Release Notes: Freehand
  • 17 Mar 2023
  • 30 Minutes to read
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Release Notes: Freehand

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Article Summary

InVision is committed to continually improving Freehand by resolving bugs and regularly implementing new features with each release. You'll find our latest Freehand release notes below.

January 17, 2023

Import your boards from Miro or Mural into Freehand

You can now import your boards from Miro or Mural into Freehand and continue working on them, making the transition to Freehand painless.

For more information, read Import your whiteboards into Freehand.

December 12, 2022

Admins can delete and archive all freehands in the account

Team admins can now delete and archive any freehand in their InVision account they have access to.

Read our documentation for more information about deleting and archiving freehands.

December 9, 2022

Change ownership of a freehand

Owners of freehands and admins can now change the ownership of freehands. For more information, read Change the owner of a freehand.

December 7, 2022

Create tasks from comments

You can now create tasks from comments in Freehand to indicate there's a task that needs to be completed, provide all the context needed, and follow along as that task gets completed.

For more details, read Commenting in Freehand.

November 17, 2022

Share freehands to user groups

Collaborating with the same people regularly just got easier! You can now share Freehand documents with user groups. Read our documentation for more information about creating user groups and sharing freehands.

November 15, 2022

Add launcher buttons in Freehand

Use the Tool launcher to add launcher buttons for Freehand add-ons, integrations, and some tools to your freehand, enabling other users to open them right from the freehand canvas. Launcher buttons help template users find the add-ons, integrations, and tools referenced in the template and complete their tasks.

For more details, read Add launcher buttons in Freehand.

October 20, 2022

Mentions in pages

You can now mention users in pages. It's even easier to take notes, assign action items, and keep projects on track. For more information, read Pages in Freehand and Mention users in Freehand.

More time for visitors to collaborate

Visitors to all your Freehand documents get more time to collaborate with you and your team. We've increased visitor access from 48 hours to 7 days.

October 13, 2022

Introducing the InVision plug-in for Figma

The InVision plug-in for Figma enables frictionless collaboration for everyone involved in design projects. Create designs in Figma and bring them to Freehand for robust, cross-functional collaboration. For more information, read Use the InVision plug-in for Figma.

September 23, 2022

Introducing grids in Freehand

Use grids to organize and structure Freehand elements in flexible layouts. With grids, you can save time in ideation sessions, product exploration, and tasks prioritization. Read Create grids in Freehand for more information.

September 19, 2022

Introducing the Unsplash add-on

The new Unsplash add-on allows you to add high quality stock images from Unsplash to your Freehand canvas. Read Add Unsplash images to Freehand for more information.

September 14, 2022

New add-ons for Freehand

We've launched four new add-ons for Freehand! The poll, this or that, spinner, and chart add-ons bring new fun and functionality to all your freehands. Read the following articles for more information on each add-on:

September 9, 2022

Mentions in sticky notes

You can now mention users in sticky notes (). Type @ in a sticky note, begin typing the name of the user you want to mention, and then select that person from the dropdown list. Read Freehand tools for more information about sticky notes.

August 24, 2022

Introducing InVision for Google Workspace 

If you schedule events with Google Calendar, use the InVision for Google Workspace add-on to seamlessly add a freehand to the calendar event. Participants can review the freehand in advance, getting a jump on brainstorming. Read Add freehands to Google Calendar events for more information.

August 11, 2022

Introducing the Trello and Asana add-ons

We've released two new add-ons in Freehand to help with project planning: Trello and Asana.

Use the Trello add-on for Freehand to run more inclusive and collaborative planning sessions and manage projects across your organization. Read Plan projects in Freehand with the Trello add-on for more information.

The Asana add-on for Freehand brings Asana's flexible project planning into Freehand's infinite canvas. Run more inclusive and collaborative planning sessions and manage projects across your brand, design, operations, events, and marketing teams. Read Plan projects in Freehand with the Asana add-on for more information.

July 28th, 2022

New options to navigate Freehand  New Feature

We've added new options to navigate Freehand to help you work more efficiently:

  • Hold and drag with the right mouse button to pan the Freehand canvas.
  • Use the new setting Zoom with scroll wheel in the More menu (•••) at the top of the canvas in Freehand to use your mouse scroll wheel to zoom in and out.
  • The option Snap to objects is now turned on by default.

Learn more about these options here: Freehand tools and Freehand navigation.

July 27th, 2022

Introducing the Color Swatches add-on

The new Color Swatches add-on allows you to add color swatches to your Freehand. Use this add-on to identify specific colors for branding or expand creativity in working sessions.

Learn more here: Add color swatches to Freehand.

