iPadOS support… please 🙇🏽‍♂️

[PenChiselCamera]

Specs for the latest iPads far exceeds VW minimum system requirements and iPadOS is about to get another major update to support more powerful workflows — what’s holding up some form of real VW on iPad? 
 

The Nomad app is less than worthless. We need native file support and interoperability with VW on MacOS.
 

Working architects spend a lot of time on site and travelling. Many of us use iPads in these work contexts. Can we please get VW on iPad?

[Christiaan]

There are still quite a few impediments:

 

[PenChiselCamera]

Yes, it will involve work. Of course. That’s not an argument against doing something.

 

Also, please avoid using AI slop if its accuracy is unknown.
 

3 hours ago, Christiaan said:

There are still quite a few impediments:

 

 

 

[Vlado]

10 hours ago, PenChiselCamera said:

The Nomad app is less than worthless. We need native file support and interoperability with VW on MacOS.

 Hello @PenChiselCamera, we're focused on visualizing the drawing on the mobile at the moment.

I'm interested to know why you thing Nomad is "less then worthless"? Can you please elaborate?

 

Thank you

[PenChiselCamera]

@Vlado Thank you for your reply and question.

 

The issue with Nomad is that it doesn't provide any relevant functionality for me as a working architect.

 

3D visualisations may seem flashy or make for a good demonstration or be more exciting for software developers, but in this form they are of zero use in the delivery of architectural services. For client visualisations, the quality from Nomad is too poor. For site work with contractors, utterly useless. For AR/VR, USDZ is a much better and more portable format.

 

What do architects actually need? -- Native VW file support (.vwx); read, write and create. Not PDFs (better done elsewhere), not some weird portable file format or conversion or something.

 

VW has moved to a subscription fee model. This model is meant to justify more nimble and active development of the platform.

 

The iPhone is almost 20 years old and still cannot view a VW files. The iPad is over 15 years old and cannot view a VW files. VW files cannot even be viewed in a web browser using VW Cloud Services (without first being converted to a PDF or 3D model). Repeat -- Not even VIEW a VW file -- forgetting about editing or creation (or how about project sharing? .vwxp / .vwxw?). This is clearly not good enough.

 

Example use cases:

• On site: Query from a builder about a measurement that cannot be taken from an issued drawing. Open current project VW file on iPad/web from remote server/file share, and check the measurement right there on site. 
• Review: Why can't I review and markup the actual project file from iPad for team actioning? Not a PDF, not some other weird thing, the actual team file?
• Site measure of existing: Start a new 2D VW file while on site and directly enter measurements into CAD, rather than create a paper drawing that must be redrawn later. 
• Collaboration: My colleague is on site, I'm in the office -- we're working in the same file. Imagine that...
• Travel: iPad is a preferred travel computer for ease of use, mobile data, sketching support, and portability. But, it cannot run VW or even view VW files, which is a critical work tool when travelling. 

Your competitors have at least something for iPad:

• AutoCAD for iPad appears to be less than full featured -- but it can view and edit DWGs from Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.
• SketchUp for iPad allows creation, editing and markup of files.

P.S. Most working architects and your customers are NOT on this board. Myself, I only check in once a year to see if anything has changed in terms of .vwx file use on a platforms other than MacOS or Windows. 

 

 

 

On 6/14/2025 at 10:26 PM, Vlado said:

 Hello @PenChiselCamera, we're focused on visualizing the drawing on the mobile at the moment.

I'm interested to know why you thing Nomad is "less then worthless"? Can you please elaborate?

 

Thank you

 

 

 

Edited June 16 by PenChiselCamera

[Jeff Prince]

I’ll add a use case…

collecting data like existing trees.  Doing this directly in the VWX enviro on site would be great.  An iPad paired with an RTX receiver is a great data collector and tool for design layout.  Recording a gpx track and putting it in the VWX file would be handy for documenting field visits.  Automated creation of photo maps with keyed images.  As built creation.  Realtime comparison between design and built.  Onsite augmented reality with automatic design placement based on georeferencing.  Punch lists keyed to the model… and the list goes on.

 

There are so many simple tasks like these that we do on a regular basis, yet nobody in the design software industry seems to see how important it is to incorporate these workflows into a design/build process.  VWX wants to be a one stop shop for our needs, but 50%+ of the AEC process is simply ignored, forcing us to use other solutions.  I bet if you asked most senior and principal level staff what it would take to convert to VWX, it would be saving time on the entire process, not just the design.  Something that saves time at the PM level is going to turn heads more than a user interface or simple model viewer running on a tablet.

