iOS 11 with SketchBook Pro 2.x (S logo) & SketchBookX

[david.lau]

1. Please do NOT upgrade to iOS 11 until you have backed up all your sketches.

https://www.sketchbook.com/help/knowledge-base/transfer-legacy-data-files/

iOS 11 is a 64-bit ONLY operating system that runs on A7 processors or higher. This means that if you upgrade to iOS 11, you won't be able to run SketchBook Pro (S logo) or SketchBook Express (SketchBookX) and your files will be lost.

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-ios-11-32-bit-apps-compatibility-2017-8

2. Here are two solutions for now:

a. Stay on iOS 10.x (you can still use the app(s) and access your files)

b. Upgrade to a newer version of SketchBook (before doing this, please backup our files)

3. Files on iCloud (2.x)

a. Download the latest version of Desktop app (mac or win)
b. Open the files from iCloud and Save As (rename the files) - Save As Tiff
c. Run the latest mobile version (v4.x) and you are able to open the files again.

4. Upgrade info:

• SketchBook Pro 2.x to SketchBook 3.x is a paid update
• SketchBook Pro 2.x to SketchBook 4.x is a paid update
• SketchBook 3.x to SketchBook 4.x is a free update

5. SketchBookX Users:

The free version of SketchBook (iOS/Android) has a similar feature set as SketchBookX.

6. Revert back to iOS 10 Solution

If you have backed up your device before upgrading to iOS 11, you may try to revert back by following the steps here:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204184

7. Contact Support

https://support.sketchbook.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=149598

8. Update on 02-08-2018 07:42 AM via David Lau/Jochen S

To get your Sketches in SketchBook Pro (S logo) 2.9 back:

a. Do NOT delete your SketchBook Pro (S logo) from your iPad.  If you delete the app, you will delete ALL your sketches on the iPad.

b. Connect iPad to a desktop computer and back your iPad to the desktop computer.

c.  Use iExplorer to navigate the backup.

https://macroplant.com/iexplorer/tutorials/how-to-browse-backups-on-iphone

d.  There are png files that is a preview of your sketch in the SketchBook folder.

e. There are .data files.  This can be opened with GIMP.

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/31868307/open-data-files-as-greyscale-images-in-gimp

This file structure I get from iExplorer when extracting the sketchbook data from my iPad backup is noted below:

com.autodesk.SketchBookPro/Library/Preferences/SBIP: 
-rw-r--r-- 1 YOURNAME staff 639420 21 Aug 2015 2015-08-21 06_57_28 +0000.png 
-rw-r--r-- 1 YOURNAME staff 4194336 21 Aug 2015 2015-08-21 06_57_28 +0000_0.data 

[Anonymous]

Hi - I have the same situatio.  I have already upgraded to ios 11 and have unbacked up files.  

Also how do i get the newer version of sketchbook onios 11 and can i edit prior files with it?  

Pls advise how these can be recovered from the ipad.  I suggest you post this solution publicly as it would seema lot of people are in the same boat.  

---

@Anonymous wrote:

I find this whole situation pretty poor. I can’t believe I can no longer use an app I paid good money for but you are happy to charge me $30 a year for a subscription. Not only I can not use the app, I not even access my drawings and worse still they are just “gone”?! Seriously?! Really poor show. 

---

[Anonymous]

Hi - I have the same situation.  I have already upgraded to ios 11 and have unbacked up files.  

Also how do i get the newer version of sketchbook onios 11 and can i edit prior files with it?  

Pls advise how these can be recovered from the ipad.  I suggest you post this solution publicly as it would seema lot of people are in the same boat.  

---

@Anonymous wrote:

I find this whole situation pretty poor. I can’t believe I can no longer use an app I paid good money for but you are happy to charge me $30 a year for a subscription. Not only I can not use the app, I not even access my drawings and worse still they are just “gone”?! Seriously?! Really poor show. 

---

[Anonymous]

I have the same issue ie have updated to ios 11 with some unbacked up sketches. Could you pls advise how i can recover these frommy iPad? Also what is the app to download for the new ios 11 and how do i use my prior backed up files to edit?