July 12th, 2022

Introducing Pages in Freehand

Use Pages to synthesize and document your work directly into Freehand. With Pages, you can structure information and collaborate faster with your team in one workspace.

Learn more here: Pages in Freehand.

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July 11th, 2022

Download individual assets from Figma screens with the Inspect add-on

You can now download individual assets from screens imported from Figma using the Inspect add-on in Freehand. 

Learn more here: Inspect design screens in Freehand.

July 7th, 2022

Improved presentation experience

We’ve updated the Present mode experience in Freehand to encourage collaborative storytelling and help you keep your audience engaged and focused on your presentation. Now, when presenting your frames, your audience will view only one frame at a time and you will be able to switch presenters easily.

Learn more here: Freehand presentations.

June 7th, 2022

Sharing Freehand templates with people outside your team

You can now use share links to share Freehand templates with other users, including those not part of your team.

Learn more here: Sharing a Freehand template.

June 3rd, 2022

Hyperlinks in Freehand

You can now insert hyperlinks in Freehand by selecting the text you want to hyperlink and typing Command + V (on Mac) or Ctrl + V (on Windows) to paste the URL.

Learn more here: Freehand tools .

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May 31st, 2022

Enhanced Freehand app for Zoom experience

You can now use the Freehand app for Zoom together with Collaborate mode, which allows you to share your freehands immediately with all call participants.

We’ve also improved the sign in process so you don’t need to sign in to your InVision account each time you want to use the Freehand app in a new Zoom meeting.

Learn more here: Freehand app for Zoom.

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May 30th, 2022

Introducing the Azure DevOps add-on

With the Azure DevOps add-on for Freehand, you can combine Azure DevOps and Freehand to make project planning more inclusive and engaging. You can import Azure work items to Freehand and create Azure work items directly from cards and sticky notes.

Learn more here: Project planning in Freehand with the Azure DevOps add-on.

May 27th, 2022

New keyboard shortcuts in the Adobe XD add-on

We've added a few keyboard shortcuts to the Adobe XD add-on to streamline your work in Freehand.

Learn more here: Importing an Adobe XD design into Freehand.

New keyboard shortcuts in the Figma add-on

We've added a few keyboard shortcuts to the Figma add-on to streamline your work in Freehand.

Learn more here: Embedding Figma designs in Freehand.

May 13th, 2022

Saving custom Freehand templates as drafts

You can now save your custom template as a draft and publish it at a later time.

Learn more here: Freehand templates.

Sharing Freehand templates

You can now easily share Freehand templates with other team members using a share link.

Learn more here: Freehand templates.

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May 4th, 2022

Introducing the Giphy add-on

You can now quickly add Giphy GIFs to your freehands, making any meeting and collaborative session fun and engaging.

Learn more here: Adding Giphy GIFs to Freehand.

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April 27th, 2022

Introducing the Inspect add-on

Simplify the design-to-development process with Inspect in Freehand. Drive efficient and productive hand-off meetings between designers and developers, providing access to measurements, colors, assets, and code for your designs.

Learn more here: Inspecting design screens in Freehand.

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April 22nd, 2022

Embedding an InVision prototype in Freehand

When embedding an InVision prototype into Freehand, you can now choose to either embed the entire prototype on the Freehand canvas or select and import specific screens.

Learn more here: Embedding an InVision Prototype in Freehand.

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April 21st, 2022

Comments and reactions tied to objects in Freehand

You can now tie comments and reactions to specific elements in the freehand canvas, keeping them tied to the objects, even if those objects move. To add a new comment or reaction tied to a particular element in the canvas, hover over that specific element so it's highlighted, and click on it.

Learn more about comments and reactions here: Freehand tools.

April 20th, 2022

Introducing the Embed tool

With the Embed tool in Freehand, you can quickly add different types of content to your freehand to share all the resources and context that your team needs.

You can embed content from Adobe XD, Coda, Figma, Google Calendar, Google Maps, Loom, Microsoft 365, Mode, SketchFab, Spotify, Vimeo, and YouTube.

Learn more here: Embedding your content in Freehand.

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April 18th, 2022

New diagramming experience

You can now choose one of the four fixed connectors as starting and ending points of the connector (left, right, top, or bottom of the shapes).

You can also create connected shapes quickly by dropping the end of a new connector on the freehand canvas. This will open a menu that will allow you to create a new shape at the end of the connector.

Additionally, you can now create a connector by typing L on your keyboard.

Learn more here: Diagramming in Freehand.

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April 7th, 2022

Sharing a freehand with external users for a limited period of time a new sharing experience

You can now share a freehand with external users (Visitors) for a limited period of time of 48 hours.