[Vlado]

@PenChiselCamera Thank you for your reply, I appreciate the details.
In fact, this matches to what we're trying to do, and the direction we're working at the moment.

Have you seen the "Share Document" feature in Vectorworks 2025? This is our first step to allow users to share the drawing with other people with the purposes of measuring and review, with comments you can see back in Vectorworks. It's a first step, but we are moving in this direction.
https://app-help.vectorworks.net/2025/eng/VW2025_Guide/Export/Sharing_documents_in_the_cloud_document_reviewer.htm

 

 

[Vlado]

@Jeff Prince yes, this is exactly to the point. Combined with @PenChiselCamera point on being able to start a project it would provide a great tool.
This is high on our list for the cloud/Nomad improvements.

[Jeff Prince]

22 minutes ago, Vlado said:

@Jeff Prince yes, this is exactly to the point. Combined with @PenChiselCamera point on being able to start a project it would provide a great tool.
This is high on our list for the cloud/Nomad improvements.

That’s great news!  I’ve been beating the iPad drum here for years, it’s such a powerful tool for field work.

[PenChiselCamera]

@Vlado thank you for your responses.

 

I was not aware of the "Cloud Document Reviewer" and have just had a look at the explainer video. This looks like a nice feature.

 

However, the ultimate need is native .vwx support in more places -- web, iPadOS, iOS, etc. Not PDF conversion, not an isolated viewer. VWX editing and creation on the web and on mobile/tablet.

 

I guess the real question is -- Does Vectorworks leadership have ambitions for .vwx to be a true industry competitor to .dwg, .rvt, etc? 

 

This requires treating other platforms at the same level of priority as desktop VW, not as some 'toy' or 'review' or 'visualisation' only platform.

 

For example, in my practice we use Dropbox as our project server. We can have one team member working in a file on VW for MacOS and another team member working on the same project on VW for Windows. They can both open, save, edit and create files in the same location on Dropbox. All the data is shared equally for the whole team.

 

But someone on site with an iPad is disconnected completely from this collaboration. They cannot input new data live to the project and cannot retrieve data that is not explicitly described on drawing sheets. 

 

Similarly, if a team member is travelling and does not have access to desktop VW, they cannot collaborate with the rest of the team. Real .VWX support for other platforms would solve this problem (web, iPad, mobile, etc).

 

 

 

 

12 hours ago, Vlado said:

@PenChiselCamera Thank you for your reply, I appreciate the details.
In fact, this matches to what we're trying to do, and the direction we're working at the moment.

Have you seen the "Share Document" feature in Vectorworks 2025? This is our first step to allow users to share the drawing with other people with the purposes of measuring and review, with comments you can see back in Vectorworks. It's a first step, but we are moving in this direction.
https://app-help.vectorworks.net/2025/eng/VW2025_Guide/Export/Sharing_documents_in_the_cloud_document_reviewer.htm

 

 

 

 

 

[E|FA]

I am a heavy iPad user.  I do a lot of sketching on Morpholio Trace (though I don't take advantage of the VW 3D integration) and I run all of my site meetings with an iPad, taking notes with Notability and doing markups on PDFs of the drawing set on PDF Expert.  I haven't upgraded to VW 2025, but as soon as I do I expect to explore take advantage of the Cloud Document Reviewer.  The main features I will be looking for will be the ability to add notes to the file that I can pick up back at the office, and the ability to take measurements from the drawings while I'm on site.  These features will need to work without a network connection, as not all of the sites I work on have cellular access.  I understand that I would need to download the files locally before heading to the site.

 

The other iPad feature I'm hoping will be added is the ability to use Nomad scans without a network connection.  This has been noted on another thread.  

 

I understand that other people want a full version of VW on an iPad (and ideally I would too).  Given the finite availability of VW development resources (better Stair tool, bug fixes, etc please,) and the 16GB limit on an iPad Pro (at $2.5K), I'm totally fine with only having the full version available on Mac for now.  If I really need to have the full version on site or while traveling, I can take a laptop along with my iPad.  

 

Eventually I would love to see a full VW version on iPad, but it doesn't seem like the hardware and OS are ready yet.  For now, I appreciate the improvements to Nomad and the new Cloud Document Reviewer as an interim step.

[Jeff Prince]

14 minutes ago, E|FA said:

Eventually I would love to see a full VW version on iPad, but it doesn't seem like the hardware and OS are ready yet.  For now, I appreciate the improvements to Nomad and the new Cloud Document Reviewer as an interim step.

