Freehand iOS
  • 05 Apr 2023
  • 3 Minutes to read
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Freehand iOS

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Article Summary

Rapidly capture feedback throughout the product design process in real time with Freehand—it’s flexible, collaborative, and intuitive. With Freehand for iOS, you spend less time exporting work into presentable formats and more time creating meaningful experiences for users in collaboration with your team. Like prototypes and boards, Freehand allows anyone on your team to join, from anywhere, on any iOS device (and nearly any other device) to weigh in on your concepts and designs.

You can accomplish the following with Freehand on your iOS device:

  • Create new freehands.
  • Access all freehands you own or have been invited to join.
  • See when each freehand was last updated.
  • Share freehands via SMS, email, and public link.
  • Draw and write—with hand or stylus, including your Apple Pencil.
  • Add images, erase items, change colors, and re-access the Freehand tutorial at any time.

Here are a few other things you’ll need to know when working in Freehand:

  • Navigation: Use two fingers to navigate through your Freehand.
  • Shape detection: After drawing a shape, hold your finger down to prompt the app to detect and enhance the shape you’ve drawn.
  • Delete selection: Use the selector tool (invision-ios-freehand-selection-tool.png) described below to select items, and then tap the trash icon that appears below the selection.

Creating a Freehand in the InVision iOS app

To create a new freehand in the InVision iOS app:

  1. Near the top-right of the home screen, tap the Freehands tab.
  2. Tap the pink Create New Freehand button.
  3. Enter a name for your Freehand and tap Create.

You can then edit your freehand as wanted.

Opening an existing freehand in the InVision iOS app

To open an existing freehand in the InVision iOS app:

  1. Near the top-right of the home screen, tap the Freehands tab.
  2. In the top-right corner, tap the magnifying glass icon (invision-ios-freehand-search-icon.png) to search by name, or scroll down to find the Freehand you want.
    Note: You must have the Freehands tab open before searching. If you have the Prototypes or Boards tab open, all Freehands will be excluded from your search results.

Tapping the freehand will open it.

Using Freehand tools in the InVision iOS app

To edit a newly created or previously existing freehand in the InVision iOS app, get familiar with the tools.

Note
You can only edit freehands on iPad, not iPhone.

Tool

Icon

Description

Selector

invision-ios-freehand-selection-tool__1_.png

Use the selector tool to drag/move, resize, edit, or delete shapes and objects. Drag the selector around as many items as you want to control at once. Once selected, use two fingers to scale the size of any object or group of objects; pinch inward to decrease the size and outward to increase the size.

Pencil

Use the pencil tool to draw on your canvas. After tapping the pencil icon, you can use either your finger or a stylus to draw.

Create a clean square, circle, and line by holding down for 2 seconds after you’ve finished drawing the rough shape. You should see the drawing turn into a clean shape.

Text

invision-ios-freehand-text-tool.png

Use the text tool to enter text on your canvas. Once you select the text tool, tap anywhere on your canvas and begin typing. Switch to the selector tool to resize your text or drag it to a different point on the canvas. Use the text tool to leave feedback on individual screens, flows, or specific features.

Undo/Redo

invision-ios-freehand-undo-redo-buttons.png

Use the back arrow to undo the latest edit you’ve made. Use the forward arrow to redo an edit that you just reverted (by tapping the back arrow).

Present

invision-ios-freehand-present-button.png

Use the Present button to present the freehand to all collaborators who currently have the freehand open. Learn more about presenting a freehand here: Presenting in freehand.

Image

invision-ios-freehand-image-tool.png

Use the image tool to pull in an existing image, or capture a new one with the device camera.

For iOS devices with smaller displays (like the iPhone SE), you may not see the image icon. Instead, navigate to the top right corner of your screen, and click the ••• (More) menu to reveal the option to add images.

Sharing a freehand in the InVision iOS app

To share a freehand in the InVision iOS app:

  1. Near the top-right of the home screen, tap the Freehands tab.
  2. In the top-right corner, tap the magnifying glass icon (invision-ios-freehand-search-icon.png) to search by name, or scroll down to find the Freehand you want to share.
    Note: You must have the Freehands tab open before searching. If you have the Prototypes or Boards tab open, all Freehands will be excluded from your search results.
  3. In the bottom-right corner of the Freehand thumbnail, tap the ••• icon.
  4. Click Share freehand.

You can now share the link via any of the options provided by your device (email, SMS, copy link, etc.).


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