Additionally, the new share dialog allows you to easily select who can open the document and what they can do using the drop-down menus in the panel.

Learn more here: Sharing a Freehand.

April 6th, 2022

Introducing the Microsoft 365 add-on

Use the Microsoft 365 add-on to embed Microsoft 365 documents directly into your freehand so your entire team can review them and provide feedback.

Learn more here: Embedding Microsoft 365 documents in Freehand.

YouTube add-on update

You can now easily play a YouTube video embedded in Freehand by clicking the embedded video.

Learn more here: Embedding videos in Freehand.

April 5th, 2022

Introducing the Freehand app for Zoom

With the Freehand app for Zoom, you can easily jump into a freehand and collaborate with your team during your Zoom calls. You and your team can share existing or new freehands during your meetings, all without leaving the Zoom window.

Learn more here: Freehand app for Zoom.

April 1st, 2022

Jira Data Center in Freehand

If you’re using Jira Data Center, you can now import Jira issues to Freehand and create Jira issues directly from sticky notes and cards.

Learn more here: Project planning in Freehand with the Jira add-on.

March 23rd, 2022

Introducing the Freehand app for Webex

The Freehand app for Webex allows you to easily share freehands and collaborate with stakeholders during your Webex meetings. Make meetings a time for connection, inspiration, and productivity.

Learn more here: Freehand app for Webex.

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March 14th, 2022

Placeholder Frames

You can use placeholder frames to make your freehand templates easily customizable and improve asynchronous collaboration with your team.

Learn more here: Frames in Freehand

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March 3rd, 2022

New functionalities in the Jira add-on for Freehand

We’ve added new functionalities to the Jira add-on for Freehand! You can now create Jira issues from cards and change the color of the top border of the Jira cards to help you organize tasks and ideas.

You can also search for Jira issues when importing them into Freehand and search for Jira cards on your canvas.

Additionally, once you've used the Jira add-on and chosen a Jira site and project, you'll see that site and project selected as default the next time you use the Jira add-on.

Learn more here: Jira Cloud for Freehand.

February 17th, 2022

Lists in Freehand

You can now use bulleted and numbered lists to organize your content in Freehand. Learn more here: Freehand tools.

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February 15th, 2022

Cards and boards in Freehand

With cards and boards, you can structure and organize your project in Freehand. Use cards to capture ideas, tasks, goals, etc., and boards to organize your cards in columns. Learn more here: Cards and boards in Freehand.

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Snapping in Freehand

You can now align objects with neighboring elements when moving them on your Freehand by clicking the More menu icon (•••) at the top of the canvas in Freehand and selecting Snap to objects. Learn more here: Freehand tools.

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February 11th, 2022

Jira Cloud for Freehand

With the Jira add-on for Freehand, you can combine Freehand’s flexible canvas with Jira’s structured project tracking tool, seamlessly taking product collaboration from ideation to execution.
Lear more here: Jira Cloud for Freehand.

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February 1st, 2022

Embedding Adobe XD prototypes in Freehand

You can now embed Adobe XD prototypes in Freehand. Learn more here: Importing an Adobe XD Design into Freehand.

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Embedding Figma prototypes in Freehand

You can now embed Figma prototypes in Freehand. Learn more here: Embedding Figma designs in Freehand.

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January 24th, 2022

Introducing the Adobe XD add-on in Freehand

Use the Adobe XD add-on to curate and contextualize designs in Freehand so collaborators can easily give feedback.

Learn more here: Importing an Adobe XD Design into Freehand

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January 10th, 2022

Upload files to Freehand

You can now upload many different file types to Freehand so your team can access project-related files in once space. You can even extract pages from a document so your team can comment and react to each page.

Learn more here: Uploading a file to Freehand

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December 13th, 2021

Sharing a Freehand in Microsoft Teams

You can now share a Freehand directly into a Microsoft Teams meeting — without having to share your screen or copy and paste share links! During the meeting, select or create a Freehand so that your teammates can engage and interact within the meeting stage, without having a separate tab open for collaboration. Keep the creative momentum going as if you’re all huddled together at an IRL whiteboard.

Learn more here: Freehand whiteboard for Microsoft Teams

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December 9th, 2021

Presenting in Freehand

Present your freehand to your team so everyone can follow your view. Learn more here: Presenting in Freehand.

