eDraw User Guide

Google Authentication

You can use eDraw on the BASIC plan without signing in for a total of 15 minutes on this device. The remaining time appears in the window title. Used time is saved between launches; time while the app is closed does not count. Once the trial ends, sign in with Google to continue.

• 1Click the account avatar at any time, or wait for the sign-in dialog when the trial ends, then choose Sign in with Google.
• 2Complete the login process in the Google browser.
• 3Return to eDraw. After your account is verified, your plan updates and you can continue on the same whiteboard without a time limit. If sign-in fails or is canceled, retry from the dialog.

Writing, Selecting, and Managing Pages

• 1Workspace: The whiteboard is where you write, draw shapes, place images, and view individual lesson pages.
• 2Page Data: Each page stores its own strokes, shapes, floating images, and visibility state.
• 3Direct Writing: Use the standard pen or highlighter to take notes, teach, and highlight content.
• 4Selection: Use the selection tool to copy, cut, delete, or send content to AI.
• 5Page Management: Add a new page when you need to separate lesson content or move to the next section.

Pen, Highlighter, and Geometry

The toolbar groups tools by task: pen, highlighter, line, geometry, curve, polygon, image, PDF, AI, and settings.

The text tool accepts Markdown and LaTeX math such as $x+4=\frac{3}{2}$. eDraw prefers bundled MathJax in the desktop build; if WebEngine is still warming up or unavailable, the fallback keeps fractions stacked instead of showing plain superscript/subscript text.

Reusing and Adjusting Board Content

Selection connects the whiteboard with clipboard actions, region export, and AI workflows. Once an area is selected, eDraw can lift it into a floating image so you can move, rotate, crop, mirror, or stamp it back onto the board.

Markdown, Math, and Rendered Text Images

Type mode lets you place an editor on the board, write Markdown, MathJax, and TikZJax, then render the result without stamping it immediately. Plain Markdown stays as a movable floating text object, while MathJax and TikZJax output becomes a high-resolution floating image.

• 1Select the Type tool and click where the text block should appear.
• 2Enter text, formulas, or TikZ code in the editor.
• 3Render the content, review the layout, then stamp the floating text with right-click or stamp the floating image by clicking outside it.

Importing Documents and Exporting Lessons

• 1Insert PDF/Image: open a PDF or image file, or paste an image from the clipboard as a floating image.
• 2Import PDF: convert each PDF page into a teaching page in eDraw.
• 3Export PDF: save all board contents after teaching.

Presenting the Board on a Second Display

The mirror window is a read-only presentation window for two-screen teaching. It shows the same board viewport currently visible in the main window, including writing, scroll, zoom, and the pen-hand cursor.

Generating Drawing Tools with Gemini

In the line, special point/line, curve, or polygon menu, select Add new tool (AI)..., and enter a description of the tool to be created. eDraw sends the request to Gemini, extracts the Python code, verifies the description metadata, and test compiles it before installing it onto the toolbar.

The TikZ AI command uses the current selection, asks Gemini to redraw it as TikZ code, opens an editor/preview window, then lets you recompile, copy the code or image, or push the result back to the board.

The Handwriting AI command uses the current selection, asks Gemini to read the full text plus positioned blocks, then renders handwriting block by block. Math formulas are rendered through the bundled MathJax shell when available, with a local Pillow fallback, and the transparent result returns as a floating image that you can move, resize, rotate, crop, or stamp.

Generating LaTeX Questions from Selection

Select sample content on the board and send it to Gemini to generate LaTeX questions on the same topic. The result is pre-processed, compiled using a template, and inserted as a new image page.

• 1Select the content area to use as input data.
• 2Enter the Gemini API Key/model, number of questions, and topic suggestions.
• 3Check the result page after eDraw finishes compiling.

Only PRO accounts can open the AI tool code viewer/editor.

Drawing with TikZ or Python code (Lập trình vẽ)

The figure-code button next to the Type tool opens a dialog where you can either write a full TikZ standalone document or use eDraw's Python drawing API. Each compiled figure can expose sliders, so a single drawing reacts to parameter changes without re-running the dialog.

• 1Click the Code figure button on the toolbar (right of the Type tool) to open the dialog.
• 2Pick a backend: TikZ for full LaTeX/TikZ documents, or eDraw Python for sandboxed Python that calls ed.* drawing methods.
• 3Start from a built-in template or open the Templates menu to load one you saved earlier. Right-click templates to rename, edit code, or remove them.
• 4Set the logical width/height in the top bar, type or paste code, then press Ctrl+Enter (or the Compile button). The render runs on a background thread, so dialog typing stays responsive.
• 5When parameters appear, drag the right-side sliders to preview the result live. Slider changes are debounced and the latest pending render always wins.
• 6Press Push to board to place the figure as a floating element. Right-click the floating image on the board to stamp it as a re-editable code figure; a left-click outside cancels the placement instead of stamping.
• 7After stamping, double-click the figure to bring back the parameter panel. Use Edit code to reopen the dialog, or Convert to image to bake it into a static image element.

Code-based figures are unlimited on all plans. BASIC and PLUS users can write TikZ and save templates within their quota; the integrated Python/eDraw source and built-in template source editing are reserved for accounts with source-edit permission.

Recording the eDraw window

Press Ctrl+R to start recording the eDraw main window, then press Ctrl+R again to stop. eDraw saves the video inside the operating-system Movies/Videos folder under an eDraw/ subfolder.

• 1Make sure the main window is visible (not minimized) before pressing Ctrl+R.
• 2A red recording indicator appears on the toolbar and counts elapsed time.
• 3Press Ctrl+R again or close the window to stop. The status bar displays the saved file path.

BASIC/PLUS/PRO Quotas

Quick Troubleshooting

Complete Keyboard and Mouse Reference

Keyboard Shortcuts

Mouse Controls

On macOS, combinations shown with Ctrl usually map to Command when the app receives the operating system's primary modifier. For context menus, use Ctrl-click or the trackpad secondary-click gesture.