Download Concepts for PC

Concepts is a vector sketchpad from TopHatch built on an infinite canvas: pencils, pens and brushes answer to pressure, tilt and speed, and every stroke stays editable afterwards through the Nudge, Slice and Select tools. Architects, storyboard artists and product designers use it for drawings that get reworked twenty times before anyone signs off. On a computer the route that keeps that drawing engine intact is TopHatch's own Windows app from the Microsoft Store, best on a pen-enabled machine. Mac owners have no native build to install, so they draw on an iPad and reach the files through iCloud Drive.

Why the Windows build of Concepts earns desk time

The first gain is a second hand on the keyboard. Concepts on Windows carries a set of keyboard shortcuts that you can find and change in the Interactions section of Settings: the Spacebar switches to Pan Mode and switches back to your previous tool, S enters Zoom Mode where dragging right or up zooms in, and R rotates the canvas, a selection or an active guide. Ctrl + Shift + S is Save As. Shift + . raises tool opacity, Alt + . raises tool smoothing, and the mouse scroll wheel zooms the canvas or scales a selection. On a tablet those adjustments mean putting the pen down and reaching into a menu.

The second is proximity to the rest of the work. Concepts is an ideation tool, and the sketch usually has to leave for something else: a CAD drawing, a layout, a slide. With Essentials or a subscription, Concepts exports PNG, PSD, SVG and DXF as well as PDF, and on Windows those files land straight in a folder next to the project they belong to. Reference material travels the other way just as fast, since images can be dragged onto the canvas from a desktop window and traced or measured against.

Third, storage and screen work in your favour. Sketch files grow as layers and imported photos pile up, and a laptop disk absorbs that better than a phone. A 13-inch or larger pen display also shows more of a floor plan or storyboard row at a working zoom level, which cuts down the panning that infinite canvases invite.

Where Concepts actually runs when you sit at a desk

Windows is the one desktop platform with a real Concepts application. TopHatch publishes it free in the Microsoft Store, and the listing describes it as optimized for touchscreen and pen-enabled devices, including Intel and ARM64-based systems, so both older Surface hardware and newer ARM laptops are covered.

macOS has no native version. TopHatch describes a native Mac app as a goal it is working toward, and says the first step was iCloud Drive sync, introduced in Concepts 6.12, which lets a drawing be opened and edited across Apple devices. For now that is the Mac answer: the iPad app does the drawing, and the Mac sees the files.

There is also no browser version. TopHatch lists Concepts in the App Store, the Play Store and the Microsoft Store, and nowhere else. That leaves the Android package running inside an emulator as the remaining idea, and for this particular app it is a weak one. Concepts is built around brushes that read pressure, tilt and velocity; an emulator hands the app plain mouse or tablet clicks, so the behaviour you install it for is the first thing to disappear. Since the Windows app is free and native, the emulator route mainly makes sense for someone who has to see the Android build itself. On a Chromebook the situation is different again: the Android release is tuned for ChromeOS and runs there without any of that translation.

How the desktop version differs from the phone app

What you gain, beyond shortcuts, is desktop file handling: Save As, exports written where you choose, and a configurable right mouse button alongside stylus shortcut buttons and eraser ends in Settings. What you lose is measured by TopHatch's own comparison page, which still footnotes several items as iOS-only, custom brushes, object libraries and the automatic Presentation Mode among them, and describes platform parity between iOS, Windows, Android and ChromeOS as work in progress.

File compatibility is the sharpest edge. The vendor states that the file format used on iOS is not yet compatible with the Windows and Android format. Drawings move freely between Windows, Android and ChromeOS, but an iPad drawing cannot simply be opened on the PC; it has to travel as an export.

Accounts behave in two layers. A monthly or yearly subscription unlocks Pro features on iOS, Windows, Android and ChromeOS, and it follows a free Concepts account: you sign in through the profile icon on each device and the license appears. One-time purchases such as Essentials or a brush pack are platform-specific and sync only through the same Apple or Google store account, so an Essentials unlock bought on a phone does not appear on Windows. Drawing files, importantly, do not sync with the Concepts account at all. TopHatch says drawing-level cloud syncing is still in development, and notes that Concepts for Windows can be configured to use cloud syncing solutions already installed on the machine.

What the PC needs

Concepts for Windows arrives through the Microsoft Store, which handles installation and updates, and it has been a Store app since TopHatch's first Windows release in August 2018; the vendor's own Windows manual is written for Windows 10. Both Intel and ARM64 systems are supported per the Store listing. TopHatch does not publish a RAM or disk-space figure on its download pages, and points instead to its Features page for current minimum requirements, so the requirements panel on the Store listing is the thing to read on the machine you plan to install on.

Pen support is narrower than the hardware market. The vendor's Windows manual states that pressure and tilt work with the Surface Pen, and that other styli and touchscreens are not officially supported although they may work anyway. Concepts is usable with a mouse for vector editing and precision work, but pressure-sensitive strokes need a pen the system reports pressure for.

Things that break, and the fix

Subscribed on the phone, no Pro tools on the PC. Open Concepts on the device where the purchase was made, tap the profile icon and create a free Concepts account. Then open Concepts on the PC, tap the profile icon, sign in with the same account, and the subscription syncs.

Essentials bought on Android or iOS is missing on Windows. That is by design: one-time purchases are tied to the platform they were bought on. Either buy Essentials again in the Windows Pro Shop or move to a subscription, which is the only option that covers all four platforms.

An iPad drawing will not open on Windows. The formats differ. Export the drawing from the iPad as PDF, PNG, SVG or DXF, then import that file into the Windows canvas as a reference layer and rebuild only what needs to be editable.

Drawings absent on a second computer. Signing in does not carry artwork. Keep the Concepts drawing folder inside a cloud-sync folder that Windows already syncs, and open the file from there on the other machine.

Strokes look flat, with no pressure or tilt response. Check that Windows itself reports pressure for the stylus, then open Settings, go to Interactions, and set the stylus shortcut button, eraser end and right mouse button actions. A stylus outside TopHatch's supported list may draw without ever passing pressure through.

FAQ

Is there a Concepts app for Mac?

Not yet. TopHatch says a native macOS version is a goal it is working toward, and that iCloud Drive sync, added in Concepts 6.12, was the first step, letting drawings be opened and edited across Apple devices. On a Mac today the practical setup is an iPad for drawing and iCloud Drive for reaching the files.

Does the Windows version of Concepts cost anything?

Concepts is free to install from the Microsoft Store. The free tier includes the infinite canvas, a starter set of tools and papers, the COPIC spectrum with RGB and HSL wheels, five layers and JPG exports. Selection and editing tools, infinite layers, shape guides, custom grids and PNG, PSD, SVG and DXF exports come with the Essentials purchase or a subscription.

Will my subscription work on both my PC and my phone?

Yes. A monthly or yearly subscription unlocks Pro features on iOS, Windows, Android and ChromeOS. Create a free Concepts account on the device where you bought it through the profile icon, then sign in with the same account on the PC. One-time purchases do not travel that way; they stay on the platform where they were bought.

Can I open my iPad sketches in Concepts on Windows?

Not as editable drawings. TopHatch states the iOS file format is not yet compatible with the Windows and Android format. Export from iOS as PDF, PNG, SVG or DXF and bring that into the Windows canvas. Files do move directly between Windows, Android and ChromeOS.

Do my Concepts drawings sync between devices automatically?

No. Drawing files do not sync with a Concepts account, and TopHatch describes drawing-level cloud syncing as still in development. Concepts for Windows can be pointed at a cloud syncing solution already installed on the PC, which is the workaround for now.