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December 3rd, 2021

Introducing the Wireframe add-on

Quickly communicate your ideas with your team in Freehand using the Wireframe add-on. Learn more here: Creating a Wireframe in Freehand

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Introducing the Prototype add-on

Take your presentations and brainstorming sessions to the next level by embedding fully functional InVision prototypes directly into your Freehand documents. Learn more here: Embedding an InVision Prototype in Freehand

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November 17th, 2021

Object ordering

You can now change the order of objects in Freehand. Learn more here: Freehand keyboard shortcuts

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November 15th, 2021

Uploading a PDF to Freehand

You can upload a PDF to a freehand to provide context to your team. Learn more here: Uploading an image or PDF to Freehand

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November 11th, 2021

Embedding a freehand in an Asana project brief

Embed a freehand in your Asana project brief to give your team full context and access to the most up-to-date version of your freehand. Learn more here: Embedding a Freehand in an Asana Project Brief

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October 27th, 2021

Applying templates to an existing document

You can now apply a template to an existing Freehand document. Learn more here: Freehand templates

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October 26th, 2021

Custom document icons

Elevate the identity of your projects and teams by setting custom icons for individual documents. This helps to make each document unique and easier to find. Learn more here: Adding custom document icons

Steps to add a custom Freehand document icon

October 21st, 2021

Introducing the Loom add-on

Use the Loom add-on to record a video walkthrough to add context to your freehand. Learn more here: Recording a Video with Loom in Freehand

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October 19th, 2021

Freehand in-app text search

Freehand V7 users can now click Cmd+F (macOS) or Ctrl+F (Windows) to search and navigate through all text objects: text, sticky notes, and text within shapes.

Searching text layers within V7 Freehand

October 18th, 2021

Introducing the Figma add-on

Use the Figma add-on to curate and contextualize designs in Freehand so collaborators can easily give feedback. Learn more here: Importing Figma designs into Freehand

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September 29th, 2021

New color and fill options

We’ve added more formatting options to Freehand. You can now add white and red text, shapes, and lines to your freehand documents! We’ve also added a new Full fill option, which doesn’t have a border and is fully opaque.

Screenshot showing the new color and fill options in Freehand: white and red color, as well as full fill

August 30th, 2021

Introducing Freehand add-ons

New add-ons allow you to add tools to your V7 Freehand documents to boost collaboration and workflow. To learn more, check out this article: Freehand add-ons

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Introducing frames and walkthroughs

Now you can use frames and walkthroughs to create and share a structured view of your freehand with your audience. Learn more in this article: Frames and walkthroughs in V7 Freehand

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August 24th, 2021

Polished shapes

Control the style of your shapes in Freehand. Open the More menu in your Freehand and toggle between the iconic Freehand shapes or more polished lines.

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August 19th, 2021

Comments panel

Never miss out on the conversation! The comments panel in V7 Freehand gives you a bird’s-eye view of all threads in a Freehand document.

To open the comments panel, click the Comments icon in the right sidebar. Click each entry to see the full thread and to jump into the relevant point in the canvas.

Learn more about commenting in Freehand in this article: Commenting in Freehand

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July 26th, 2021

Improved experience for guests in V6 Enterprise freehands

Guests in a V6 Enterprise Freehand can now modify all existing content in freehands where the option Anyone with the link can edit is enabled. Previously, users who accessed an Enterprise freehand via the Continue as guest option could only modify their own content.

June 17th, 2021

Password protection for Freehand links

V7 Enterprise

V7 Enterprise users can now request a password for any Freehand link viewers that are not added as collaborators in the document. Learn more in this article: Sharing password-protected prototypes, freehands, and boards in InVision V7

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V6 Enterprise

V6 Enterprise users can also request a password for any Freehand link viewers that are not added as collaborators in the document. Learn more in this article: How do I password-protect my prototypes or freehands?

How to add a password requirement for freehand guests in InVision V6 Enterprise

June 15th, 2021

Text in shapes

Add text to any shape (except lines) in Freehand.

Note: For the time being, you won't be able to add text to shapes that were created before this feature was released. However, you can add text to shapes created from now onwards.
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Diagramming

You can now connect shapes in Freehand with dynamic connectors. You can learn more in this article: Diagramming in Freehand

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April 2021

New shapes

You can now draw additional shapes (diamonds, parallelograms, pills, triangles) in your freehands using the Shape menu or the S shortcut key.

New available shapes in Freehand

Individual collaborator permissions in V6 Freehand

You can now remove or edit document permissions for individual collaborators in V6 Freehand. Collaborators will also see freehands they're a part of in their Projects dashboards.

Access settings for individual collaborators in V6 Freehand

March 2021

Commenting in V7 Freehand

With Comment mode in Freehand, you can supplement your real-time online whiteboard collaboration with threaded conversations the team can refer back to at any point. You can start new comment threads, reply to existing comments, mention others, and even toggle comment visibility on the fly.

