The most requested feature for Flatter Files since the launch of the service has been the ability to add annotations to your drawings while viewing the drawing. Today, I am very happy to announce the availability of annotations for iPhone, iPad and Android devices. Now whenever you are viewing a drawing, if you see a mistake or want to make an addition to a drawing, you can immediately add it directly to the pdf while viewing it. The annotated drawing is then uploaded to Flatter Files and is available for viewing. In addition, specific users within your company can receive an email notification when an annotation is created. This makes it quick and easy for viewers to add annotations that are easily accessible by the appropriate technical staff.
Annotations work slightly differently depending on whether you are using an iOS device (iPhone/iPad) or an Android device. For iOS devices, the updated application requires a one time in app purchase of $9.99 to enable the ability to create annotations. All other functionality remains free. Each user within your company that needs to create annotations will need to purchase this in app upgrade for their device. To purchase the upgrade, tap the new annotation button that is shown when viewing a drawing. A dialog will appear with the option to purchase the upgrade or restore a previous purchase. Once purchased, tapping this icon will display the annotation toolbar.
To create an annotation in the iOS application you simply add the annotations and then save the annotation to Flatter Files. This is shown in the video below using an iPad. The same functionality is available for the iPhone.
The annotation created in the video above is now available for viewing on all of your devices. In addition, an email can be configured to be sent to specific users notifying them that a user created the annotation. This provides a great way to facilitate potential changes directly from the viewers of the drawing to the appropriate engineering or design team for review. The first video below highlights how to view the annotation on the web application and the second video demonstrates how to view the same annotation on your android device.
Anyone within your company can create annotations but only users that are granted access can view the resulting annotations. This is simply a user setting that can easily be enabled for any users that need access.
Annotations can also be created on your Android device but it works slightly different than on the iOS application. The PDFs on Android are displayed using your device's default PDF viewer. If this PDF viewer includes the ability to add an annotation, then the resulting annotated PDF can easily be uploaded to Flatter Files. The added benefit to this method is that you can try out multiple PDF viewer and annotation tools from the Google Play store to find the one you prefer and use that in conjunction with Flatter Files to create the annotations. The video below shows how to create an annotation using Flatter Files and the free Adobe Reader Android app.
As you can see, creating annotations within Flatter Files is a powerful and easy way to mark up drawings in a complete paperless workflow. This results in quicker improvements to the design and improved communication between engineering, design and everyone else within your organization.
Annotations work slightly differently depending on whether you are using an iOS device (iPhone/iPad) or an Android device. For iOS devices, the updated application requires a one time in app purchase of $9.99 to enable the ability to create annotations. All other functionality remains free. Each user within your company that needs to create annotations will need to purchase this in app upgrade for their device. To purchase the upgrade, tap the new annotation button that is shown when viewing a drawing. A dialog will appear with the option to purchase the upgrade or restore a previous purchase. Once purchased, tapping this icon will display the annotation toolbar.
The annotation created in the video above is now available for viewing on all of your devices. In addition, an email can be configured to be sent to specific users notifying them that a user created the annotation. This provides a great way to facilitate potential changes directly from the viewers of the drawing to the appropriate engineering or design team for review. The first video below highlights how to view the annotation on the web application and the second video demonstrates how to view the same annotation on your android device.
Annotations can also be created on your Android device but it works slightly different than on the iOS application. The PDFs on Android are displayed using your device's default PDF viewer. If this PDF viewer includes the ability to add an annotation, then the resulting annotated PDF can easily be uploaded to Flatter Files. The added benefit to this method is that you can try out multiple PDF viewer and annotation tools from the Google Play store to find the one you prefer and use that in conjunction with Flatter Files to create the annotations. The video below shows how to create an annotation using Flatter Files and the free Adobe Reader Android app.
As you can see, creating annotations within Flatter Files is a powerful and easy way to mark up drawings in a complete paperless workflow. This results in quicker improvements to the design and improved communication between engineering, design and everyone else within your organization.