Frequently-Asked Questions

Q. What are the system requirements of Sketchpad 5.1 BETA?

A. Sketchpad 5.1 works on Mac OS X 10.9 (Mavericks) and higher. Catalina is not required, but Sketchpad 5.1 is 64-bit compatible, so will work on Catalina and later operating systems. As of Beta Build 3044, Sketchpad 5.1 also supports Apple Silicon natively. (As a Universal Application, it will run natively on both Intel and Apple processors.)

Q. I get an error message about malicious content when trying to open the app. How do I proceed?

A. If you are running, or trying to run, Beta Build 3044 or later, this message should not appear. Please report it as a bug if you see it. Earlier Beta Builds—3042 and earlier—are not pre-scanned and pre-approved by Apple, and may run afoul of your current security settings. This is explained in more detail on Apple's site. You can avoid this by updating to the latest beta version at this site, or work around it either

• by authorizing the application immediately after failing to open it in System Preferences > Security & Privacy, under the General tab,
• or (at any time) by right-clicking (or Ctrl+clicking) the Sketchpad application and choosing "Open" from the pop-up Properties menu.

Granting Sketchpad a security exception only needs to be done once per build; after that you can launch it normally. Beta versions after 3042 are pre-scanned and pre-approved by Apple and so not subject to these problems.

Q. Will my current Sketchpad license work with the beta version?

A. The beta version does not depend on specific prior licenses to Sketchpad 5.0, and the beta test is open to all authorized Sketchpad users.