Lucidspark is the leading intuitive visual whiteboard tool. With a library of integrations for teams and classrooms, and over 70 million users, Lucidspark is the best option to empower you and your organization to see and build the future. Read this article to learn how to work with Lucidspark after migrating from Jamboard.

Sign up for a free Lucid account and read this article to learn how to work with Lucidspark as you migrate from Jamboard.

Import a Jam PDF into Lucid

On December 31, 2024, the Jamboard app was shut down. At that time, existing Jams were automatically exported to users’ Google Drive accounts as PDFs. While it is no longer possible to import an editable version of your Jams, you can import the PDF versions into Lucid to view them as images.

Import a PDF with one page

Open a Lucid document.
Locate the “Insert” menu.
- In Lucidchart, click Insert from the menu bar at the top of the screen.
- In Lucidspark, open the More menu, then hover your cursor over “Insert”.
Select Image.
Choose a file from your device to insert.

Import a PDF with multiple pages

Open a Lucid document.
Locate the “Insert” menu.
- In Lucidchart, click Insert from the menu bar at the top of the screen.
- In Lucidspark, open the More menu, then hover your cursor over “Insert”.
Select PDF.
Choose a file from your device to insert.
Click the embedded link tile that appears on the canvas.
Select the Extract Thumbnails icon.
- In Lucidchart, this is located in the context panel to the far-right side.
- In Lucidspark, this is located in the context menu that appears when you select an item.

Tip: You can use a PDF image as a reference point to recreate a diagram or board in Lucid. For more information, check out this post from the Lucid Community.

Tools in Lucidspark compared to Jamboard

In Lucidspark, you’ll find the majority of the Jamboard tools you’re familiar with—but with more robust functionality and even more tools. Refer to the tables below for a one-to-one comparison of features and tools in Lucidspark and click the links to learn more.

To learn how to use similar tools you used in Jamboard, see the Replicate Jamboard in Lucidspark section of this article.

Tip: If you’re an educator and you want to learn more about everything Lucid has to offer, visit our Lucid for the classroom page for more. To ask questions and get support from Lucid experts and others coming from Jamboard to Lucidspark, check out this post in the Lucid Community.

On the canvas

	Lucid	Jamboard
Add shapes	Add a wider range of shapes and draw lines between them on the canvas	8 total shapes
Add lines	Use drag and drop lines to connect any idea or shape	1 arrow shape
Sticky notes	Use sticky notes with many more color options to collect and organize ideas	5 color options
Add media	Add playable videos, images, GIFs, emoji, and icons by uploading or searching the web	Upload, paste, or search images in Google
Draw on the canvas	Use the Pen tool with custom color capability, highlighter, eraser, and magic shapes	6 colors and 4 pen point options
Create Frames and Paths	Add Frames around content to draw attention and create Paths to guide students through information
Lock shapes	Prevent unwanted edits and changes by locking shapes on the canvas
Use templates	Create engaging boards in less time with hundreds of education-specific templates for all subjects
Embed links	Embed links in boards to allow easy access to linked information
Access revision history	View the revision history of a Lucid document and restore to earlier versions
Take notes	Take notes, record action items, and define goals and next steps
Add a Dynamic Table	Organize ideas in a matrix to more clearly see and plan next steps
Add a Dynamic Table	Organize ideas in a table to more clearly see and plan next steps
Use Timelines	Use Timelines to keep everyone on track
Add Lucid Cards	Plan, organize, and assign tasks
Record instructional videos	Record videos in Lucid documents for instruction and demonstration
Use Collaborative AI	Generate, sort, and summarize ideas using AI

Collaboration

	Lucid	Jamboard
Use facilitator tools	Present information and encourage engagement using tools like a Laser Pointer, “Take the Lead”, “Follow”, and more	Laser pointer only
Use Breakout Boards	Use Breakout Boards to break students into groups for projects and collaboration
Build Visual Activities	Use Visual Activities to engage the class and have fun
Set Collaborator Colors	Set colors for collaborators and add a color legend
Add Comments	Add and assign comments on shapes

Integrations

	Lucid	Jamboard
Canvas	Assign and complete assignments with Canvas
Confluence Cloud	Import Lucidspark boards into Confluence Cloud and view and edit Confluence pages in Lucid documents
Developer platform	Create custom apps via Lucid’s REST and extension APIs
Gmail	Attach Lucidchart documents to emails
Google Calendar	Attach Lucid documents to meeting invites
Google Classroom	Assign, submit, and grade assignments with Google Classroom
Google Drive	Open, store, and share Lucid documents with Google Drive
Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides	Attach Lucid documents to your Google documents, spreadsheets, and presentations
Google Meet	Open a Lucidspark board in Google Meet to remotely collaborate with others
Google Workspace	Use your Google Workspace domain to easily manage your team
Lucid Cards and Google Sheets	Visualize data from Google Sheets in Lucidspark
Microsoft Teams	Edit documents, send messages, and use Lucidspark on the Teams app
SAML	Configure secure single sign-on
Schoology	Assign, submit, and grade assignments with Schoology
SCIM	Auto-provision licenses
Webex	Use Lucidspark with Webex to increase meeting engagement and enhance collaboration
Zoom	Use Lucidspark in Zoom calls to increase meeting engagement and enhance collaboration

Note: To see and install all available integrations in Lucid, check out our Integrations Marketplace.