V6 Freehand Enterprise share settings

We've updated the Freehand share settings for Enterprise customers in V6 so you can invite people, share a document link, or remove people from your Freehand when they no longer need access.

February 9th, 2021

Locked objects in source templates

When working in a source template, you can now unlock objects that were locked. Previously, the Editing template bar that appears at the bottom of the canvas had been blocking the Unlock button.

February 8th, 2021

Create object groups

Now you can select multiple items on the canvas and create an object group via the contextual menu.

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February 3rd, 2021

Version history modal

When reviewing previous versions of your freehand, these issues in the Version history modal should no longer be a problem:

  • Modal preview was randomly displayed upside down or was empty
  • End caps for lines could have an incorrect angle in the modal preview
  • Shadows for sticky notes were darker in the modal preview than in the freehand itself

Trouble with lines exported to PNG

Now when you export a freehand as a PNG file, lines in PNG will perfectly match lines as they appear in the freehand. Previously, lines were not getting rendered as a pixel-perfect match in the PNG.

Incomplete search results in Microsoft Teams

When viewing available freehands in Microsoft Teams, the Freehand modal will now display a comprehensive list of embedded freehands you can open. Previously, teams that had embedded numerous freehands were not seeing the full list.

January 28th, 2021

Improvements for Safari users

If you're a Safari user, you may have previously run into a couple of bugs that this release corrects:

  • Blurry text: Text should now be nice and clear in Freehand on Safari.
  • Opening a freehand document: Now you won't run into a showstopper when opening a freehand in Safari, as we've fixed the bug that was causing Mac to freeze and/or crash.

The right angle

When using the Shape tool to add a square or rectangle, now the angle of the top-right corner will match the other corners. Previously, a bug was causing a slight bulge that left the top-right corner slightly curved.

December 12th, 2020

Template Gallery for Microsoft Teams

If you use the Freehand whiteboard integration for Microsoft Teams, now you will see the Template Gallery when adding a new freehand to a channel.

Template tags

If you've saved a freehand as a custom template, now you can easily spot it when glancing over your project thumbnails on the InVision homescreen.

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December 2nd, 2020

Image rendering

If your freehand includes many images or particularly large image files, you'll notice the freehand loads much faster, scrolls more smoothly, and uses fewer system resources now that we've overhauled our image rendering to improve performance.

Deep links

If your freehand includes deep links, now when a recipient clicks the link, it will pan and zoom smoothly to the target object.

That's a wrap

Your text within text boxes and sticky notes will now wrap appropriately.

December 1st, 2020

Selecting a filled object

Now if you hover over a filled object, you should be able to select the object as expected. Previously, in certain cases, a bug was preventing the ability to select filled objects.

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November 30th, 2020

Expanded My projects list

If you're an InVision V6 user on the Free, Starter, Pro, or Team plan, now when you click the My projects tab on the homepage, you'll see any freehands you've previously accessed.

November 24th, 2020

Contextual menu

With any object, image, or sticky note selected, now you can click the More icon (•••) in the contextual menu to do more with your elements:

  • Go deep: Now you can grab a deep link and share specific items in a freehand. Simply select a text object, image, or sticky note; click the More icon (•••) in the contextual menu; click Copy link; and then share the link URL. When the recipient opens the link, the freehand file will open to a zoomed-in view of your item.
  • Export a section: Excited about a specific section of your freehand? Now you can snapshot that beauty and share it with your team! Select one or more items, click the More icon (•••) in the contextual menu; click Export to image; and then share the file as wanted.
  • Copycat: Grab a copy of the element to paste elsewhere in the freehand or in a different freehand.
  • Twinning: Duplicate the selected element/s.
  • Trash it: If an element is missing the mark completely, you can always delete it.

Origin stories

Now you can select any image in your freehand and download the file in its original source format.

November 11th, 2020

What's new in Freehand?

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It's a template free-for-all!

Ready for more-purposeful, more-effective online collaboration? Featuring curated templates designed by numerous industry leaders, the extensive new Freehand Template Gallery will help you reimagine how you brainstorm, plan, reflect, and align as a team—online in real time:

  • Freehand Template Gallery: Whatever the need, start your Freehand sessions right with powerful templates created by design leaders like Xbox, American Express, Atlassian, UserTesting, AWS, and others. Kicking things off with one these proven frameworks makes it easy to learn from the best, adopt the template aspects you love, and adapt anything that's not a perfect fit!

