One positive result of the Evernote acquisition of Skitch, the Mac-based image annotating and sharing application, is the launch of the free Skitch iPhone app that enables you to annotate and share images directly on your iPhone.

Skitch includes user-friendly annotation tools, integrates with Evernote, and any images you save on your iPhone will be available on your Android devices, iPad, and PCs.


Getting started

Skitch works best with Evernote, so you’ll need an Evernote account to really get the full Skitch experience.

Here’s how to get started.

  1. Download the Skitch app from the App Store
  2. Tap on Skitch to open the app
  3. There’s now full integration between Skitch and Evernote, so you have the option to login or create a new Evernote account. Your Skitch Notes appear similar to Figure A.

    4. Figure A

    Screenshot of Skitch Notes.
  4. Tap the plus sign [+] from the Skitch Notes window to open the New Skitch screen (Figure B)

    5. Figure B

    Example of a New Skitch screen.

Take a photo

Skitch enables you to annotate photos that you shoot from your iPhone.

Follow these steps to take a photo for editing later in Skitch.

  1. From the New Skitch screen, tap Take a Photo
  2. After you take the photo, tap Use to send the photo to Skitch
  3. Tap OK to answer the permissions dialog that appears (Figure C)
  4. When you tap OK, and then tap Save, Skitch will save the photo to your Skitch notes

Figure C

Skitch requests access to your photos

Choose a photo

Skitch also enables you to edit photos that you already have in your iPhone camera roll.

To choose a photo:

  1. Tap Choose a Photo, and the Photos screen will appear with your iPhone camera roll (Figure D)

    2. Figure D

    The Photos screen.
  2. Tap Camera Roll to see thumbnails of the pictures in your iPhone
  3. When you tap the thumbnail of the photo that you want to send to Skitch, the picture will appear full screen (Figure E)

    4. Figure E

    A photo in Skitch.
  4. Tap the red arrow to bring up annotation tools (Figure F), including arrows, squares, and a text tool. Simply tap on any of these tools, and then tap on the image to begin annotating.
  5. Tap Save to save the photo to Skitch

    6. Figure F

    Annotation tools are available in Skitch.

Draw on a map

You can annotate a map on your iPhone just like an image.

To draw on a map:

  1. From the New Skitch screen, tap Draw on Map (Figure G)

    2. Figure G

    Skitch Draw on Map screen.
  2. Tap Snap on the lower right-hand corner of the screen (not shown in the image above)
  3. Optionally, tap the red arrow to bring up image editing tools and begin annotating the image prior to saving it to Skitch (the annotated map will appears in your Skitch Notes)
  4. Tap the Action button and either Create Public Link, Email, or send the map as an image to your camera roll
  5. Tap Save, and the map will appear in your Skitch Notes

Start with a blank image

Skitch also lets you start with a blank image.

To start with a blank image:

  1. From the New Skitch screen, tap Start with Blank (Figure H)

    2. Figure H

    Skitch enables you to start with a blank screen.
  2. Tap the red arrow to bring up image editing tools and begin annotating the blank image (the image will appear in your Skitch Notes)
  3. Tap the Action button and either Create Public Link, Email, or send the image to your camera roll
  4. Tap Save, and the image will appear in your Skitch Notes

Use Skitch as a screen capture app

If you hold the power and home buttons at the same time, your screen capture will appear in the photo roll, ready for annotation. Additionally, you can capture a screen from the web.

  1. When you tap Capture from Web, a web browser will open
  2. Type in the URL of the web page you want to capture (Figure I)

    3. Figure I

    A web page in the Skitch browser.
  3. Tap Snap
  4. Optionally, tap the red arrow to bring up image editing tools and begin annotating the image prior to saving it to Skitch
  5. Tap Save to save the web capture to your Skitch Notes

Work with settings

The Skitch settings will look familiar to any Evernote for iOS user. Follow these steps to access and work with Skitch settings.

  1. Tap the Shield icon (top right corner of the New Skitch screen)
  2. From the Skitch screen, you can change the following options:
    • When you tap Skitch in the Notebook field, your Evernote Notebooks screen will appears, where you can select a new notebook to place your Skitch images
    • Slide Sync on WiFi to On if you only want to sync Skitch images with your Evernote account in the cloud
    • For Sharing, you can slide Facebook and/or Twitter to On to share your Skitch images with those social networks
  3. Tap Sign Out to exit Skitch and your Evernote account

Mobile annotation with Skitch

Skitch on the iPhone is a quick and dirty annotation tool that’s handy for a variety of uses, especially if you use your iPhone and Evernote for note-taking. Have you tried Skitch or another note-taking application for your iPhone? Share your experience in the discussion thread below.