Files, iCloud and importing STEP
Each design is one .fillet file that you keep where you like: on your iPad, in iCloud Drive or in any folder in Files. There's no account and no library to manage, and Fillet saves as you work.
Start a new design
Fillet opens on its launch screen, with a card for starting something new.
- Open Fillet.
- Tap New Design.
You get an empty design called Untitled, ready to sketch. It’s saved in On My iPad › Fillet until you move it. On the Mac, choose File › New or press ⌘CmdN.
Open a design
Under the card is the same file browser the Files app uses, so iCloud Drive and all your folders are in it.
- Tap Recents for the designs you opened lately, or Browse to go to any folder.
- Tap a design to open it.
To get back to your files, tap the back arrow at the top left of the design. Tapping a .fillet file in the Files app opens it in Fillet too.
- Choose File › Open… or press ⌘CmdO. Recent designs are under File › Open Recent.
- Select the design and click Open.
Double-clicking a .fillet file in the Finder works too. Each design opens in its own window.
Rename, duplicate or move a design
The title at the top of the window is the file’s name. Rename the file and the title follows.
To rename the design you have open:
- Tap its name at the top left.
- Tap Rename, type the new name and tap return.
To duplicate or move a design, or rename one that isn’t open:
- Tap the back arrow to close the design.
- Touch and hold the design in the browser.
- Choose Duplicate, Rename or Move.
Duplicate puts a copy, named with a number, next to the original. Move asks where the design should go: see the next section.
Delete is at the bottom of the same menu. A deleted design goes to Recently Deleted in the Files app, where you can still get it back.
- Click the name in the window’s title bar.
- Type a new name, or choose a new folder from Where.
The File menu has the same commands: File › Rename…, File › Move To… and File › Duplicate, which is ⇧Shift⌘CmdS.
Choose where designs live
A design is an ordinary file, so it can live anywhere the Files app reaches.
- On My iPad › Fillet is Fillet’s own folder. Designs there stay on this iPad.
- iCloud Drive puts a design on all your devices, your Mac included.
- Any other place in Files works too, such as a shared folder or a folder from another storage app.
To move a design there:
- Touch and hold the design in the browser, and choose Move.
- Tap iCloud Drive, or another place, and open the folder you want.
- Tap Move at the top right. It stays grey until you’re in a different folder.
Fillet has no account and no project database. It never needs a network to open, edit or save a design.
Saving and undo
There’s no Save button on iPad. Fillet saves the design as you work, and again when you close it or leave the app.
Undo takes back anything you did since you opened the design. Closing the design clears the undo history, but not your work: every step stays on the timeline, and you can still change any of them.
On the Mac, a new design asks for a name and a folder the first time you save it with ⌘CmdS or close it. After that it saves by itself.
What a design file keeps
Everything that makes the part is in the .fillet file. Open it on another device and you get the same part, for the same printer.
| Saved in the design | Not saved |
|---|---|
| Every step on the timeline, and where the caliper sits | The camera view and zoom |
| Parameters and their values | What’s selected |
| The printer that Print check uses | Section view and Measure |
| Body colours, and which bodies are hidden | Visual style, which is an app setting |
| Imported STEP shapes |
The file is plain JSON, which is why the browser shows lines of text as its preview. If Fillet says a design “was saved by a newer version of Fillet”, update Fillet to open it.
Import a STEP file
A STEP file (.step or .stp) from another CAD app comes in as a solid body you can build on.
- Open the design you want to add it to.
- Tap Import in the tool strip.
- Find the STEP file and tap it.
Fillet adds a step named after the file to the timeline, and a body to the Bodies list. Sketch on its faces, cut it or fillet its edges, as with any other body. On the Mac, choose Design › Import STEP… or press ⇧Shift⌘CmdI.
The shape is copied into the design, so changing or deleting the STEP file later doesn’t change your design. To bring in a newer version, import it again.
Keep Fillet up to date on the Mac
Fillet on the Mac updates itself from its releases on GitHub. It checks once a day, and Fillet › Check for Updates… checks now.
- When there’s a new version, an orange Update button shows in the window’s toolbar. Click it.
- Click Install Update.
- Click Relaunch Now, or keep working: the update installs when you quit Fillet.
To stop the daily check, turn off Check for updates automatically in the update window. Checking for updates is the only time Fillet goes online.
Questions
- Do I need an account?
- No. Fillet never asks you to sign in, and your designs stay on your devices unless you put them in iCloud Drive.
- Why is there no Fillet folder in iCloud Drive?
- Fillet doesn’t make one for you. Make a folder in iCloud Drive and move your designs into it.
- Can I read a .fillet file?
- Yes. It’s JSON: the steps, parameters and printer, in order. Editing it by hand can break the design, so work on a copy.
- Where are the Acknowledgements?
- They list the open-source software inside Fillet, with its licences. On iPad, tap Acknowledgements on the launch screen. On the Mac, choose Fillet › Acknowledgements.