  • Custom Templates for Enterprises: If you're on an Enterprise team, now you can create your own templates and share them with the rest of the organization—in a dedicated, internal-access-only category in the Freehand Template Gallery.

Are you into details? Same with us. Read more about using the new Freehand templates in the Getting Started Guide for your version of InVision: 

October 27th, 2020

What's new in Freehand?

Check out this handy new feature for those of you who belong to multiple InVision teams:

  • "New Freehand" shortcut: When using the freehand.new URL as a shortcut to create a new freehand, now you'll see the option to select a team—if you belong to more than one InVision team.

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October 12th, 2020

What's fixed in Freehand?

Okay, maybe there is an easy fix for better collaboration—at least for InVision V6 Freehand users:

  • Collaborator visibility: If you're on a Free, Starter, Pro, or Team plan for InVision V6, now when you share a freehand, the Share dialog includes a list of collaborators who have joined the freehand.

September 3rd, 2020

What's new in Freehand?

Freehand just got a bundle of exciting new features:

  • Contextual menus: When working with the tools in Freehand, you'll notice the contextual menu for each tool has been markedly improved.
  • Locking objects: Avoid collaboration mishaps by locking objects that should not be moved or edited. With the object selected, toggle the lock icon on (invision-freehand-contextual-menu-lock-object-icon.png) in the contextual menu.
  • Arrange to grid: Now you can grab multiple objects with the pointer tool and align them to a grid. Just select the objects and click the grid icon (invision-freehand-arrange-objects-grid-icon.png) in the top-right corner of object group.
    invision-freehand-arrange-objects-in-grid.gif
  • Reactions and voting: Show some love for your collaborators' work with one of seven animated emojis. As other people click a reaction, the running tally increases, making reactions a great way to vote on brainstorming sessions and potential design solutions.
    invision-freehand-add-reactions.gif

August 3rd, 2020

What's new in Freehand?

Create a still life.

  • Exporting to an image: You can now export an entire freehand as a still image—as a PNG file, specifically—by clicking the More menu icon (•••) and then clicking Export to image.

July 14th, 2020

What's new in Freehand?

This will go down in history.

  • Version history: With the new version history feature in Freehand, now you can collaborate with other editors in real time without the fear of making unintended changes or deleting content. Read this article for details and instructions on reverting to a previous version: Version history in Freehand documents
  • Pan the canvas: There's a new way to pan your Freehand canvas! Click the Pan icon (invision-freehand-pan-canvas-icon.png) in the lower-right corner of the canvas to trigger panning. You can also still pan by holding the Spacebar while you click and drag in any direction.

June 29th, 2020

What's new in Freehand?

Why weight in line? Because you can! [Side note: We got Dad jokes for days!]

  • Change your line weight: Now when you're working with the pencil tool (This image is the pencil icon used in the Freehand toolbar.), you can choose from one of 3 line weights in the secondary toolbar that appears at the top of the canvas.
Tip: With the pencil tool selected, you can also use shortcuts to change line weight: Thin: ⌥1Medium: ⌥2Thick: ⌥3

May 12th, 2020

What's new in Freehand?

In answer to one of our most popular feature requests, Sticky Notes are here!

  • Easy to use: Simply click the Sticky Notes tool icon (This image is the sticky note icon used in the Freehand toolbar.) and then drop a note anywhere on your freehand. To move a previously placed sticky note, select and drag it.
  • Friendly formatting:With a sticky note selected, click any of the formatting options that appear just below the URL bar:
    • Switch to text box: Click the Sticky Notes dropdown (This image is the icon used to indicate the Sticky Notes dropdown menu in Freehand.) to convert the sticky note to a regular text box.
    • Color dropdown: Change the given sticky note's color.
    • Note width: Select a previously placed sticky note and drag the selection box (on either side) left or right to adjust its width.
    • Texting 101: Your text formatting options include bold, italic, and highlighted font as well as left, center, and right alignment.

April 2020

What's improved in Freehand?

Big improvements to Freehand tools during April make it even easier to draw, write, and collaborate in real-time with your colleagues online:

  • Drawing attention: Use the improved shape tool to wow your fellow Freehand-ers with cleanly drawn squares, rectangles, circles, and lines.
  • Gift wrapping: Alright, it may not be first on your birthday list, but we can all agree a great line of text can be a gift. The new auto text wrapping feature lets you wrap that little text gem by selecting and resizing the text box.
  • Bulk alignment: Now you can align multiple objects in a freehand at once. Select the objects you want to align, and then click one of the three alignment icons that appear at the top of the screen.
  • Get colorful: Now it's easier to change and fine-tune your color choices. Select an object to reveal options at the top of the screen, and then use the dropdown arrows to adjust its color or the opacity of its fill and outline.