Affinity Photo has been doing a great job grinding on huge files and doing complex processing on the iPad for many years.  I would think there would be a way to get some VWX functionality onto the iPad.

[line-weight]

3 hours ago, E|FA said:

I understand that other people want a full version of VW on an iPad (and ideally I would too).  Given the finite availability of VW development resources (better Stair tool, bug fixes, etc please,) and the 16GB limit on an iPad Pro (at $2.5K), I'm totally fine with only having the full version available on Mac for now.  If I really need to have the full version on site or while traveling, I can take a laptop along with my iPad.  

 

Yeah, I'd rather resources were focused on sorting out the full version of VW first. For people who want to edit VWX files on the move there's already a solution: a laptop.

[Jeff Prince]

4 hours ago, line-weight said:

For people who want to edit VWX files on the move there's already a solution: a laptop.

Yeah, that isn’t what this is about.  A laptop is the wrong form factor for walking a jobsite or field work.

[line-weight]

1 hour ago, Jeff Prince said:

Yeah, that isn’t what this is about.  A laptop is the wrong form factor for walking a jobsite or field work.

I think there are two things being talked about in this thread.

 

1.  being able to use VW whilst on the road. That is, in a hotel room or at a meeting or whatever.

 

2. being able to use VW literally walking around on site.

 

The first of those can be done with a laptop. I can see why it would be nice to be able to do it on an ipad, especially if an ipad is already used for on-site stuff, because of course it's nice to be able to have one device to do everything. But that's more of a nice-to-have rather than needed-to-get-the-job-done.

 

The second of course needs something like an ipad. But it also needs software that's designed for that purpose. VW isn't, just like ye olde drawing boards weren't designed for using on site and that's why we didn't take drawing boards to site. I don't think it's reasonable to expect VW to be able to do this. Of course it would be nice if it could. But it's much more important that it can do its primary purpose properly. And being able to draw a usable parametric window, at my desk, is 100x more important than being able to edit a VWX file on a tablet whilst standing on site.

 

What's a reasonable expectation will change over time of course. But at least in my world the primary means of communication of designs on site is still the 2D PDF. So a reasonable expectation is that I can pull these up on site, and mark them up in a convenient way, and ideally get that info back into VW. That would recognise current mainstream practice. Actually it's only relatively recently that this has been common practice, I'd say. It's not all that long ago that you drew in VW, printed on paper, and the paper went to site.

[rDesign]

10 hours ago, E|FA said:

The main features I will be looking for will be:

1) the ability to add notes to the file that I can pick up back at the office, and

2) the ability to take measurements from the drawings while I'm on site.  
 

These features will need to work without a network connection, as not all of the sites I work on have cellular access.  I understand that I would need to download the files locally before heading to the site.

 

The other iPad feature I'm hoping will be added is the ability to use Nomad scans without a network connection.  This has been noted on another thread.

From my perspective, I think what @E|FA posted above outlines the basic, initial functionality for a tablet version of VW (added emphasis mine).
 

Field notes & measurements ideally would be added using a stylus and automatically converted to Text or Dimensions with handwriting recognition.

[Jeff Prince]

@line-weight you bring up some interesting points.  I’m old enough to remember seeing portable drafting boards in site trailers and out on the construction site. Many of my large projects even had entire reprographics  facilities on site!  It was common practice on large projects and still is with digital tools.  I’ve been using an iPad onsite for over a decade now.  We used to carry around large rolls of drawings, now it’s much easier to flip through a set on the iPad, especially if it is hyperlinked.  

 

There is still a small number of people who draw by hand, most still draw in 2D CAD, and a significant amount of folks are transitioning to 3D BIM.  Construction management has shifted to digital tools faster than the architects and it is extremely common to see iPads in the field.

 

Companies that embrace this reality will gain an advantage, those who don’t will lose market share.  If vectorworks thinks BIM stops at the architect’s office, they are missing the big picture IMHO.  Projects get expensive when they move from the office to the field, what an opportunity to profit on the  and software side!

[line-weight]

4 minutes ago, Jeff Prince said:

I’m old enough to remember seeing portable drafting boards in site trailers and out on the construction site.

The equivalent of the laptop, not the ipad.

 

The ipad replaces the paper drawing set (in a ragged bundle with mud on them). The ipad retains the functionality where the contractor continues to use drawings several versions older than the last revision you sent them.

 

 

[Jeff Prince]

17 minutes ago, line-weight said:

The equivalent of the laptop, not the ipad.

 

The ipad replaces the paper drawing set (in a ragged bundle with mud on them). The ipad retains the functionality where the contractor continues to use drawings several versions older than the last revision you sent them.

