Apple Pencil and Mac Input
How the Pencil, fingers, a mouse, a trackpad and a tablet act on the canvas.
iPad
Apple Pencil draws. A finger pans the canvas, and two fingers pan and zoom it.
Finger drawing in the toolstrip lets one finger draw as well; two fingers then pan and zoom. A second finger landing during a finger stroke cancels the stroke and starts the pan.
With Select, Stamp, Text, Curve, Polygon or a paste, the Pencil or one finger selects and places, and two fingers pan and zoom. The status line says which applies.
A mouse or trackpad pointer draws as the Pencil does. A stroke started with the secondary button draws with the background colour.
Pencil double-tap and squeeze
A double-tap or squeeze performs the action chosen in iPadOS Settings for Apple Pencil.
| Setting | Action in Block’Ed |
|---|---|
| Switch between current tool and eraser | turns the eraser on or off |
| Switch between current tool and last used | switches drawing between the foreground and background colours, until the next double-tap |
| Show colour palette | opens the INK picker, or the foreground picker in a palette mode |
The colour well’s white border shows which colour is drawing. A squeeze acts when it is released.
Pressure
Apple Pencil pressure scales the brush between 1 pixel and the chosen size; see Brushes.
Mac
Mac only:
| Input | Does |
|---|---|
| Left button | draws |
| Right button | draws with the background colour |
| Trackpad pinch | zooms about the pointer, settling on the nearest zoom step |
| Trackpad scroll, mouse wheel | pans the canvas |
| Tablet pen | draws, with pressure scaling the brush |
The Mac toolstrip has no Finger drawing button.
The pointer over the canvas shows the tool:
| Tool | Pointer |
|---|---|
| drawing tools, Select | crosshair |
| Text | I-beam |
| Stamp | pointing hand |
| Eraser | the disappearing-item pointer |
| a paste being placed | open hand |
| the split magnifier’s overview | pointing hand |
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