Square Sketch
Digital graph paper
Only for Mac
$34.99
Square Sketch is a professional tool for visualizing your ideas on a square grid.
It combines the simplicity of pen and paper with the advantages of a vector drawing app and is thus a kind of digital graph paper.
Features:
- Pen & paper UI: The window shows only the drawing area and, like a sheet of paper, has no toolbar, no options bar, and no shapes palette to avoid distractions. The draw tool with a pen-shaped pointer is active by default so you can start drawing right away.
- New interaction concept: With the removal of the toolbar comes a new interaction concept that minimizes the number of tools and the need to switch between them. The draw tool recognizes from the gesture whether a line or a circle should be drawn, or the cursor should be placed for text, without requiring a tool change.
- Flow & focus: The remaining tools for moving, selecting, and deleting are activated via modifier keys, on which the second hand can rest. This allows for quick access and the development of muscle memory, so that the tool change happens unconsciously and focus remains uninterrupted on the draft.
- Less is more: There is a deliberate focus on essential features and a style that is ideal for drafts: one font size, two pen colors, and two stroke widths.
- Flexible: On the unlimited drawing area, you can start anywhere and expand your draft in any direction. Even after drawing, all objects remain fully editable.
- Clean & precise: Typed text instead of handwriting, exact geometric shapes, grid with three levels of detail, and automatic snapping.
- Adaptive colors: Colors can be individually set for the drawing area in light and dark mode, as well as for export and print, and change according to the situation.
- Auditory feedback: The lack of haptic feedback, as with real pen and paper, is replaced by auditory feedback, creating a similarly immersive experience.
- Offline storage: The drawings are saved locally in an XML format.
- Export & Print: PNG and SVG files can be created directly using the export function. PDFs can be generated using the print function and the operating system.
- Native implementation: SwiftUI and AppKit are used for optimal integration into macOS.
- One-time purchase: Support a small indie studio with your purchase.
more I use vector tools such as Affinity, Inkscape, and others a lot, but Square Sketch stands out from all of them, as it is so fun to use and can create an early draft really quickly. I really wish it had more features, but the developer wants to keep it simplistic, which makes sense in a way.
Developer Response Thank you so much for your review! I'm glad you like the app and enjoy using it. Yes, the plan is that once all essential features are implemented, the focus will mainly be on improving existing features. This "less is more" approach is intended to prevent the app from becoming overloaded with features and eventually no longer offering a distraction-free environment for sketching. I hope you keep enjoying the app. Daniel | Square Sight
I use vector tools such as Affinity, Inkscape, and others a lot, but Square Sketch stands out from all of them, as it is so fun to use and can create an early draft really quickly. I really wish it had more features, but the developer wants to keep it simplistic, which makes sense in a way.
Thank you so much for your review! I'm glad you like the app and enjoy using it. Yes, the plan is that once all essential features are implemented, the focus will mainly be on improving existing features. This "less is more" approach is intended to prevent the app from becoming overloaded with features and eventually no longer offering a distraction-free environment for sketching. I hope you keep enjoying the app. Daniel | Square Sight
I needed a way to digitize building plan sketches quickly. This fit the bill perfectly.
Developer Response That's great that you appreciate the app so much. Thank you very much for your review!
I needed a way to digitize building plan sketches quickly. This fit the bill perfectly.
That's great that you appreciate the app so much. Thank you very much for your review!
This is an app that I’ve been looking for! I use Sketch and Figma and Mermaid.js all regularly for diagramming. All have their uses, but this app makes is so easy to jump in and create a diagram that communicates an idea. The tutorial is very straightforward and I felt like I could be productive right away.I would love an iPad version of this that works with the Apple Pencil!
Developer Response Thank you for taking the time to write a review! It's great that you like the app so much.Yes, in fact, the app is designed to visualize an idea in a simple way, without losing yourself in design options.
This is an app that I’ve been looking for! I use Sketch and Figma and Mermaid.js all regularly for diagramming. All have their uses, but this app makes is so easy to jump in and create a diagram that communicates an idea. The tutorial is very straightforward and I felt like I could be productive right away.I would love an iPad version of this that works with the Apple Pencil!
Thank you for taking the time to write a review! It's great that you like the app so much.Yes, in fact, the app is designed to visualize an idea in a simple way, without losing yourself in design options.
Improvements:
- The tutorial has a new button in the bottom-left corner that shows a list of all pages. Clicking an entry in the list jumps directly to that page.
