To use the Groupboard, you will need a web browser with Java (JDK 1.0 or later, which covers most browsers), and an internet connection which doesn't go through a proxy server.

The Groupboard consists of chat, and a whiteboard. The following sections describe how to use each of these applications.

The whiteboard lets you draw and write onto a shared whiteboard - you see what other people are drawing and they see what you are drawing. You can start drawing by simply holding down the mouse button while the pointer is in the whiteboard area. The drawing colour can be changed by clicking on the colour buttons at the bottom of the board. Different shapes can be drawn by selecing from the menu at the bottom. The default is "freehand", which simply draws freehand lines under the mouse. In any of the drawing modes, you simply hold down the mouse button to draw the shape. In text mode, simply click where you want to type, and then start typing in text - you can press RETURN to move down a line, or click somewhere else to start writing on a different part of the board. The size of text and lines can be changed by selecting the size from the menu at the left hand side.

You can save your picture by clicking on the Save button - then enter your name and email address, and click OK. Saving a picture clears the whiteboard. You can see what other pictures have been saved by clicking on Load - then select the picture to load and press Load, and the picture will be loaded onto the board. If other people are logged onto the board then they will also see the picture you have loaded.

The current background can be set by clicking the Set Background button. If any background pictures have been installed then you will be able to select one from the list. Pressing Float will make the Groupboard appear in its own window (outside your browser). When you float the applet, you will be able to access most of the functions by using the menus at the top of window. You can move the window back inside the browser by clicking Unfloat (NOTE: this seems to crash Netscape 3.0!)

The chat area is simple to use - simply type your text into the text area at the bottom. If you type your name into the box at the top, it will appear alongside your messages (otherwise you'll be "Anon").

A list of users appears underneath the name box, and this controls who you are talking to. By default "ALL" is selected, which means that whatever you type is sent to all other users. If you want to talk to one particular person, simply click on their name in the list. Also, you can "ignore" a user (i.e. you won't see any of their messages) by clicking on their name and clicking Ignore. Remember to click on "ALL" again after ignoring a person, otherwise you'll still be talking to the ignored person!