April 5th, 2019

What's New

The following release notes apply strictly to Freehand in InVision V7, and they are not applicable to InVision V6:

  •  Your You're correct:  Freehand text in InVision V7 now features autocorrection.
  • Let's wrap it up: Working with text in Freehand for InVision V7 is better than ever:
    • Now you can click and drag to draw a text bounding box, complete automatically wrapping text.
    • When you create a text area by clicking to type, now the text will wrap at a predefined width.
    • When hovering over a text area, you can now use the side handles to resize the area and change the wrapping of the text. It's worth noting that you can still drag the corner handles of a text area to change change the font size.

December 7th, 2018

What's New

  • Shape Menu in Freehand: Now you can easily draw rectangles, circles, and straight lines.
    Pro tip: To draw perfect squares, circles, and lines at 30° increments, hold the Shift key while drawing.

September 7th, 2018

What's New

  • Choose your line opacity: To change the level of transparency of the lines you draw, you can now use the opacity feature. (See the description of the pencil tool in the Freehand Tools table for more detail). 
  • More-usable text entry in Freehand: 
    • You can now insert line breaks simply by pressingEnter /Return on your keyboard.
    • Thetype something prompt is now a placeholder rather than actual text that needs to be overwritten.

May 2nd, 2018

What's New

  • Freehand sign in through Craft Manager: The sign-in flow for the Craft Freehand plugin with Sketch is now part of Craft Manager. This should streamline authentication and make it more intuitive.

Bug Fixes

  • Share link unfurling: Share links for prototypes, boards, and Freehands are now unfurled correctly in Facebook and Twitter.
  • Freehand sign out issue: InVision Private Cloud users are no longer signed out of their accounts when they click InVision icon in Freehand.
  • Freehand save location: InVision Private Cloud users are now automatically prompted to save freehands inside their respective Private Cloud accounts instead of their personal accounts.
  • Improved resizing for straight lines in Freehand: The behavior of the resizing handles used to resize relatively straight lines you've drawn has improved, making it easier to change the length of your line (or a thin shape) without changing the proportions of the line.
    Pro tip: Hold Shift while drawing a new line for a perfect straight angle!

March 6th, 2018

What's New

  • Create only one document at a time in Freehand: If you accidentally clickCreate” several times when starting a new Freehand, you can now be sure that only one document will be created.
  • Type somethingfaster with text in Freehand: When you create a new text layer, the defaulttype something” text will now be selected. Just start typing to overwrite it.

December 11th, 2017

What's Fixed

  • Selection resize functionality: Resizing any selection in freehand document that contains empty text layers is now working without any scaling problems. 
  • Multi-line text: Issue where occasional empty text lines were created after pressing Shift+Enter is no longer happening.

November 29th, 2017

What's New

  • Switch to Pencil tool: Double click with the pointer tool anywhere on canvas now quickly switches to the pencil tool.
  • Shadow rendering: New faster and smoother rendering for drop shadows on artboards imported from Sketch/Photoshop.
  • “Who draw this” functionality improved: Name of the author for lines/text/images now displays different text based on the item type: drawn by, added by, written by.

What's Fixed

  • Close video modal: The issue of the escape button not responding next to the video player is now fixed and fully functional.
  • Zoom Numeric keypad: Cmd + shortcut to zoom now works on Numeric keypad.

November 14th, 2017

What's New

  • Freehand from Prototype: Users can now create new Freehand documents from any of their prototypes by simply pressing the Freehand icon next to Liveshare in Project’s view.
    This image is the Create New Freehand icon users will click.

November 10th, 2017

What's New

  • Freehand Plugin(Sketch/PS): Completely new Freehand plugin that allows users to sign in with their InVision accounts and create new freehand or update already existing ones. 
  • Archive functionality:When freehand is archived, the URL will not be accessible anymore (same behavior as all other InVision project types).
  • Keyboard shortcut help: Improved shortcuts helper now with all Freehand shortcuts categoried by their purpose. 

October 30th, 2017

What's New

  • Shape fill functionality: Users are able to select a shape. By pressingcmd+e” they will add a fill color to that selected shape.
  • Pencil color picker: Users are able to change the pencil color by clicking the ••• menu at the top left, then clicking Change my default color.
  • Get started video: New walkthrough video tutorial is now available through the Freehand Guide.
  • Rich text editing: Users are now able to format text in Freehand. Allowed formatting functionality such as:
    - Bold (cmd+b)
    - Highlight (cmd+e)
    - Align center (cmd+shift+c)
    - Align left (cmd+shift+l)

What's Fixed

  • Emoji import issue: Fixed issue with importing emojis for retina displays
  • Mobile and tablet onboarding: Improved onboarding for mobile and tablet in landscape mode.