- Two new color themes: "Concrete" for the light scheme and "Slate" for the dark scheme.
- The "Graphite" color theme is now slightly darker.
- The background color of overlays now follows the color of the title bar and settings panels across all themes for a consistent appearance.
Bug fixes:
- Copy and paste keyboard shortcuts now work as expected in the Save dialog and are no longer processed by the drawing area.
2.3.2 Oct 2
New features:
- In the settings under Input overlays, you can display the Esc and Tab keys. Additionally, the settings under Accessibility offer the option for clickable input overlays. Instead of pressing or holding the Esc, Tab, and modifier keys, you can then click an input overlay. This enables one-handed operation for situations where you cannot or prefer not to use your second hand.
Note:
- By default, these options are disabled to support learning two-handed operation. Pressing the Esc, Tab, and modifier keys with the second hand enables the most efficient operation and helps build muscle memory.
Improvements:
- Snapping triggers from a fixed pixel distance regardless of zoom level, making it more consistent.
- The pointer for the move tool is slightly smaller.
2.3.0 Sep 3
New features:
- Arcs can now have arrowheads too. To do this, use the select tool to click on the stroke end (the area just before the endpoint) to select it, then press the V key. Alternatively, you can click on a stroke end with the inverted delete tool (Shift + Option) to add an arrowhead directly.
Note:
- If arcs have arrowheads and the file is then shared with other people, they should also use the latest version of the app to see the arrowheads.
Improvements:
- Arrowheads on curves align more closely with the path of the curve.
2.2.0 Aug 14
Improvements:
- Detection of whether a tool is correctly positioned for adding an arrowhead later is now more accurate. This improves working with very short lines.
2.1.2 Jul 1
New features:
- As with some keyboard shortcuts, Shift now also inverts the function of the select and delete tools.
- With the inverted select tool, a region can be deselected.
- The inverted delete tool can be used to add an arrowhead, among other things. To do this, the tool is positioned over the still-invisible arrowhead so that it appears as an outline. A click then adds it.
- There is another way to add an arrowhead without using inverted tools. Clicking on an outlined arrowhead with the normal select tool focuses it. It can then be added with the familiar V key.
Note:
- With the new ways to add an arrowhead, it is no longer necessary to decide while drawing a line whether to turn it into an arrow with the V key. This can instead be done later. It also opens up the possibility of adding arrowheads to arcs, though this will not be supported until a future update.
Improvements:
- When moving nodes, guides are only displayed while the Tab key is held down. This behavior matches the draw tool and ensures that guides are only visible when they are needed.
2.1.0 Jun 30
Version 2.0.0 marks the progress the app has made since its first release. As announced on the roadmap, the new features have already been rolled out gradually with the regular updates over the past months. Thank you to the community for the support!
This update includes further features and improvements.
New features:
- When the draw tool is positioned over a line and the Tab key is held down, its midpoint is marked.
- When drawing a line has been started and the Tab key is pressed, a guide appears. It helps maintain the angle and disappears when the key is released.
- If the Tab key is held down before drawing, guides appear depending on where the draw tool is located. On the free drawing area, a crosshair appears that helps with drawing horizontal and vertical lines. On lines, a parallel and a perpendicular are shown, and on curves, circles, ellipses, and arcs, a tangent with a perpendicular.
Improvements:
- Input on a numeric display can be started not only by pressing a digit key, but also by pressing Plus or Minus.
- When moving nodes, they snap not only to other nodes, but also to strokes.
- The pointer for the move tool is now designed so that it obscures less of the drawing area.
2.0.0 Jun 3
New features:
- When moving nodes, guides are displayed to make it easier to extend lines while maintaining the original angle.
Improvements:
- In the settings, numeric input fields now have separate controls for value and unit. This simplifies editing, as there is no longer a need to ensure the unit is appended correctly.
- In the print settings, a notice is shown below the scaling option when it is automatically further reduced to prevent printing beyond the margins.
- If a draft fills the entire page when printed with visible grid, the available space is used more effectively and empty grid squares at the margins are avoided.
- When exporting to SVG, the image dimensions are rounded up to whole pixels, just like when exporting to PNG, and a viewBox attribute is also included.
- The notebook color theme uses a lighter shade of blue for the foreground.
1.25.0 May 4
New features:
- In the settings, a predefined color theme can be selected. There are three themes for the drawing area in light mode, three for dark mode, and one for printing. All available themes can be used for export.
