Both layouts use Apple's PencilKit, so they feel best with Apple Pencil. Finger drawing works on every device.
Sketch layouts
A Sketch layout is an 8192 by 8192 pixel canvas, big enough for fine detail. Choose a background when you create it: blank, lined, grid, dot grid, graph paper or isometric.
There are eight tools. Each has its own color, opacity and line width, and tapping the active tool again opens its settings. Pan mode lets you move around the canvas without drawing, and your zoom and position are kept when you switch back.
- Pen: smooth, even strokes. The everyday tool.
- Marker: wide translucent strokes for highlighting.
- Pencil: textured, light strokes for rough ideas.
- Monoline: one width whatever the pressure, good for dimension lines.
- Fountain pen: wider when you press harder.
- Watercolor: soft translucent washes.
- Eraser: removes strokes.
- Lasso: select, move, copy and resize groups of strokes.
Document layouts
A Document layout is made of pages. Choose a page size (Letter, Legal, A4, Tabloid) and a background pattern when you create it. Pages are separate sheets you scroll through like a PDF in Preview or GoodNotes, with the page breaks always visible. Pinch to zoom from 0.5x to 5x.
On iPad and Mac a Pages button opens a thumbnail sidebar. Tap a thumbnail to jump to that page, or press and drag one to reorder pages. On iPhone a compact strip does the same job. The sidebar setting is remembered on each device.
The same eight tools are available, so you can write on the pages. Imported PDFs and Word files arrive as Document layouts you can mark up (see Bring files in). Every page prints with the drawing's report.
Typical uses are scope-of-work notes, checklists, specification sheets, meeting notes and punch lists.
Pro tip: Start with the pencil for a rough idea, then trace the keepers with the pen. Use the lasso to rearrange afterward.