[Anonymous]

This is totally unacceptable. I cannot elusive that Autodesk would do this to their customers. I had a PAID version of Sketchbook Pro and NUMEROUS drawings on my iPad. Now I can’t access them? They are gone? If his is true I will never ever use another Autodesk product. I am so upset. I LOVED Sketchbook Pro. Please tell me there is a way to save my images. I did not do a backup before updating to iOS 11 but I do have “backup to iCloud”turned on.

[Anonymous]

Should say “cannot believe....”

[Anonymous]

Bleep bleep bleep bleep bleep bleep! Thanks Autodesk!

almost laughable, I chose this app (from a 'reputable' company) exactly because I didn't want something like this happening!

Better off with smaller developers who have a conscience rather than a large one who will stonewall its customers

Sooooooo annoyed

[Anonymous]

It is completely unacceptable that an issue like an update of the os that makes you loose all the sketches is not properly notified.

one assumes that if an app is payed there should be some sort of support. I’ve been happily using sketchbook pro for years now, and now for an os (not even the app) update I loose all my sketches.

it is jaw dropping.

and now what is the solution?

none apparently!

i cannot even use the app for which I paid for, this is nonsense.

[Anonymous]

It is completely unacceptable that an issue like an update of the os that makes you loose all the sketches is not properly notified.
one assumes that if an app is payed there should be some sort of support. I’ve been happily using sketchbook pro for years now, and now for an os (not even the app) update I loose all my sketches.
it is jaw dropping.
and now what is the solution?
none apparently!
i cannot even use the app for which I paid for, this is nonsense.

[Anonymous]

This would be a great topic for the Reddit community. If they've done it once, they'll do it again. My concern is for the current people/artists who are unwittingly purchasing Autodesk products.

[Anonymous]

Well guys I think David disappeared after all those comments. We all want our money back. Any developer can update his app to be compatible with 64 bit. What they mention here is unacceptable. Why we should pay twice for the same app?

[Anonymous]

Yeah, they really don’t much care about our concerns. I’ve lost so much work that it’s devastating. I’m looking into alternatives. I had always thought Autodesk to be a good brand.

Kathryn

[Anonymous]

Hi guys,

Look what David reply to my Email request:

David Lau - SketchBook Support & QA Guru (Sketchbook)
Feb 7, 17:34 PST

We have put it on sale TODAY. It is only .99 cents.

Funny answer from big company. They are poor. They don’t have money. Please guys pay for them. 

I want my money back and I don’t want this app anymore. 

[david.lau]

SketchBook Pro (S Logo) last released was in early 2014.  It has been updated and changed to the Subscription/IN-APP purchase model in October 2014 and renamed SketchBook (Pencil Logo).

SketchBook 3.0 came out in October 2014, we have offered a free upgrade to 4.x users when it was released on iOS and Android.  We changed the upgrade policy since then.  The biggest issue has been the update to iOS 11,  Apple will constantly ask you to update and that will break all 32 bit applications on your device.

https://www.sketchbook.com/blog/sketchbook-4-0-for-ios/

https://www.sketchbook.com/blog/sketchbook-for-android-4-0-a-monster-upgrade/

In the short term, we have now lowered our price of the IN-APP purchase from $4.99 to 99 cents.

[Anonymous]

what about the files we’ve lost without previous notice?

[david.lau · Accepted solution]

I have not tested this out but I was able to confirm from a user (Jochen S) that it should work....

1. Do NOT delete your SketchBook Pro (S logo) from your iPad.  If you delete the app, you will delete ALL your sketches on the iPad.

