Draw on PCS with Teamviewer whiteboard
Teamviewer ( www.teamviewer.com) lets you take control of another person’s computer screen over the internet (with their permission, of course). Once connected you can show that person how to do something – like use a particular program - or help to fix a problem they might be having with their system. There’s also a whiteboard feature that lets you annotate and draw on the other person’s screen. Anyone can use it, but we think it’s particularly handy for clubs that involve one-to-one help sessions, or play move-based games like chess.
Set up a remote session
Launch the Teamviewer installer on your main club PC and you’ll see three options – these are a default installation; an installation that sets up unattended access to that device (so you can access it from anywhere); or to run the software only (for a one-time use). Select the default installation and follow the steps to install it.
Tick the ‘I want to use the free version for personal use’ option, then click Finish. Tick the box to accept the licence agreement then click Continue. The Teamviewer interface will load and show your ID and Password ( 1 in our screenshot below). To take control of someone else’s PC, they need to install or run the software on their computer. Once they’ve done that you need to ask them for their ID and password. For security reasons, they should provide both items separately, preferably by phone.
Now, on your computer, type their nine-digit ID code into the Partner ID box 2 then click Connect 3 . When prompted in a new window, type their password. You will then be connected to their machine, letting you see what’s on their screen and control their PC as if you were sitting in front of it.
The toolbar at the top of your Teamviewer window (above your view of their screen) lets you perform actions like change the view and switch sides – so they can view your screen if necessary
Draw on the other person’s screen
To open your whiteboard click the paintbrush icon in the floating panel
( 1 in our screenshot above), or click the Communicate tab at the top of the screen 2 followed by the Annotate button on the right 3 . Turn the whiteboard feature on 4 and you’ll be able to use the tools in the box 5 to draw on the other person’s screen.
You’ll probably use the red-pen icon and yellow highlighter most. Right-click them to change the colour and thickness. In our screenshot above, a chess club is working on different opening moves. The person with the remote computer (the one we’re connected to) has a top-down view of a chess board on their screen. We can use the pen tool to draw our opening move and this appears – in real time – on the other PC. It’s now their move, so they select the pen tool in the whiteboard on their computer and draw their response. Teamviewer will automatically choose a different colour, so it’s easy to see who drew what.
The whiteboard tools are a little limited. There are no arrows or other shapes, and you can’t undo a mistake by pressing Ctrl+z – instead you must use the eraser. But it’s still a good way to draw on screen, and if you click the Communicate tab at the top and select Chat or Video, you can discuss what’s happening.