 

 

I guess we disagree.  You haven’t seen people drawing in the field during your career?

 

I’m sure some startup will come along and offer these functionalities we are talking about.  The industry will herald the new development.  And then Autodesk will buy them and gain more market share 😉

 

[Pat Stanford]

If you think about how much of a 2-handed program VW (or any cad program) is, it would be very hard to find a way to provide full functionality on an iPad that you are carrying around in one hand and trying to operate the program with the other.

 

A view/markup program that would use the native VW file format is a much more reasonable expectation.

 

Or maybe something AI based that would let you choose the command you want via voice. But I often drive VW based on WHERE the commands are in the workspace, not the name of the command. If I had to remember that the exact name of Move vs Move 3D vs Move Geographic, I would be in deep trouble. And with all the noice typical of a construction site, getting proper voice recognition would probably be a challenge also.

 

$0.02

 

But I do support the idea of an iPad "version" of VW. Even thought I can not imaging how it could be full function.

[line-weight]

56 minutes ago, Jeff Prince said:

You haven’t seen people drawing in the field during your career?

The only drawing on site that I see is marking up of drawings, and various types of sketching/ hand-drawing of details (either on paper or on ipads or other tablets). Or on a desk in a site office on a laptop. I don't think I've ever seen anyone stand on a scaffold board, or in the middle of a muddy field, with a drawing board, set-square and T-bar.

 

Likewise, I've not yet see that happen with someone drawing directly into a working CAD file on an ipad. Maybe this will start happening soon, or maybe it happens already on certain types of large projects. I've not personally seen it happen on the small to medium scale architectural projects I tend to be involved in.

 

Like @Pat Stanford says I find it hard to picture quite how you'd draw in a full version of VW on an ipad, because it's such a two handed application with many keyboard shortcuts and generally used with a mouse with multiple buttons on it. How all that can get translated into one hand of fat fingers I don't know.

Edited June 17 by line-weight

[Peter Vandewalle]

I don't see Vectorworks on an iPad as a very useful solution, it could though be a  solution for some exceptional cases.

the 2 handed operating of Vectorworks shouldn't be an issue since iPads can be operated by a mouse and a keyboard.

[line-weight]

18 minutes ago, Peter Vandewalle said:

the 2 handed operating of Vectorworks shouldn't be an issue since iPads can be operated by a mouse and a keyboard.

If you're sat at a desk yes. Not if you're walking around site though.

[Jeff Prince]

2 hours ago, line-weight said:

How all that can get translated into one hand of fat fingers I don't know.

Why would it need to be?  A mouse works great, the Pencil could work in many cases and actually be superior in some ways.  Some Gestures could be useful.  Affinity Photo works great with a Pencil, I actually prefer using it on the iPad than a computer.

 

55 minutes ago, line-weight said:

If you're sat at a desk yes. Not if you're walking around site though.

Disagree.  Once you start using a tablet with a Pencil and good apps, your opinion might change.  You have break the current paradigm of how you think you have to interact with Vectorworks for this to make sense.

 

Good conversation, but we aren't going to convince each other of the merits of our different approaches I guess 🙂

 

[Jeff Prince]

2 hours ago, line-weight said:

I don't think I've ever seen anyone stand on a scaffold board, or in the middle of a muddy field, with a drawing board, set-square and T-bar.

 

Interesting.  When it comes to residential or really unique sites, I almost always do my site drawings in the field.  It eliminates measurement errors while giving you the opportunity to observe the site over a longer periods of time.  I get it though, most people can't be bothered to spend significant amounts of time on a site due to their design process and budget.  I met a young landscape architect a few years ago living the 'van life' and had a studio in a small trailer.  She parks her trailer on site and performs the work there over the course of weeks.  That would be pretty fun and having a handheld solution for data collection and documentation would just take the process to the next level.

[E|FA]

12 minutes ago, Jeff Prince said:

Good conversation, but we aren't going to convince each other of the merits of our different approaches I guess

I agree, except I don't think anyone disagrees about the long term desire for fully functioning VW on iPad.  It's a difference of priorities - iPad VW vs all the other development possibilities.  I'm OK with iPad + laptop + pencil & paper on site for the foreseeable future, assuming we have or will soon get: 

1) the ability to add notes to the file that I can pick up back at the office, and

2) the ability to take measurements from the drawings while I'm on site. 

 

For item 1, being able to use the Redmark tool on the iPad would be enough for me for now.  As I said earlier, I'm not on VW2025 yet, so the new Cloud Reviewer may already serve this purpose.

Edited June 17 by E|FA