We’ve always said that the Apple Pencil is the best possible tool to use for modeling with Shapr3D on your iPad. And it is . Its pressure sensitivity, low latency, and precision are just some of the qualities that hands down make the Apple Pencil the right choice.
With that said, we also know that not everyone has an Apple Pencil. So…
We’re launching support for keyboard and mouse/trackpad. Now you have the flexibility and freedom to design in Shapr3D with any input device. Start modeling with what feels most comfortable for you.
Just connect your Magic Keyboard to your iPad. If you have bluetooth devices, enable Bluetooth for the Shapr3D app and your iPad in your iPad’s Settings app, connect your keyboard with mouse/trackpad to your iPad, and get to work. If you need help pairing Bluetooth devices with your iPad, then this’ll help.
Navigate the design space, and create and edit sketches and bodies with your mouse or trackpad. Switch views and undo or redo tweaks with keyboard shortcuts. Type in the exact dimensions of each line, curve, shape, and body in your projects.
It might take a while to get used to modeling and editing with the mouse/trackpad and keyboard, but don’t panic! We’ve got your back. Here’s a cheat sheet with a whole slew of new shortcuts and gestures so you can hit the ground running. If you’re using the app, then long-press the Command key. Plus, we revamped our onboarding and in-app tutorials so you can absorb all the new information and get up to full speed in no time.
And in case you’re curious whether your iPad is compatible with keyboard and mouse/trackpad, we did some research for you:
All generations of iPad Pro, iPad Air 2 and newer, iPad mini (2015 and later), and iPad (2017 and later) are compatible. Just remember, you need both keyboard and mouse or trackpad to design in Shapr3D without an Apple Pencil. For more details on compatibility of your bluetooth trackpad or mouse, head over to Apple’s support article.
If you’re already using an iPad that’s compatible with the Apple Pencil, then you’ve got nothing to worry about. It’s compatible with the keyboard and mouse/trackpad.
I would however love to have a keyboard + pencil option too.
Many of the shortcuts do work. Like Views, undo, reedo etc. But I would also like to be able to type the dimentions and fillets imedietly when drawing lines, circles or extrution and fillets like you can with mouse + keyboard.
Very unlikely that we would support that combination. That would be a 3rd, completely different interaction model, and there is not a lot of demand for it. Why would you prefer to use the app that way?
Options, mucle memory and SPEED! I like to switch it up. Work with just the apple pencil, work with mouse + keyboard and work with Apple pencil + keyboard. Keyboard shortcuts reminds me of the speed I used to have in Autocad 2004 after getting the mucle memory dialed in. A customicable keyboard with numpad would make it even faster.
Again, most of the keyboard shortcuts already work with pencil. (Undor, redo, views, delete etc etc) Having a programmable macro keypad would make it even better.
The only thing that`s missing is to type the numbers without having to bring up the in app keypad.
You can still click the number to bring up the in app keypad when using the mouse and keyboard. So it would be an option and not a replace of the pencil and touch only workflow.
Here´s a video of keyboard vs pencil.
First extrution is with the keyboard after only a click of the mouse on the surface. Then using the pencil.
First one can be alot quicker. Specially with a keyboard with a numpad. If this make any sense?
Option but not default I hope My mouse (swiftpointGT) don´t have a clickable scroll wheel. So I was happy when I saw you went for the shift/ctrl + right click for movement.
Are only BT keyboards and mice/trackpads compatible? What about keyboard/trackpad combinations that use the Smart Connector on the iPad, such as the Apple Magic Keyboard and the Logitech Folio Touch? I assume they’d be compatible, in which case you shouldn’t need to turn on BT.
Not at all! We put a lot of work into optimizing the experience for trackpad and the magic keyboard. And we are just getting started! The default iPad accessories are always first class citizens and always will be.
While this is nice news for some, the pen is what made Shapr3D the most important CAD/Modeling app that I have ever used. While it is not perfect, it is what made you “unique” among so many others.
I have several apps, some paid for, that are much better at CAD than and some much better at CAD “with keyboard/mouse support”.
I don’t need another paid for keyboard/mouse app. I need a Pen app to work the way I am comfortable with that has the same power those other apps have. I am concerned about your direction. From a monetary stand point I get it. However you no longer have my complete focus.
Mouse support? Don’t even get me started on the Apple “Puck” < Fork me! Do you have right click functionality for any mouse? Or is Apple still locked into the single button Puck?
We will make our keyboard/mouse implementation better than any other CAD, I promise. This is just a very early version of what we have in mind. Pencil is of course going to be a first class citizen forever. We see the Pencil and the mouse great for different use cases, and we see them as complimentary. That being said every feature of the app will always be accessible in both interaction modes.
I would also love to see a pencil + keyboard option or even just further keyboard support. It would speed up workflow significantly. I really enjoy using the pen/fingers as my main navigation tool however being able to assign keyboard shortcuts to all of the options on the left side panel would make this my main 3D program. It’s time consuming when I need to tap back through menus to reach the one I’m looking for. I’m someone who is used to using keyboard shortcuts + pencil in programs like Procreate I’m and would love to see this efficiency I gained there in Shapr as well.
A [command + m] to mirror, [command + o] to offset edge or [s] to scale. A keyboard shortcut customization screen in the preferences could would be fantastic! No real need to optimize for a ideal pencil + keyboard if we had that and I’m sure it will be a requested feature on MacOS.
I have been using keyboard + pen since I first got my wacom cintiq some years ago.
Mostly for for drawing and photoshop though, not for CAD. But that´s because navigation has been impossible with just the pen until shapr3d came on the marked.
And have been a big fan of mucle memory keyboard shortcuts a since I first started using Autocad back in 2003.
Just being able to use a dedicated Numpad for quick dimention input without having the on screen numpad pop up would speed up my work drasticly.
I might even build or buy my own multilayered macro keypad that I can map all the shortcuts too.
I like to switch it up. Work with just the apple pencil, work with mouse + keyboard and work with Apple pencil + keyboard. Keyboard shortcuts reminds me of the speed I used to have in Autocad 2004 after getting the mucle memory dialed in. A customicable keyboard with numpad would make it even faster.