Improvements:
- The default colors use shades of gray for the background and foreground, and red for highlighting. This provides a neutral starting point for a wide variety of applications and for user color customization. The previous default for the drawing area with a yellow background is still available through the “Notebook” theme. In dark mode, the “Blueprint” theme offers a tinted background.
- In the settings for the drawing area background, there is an additional contrast slider for overlays. This allows, for example, the contrast of the usage aids to be adjusted independently of the markers. The grid contrast is now also independent of the marker contrast.
- The layout and order of the controls in the settings have been revised.
- Arrowheads can be removed with the delete tool by clicking.
- Actions that are started by holding or dragging a tool can be canceled with the Esc key.
- When numerical input is used after drawing a line or a circle, any styles or arrowheads added immediately beforehand are preserved.
- By using Oklab/Okhsl functions, the colors can be set more precisely, and when entering hex codes in the export settings, the sliders are set accordingly (reverse conversion).
- The tutorial has been improved in detail.
1.24.0 Apr 7
New features:
- Numerical input is now possible in situations where values were previously displayed. For example, if the length is displayed when drawing a line, the radius when drawing a circle, the angle when moving a rotation control point, and the factor when moving a scaling control point, digits can be typed directly afterward and confirmed with the Return key.
Improvements:
- Instead of Minus / Shift+Minus, the new keyboard shortcut D / Shift+D is used to style a selection dashed / not dashed. Minus is now reserved for future numeric inputs, and a change notification appears when it is pressed. This means that all style options now use letters for keyboard shortcuts. Furthermore, D is easier to reach with the left hand than Minus.
- The rotation control points now snap smoothly to whole degrees instead of abruptly into half degrees. A line above the decimal place of the degree display indicates that it is a whole degree. Half degrees or other special cases such as quarter degrees can now be entered via numerical input.
- The default print scaling has been increased to a grid size of 7 mm / 0.28 in to achieve an approximate font size of 12 pt and thus improve readability. This scaling is the default setting for new installations. For existing installations, it is only applied if Reset is clicked in the print settings via the three-dot menu.
- Switching tools using the Cmd, Shift, and Opt keys is only possible when the window is active. Therefore, the usage aid in the lower left corner does not show a change when another app is being used.
1.23.0 Feb 28
Improvements:
- The length/radius indicator when drawing lines/circles now always shows one or more decimal places. The number of decimal places depends on the grid detail level and therefore the zoom level. A line above the decimal place indicates that the length/radius matches the grid.
- Instead of Tab, the keyboard shortcut T is used to transform an object. Tab is reserved for future new features, and a change notification appears when it is pressed.
- Instead of 1 and 2, the new keyboard shortcut H / Shift+H has been used since v1.20.0 to highlight / unhighlight an object. 1, 2, and the remaining number keys are reserved for future new features, and a change notification is now displayed when they are pressed.
- When an object is moved using the transform frame and has a reference point, that point snaps to nodes. For example, in the case of a circle, the reference point is its center.
- When objects lie directly on top of each other, selected objects take precedence for pointer operations. This makes it easier, for example, to move objects that were duplicated via copy/paste and initially lie directly on top of the original objects.
1.22.5 Jan 6
New features:
- When moving nodes, circles/ellipses, or text, they also snap to other nodes that may be off-grid.
Improvements:
- If the grid is deactivated in the view menu and therefore invisible, then no snapping to it will occur.
- Circles and ellipses display a center point marker when they are selected or when they are hovered over with the select, move, or delete tool.
1.22.0 11/26/2025
Improvements:
- The window title bar adapts its color to the background of the drawing area.
- On macOS Tahoe 26, the window has larger rounded corners.
1.21.5 09/27/2025
New features:
- When creating text, you can lock the alignment by long-pressing the arrow keys, and lock the monospaced layout by long-pressing Space. This will retain these settings for the next time you create text.
- When creating text, the monospaced layout can be deactivated again by pressing Shift+Space.
Improvements:
- The app's own pointers now have a shadow, making their style more similar to the standard macOS pointers.
- The new macOS Tahoe 26 is now directly supported.
1.21.0 09/16/2025
Improvements:
- In the tutorial, rather neutral terms are used for operating actions that are suitable not only for a mouse but also for a trackpad.
