Help

Answers to the questions people ask about Tilepane, roughly in the order they come up.

What is Tilepane?

An iPad app for drawing seamless repeating patterns. You draw on one square tile with Apple Pencil or a finger; anything that crosses an edge comes back in on the opposite edge, the repeat updates live beside you, and when the tile is ready you export a file at the size and dpi you need.

How does the wrap-around work?

It is on for everything, not just live strokes. Draw off the right edge and the line continues from the left. Move, duplicate, scale, rotate or paste a motif over a corner, or drop in a PNG, and it keeps wrapping on all four sides. Nothing is clipped at the tile border. Turn on Wrap guides above the canvas to see where the edges meet.

How do I see the repeat and check the seams?

Open the Tile tab. Full drop and half drop are free; brick, mirror, diamond and ogee come with Pro. The ruler shows the repeat in inches, and Offset ½ moves the tile window half a repeat so the old corners sit in the middle. Switch on Seam heat and any edge that does not line up is marked in red. Before a print-size export, Tilepane checks the seams again at the final size and tells you if an edge still does not match, so you can export anyway or go and fix it.

How do I make colorways?

Open the Color tab and swap the colors in the palette; the tile is recolored on the spot and the original stays in the first slot. The free plan includes 1 palette and 1 colorway preview. With Pro you can make as many colorways as you like and save them as a family, which then appears in Collections.

How do I bring in a motif from another app?

On the canvas, import a PNG from Photos or Files, or drag a PNG in from another app. Imported images wrap across edges just like strokes. Apple’s system pickers hand Tilepane only the picture you choose, so no photo library access is requested.

How do I export, and what can I export?

Open the tile and go to the Export tab. Free: a 1500 px PNG, a phone wallpaper, one mockup scene, dragging the tile out as a 1500 px PNG, and a process replay video of your tile being drawn. Pro adds print sizes — fabric repeats at 8, 12 and 24 in at 150 dpi, digital paper at 12 × 12 in and 300 dpi, or a custom size — TIFF and PDF, the full set of mockup scenes and a one-page spec sheet for your printer. You can export with a transparent background or keep the paper color. The pixel size, inches and dpi are written into the file, so it says exactly what it is.

Can I share my exports, and where do they go?

Every export opens the system share sheet: save it to Files or to Photos, AirDrop it, or send it to another app. The file goes only where you send it; Tilepane uploads nothing. What you draw is yours to print and sell. The three rules for exports are in Settings and in the Terms of Use.

Tilepane asked to add to Photos. What if I said no?

That permission only lets Tilepane add the image you chose to save; it can never read your photos. If you declined, every other export still works — pick Save to Files or share the file instead. To change your answer, open the Settings app, find Tilepane (under Apps on iPadOS 18 and later), tap Photos and choose Add Photos Only.

Do I need to save? Where are my tiles?

There is no save button: Tilepane saves your tile on this iPad as you draw. Your tiles stay only on this iPad unless you turn on Encrypted backup (Pro), which keeps a copy in your own iCloud Drive — there is no account and no copy on any server of ours. The free plan keeps 3 tiles; to make room, export a tile and then delete it from the tile menu (tap the tile’s name in the editor).

How do I turn on iCloud backup?

Backup comes with Pro and is off until you switch it on. Open Tilepane’s Settings and turn on Encrypted backup. You need to be signed in to iCloud with iCloud Drive on. The first backup starts right away; after that, Tilepane backs up whatever changed each time you leave the app, and the card shows the time of the last backup. The copy is encrypted on this iPad before it goes into your own iCloud Drive; version history stays on this iPad and is not part of the backup.

How do I restore a backup? Does it replace what is on this iPad?

In Tilepane’s Settings, tap Restore on the backup card and confirm. Restoring merges: tiles from the backup are added to this iPad, and when the same tile exists in both places, the newer copy wins. Nothing already on this iPad is deleted. Restore still works after Pro ends, as long as a backup exists.

I have a new iPad. How do I bring my tiles over?

You need a backup made on the old iPad. On the new one, sign in with the same Apple Account, make sure iCloud Drive and iCloud Keychain are on (the backup key travels in your iCloud Keychain), install Tilepane, tap Restore purchases in Settings, then tap Restore on the backup card in Settings. Without a backup, the tiles exist only on the old iPad; exported files move like any other file.

Can I turn on backup on two iPads?

Keep backup on for only one iPad at a time. iPads signed in to the same Apple Account write to the same backup in your iCloud Drive, so each would overwrite the other’s changes and the backup could end up missing tiles. When you move to a new iPad, turn backup off on the old one before you turn it on on the new one.

How do I delete my backup?

In Tilepane’s Settings, tap Delete backup… on the backup card and confirm. This deletes the encrypted backup in your iCloud Drive and turns backup off; the tiles on this iPad are not affected. The row appears only when a backup exists, and it works with or without Pro. If you have already deleted the app, open the iPadOS Settings app → your name (Apple Account) → iCloud → Manage Account Storage → Tilepane, and delete its data.

Backup or restore didn’t work. Why?

• “Sign in to iCloud” — this iPad is not signed in to iCloud, or iCloud Drive is off. Turn them on in the Settings app, then try again.
• “There is no backup on this Apple Account yet” — you are signed in with a different Apple Account, backup was never turned on, or the backup from the old iPad has not finished syncing yet. Check the account, give iCloud a few minutes, and try again.
• “The last backup did not finish” — the connection dropped, your iCloud storage is full, or on a new iPad the key has not arrived through iCloud Keychain yet. Nothing was lost; free up space or wait a moment and tap Try again.

What is free, and what does Pro cost?

Free: the full wrap-around drawing engine; 3 tiles and 3 layers per tile; full-drop and half-drop previews, 5x5; seam check; 1 palette and 1 colorway preview; 1500 px PNG and phone wallpaper export, no watermark; 1 starter motif pack, this week's free pick, and 1 mockup scene. There are no ads. Pro is Monthly US$5.99, Yearly US$24.99 with a 7-day free trial for eligible new subscribers, or Lifetime US$59.99 paid once. The App Store shows the price in your currency before you confirm.

How do I cancel a subscription?

Open the Settings app → your name → Subscriptions and cancel Tilepane Pro, or tap your Pro plan in Tilepane’s Settings to get there. Cancel at least 24 hours before the trial or the current period ends to avoid the next charge. Pro stays on until the end of the period you paid for. Lifetime is not a subscription, so there is nothing to cancel. Refunds are handled by Apple through Report a Problem.

How do I restore a purchase?

Sign in with the same Apple Account and tap Restore on the Pro screen or Restore purchases in Tilepane’s Settings. Pro also turns on for family members when you use Family Sharing.

Is there a widget?

Yes. Add This week’s pick to your Home Screen in the small or medium size; it shows the current motif pack and opens it in the Library when you tap it.

How do I change the language?

Tilepane speaks English, 简体中文, Español, Français, Português (Brasil) and 日本語. It follows your iPad’s language; to pick another one just for Tilepane, open Tilepane’s Settings and choose it under Language.

How do I get in touch?

Write to Fuuqiu@gmail.com. One person makes Tilepane, and that person reads the mail.