If you are writing a document on your Mac (such as an email, a Pages document, or a presentation) and you need to draw a quick diagram, a signature, or a rough sketch, drawing with a mouse or trackpad is incredibly difficult. The lines always look jagged and unprofessional.
If you own an iPad or an iPhone, you can use a brilliant Apple ecosystem feature called Continuity Sketch. This allows you to use your mobile device’s touchscreen (or an Apple Pencil) as a drawing tablet, and the sketch instantly appears on your Mac screen.
Requirements for Continuity Sketch
To make the devices talk to each other, you must ensure a few settings are correct:
- Both your Mac and your iPhone/iPad must be signed into the exact same Apple ID.
- Both devices must have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on.
- Both devices must be physically close to each other.
How to Start a Continuity Sketch
- Open a supported application on your Mac (such as Apple Mail, Messages, Pages, Keynote, Numbers, or TextEdit).
- Place your cursor where you want the drawing to appear in the document.
- Go to the Mac menu bar at the top of the screen and click File (or sometimes Insert, depending on the app).
- Hover over Insert from iPhone or iPad.
- A sub-menu will appear listing your mobile devices. Click on Add Sketch under the device you want to use (e.g., “San’s iPad”).
Drawing on Your Mobile Device
As soon as you click “Add Sketch” on your Mac, your iPad or iPhone screen will automatically wake up and display a blank, white drawing canvas.
At the bottom of the mobile screen, you will see a toolbar with various drawing tools (a pen, a highlighter, an eraser, and a color selector).
Use your finger or an Apple Pencil to draw your sketch.
Transferring the Sketch to Your Mac
When you are happy with your drawing, simply tap the Done button in the top-right corner of your iPhone or iPad screen.
The drawing canvas will instantly disappear from your mobile device, and your hand-drawn sketch will magically pop into the document on your Mac screen. You can then resize the image or drag it around your document just like any normal photograph.