2. Connect iPad to a desktop computer and back your iPad to the desktop computer.

3.  Use iExplorer to navigate the backup.

https://macroplant.com/iexplorer/tutorials/how-to-browse-backups-on-iphone

4.  There are png files that is a preview of your sketch in the SketchBook folder.

5. There are .data files.  This can be opened with GIMP.

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/31868307/open-data-files-as-greyscale-images-in-gimp

This file structure I get from iExplorer when extracting the sketchbook data from my iPad backup is noted below:

com.autodesk.SketchBookPro/Library/Preferences/SBIP: 
-rw-r--r-- 1 YOURNAME staff 639420 21 Aug 2015 2015-08-21 06_57_28 +0000.png 
-rw-r--r-- 1 YOURNAME staff 4194336 21 Aug 2015 2015-08-21 06_57_28 +0000_0.data 

[Anonymous]

Yes, but you require a subscription now.  I bought the $.99 version but it is a trial.  I have to have an annual license fee now?

But the worst problem is the loss of ALL of my artwork.  I do not see you responding with a fix to help us retrieve our artwork?

Please find a solution.  Why would anyone purchase an annual license and invest hundreds of hours using your app if we risk losing our work next time Apple does an update and Autodesk does nothing to protect its customers?

[Anonymous]

Frustrating! what's the point of trying to recover what was done ifI won't have the same tools I had on the Pro version... I was in the middle of a project and won't be able to keep doing it from where I was... unbelievable!!!!

[Anonymous]

You could at least save them in an accessible format.

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

Hi all,

as David Lau already announced I was able to recover my sketches using iExplorer (https://macroplant.com/iexplorer) and GIMP (https://www.gimp.org).

The first step was to extract the SketchBook data from the IOS device backup made with iTunes. The demo version of iExplorer should be sufficient. In Backup Explorer->App search for SketchBook. There should be a com.autodesk.SketchBookPro folder with the following structure:

com.autodesk.SketchBookPro

|____Documents

|____Library
| |____Application Support

| |____FlurryFiles

| |____Preferences
| | |____com.autodesk.SketchBookPro.plist
| | |____SBIP
| | | |____2015-08-21 06_57_28 +0000.png
| | | |____2015-08-21 06_57_28 +0000_0.data
| | | |____2015-08-21 06_57_28 +0000_1.data
...
| | | |____2015-08-21 06_57_28 +0000_8.data
| | | |____2015-08-21 06_57_28 +0000_9.data
| | | |____SketchBookProMobile.sql
| | | |____stashDB.sqlite3

The SketchBook layers are contained in the .data files named with a timestamp of the last save. The .png files contain an overview of the sketches but without layers and with reduced resolution. They are handy to deduce witch timestamp contains the desired sketch.

To import the layers in GIMP I did the following:

Open the <timestamp>_0.data file in GIMP. It is automatically recognized as raw data and a window with a preview area and some import parameters should open. Following 4 image parameters have to be given:

1. Image type: RGB with transparency, should be RGB Alpha, but I'm not sure about the english wording as I use a german GIMP version
2. Offset: 0
3. Width: see below
4. Height: Something big so GIMP will read all available lines

The hard part is to deduce the image width. Unfortunately all layers may have different sizes depending on their content. At least they all start in the upper left corner of the image. My first attempt was to deduce the image width by trial and error but finally I realized that the line width is stored in the .data files themselves. With Linux or MacOS open a bash terminal in the SPIB folder and issue the following command:

echo "Width    Filename"; for file in *.data; do lw=`tail -c 28 "$file" | hexdump -n2 -e '1/2 "%u"'`; echo "$lw    $file"; done

The output will look like:

Width    Filename

1024    2015-08-21 06_57_28 +0000_0.data
896    2015-08-21 06_57_28 +0000_1.data
...
768    2015-08-21 06_57_28 +0000_8.data
768    2015-08-21 06_57_28 +0000_9.data

The first column gives the image width for the raw data import dialog. This procedure must be repeated for all layers (0 to 9 in the above example). Then all layers have to be combined in one GIMP image (copy and paste as new layer) and can be saved in PSD format. This recovered sketch can be opened in other SketchBook versions, GIMP or Photoshop for further editing.

I hope this helps. Please share with us if it works for you. Feel free to ask if it doesn't.

Good luck

  Jochen

[Anonymous]

Thank you. I’m not able to find Sketchbook Pro in iBackup. Sketchbook is there, but not the older version. Any ideas?

Kathryn