October 24th, 2017

What's New

  • Who’s drawn this: New feature to show who has drawn a particular in the bottom left of the screen,  rather than depending on just your color.
  • Duplicate for mobile/tablet: New feature that allows users to simply duplicate any selected content with a button that shows under the selection.

What's Fixed

  • Emoji resize issue: Fixed issue where you wouldn’t be able to resize emojis consistently without them disappearing.
  • Scaling issues: Fixed issue where invisible artifacts would sometimes appear preventing you from scaling properly.
  • Mobile redirect issues: Fixed Issue where you can’t access a Freehand directly from a mobile device without being promoted to download or use the Invision app.  

October 9th, 2017

What's New

  • Pointer Tool for MobileUsers will have pointer” tool as a default option when launching Freehand instead of pencil.”
  • Create New Freehand: New feature that allows users to create new Freehands directly from already opened documents. Open the overflow menu (•••) menu on top right to see an option to create new document.

October 2nd, 2017

What's New

  • Mobile/Tablet onboardingSpecific onboarding for mobile and tablet devices showcasing features and tips how to work and navigate through Freehand documents.
  • Duplicate for Mobile/Tablet: New feature that allows users to simply duplicate any selected content with a button that shows under the selection.

What's Fixed

  • Slack integration: Fixed issues with thumbnails not generating properly. 

September 18th, 2017

What's Fixed

  • Z” key shortcut: Fixed issue when pressing Z key returns to previously used tool in Freehand
  • Quick selection: Fixed bug pressing the command key when the selection option is enabled will change the cursor function to pencil mode

September 4th, 2017

What's New

  • Send Feedback: Users are now able to send feedback directly from Freehand documents
  • Become a Pro Tutorial: Interactive onboarding tutorial is now available to start again anytime from the Help dropdown 
  • What’s New: Users will see a notification dot directly in Freehand documents notifying about any new updates and releases

August 28th, 2017

What's New

  • Zoom reset for empty freehands: When there are no entities in the Freehand document, zoom is reset to 100%

What's Fixed

  • Custom minimum font sizes: Fixed issue where custom minimum font sizes in Chrome / Safari are causing text resizing in Freehand to not work
  • Old avatar placeholders: Fixed issue where avatar placeholders were showing old placeholders and not color + initials
  • Sketch Freehand update artboard resizing: Fixed issue where updating artboards from Sketch doesn't respect resized artboards in Freehand.

August 21st, 2017

What's New

  • Mobile smart shapes detection: Users are able to use smart shapes detection by holding pencil for additional 1-2s at the end of drawing to detect rectangle/circle or line.

What's Fixed

  • Image url copied as text layer: Fixed issue where copying an image from url and paste it into Freehand, it would paste the image’s link as text too
  • Same color for two or more users: Fixed issue where two users could have the same color
  • Enterprise SSO sign in: Fixed issue where for some Enterprise Freehand sessions with SSO it was not possible to sign in as a guest
  • “Esc” for closing all modal: Fixed issue when"Esc” wasn’t closing certain modals
  • Sideguide Scroll: Fixed issue where scrolling down in the side guide and then clicking a tip would not scroll to the top.

August 14th, 2017

What's New

  • No more dimming images in present mode: We removed dimming on images in present mode so it's easier to see what you're presenting.
  • Upload or drag and drop multiple images: You can upload or drag and drop multiple images at once!
  • New keyboard shortcut: You can now use the “A” keyboard shortcut as an alternate for the selection tool. Ctrl-A/CMD-A selects all objects.
  • Rename your Freehands: You can now rename your Freehands by clicking the Freehand name and typing to edit.
  • InVision logo takes you back to your Projects Dashboard: Previously, the InVision logo wouldn't do anything. Now, the home action works for all environments.
  • New keyboard shortcut: You can now use the “A” keyboard shortcut as an alternate for the selection tool. Ctrl-A/CMD-A selects all objects.
  • Improved, simplified clear drawing options with pointer tool optimizations

What's Fixed

  • Enterprise Freehands redirecting: Certain enterprise share links would redirect forever
  • Thumbnails updating:Freehand thumbs weren’t updating
  • Uppercase domain names redirect: Upper case domain names would cause redirect issues
  • Image path showing up as text object: Image path would paste as a text object in addition to the image

August 3rd, 2017

  • Freehand was released! It allows users to collaborate in real-time with designs in an infinite whiteboard experience. See more here.

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