting toolbar.
Note: Lucidchart allows line thicknesses ranging from 0.5 to 10 px, and rounds inputted measurements to the nearest tenth of a pixel.
Line style
To change the style of a line, follow these steps:
- Select a line (or to set a default, click anywhere on the canvas).
- Click the “Line Style” box in the formatting toolbar for a display of the available line style options.
- Hover your cursor over the different line styles to see how they will appear on your diagram. Click a line style to apply changes.
Additional line style options:
- If you are modifying an individual line, you can select "DOUBLE" at the bottom of this window to turn your line into two parallel lines.
- If a selected line crosses another line on the canvas, you can make it jump over the other line by selecting "JUMP".
Modify line endpoints
The default line endpoint setting in a new document includes a solid, one-sided arrow. To change endpoints, following these steps:
- Select a line (or to set a default, click anywhere on the canvas).
- Click the left or right “Endpoint” drop-down in the formatting toolbar to see available options.
- Select a style.
To swap the endpoints of a selected line, click the double arrow icon next to the endpoint drop-down menus in the formatting toolbar.
To import a data set from Google Sheet, Excel, or CSV into a Lucidchart document, follow these steps:
- Open a Lucidchart document.
- Click the data linking icon in the left bar.
- Click Link Data.
- In the window that appears, click Import Your Data.
- Select the file type (Google Sheets, Excel, or CSV) that you would like to import, or select to choose a file that you have already uploaded to Lucidchart.
- Click Choose File.
- If you are importing data from a Google Sheet, you will need to grant Lucidchart permission to access your Google account. Click Authenticate, select your Google account, and click Allow to grant this permission.
- Select an Excel or CSV file from your device and click Open.
- If you are importing data from a Google Sheet, select a sheet and click Select.
- Select which pages of your spreadsheet you want to import and click Next.
- After importing your data, Lucidchart will prompt you to identify the header row of your data set. Select your header row.
- Click Next.
- In the next window, Lucidchart will prompt you to select a column of your data that contains reference keys for the contents of each row. Reference keys allow Lucidchart to keep track of your data even after you make structural changes to it, such as removing, adding, or reordering rows. Select the column that contains unique identifiers, if you have one.
- Click Finish.
Select text
Learn how to quickly highlight a specific portion of text so that it becomes editable.
Click once on a text box or shape containing text to select it.
Double-click an object containing text to select all of the text within the object and enter text editing mode.
Click once on the object to un-select the text and remain in text editing mode.
Set style and format
Customize the appearance of text in a diagram from the formatting bar. From here you can:
- Apply text style
- Change font
- Increase and decrease font size
- Bold, Italicize, and Underline text
- Change text color
- Adjust text alignment
- Access Text Options
From the Text Options menu, you can:
- Add Strike through text
- Convert text to Subscript
- Convert text to Superscript
- Adjust the amount of space between each line of text
- Convert lines of text to Bullets and Lists
- Adjust left, right, before, and after indent
- Adjust text padding
- Rotate text 90˚ counter-clockwise
Add shadow to text
- Select text on the canvas.
- Clickthe Shape Options icon.
- Select Shadow.
- Toggle on “Shadow”.
Note: you can adjust shadow distance, blur, color, and angle from this window.
Add more lines of text
Create new lines of text using these keyboard shortcuts.
- Add line breaks: Press “Enter” to add a break between lines of text within a text box or Command/Ctrl + Enter to add a break between lines of text within a shape.
- Add a new bullet: Press Command/Ctrl + Enter to add a new bulleted line.
- End a bulleted list: Press Shift + Enter to start a new line of text without a bullet.
Add and upload fonts
Lucidchart offers many additional fonts to the ones that initially appear in the drop-down menu of the formatting bar.
Add fonts
- Select an object containing text.
- Click the font drop-down menu.
- Select Manage fonts at the bottom of the menu to open the font manager.
- Toggle on fonts you want to add.
- Click Done to add the selected fonts to the font drop-down menu.
Upload fonts
You can upload your own fonts as TTC, TTF, or OTF files. Once you are in the font manager, you can upload fonts by following these steps:
- Click Upload font in the bottom left.
- Select a font file from your computer.
- You can also drag and drop one or more font files onto the font list.
- Click Upload to add the fonts to the font drop-down menu.
Note: Fonts used in your diagrams are automatically shared with your collaborators.
Text editing options
Lucidchart’s text editing options can help you maintain accuracy and consistency with your diagram’s written content. To access text editing options, select “Edit” from the formatting bar and scroll to the bottom of the menu.
From this menu you can:
- Enable Spell Check
- This option underlines any misspelled or unrecognized words in red.
- Change Spell Check Language
- Select this option and choose a language from the drop-down menu to change the spell check language of your document.
- Use Find & Replace
- Select this option or press command/Ctrl + F to pull up the Find & Replace window. Type the string that you want to replace in the “Find” text box and the replacement string in the “Replace with” text box, then click Replace or Replace all.
- Select this option or press command/Ctrl + F to pull up the Find & Replace window. Type the string that you want to replace in the “Find” text box and the replacement string in the “Replace with” text box, then click Replace or Replace all.
Click the "Link to Current View" box if you'd like your collaborators to enter the document with the same zoom level and view as you have when you create the link.
You can attach images to shapes, groups, lines, or pages. You can apply them anywhere you can create custom data.
Select Where to Attach Image on Editor
Select the Shape, Line, Page, etc. that you wish to attach an image to. Your image with be attached to whatever you have selected, be it a page or a shape.
Locate the Attach Images feature
The Attached Images feature can be found in the menu on the right hand side of the editor.
Click on the menu icon to open up the options and upload Attached Images.
Upload images into the Attach Images section
You can attach images via the (+) icon, by clicking ‘Choose a file’, or by dragging & dropping a file into the Attach Images section.
Supported file types are: .bmp, .gif, .jpeg, .jpg, .png, .jpe, .tiff, .tif, .psd, .ai, .pdf, and .svg
Note: Since PDFs will be attached as an image, only the first page of the PDF will be attached.
Attach Image Icon on Shapes
If you attach an image to a shape, you will see the image icon on the right upper corner of the shape.
Preview an attached image
Click on the thumbnail of an attached image to open a larger preview. If multiple images are attached, you can use the arrow buttons on either side of the preview to navigate through the images.
Rename or delete an attached image
To rename or delete an attached image, start by hovering over the thumbnail of the attached image to see the (...) more menu.
From there, select ‘Rename’ to edit the display name of the image, or select ‘Delete’ to delete the image from the selected object.
Note: Deleting an Attached Image from a shape does not remove the image from the image manager.
Anyone you share the document with has the ability to see the Attached Images or Notes. This includes view/comment only users, who can view Attached Images or Notes via on-canvas icon and image preview.
- CCSQ Support Central: Provides you with multi-program support to submit a new ticket, and track the status of an existing case, incident, or request. No login required. https://cmsqualitysupport.servicenowservices.com/ccsq_support_central
- ServiceNow Service Portal: Intended only for CMS employees and contractors. The portal provides self-service options for internal customers to report Security Incidents, submit Service Requests for tools or services offered to the internal QualityNet community, report an Incident, provide Approvals, or access internal Knowledge Base articles. The portal enables internal customers to track the status of tickets and requires a login. https://cmsqualitysupport.servicenowservices.com/sp_ess
- Service Center: For any Lucidspark related questions or questions relating to content on the QualityNet website, Please contact the Service Center.
- Phone: (866) 288-8914 (TRS:711)
- Slack: #help-service-center-sos
- Email: ServiceCenterSOS@cms.hhs.gov
- Hours of Operation: 24/7
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