- At points in the tutorial where the operation differs fundamentally between a trackpad, Magic Mouse and 3-button mouse, a selection box for the input device appears and the illustration and description are adjusted accordingly.
- In the Usage aids settings, the 3-button mouse is disabled by default, as many users use the app with a trackpad or Magic Mouse. When selecting a 3-button mouse in the tutorial, there's a hint that the corresponding usage aid can be enabled in the settings.
1.20.5 08/01/2025
Improvements:
- Zooming is now more consistent using a logarithmic scale.
- On the trackpad or Magic Mouse, the view can be panned using the scroll gesture. The Smart Zoom gesture can be used to reset the view.
- On the trackpad, the view can be zoomed and tilted using two-finger gestures.
- On the Magic Mouse, the view can be zoomed and tilted using the scroll gesture while holding down the Option key.
- The colors are no longer labeled as "Background," "Primary color," and "Secondary color," but as "Background," "Foreground," and "Highlight." The H key is now used to highlight objects, and Shift+H to undo the highlight. This ensures that all design options now follow a consistent scheme.
- The fill levels are no longer labeled as "hatched," "semi-transparent," and "non-transparent," but as "hatched," "translucent," and "opaque."
- The "Lines at margin" option in the export and print settings is now no longer a checkbox, but a choice between "Keep" and "Hide" to make it more self-explanatory.
- There are also minor adjustments to other labels and the tutorial.
1.20.0 07/19/2025
Improvements:
- The delay for a long mouse press is now shorter, so points can be drawn faster.
- The tutorial has been improved and expanded in several details.
- In addition to the existing mouse gesture for smooth zooming, you can now also zoom in increments using the mouse wheel. To do this, hold down the Option key while rotating the wheel.
- The dark mouse pointer for the move tool is now more visible.
1.19.0 07/07/2025
Improvements:
- In the settings you can choose between a dark and a light mouse pointer, with the dark one being the default.
- The mouse pointers now also have high-resolution variants.
- There are new default colors for the light and dark modes in the settings. These are preset in new installations or are set when the "Reset" menu item is selected in the settings.
- The tutorial is now divided into sections and has been improved in details.
- The help menu now has an "Examples" item and links to the website.
- Larger grid and font sizes can be set when exporting and printing.
Bug fixes:
- The input fields for numeric values now correctly check the permissible value range.
- The keyboard shortcuts for zoom, tilt, and reset now respond more reliably.
- Fixed a crash that occurred when editing text and pressing a mouse special key.
1.18.0 06/11/2025
Improvements:
- The "Reference" item in the Help menu has been replaced with "Manual" and links to the new manual on the website. This contains the old reference and a lot of new information and is continually being expanded and improved.
- The default settings have been revised and include new values for colors and scaling. When exporting, there are also new values for format and fonts. These values are preset for new installations. For existing installations, the values are applied when the "Reset" menu item is selected in the settings.
1.17.0 04/23/2025
Improvements:
- Rotation control points no longer snap to the drawing grid, but only to degrees. They now snap to half degrees and not just whole degrees.
- Adding an arrowhead twice gives the line an arrowhead at the beginning and at the end.
- When drawing lines, the length indicator remains visible even if the beginning of the line is far outside the view port.
1.16.0 02/07/2025
Update November 2024: Option to reset settings and copy drawing to clipboard when exporting.
1.15.0 10/31/2024
Update October 2024: To define the drawing size, you can draw a frame with lines, which can then be made invisible when exporting or printing.
1.14.0 09/30/2024
Fixes an issue on macOS Sequoia where the font cannot be set.
1.13.1 09/16/2024
Update September 2024: Text can optionally be written with a fixed character width so that a character is exactly half a square wide.
1.13.0 09/02/2024
Update August 2024: Selected objects can be scaled.
1.12.0 07/31/2024
Update July 2024: This version contains the auditive feedback feature.
1.11.1 06/27/2024
Improvements:
- The tutorial has a new button in the bottom-left corner that shows a list of all pages. Clicking an entry in the list jumps directly to that page.
- Two new color themes: "Concrete" for the light scheme and "Slate" for the dark scheme.
- The "Graphite" color theme is now slightly darker.
- The background color of overlays now follows the color of the title bar and settings panels across all themes for a consistent appearance.
Bug fixes:
- Copy and paste keyboard shortcuts now work as expected in the Save dialog and are no longer processed by the drawing area.
more Version 2.3.2 Oct 2
Data Not Collected The developer does not collect any data from this app.