The Gallery
QUICK SUMMARY
1. All your drawings can be viewed, managed and organized in folders in the Gallery
2. Tap the + New Drawing to create a new drawing in the current folder
3. Tap+hold on the drawing thumbnail to duplicate, rename or delete your drawing
The first time you open Concepts, you'll start in the Gallery. This is where all of your drawings are stored and organized into folders. You can create new drawings, open existing drawings, import images, PDFs and more.
Interface
Concepts Gallery
- Start Something New. Start a new drawing, create a new folder, import from Files or Photos, paste from the clipboard, or take a quick picture for later markup.
- Sidebar Toggle. Tap this to hide or show the sidebar. The button shows the name of your current folder.
- Pro Store. Shows your purchase status and all three available plans: Everything Subscription, Essentials, and Free.
- Account. Create an account or sign in to an existing account.
- Help. Tap to access the Manual and other learning material. If you encounter a problem or get stuck, contact us via Ask Us Anything.
- Sidebar. The sidebar can be collapsed or remain on screen. It shows all of your top-level folders in a single place for easy navigation. Tap a folder to access it. Tap New folder to create a new one. Under "Extras", you can find your Recently Deleted drawings.
- Navigate Back. Tap here to navigate back to the parent, or top-level folder.
- Folder name. Tap to rename.
- Notes. Add notes about your project here.
- Grouping. Keep your work organized the way you like. Group by Date Created, Date Updated, Folder, or None.
- Sorting. Sort the contents of your folders by Name, Date Created, or Date Updated.
- Drawing. Tap to open. Tap+hold to duplicate, rename or delete your drawing.
- Subfolder. Create as many subfolders as you like in your main folders to organize your drawings.
- New Drawing. A shortcut for quickly creating and opening a new, empty drawing.
- Start Something New. Start a new drawing, create a new folder, import from Files or Photos, paste from the clipboard, or take a quick picture for later markup.
Gallery Interactions
- Tap or click on drawings and folders to open them.
- Tap+hold or right-click to rename, duplicate or delete drawings and folders. On iOS and Android, drawings will also show a Share option.
- Drag & Drop to move drawings between folders or to other apps. You can drop into folders in both the Gallery and Sidebar views.
- Scroll to search through your drawings in the Gallery view. You can scroll the Sidebar to scan your top-level folders.
- Zoom in and out in your drawings with a two-finger pinch or spread. (Only on iOS and Android)
Creating Drawings
There are several ways to create drawings in the Concepts Gallery.
- Tap the + New Drawing button to create a new drawing.
- Tap on either the + in the top left corner or the arrow next to the + New Drawing button to see more options for creating a drawing.
- In the pop-up that appears, you have several options for drawing creation. Tap Photos if you want to create a drawing based on an imported photo from your device's photos.
- Create a new drawing based on an imported file, or import an existing Concepts file.
- Create a new drawing with the items currently copied to your clipboard.
- Take a Picture with your device to create a new drawing.
- Tap Recently Imported to see images and files you have previously imported.
- Create a new, empty drawing.
- After creating, you will be taken directly to your new drawing. After returning to the Gallery, you will see a thumbnail of your drawing.
- Tap+hold on the drawing thumbnail to open a contextual menu for more options.
- Tap Rename to rename your drawing.
- Tap Duplicate to make a copy of your drawing.
- Share your drawing file via email or other supported methods.
- You can also Delete your drawing. Deleted drawings will be moved to the Recently Deleted section of the Gallery.
Creating Folders
To add structure to your Gallery, you can create as many folders and subfolders as you need.
- Tap on the + in the top left corner or the arrow next to the + New Drawing button to open the menu for more options.
- Tap the New Folder button.
- Your newly created folder will show in the Gallery with a thumbnail depicting its content. Tap on the folder to open it.
- You can add new drawings in your new folder as you would anywhere in the Gallery. Tap on the folder name to rename it.
- You can add a description to your folder.
- You can navigate back to your top-level folder by tapping the button above your folder's name.
File Management on iOS, Windows, Android
File Management on iOS
On iOS, Concepts has a dedicated Concepts folder in the Files App, under the location On This iPad/iPhone. This is where all of your work is stored, and the Gallery inside the app directly reflects the contents of this folder. Feel free to reorganize your work through the Files App or the Concepts Gallery. Any updates you make to your drawings or folder details in Concepts will also update them in Files, and vice versa.
Moving your files away from the Concepts folder will remove them from the Concepts Gallery. That does not mean they do not exist; it just means you have moved them somewhere that Concepts cannot locate. You can always open a .concept file on a device where Concepts is installed, even if it is not in the Concepts folder.
You can also open Concepts drawings from elsewhere in the Files app. If a drawing is stored outside the Concepts folder in the Files app, it will not appear in your Concepts Gallery, but it will still be available to edit in Concepts. Tap on any .concept file in the Files app, and it will open in Concepts. When you exit to the Gallery, the changes will be saved to the original file you opened, though the file will not appear in the Concepts Gallery unless the file is moved back into the Concepts folder. You can still access the drawing from Files.
