How do I sign in to BoardTools?

How do I sign in?

From BoardTools' sign-in page, choose Continue to sign in. That takes you to a secure, hosted sign-in screen where you either sign in with an existing account or create one — BoardTools never handles your password directly. Once you're verified, you're brought back into the app.

Being signed in gets you onto the platform. It doesn't automatically get you onto a board — boards are invitation-only. If you try to visit a board you don't belong to, you'll see a plain message explaining that you're signed in, but you're not (yet) a member of that particular board, with a nudge to ask a board administrator to add you. The exception is when you already have an invitation to that board: then BoardTools offers it to you instead (see below).

How do I accept a board invitation?

If someone has invited you to their board, you received an email with a link. Opening it shows you which board (and, if one was set for you, which seat) you're being invited to join:

1. Open the invitation link.
2. If you're not signed in yet, choose one of:
   • Create your account to accept — the usual choice if this is your first board. The secure sign-in screen opens straight on account creation. Use the same email address the invitation was sent to.
   • I already have an account — sign in with that same email address.
3. Once you're verified, you come straight back to the invitation, now showing Join board name. Choose Accept invitation.

You're now a member of that board, and future visits take you straight to its dashboard.

What if it says I'm not a member of this board?

If you signed in some other way before accepting (say, from the board's home page instead of the invitation link), BoardTools checks whether the email you're signed in with has an invitation waiting on that board. If it does, you see You have an invitation to join board name instead of the "not a member" message. Choose Accept your invitation to go to the invitation page, then choose Accept invitation. You don't need to dig up the email.

Choosing it gives you a new link, and the old link in your email stops working. The expiry date stays the same.

If no invitation is waiting for that email, you see the usual message. Ask a board administrator to invite you, or sign in with the address they invited.

A few things worth knowing:

• Links expire and are single-use. If yours has already been used, been revoked, or has simply timed out, the page tells you plainly and points you back to a board administrator for a fresh one — it won't tell you anything more specific than that, to keep other people's invitations private.
• Wrong email, same you? If you're signed in with a different email address than the one the invitation was sent to, BoardTools tells you so and offers a Sign out and switch accounts option — sign back in with the invited address, then reopen the link.

Will BoardTools know my name?

Yes — the first time you sign in, BoardTools picks up your display name from your sign-in profile automatically, so you don't have to retype it. See Your profile & account for how to change it yourself, and what happens if it was ever showing your email address instead of your name.