Scapple for iOS

Really looking forward to the IOS version of Scapple as I do the bulk of my writing on IOS either in Pages or Scrivener, the IOS version being quite useful for my first drafts. Cross device compatibility is essential of course. I use SimpleMinds Pro mostly on my iPad Pro for a variety of tasks but it’s not Scapple and not exactly easy to export into a format that makes sense to import into Scapple on my MacBook Air. I will buy Scapple IOS as soon as it is available.

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I just came across SimpleMind the other day and will be using it for the time being (I’ve tried a bunch of mind mapping apps and passed on all of them for one reason or the other.)

Clean design, pretty smooth interface with either touch or keyboard. You can try the iPad/iOS version for free (it’s not totally gimped), the full version is a one-time $10 payment. The Mac version is 25 Euro IIRC, a 30-day trial is available for that.

Still waiting for Scapple though :sunglasses:

It might be worth mentioning that included in iOS 16.2, there’s a new app called Freeform.

You can write, you can sketch and add shapes, lines, arrows and photos and move your stuff around on an unlimited canvas. It really is free form and doesn’t lock you into any mindmap structure. The files automatically appear on all your iOS 16.2 units.

Freeform looks almost like a Scapple embryo, but of course nowhere near as sophisticated or developed. Yet…

Still I get a ‘scapplish’ feel from it and perhaps Apple will develop it further, no doubt inspired by the LL original. We’ll see. I hope that Scapple arrives before iOS 17!

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Re: FreeForm

Pros:

  1. Infinite canvas with extreme levels of zoom!
  2. Curved, adjustable connection lines!
  3. Sticky notes, shapes, photos, files can all be inserted

Cons:

  1. Major lack of keyboard shortcuts. Would require a 3rd-party app for that until Apple adds them.

I know I’m the one who suggested iThoughs earlier, but I have to remember that SimpleMind, like the app I suggested, is a mind mapping program. Scapple is something very different. It’s a totally blank board or sheet of paper, with no structure you are forced in (if you don’t want).

I believe that Apple Freeform will be more in line with Scapple. And maybe that have given an eye on Scapple. This wouldn’t be the first time L&L is offering some smart ideas to other developers…

EDIT: Just seen how Spitfire31’s comment overlaps mine!

Paolo

Freeform is a very nice app, but IMO is much father from Scapple than the traditional mind mapping apps.

Scapple is a great way to quickly record and manipulate mental ideas, whereas Freeform is very much a sketching/illustration app that can be used for working with ideas. But manipulating, connecting, and moving ideas around in Freeform is a much more involved process requiring changing tools, pop-up command palettes, etc.

It is great though when you want a pencil-and-paper feel (I use it with an Apple Pencil), hand writing and drawing has its own benefits and sometimes I still choose pencil-and-paper for mapping out ideas. And of course, while we all love Scapple we all have our individual preferences and working styles.

I agree mind mapping apps in general are their own animal though. Simplemind is the least rigidly structured I have found, and can be customized to provide a relatively similar experience to Scapple (since we still don’t have an iOS/iPadOS version yet…) It doesn’t force you to always start with once central concept, connection lines are customizable, UI is very easy and fluid, etc.

You might have a look at GoodNotes, too. It took me about 5 minutes with FreeForm to say, “Meh, GoodNotes is better.”

Thanks for the suggestion! I also have Notability and have tried GoodNotes.

My favorite iPad ink app for awhile was Muse. I love its interface and fundamental design, but certain limitations got to me in the end- I don’t need a lot of ink tools but wanted either zoom levels or the ability to re-size selections. If it had either I would have stayed with that and been happy paying for the basic subscription level.

Hello, KB et alii!
A short reintroduction seems to be of the order, since I used to be quite active in this worthy forum a number of years ago. Then, my alias was spitfire31; now I’ve been resurrected in the guise of Tiamuj, which is the Mi’kmaq word for ‘Little Moose’.

Disregarding the change of alias and email, I’m an old and happy user of Scrivener and a passionate lover of Scapple, which I have recently used and abused in the process of creating two historic novels.

Since I seem to have introduced the Apple app Freeform above in the guise of spitfire31, I’d like to report that I’m currently travelling with my iPad Pro attached to a Magic Keyboard.

I have spent quite some time immersing myself in Freeform as a Scapple stand-in (since the iOS Scapple is still AWOL).

Of course, Freeform in its initial release is quite different from Scapple and it took me a bit of time learning the idiosyncracies of Freeform and arrive at a workflow that is, in fact, rather like how I would’ve worked with Scapple (had it been available) on the same project – sketching out the relationships between the characters and plotting the, er… plot.

Using Freeform like a Scapple relative, I find that it helps me to think creatively.

For me, Freeform is still slower to work with than Scapple on the Mac, but I find it more visually inspiring. I can do the work I had hoped to do with Scapple iPadOS, with Freeform.

Some features of Freeform that I have nagged about in Scapple are, e.g., the freely editable curved connections, extensive use of colour and a general ‘elasticity’, which makes it easy to drag connected nodes around. Also, the unobtrusive but smart use of rulers makes it very easy to organise nodes and objects in neat rows or columns – a feature I really miss in Scapple.

I suspect that the developers of Freeform have been inspired by Scapple. I also think that a potential iOS Scapple might to well to be inspired by the graphical ‘freedoms’ of Freeform.

Freeform is also available on MacOS Monterey now, and I would be surprised if it isn’t developed further in iOS 17. For certain purposes it is already a competitor of sorts for Scapple and I hope that Keith’s mobile team will be able to create a superapp that combines the best features of both apps.

This picture is very much a work in initial progress, but it may give an idea of how I’ve learnt so far to work with Freedom (in the absence of Scapple iOS):

Ahem, seem I’m not trusted to embed media in my newly resurrected state as a forum member. Be back with an example soon, I hope.

I miss the common option to edit spelling errors and general bloopers after publishing a reply. Have I overlooked the Edit button somewhere? :wink:

Yes, it looks like a pencil below your post!

:laughing:

Mark

Thank you, Mark! I can’t see any pencil – maybe I’m not trusted to edit my posts yet? :wink:

Best,
Joachim

Hi,

Working again with Scapple for a novel project, there is one option that I really miss in Scapple, including in the latest beta (the thread already seems to be closed):

An option to have Scapple automatically open the latest file on instantiation! Please!

Maybe I’m just spoiled by my word processor, Nisus Writer Pro, that always opens the file(s) I was working on when closing down the program. But I really miss this in my Scapple workflow.

Kind regards,
Joachim

Another convenience, that I would love to see in the next beta, concerns the colour matrix for fill colour: a bold frame around the colour of the currently selected note! Please!

Kind regards,
Joachim

Wow, is it really 8 years (Feb 2015) since the original post asking about scapple for iOS?

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I am confused, because Scapple does this on my system.

Hello, was wondering if by any chance do we have any updates for an iOS version? Any information would be appreciated and also dropping in to say “hi.” Hope this reaches you all well… Roel C.

I don’t think it does it on my system either. The only thing I can do is go to open recents to access the previously closed project.

HI rccisneros - Ian here, currently working on the iOS version. We’re at the stage where the app is getting usable, so watch this space!

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Thanks, Little Moose - this is really interesting feedback. I’ve used Freeform a little bit, and it reminds me of creating diagrams in Keynote back when I was an academic - I suspect it’s using a similar engine behind the scenes. Scapple will be ostensibly similar but with our own ethos. The first version of Scapple for iOS will make sure to have a solid foundation on which to build.