Replicate Jamboard in Lucidspark

Lucidspark has all of the same features as Jamboard, and much more. Now that you’ve reviewed the tables above and know more about all the additional functionality you can utilize in Lucidspark, let’s go through how to replicate the experience of Jamboards in Lucidspark using similar tools.

Workspace tools

Use the Pen tool to draw on the canvas

In Jamboard, this functionality was also called the “Pen.” To access the Pen in Lucidspark, select the Pen icon from the Primary Toolbar to the left of the canvas.

With Lucidspark’s Pen tool, you have access to a wider range of colors and pen thickness options, as well as the ability to use it as a highlighter, pixel eraser, and object eraser. You can also use the Pen to draw Magic Shapes which automatically converts freehand drawings to standard shapes on the canvas.

Draw attention to objects on the canvas with the Laser Pointer

In Jamboard, the Laser tool was located to the left side of the Jam. In Lucidspark, click the Select icon from the Primary Toolbar to the left of the canvas and select Laser Pointer.

Navigate your Lucidspark boards

In Jamboard, you had the option to work within an area that correlated to about the size of a sheet of printer paper. You can work within a similarly sized area in a Lucidspark board if you choose, but you also have the option to enable infinite canvas which removes the limits of the space you have to work within—your workspace becomes infinite.

Whether you enable infinite canvas or choose to work in a more defined space, it’s easy to move around a Lucidspark board and its content. To do so, click the Select icon from the Primary Toolbar to the left side of the canvas and choose between three options: Select, Pan, and Freehand Select.

To set your overall board navigation preferences based on whether you are using a trackpad or a mouse:

Select the More menu icon at the top of a board.
Click Board settings.
Hover your cursor over Navigation mode.
Select Trackpad, Mouse, or Auto.

Learn more: For more information about setting board preferences, including steps to enable infinite canvas, check out our Adjust document and board settings article.

Add sticky notes

Sticky notes in Lucidspark are a simple but comprehensive tool to collect and organize ideas and information. In Jamboard, you could access sticky note shapes from the left side of a Jam and had the choice of five colors. In Lucidspark, use sticky notes from the Primary Toolbar to the left side of the canvas and select from a wide range of color options.

the-sticky-note-options-panel-from-the-primary-toolbar-in-lucidspark.png

Add and work with shapes

In Jamboard, you could add eight standard shapes. Lucidspark doubles those shapes, adding a cloud, star, hexagon, octagon, speech bubble, and more.

To see the options and learn how to work with shapes, read our Add and customize shapes in Lucidspark article.

Add and edit text

Adding text to a Lucidspark board is very similar to how you added text in Jamboard. From the Primary Toolbar to the left of a Lucidspark board, select the text icon. Double-click anywhere on the canvas and begin typing to add text.

To learn more about how to Add and style text in Lucidspark, read our article.

Add videos, images, GIFs, emoji, and icons

In Jamboard, you could add images by uploading them from your computer, pasting a URL of the image, taking a real-time photo with your computer’s camera, searching Google Images, and adding a photo from your Google Drive or Google account.

Read on to learn how you can add photos to Lucidspark boards.

Upload a photo

You can insert PDF, PNG, JPEG and GIF image files into Lucidspark by selecting the More menu icon at the top of the canvas. Click Insert then select the file type you want to insert.

Paste a URL

Copy an image or video URL from the web and paste it directly onto the canvas. Once added, you can interact with the image or video the same way you can with a standard shape. Many URLs will also show a preview of the content on the linked website.

Add GIFs, images, emoji, and icons from the web

In Lucidspark, you can add GIFs, images, emoji, and icons from the web. Click the images icon from the Primary Toolbar to the left, select which type of media you want to add, and type a keyword to search. Then, click and drag it onto the canvas.

Learn more: You can find more detailed steps on how to add media to your Lucidspark boards using all the methods described above in our Add and customize shapes in Lucidspark article.

FAQ

In Jamboard, I could set the background to dots, lines, graphs, and colors. Can I do this in Lucidspark?
Yes, with a few key differences. To learn more about how to Adjust document and board settings, check out our article.

What’s the difference between frames in Jamboard and Lucidspark?
In Jamboard, frames were linked pages you could cycle through at the top of a Jam—almost like pages in a book. In Lucidspark, instead of separate frames (or pages) for content, you have an infinite canvas to build on.

In Lucidspark, a Frame is a unique tool you can use to organize content on a Lucidspark board. Alongside framing content, you can create Paths to guide collaborators through content.

Access this functionality by selecting the Organizers icon from the Primary Toolbar to the left of a board.

How can I replicate the experience of Jamboard’s separate frames in Lucidspark?
If you’re looking to replicate the experience of Jamboard frames where you have separate pages for content, we recommend using Breakout Boards. Lucidspark’s Breakout Boards allow you to break a larger groups and collaborators from the main board into smaller groups and separate boards, while keeping everyone connected to the main board.

To learn more about how to Collaborate with Breakout Boards in Lucidspark, check out our article.

Resources

To continue learning, explore the additional resources below. These resources are available in English only.

Lucid Community

Lucid for Education Community space

Lucid for Developers Community space

Videos

Lucid Training Labs video library

Lucid for Education

Lucid for Education home page

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