Freeform updates

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

Hi there,

If anyone has access to the Sequoia beta, I was just wondering if updates to the app could be posted here? Specifically, can we change the background colour of canvases yet?

Many thanks 🙂

 

[rehkram]

Good question, I use it a lot but hadn't thought to check.

As an opening salvo here are the version#s as reported on Sonoma 14.5 vs. Sequoia b1:

About, in Sonoma 14.5:

About, in Sequoia b1:

Here's the new "Help > What's New in Freeform" panel in Sequoia b1, it's different to Sonoma's:

So that tells us something. I will dig deeper and post any additional findings including the one you asked about, canvas background color.

 

[rehkram]

I'm not seeing a way of coloring the canvas, beyond default white.

If I wanted to do that I'd do a workaround - create a board, add a rectangle, size and color-fill it, then Arrange > Lock it so I didn't keep dragging it around accidentally. This would be a bit of a pain since it wouldn't really jibe with Freeform's "infinite canvas" model.

I haven't had a need to color a canvas as yet, but it should be easy for the devs to add it, I would have thought. If it was there I'd likely use it.

Apple describes Freeform as a "virtual whiteboard", maybe they're locked into that mindset at present, with the emphasis on "white". You could try requesting it on their support forum, might at least get them thinking about it.

 

[VitoBotta]

I am disappointed that the only format available for export is still PDF. It would be nice to be able to export files in a format that can be opened with other graphics applications.

 

[MacGizmo]

The PDF Freeform exports are vector-based, you can open the exported PDF in any app that supports editing of vector-based artwork, such as Adobe Illustrator, Affinity Designer, InkScape, and hundreds of other apps. All the fonts and shapes from Freeform remain fully editable.

The text can be copy/pasted/exported from almost any PDF reader app to straight text for use in MS Word, Apple Pages, or any other text editor.

While I agree that Freeform seems restrictive, it is actually quite flexible... just not in a "one-button-and-done" kind of way. I'll grant you that it's frustrating though.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

I did used to use Mindnode, but if Freeform can offer most of the essential features without a subscription then I reckon that’s a win.

 

[rehkram]

The text can be copy/pasted/exported from almost any PDF reader app to straight text for use in MS Word, Apple Pages, or any other text editor.

I discovered that you don't actually need to export to PDF first; you can just select & copy whatever you want from a canvas to the clipboard and open it in Preview using File > Open > New from Clipboard.

I haven't tested this approach in other apps, for example Word, as yet. You can also export it from Preview, which provides more format options than the single one in Freeform, specifically:

HEIC
JPEG
JPEG-2000
OpenEXR
PDF
PNG
TIFF

OpenEXR looks mighty groovy, will have to experiment with it.

 

[rehkram]

I confirmed you can copy one or more objects and groups from FF and paste them directly into a Word doc. However they are converted into a single "picture", presumably rasterized. Not FF's fault, it would be Word that is dumbing them down.

 

[rehkram]

FYI in today's release of Sequoia beta 2, FF got another build number, up from 408.2.1 to 412.1
The text in Help > "What's New in Freeform" is unchanged from beta 1

 

[rehkram]

With Sequoia 15.0 beta 4, FF build number is up again, now at version 3.0 (414.2). The "What's new?" panel is unchanged from the previous one.

Good to see Apple allocating some resources to it.