You can easily create backups of your drawings by copying them in Files and pasting them into a folder in iCloud or another storage location.
Please note that on iOS, deleting the app from your device also deletes the Concepts folder in Files and all of its content from your device. If you have a problem with your app or drawings, reach out to our team first -- tap Help → Ask Us Anything in-app to reach us, or send a support email to support@concepts.app. We do everything possible to keep your work safe, but we also advise you to back up your devices regularly. To learn more about backing up your drawings, please read our article on creating backups.
File Management on Windows
In Windows, Concepts has a dedicated Concepts folder in File Explorer. You will see this in your Concepts Gallery under the location This Device. This is where all of your work is stored, and the Gallery inside the Concepts app directly reflects the contents of this folder. Feel free to reorganize your work through File Explorer or the Concepts Gallery. Any updates you make to your drawings or folder details in Concepts will also update them in File Explorer, and vice versa.
Moving your files away from the Concepts folder will remove them from the Concepts Gallery. That does not mean they do not exist; it simply means you have moved them somewhere that Concepts cannot locate. You can always open a .concepts file on a device where Concepts is installed, even if it is not in the Concepts folder. You can also find your recently used files in the Recently Opened section in the gallery sidebar.
On Windows, deleting the app from your device does not delete the Concepts folder in File Explorer. If you have to delete and reinstall Concepts, your drawings can still be found in File Explorer. In any case, we recommend backing up your files if you have to reinstall Concepts. You can easily create backups of your drawings by copying them in File Explorer and pasting them into a folder in OneDrive or another storage location.
If you have a problem with your app or drawings, reach out to our team first - tap Help → Ask Us Anything in-app to reach us, or send a support email to support@concepts.app. We do everything possible to keep your work safe, but we also advise you to back up your devices regularly. To learn more about backing up your drawings, please read our article on creating backups.
Changing Gallery Location (Windows only)
You can find and change your Concepts folder location by tapping the settings button in the gallery under Gallery folder location.
File Management on Android
On Android, your drawings are stored by default in App Storage. Please note that on Android, deleting the app from your device also deletes all the content in App Storage.
You can also grant Concepts access to your device's Internal Storage.
In the Gallery Sidebar, under Internal Storage, tap Enable Permissions and toggle the button in device settings. This will create a folder on your Android device which you can access directly from your File Manager app. You can reorganize your Internal Storage drawings in either the File Manager or the Concepts Gallery. If you move your files away from the Concepts folder, they will also be removed from the Concepts Gallery. That does not mean they do not exist; it simply means you have moved them somewhere that Concepts cannot locate.
Deleting Concepts will not remove the files in Internal Storage. If you have a problem with your app or drawings, reach out to our team first. Tap Help → Ask Us Anything in-app to reach us, or send a support email to support@concepts.app. We do everything possible to keep your work safe, but we also advise you to back up your devices regularly. To learn more about backing up your drawings, please read our article on creating backups.
Backing up your Drawings on Android
You can easily create backups of your drawings by copying them in your File Manager and pasting them into a folder in Google Drive or another storage location. You can also enable Google Drive backup in the settings to automatically back up your files. Please note that this cannot be used for syncing drawings between devices.
Drawing Sync
You can sync your drawings between your different devices by using iCloud (on iOS) or other third-party software (Windows and Android).
Drawing Sync on iOS
On the sidebar of your Gallery, there is a separate location for syncing your drawings – iCloud.
All of your drawings under this location will be automatically synced across your devices that are signed in to the same Apple ID, where you can view and edit drawings as usual.
To sync existing drawings or folders from your device, simply drag and drop them under iCloud. After a short wait, you'll see them appear on your other device. Whenever you want to switch devices, just sign in to your Apple ID as usual, install Concepts, and all your synced drawings will be there, backed up and ready to go.
Drawing Sync on Windows
At the moment, there's no way to sync Concepts files natively across Windows devices, but you can use third-party software to synchronize folders on multiple devices.
On both of your devices, install and set up your cloud storage app for desktop. Use the same account for both devices and create a folder in your cloud service where you want to store your Concepts Gallery.
Open Concepts and navigate to the Gallery. Open up your settings and choose Change from your Gallery folder location. Navigate to the correct location on your Cloud Storage App with the File Explorer. Repeat this process for both of your devices and you're good to go! Please note that drawings created with newer versions of Concepts will not open on older versions.
Read a more detailed guide in our file sync tutorial here.
Drawing Sync on Android
At the moment, there's no way to sync Concepts files natively across Android devices, but you can use third-party software to synchronize folders on multiple devices.
On both of your devices, enable Concepts the permission to use your internal storage. On both of your devices, install and set up a cloud storage app. Depending on your storage app, you might also need separate software for syncing. Use the same account for both devices and choose your Concepts internal storage folder to be synced.
Read a more detailed guide in our file sync tutorial here.