I have used it some, but I have found it to be a little too basic to use for more complex tasks. I like that you can share it with others and multiple users can work in it at the same time. I also like that you can use the pencil with it on the iPad. However, a this point I use Curio as an “infinite canvas.” For all intents and purposes you can make a Curio whiteboard as big as you want. Curio has a lot more tools and features than Freeform. On the other hand, Freeform is part of the Apple ecosystem, so it’s free.
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Just checked, I have 48 boards for now. 25 of them are „permanent” (I am going to rebuild and reuse them next semester), 23 are „task” boards, shared with my Students. I’ve never had significantly more boards in Freeform so can’t tell if the app scales nicely for, say, hundred of boards. Still, I use Freeform on iPad Pro 2018 with no hiccups so far.
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Anyone using Freeform regularly?
Yes, daily! So much so in fact I was about to start a thread in the forum to ask if anyone has figured out a good system for back-ups, as I’ve realised I now have quite a lot of useful stuff in Freeform that I’m worried about losing! All the boards are on iCloud and I can’t see that there’s a folder somewhere where we can lift the files for manual back-up. Has anyone thought about this?
On to actual use, mine starts with a caveat that my employer is heavily into Miro, so I was already comfortable with this type of “whiteboard app”. Freeform simply allowed me to bring such a tool into my personal life.
For me, Freeform has replaced many things I used GoodNotes for, and allowed me to introduce things I already did for work in Miro to other areas of my life. Examples:
When I bought and then moved house in 2020 and 2021 I did all my planning, idea collecting, mapping out costs and priorities, etc. in GoodNotes (in the U.K. buying houses takes a ridiculously long time -I envy our American friends their quick system!-, but also the house needed work doing, and there was a pandemic). The final notebook was over 200 pages. I haven’t completed all the ideas I had (or even stopped collecting ideas), but I’ve now moved the outstanding work to Freeform boards as self-contained projects. E.g. I have a board for the garage conversion I’m planning.
I also used to “administer” my hobbies with GoodNotes, but have now switched to Freeform. For example, I had separate notebooks on craft/DIY projects I wanted to do, including images and links to inspiration, tips and instructions I didn’t want to lose, etc. That all goes on boards now. I had a notebook for my playing of Skyrim where I saved ideas I wanted to explore, maps, checklists, etc. I’m now using Freeform for the same thing with other games, and it works much better as there’s infinite space, it’s easier to navigate when gaming (no flipping of pages) and Freeform handles links and images really well.
For the last month I’ve also been using Freeform as a productivity aid, using it to manage my weekly calendar view and pending tasks. I screengrab my calendar for the week and move post-it’s that have tasks on them about. (This specifically replicates how we used to use wall planners.)
I’ve also been using Freeform to manage long-term shopping lists for the last 6 months, which I’m happy with. I used to keep a list of items I fancied buying at a future date in Apple Notes and Reminders (e.g. book titles, gift ideas, house and garden items, etc.). Now I just have multiple boards and I paste the link in. My book shopping list is even divided up by genre, with different areas on the board for different types of title. (It’s a weird use of Freeform but I really recommend it - links in Freeform show previews, which means you can visually look at your list and click to visit the website!)
Niggles that I’d like to see addressed at some point:
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a more reassuring system for accessing files that means we can do manual back-ups
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I do not find the Mac app a pleasure to use. At the very least, Apple need to implement robust mouse integration so that zooming and moving about on the board are instinctive. It seems mind-boggling to me that they didn’t do this at launch. Miro does this so well. Why am I having to navigate with the up/down left/right bars like it’s the 1990s??
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we need folder support! For now I’ve addressed this by using a letter prefix on all boards that arrange them by type. E.g. all project boards start “P -“. All work notes start with the initials of my employer. All meeting notes start “M -“ etc. I assume folders will come in time!
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Folders would definitely be a nice addition.
As far as backup, both Notes and Freeform has that issue. I’m sure the data for both Notes and Freeform are stored somewhere in ~/Library/ but it would be nice to know for certain which directory contains the data (I’m seeing multiple Freeform and Notes directories), and whether that’s just a cache from iCloud for whatever I’ve recently/frequently accessed, or if it is all of the data.
I got a lot of inspiration from your post, thank you!
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I’m giving a talk to one of my client’s teams next week, and, prompted by this discussion I decided to use Freeform rather than keynote.
I’ve prepared the Freeform canvas on a mix of iPad, Mac Studio and MacBook Air.
I’ll present it, by scrolling and zooming using the Studio’s trackpad. I will also move a few of the shapes around in realtime, as needed.
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Out of sheer coincidence, episode 739 is us checking in on Freeform.
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I’ve posted some screengrabs to show how I’m using Freeform, available here:
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I wanted to jump in and share that I’m starting to use it regularly to take notes about topics with concept and mind maps. I’ll also incorporate using it to teach something to an imaginary person when reviewing my notes.
The downside is that I don’t have a good way to organize and save my notes, I have to rely on the search bar.
I’ve just started trying to use it. I am having difficulty adjusting to the infinite canvas; I find it disorienting.
I think the app defaults to “sort by date”, but you can switch to “sort by name” which I’ve found far better. It’s the 4 little squares on the left of the select button when you’re viewing all your boards (top right of screen).
Once you’re using “sort by name”, just create a couple of naming conventions for yourself and that will make life easier (e.g. my work notes all start with the initials of my employer, project notes all start with “P -“, Meeting notes start “M -“).
For me this is just a temporary measure until Apple implements folders, but it makes life easier in the meantime. I am also being very strict about exporting boards to PDF and deleting once I don’t need them so that the app only has “live” boards.
In what way? Is it just because you’re not used to it? (Bear in mind it simply might not match either the way you like to think or the way you like to work - that’s ok!) It might help to think of it like a big sheet of paper - use it like you would that.
Also, for some of my boards I drew rectangles that I then write within that rectangle. I know it defeats the purpose of an infinite canvas, but sometimes my brain wants that level of structure. You can lock a shape once you’ve drawn it and then just work within it. I have for example a board template that’s just a rectangle exactly the shape of my iPad screen, so that I can limit myself to that area if I want to (and it happens to print nicely as well).
It’s funny because yesterday I was in a “real life” workshop and we were given those big sheets of meeting paper that turn up at these things, and I was watching how some people wrote small on a portion of the paper, and others sprawled messily across it and I thought “this is why infinity canvases exist now 
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I’m pretty sure it’s me, and not the software. I can group items, but I can’t figure out how to lock a group to a specific X & Y, so I can find them again.
I’ve been using it lately to make a lot of flowcharts. Perfect for this.
I wish that it has a Pen tool (Bezier). In the absence of this, I cannot do the sketching that I want/need. In other respects, I am happy with it (when I do not need a sketch)
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I don’t know if anyone knows Prezi but that seems an ideal kind of use for Freeform: big canvas but the ability to zoom on discrete portions.
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I’ve also thought about using it for infographics for my teaching, but haven’t made much progress as of yet.
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My university has introduced Smart boards into some of the classrooms. I wonder what they make Freeform redundant, or is there a use where they could be integrated?
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There used to be an app from Literature and Latte called Scapple. Freeform reminds me of that, but of course, with more ability to integrate beyond scrivener.
I’m interested in any other classroom or teaching uses.
I’m not a big user of mind mapping apps, but I’ve tried a number of them and Scapple is still my favorite.
I love Scapple. Brilliant app.
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I also like Scapple.