For those unfamiliar, think of it as a canvas to jumpstart your creative juices and plan ahead. It supports text, doodling, and media and file insertion. However, there's so much more you can do to brainstorm. This is a complete guide for this built-in app across your great iPhone, versatile iPad, or powerful Mac.
The Freeform app works similarly and syncs across all three operating systems. Therefore, we'll only demonstrate it on the iPad since it makes the most sense the most on this device. Those who are using iPhones or Macs instead can enjoy the same set of features, minus Apple Pencil support. Let's get started!
Freeform Requirements
To use the Apple Freeform app, you will need at least one device that meets the following criteria:
An iPhone running iOS 16.2 or later. An iPad running iPadOS 16.2 or later. Using an Apple Pencil is encouraged but not required. A Mac running macOS Ventura 13.1 or later.The different app sections
By default, the Freeform app has four sections: All Boards, Recents, Shared, and Favorites. In the app though they're called boards, and they can just be an infinite white space for expressing yourself. If you delete a board, you get a fifth Recently Deleted section. You can also create as many boards as you need.
All Boards: As its name suggests, this section displays every single board you've created on the Freeform app. You get to view the boards as icons or in a list. You also get to sort them by name, date, etc. Recents: This section includes a list of boards you've recently created or modified. You similarly get to choose between icons or a list and sort them depending on your preferences. Shared: Considering that many people use Freeform to collaborate with others, Apple has included a Shared section. Here, you can view all the boards other users participate in. You can also change the view type and sorting. Favorites: If you have plenty of boards and want to highlight specific ones you frequently use, favoriting a board will add it to this section. This section supports sorting and changing the view type. Recently Deleted: As you may have guessed, when you delete a board, the Freeform app moves it to this section for 30 days. After 30 days, the app permanently deleted it. From Recently Deleted: you get to recover or immediately delete a certain board if you would rather not wait for a month.These five sections are available across Freeform on iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. If you enable iCloud sync for Freeform through the Settings app, your boards will remain up to date across all sections on your compatible Apple devices.
Freeform Settings
Before getting to the actual board creation, let us just address the settings of the Freeform app real quick. By heading to the Freeform section of the Settings app, you'll see three toggles: Center Guides, Edge Guides, and Spacing Guides. There's a fourth, too, if you're an iPad user who relies on an Apple Pencil, called Select and Scroll.
The three guides are for alignment purposes, optionally helping you place the different elements across a board. The fourth gives you the option to use the Apple Pencil for selecting objects and scrolling on the board. If you disable it, you can still use your finger to execute these tasks.