Toccobird Drawing Markup user guide

01 — Import your drawings. Keep your originals.

Import PDF, JPEG, PNG or .tdm files from Files, individually or in a batch. The app keeps imported originals and saves page changes and new annotations in a working copy. A .tdm package opens as an independent copy with annotations, photos and calibration.

Use drawing details, sheet numbers, disciplines, tags and favorites to find your work. Search an existing PDF text layer, annotation notes and photo captions, browse thumbnails and return to the page you last opened. Drawing-version management has been removed.

1. Choose the files you want to review.
2. Check the sheet number and source drawing before starting.
3. Add tags or a favorite so the drawing is easy to find.

02 — Put the issue on the drawing.

Use a pen, highlight, line, arrow, shape, cloud, text box or callout to show where a comment belongs. Adjust appearance, reposition annotations and use undo or redo as your review develops.

Each annotation receives a number; add an author, status and notes when needed. Attach a selected photo or take a site photo, then add a caption. Filter the annotation list and jump back to drawing locations.

Snap to usable vector endpoints, intersections and straight lines in native PDFs, with a separate orthogonal-guide switch. Scans have no vector snap targets. On compatible iPads, use Apple Pencil for drawing, selection, endpoint adjustment and whole-annotation erasing while fingers navigate.

Receive a PDF from another app

Use Open In or the Import PDF to Toccobird Drawing Markup share action to receive up to 20 readable, unlocked PDFs. Open Toccobird afterward to complete import; the share action receives the files rather than opening an editing session.

Watch file and page preparation progress. You can stop importing while keeping files that already finished. Existing Files and same-network Wi-Fi import remain available.

Present a saved drawing on a bigger screen

Connect a compatible AirPlay or external display and open Present on Display for the saved drawing. Start preparation while paused, then tap Play when ready. Zoom, pan and turn pages in the presentation canvas; controls stay on the device.

Use temporary pen marks, circles, highlights or annotation visibility switches to guide the discussion. Pause shows a waiting screen. These changes do not alter saved drawing data. The presentation uses the saved content prepared at entry; reopen it after later edits are saved.

Rotation and window resizing preserve more of your view and unfinished edits. When leaving an unfinished drawing or note, use the prompt to complete it, continue editing or discard the changes.

03 — Review the scale before measuring.

On import, the app reads PDF text and uses on-device OCR to look for scale labels. A single clear scale on a native PDF may be applied automatically. Scans, images, paper-size conditions and pages with multiple scales need your review. A selected scale applies to the whole page.

Check even an automatically applied scale against a known dimension: a PDF may have been resized. For an image or resized drawing, supply the original paper dimension represented by that image, or calibrate between two points with a known real-world distance. A cropped image needs the paper dimension of the cropped area.

For NTS drawings, use a known length rather than a printed scale ratio. A single page scale cannot correct perspective in a photograph or make every detail on a mixed-scale sheet accurate.

1. Open the page scale control and review the detected source and candidates.
2. Confirm the paper basis or calibrate using two known points.
3. Check units, precision and a known dimension before recording measurements.

04 — Keep drawing and site measurements in context.

Measure lengths, polylines and areas using the current page calibration. Choose mm, cm, m, inches or feet; areas use m² or ft². Applying a display-unit change updates the current page’s labels, lists and PDF, photo-report and CSV exports without changing physical dimensions, endpoints or calibration. Other pages keep their own settings.

Site distances are separate records: enter a measured value manually, or use LiDAR capture on a compatible device and confirm the result.

LiDAR is optional. Importing, annotating, measuring a calibrated drawing and recording manual site values work without it. Verify important dimensions on site before construction, installation or acceptance.

05 — Choose the right handover format.

Export selected pages as a PDF with basic editable annotations, a flattened PDF with a fixed appearance, or PNG images. Use CSV for annotation and measurement lists. A drawing-and-photo issue report brings comments, photos and links to drawing locations together.

Editable PDF support varies by receiving application. Standard PDFs do not preserve every app-specific measurement property or photo relationship. Complete migration of proprietary third-party tool sets and approval workflows is not verified.

Preview the generated PDF, then use the system share sheet to choose a destination. Original-file export returns complete source files. A single-drawing .tdm package contains that drawing and its full editable data; it is not trimmed to the selected PDF page range.

Wi-Fi upload and drawing groups

Use the Import, Workspace and Export / Backup tabs. Choose a drawing group before importing, create or rename groups, move drawings and view all or ungrouped files. Group and full-library backups retain the corresponding drawings.

In Import, open Start Web Upload. On another device on the same trusted network, visit the displayed http://IP:port address and send PDF, JPEG, PNG or .tdm files, up to 200 MB per file. Keep the receiving popup open and the app in the foreground; closing it or entering the background stops reception.

Hiding, locking and PDF layers

The annotation list adds Hide on Drawing and Lock switches. Hidden annotations remain in the list and exports. Locked annotations remain viewable and exportable but must be unlocked before editing, deleting or changing visibility. A page containing locked annotations cannot be deleted.

Editable PDFs preserve Visible and Hidden layers, with both shown when the exported file opens. Compatible readers can toggle layers. Flattened PDFs, PNG, report text and CSV include in-scope hidden annotations without switchable layers. Hiding is not redaction. Use .tdm to retain locking and complete photo and measurement data.

06 — Back up the work behind the PDF.

New drawing, group and full-library packages use .tdm. They retain originals, annotations, linked photos, calibration and page order. Import or restore older .toccobirdbackup files without renaming them.

Use Import Drawings to receive a .tdm package and continue editing with trial or Full Unlock access. Importing or restoring creates an independent copy and leaves existing records in place; copies do not sync automatically. Backups are not separately encrypted. A shared PDF does not replace a full backup.