Concepts File Viewer - Web App

Viewing Concepts Files in Your Browser

The simplest user interface ever. I'll add
more features as time goes on.
The app is usable here: https://romangarms.com/concepts-file-viewer/ 

Concepts Drawings on Your iPad

I've always disliked taking notes with physical notebooks and pencils and pens. I really benefit from having my notes be super organized, but that would require carrying multiple notebooks (one for each class) and multiple drawing utensils in order to color code and organize my notes.

When COVID hit in 2020 and school became online, I used this as an opportunity to change my note-taking style. I was no longer required to use physical notebooks, or organize my notes a certain way, or whatever other criteria a teacher might have.

I downloaded Concepts, since the app looked appealing enough, and everything I needed could be done in a single payment, as opposed to subscription.

One Thing at a Time

Fast-forward a few years, and I'm using this app more than ever. Taking notes on a computer or iPad is entirely the norm in college, so I stuck with my system. But as I used this app more and more, I ran into more and more limitations.

These limitations were reasonable, but they got in the way of my use case. There was no way to open multiple Concepts files at once, so I couldn't open a digital homework assignment and my notes at the same time. If I wanted to view my notes and do homework on the iPad, I would have to export my notes to some more annoying format (PDF), airdrop them to my laptop, and the re-open the homework assignment on my iPad.

This *worked*, but was tedious and would be really frustrating if I wound up modifying my notes on the iPad later, because I'd have to re-export them.

Concepts Drawings on Your Computer

Previewing the Concepts drawing I used
to explain my WhereHaveIBeen project
A while back, Concepts added iCloud file syncing for projects. I was pretty excited for this, since it would mean my Concepts files would be available on my Mac. I downloaded the update, and check it out! My Concepts files really were right there. They even had a little file preview!

But when I click on a file, my laptop didn't know what to open it with. This makes sense I suppose, it is a proprietary file format. I tried side-loading the iPad Concepts app onto my MacBook, but I couldn't manage to get it logged in to iCloud, and dragging and dropping the files didn't work either. So close, yet so far.

Reverse-Engineering the File Format

As it turns out, the .concept files were really just .zip files with a funny name. If you unzip the actual drawing file, you can see the structure quite easily:
  • Drawing.plist
  • metadata.plist
  • Resources.plist
  • Strokes.plist
  • Thumb.jpg
And sometimes a few extra files depending on what you did in that drawing. Once you start poking around, the structure becomes more and more apparent. The Strokes.plist file contains the vast majority of the drawing data, being coordinates for each point in a drawing stroke. Resources.plist contains extra info about things like imported images, PDF files, etc. metadata.plist is what it says it is. Drawing.plist contains any other drawing settings you might need to know.

View That File in Your Browser!

As of right now, the app is fairly barebones. If you're looking to examine your best sketches, some pens and other drawing tools have not been fully replicated. Notably, things like the dotted-line tool, custom backgrounds, canvas rotation, and a few others are missing. I'll get around to it.

If you're using a Mac, your Concepts drawings can be stored in iCloud, which you can access through Finder on your computer. If you're on Windows, you can sync iCloud drive to File Explorer as well! Though I haven't tested that out as much.

But for now, you can view your notes easily, which is what the real goal of this project was. Check it out at https://romangarms.com/concepts-file-viewer/ 

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