Skip to content
New issue

Have a question about this project? Sign up for a free GitHub account to open an issue and contact its maintainers and the community.

By clicking “Sign up for GitHub”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy statement. We’ll occasionally send you account related emails.

Already on GitHub? Sign in to your account

Can't open my files after iOS8 update #33

Open
tazzy01 opened this issue Sep 24, 2014 · 179 comments
Open

Can't open my files after iOS8 update #33

tazzy01 opened this issue Sep 24, 2014 · 179 comments

Comments

@tazzy01
Copy link

tazzy01 commented Sep 24, 2014

Can someone please help me? I've just updated my iPad to the latest release and now my Brushes app won't let me open any of my files! I have 3 works that are in progress.

I've tried to export the work in .brushes format and thought I could reinstall the app but it's just forever stuck on exporting and won't export .brush format. ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!

@marihilda
Copy link

When there is a fix please let me know too. By the way, any file that goes into the gallery--even new ones--won't reopen.

@diebenkorn
Copy link

Same problems please fix and notify. This is a great software I use and NEED it daily.
Please also notify if this is not fixable at all so I can act accordingly and move on.

@tazzy01
Copy link
Author

tazzy01 commented Sep 30, 2014

Same here guys, If anyone finds anything please let us know here. I spent hours searching for a solution but it seems right now there just isn't one. I deleted the app and reinstalled it and the same thing is happening.
Marihilda, your'e right even new files don't reopen :(
diebenkorn, I absolutely love this app and had been using it everywhere!

What i've had to do is just get an alternative, it's called Procreate https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/procreate-sketch-paint-create./id425073498?mt=8 . Yes it does cost a little but it's a good alternative with many more features. HOWEVER, I still prefer the brushes app and will wait for it.

@meredk
Copy link

meredk commented Oct 4, 2014

Same here. I deleted Brushes because I was so frustrated. There are lots of alternatives: Procreate is my fave.

@ausrussell
Copy link

Putting my name here in the strong hope I get news of an update and can express my gratitude to a developer for taking on the job! I love Brushes and and would love to carry on with it. Open source can rock!

@tougher
Copy link

tougher commented Oct 7, 2014

I've made a fix for iOS 8 (#34), but the author Steve Sprang needs to do the last part and submit an update to Apple. Hopefully he soon gets the time to do it :-)

@ausrussell
Copy link

I really appreciate you taking the time to do that tougher... and for letting us know. Given the widespread frustration with this Apple update I feel any wrath from Brushes users would be better directed there than here. I look forward to Mr Sprang finishing things off so I can finish the drawing of my wife. Cheers!

@marihilda
Copy link

Yes, tougher, I appreciate it too and indeed some wrath should be
aimed at Apple. This isn't the first time I've updated something and
run into trouble for sure. Isn't Brushes the app used by the fellow
who does New Yorker covers? I would have thought Apple would have paid
a bit of attention to how popular this app is and at least run a test.
Still I am frustrated by not hearing from the developers of Brushes
that they are working to fix it.

On Oct 7, 2014, at 4:58 PM, ausrussell wrote:

I really appreciate you taking the time to do that tougher... and
for letting us know. Given the widespread frustration with this
Apple update I feel any wrath from Brushes users would be better
directed there than here. I look forward to Mr Sprang finishing
things off so I can finish the drawing of my wife. Cheers!


Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub.

@diebenkorn
Copy link

İ wonder if the artist David Hockney is still using this programme? it was
him who got me into it in the first place. He cant be too pleased either.
Appreciate your efforts tougher. İ have tried procreate but it doesnt have
quite the same immediacy for me.
Lets hope Mr Sprang gets with the programme.

On Wed, Oct 8, 2014 at 12:22 AM, marihilda [email protected] wrote:

Yes, tougher, I appreciate it too and indeed some wrath should be
aimed at Apple. This isn't the first time I've updated something and
run into trouble for sure. Isn't Brushes the app used by the fellow
who does New Yorker covers? I would have thought Apple would have paid
a bit of attention to how popular this app is and at least run a test.
Still I am frustrated by not hearing from the developers of Brushes
that they are working to fix it.

On Oct 7, 2014, at 4:58 PM, ausrussell wrote:

I really appreciate you taking the time to do that tougher... and
for letting us know. Given the widespread frustration with this
Apple update I feel any wrath from Brushes users would be better
directed there than here. I look forward to Mr Sprang finishing
things off so I can finish the drawing of my wife. Cheers!


Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub.


Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub
#33 (comment).

Diana Page
Mobile: +90 5366765245
www.dianapage.co.za
http://dianapage.wordpress.com

@mn4367
Copy link

mn4367 commented Oct 8, 2014

@tougher, thanks very much for the fix! My girlfriend has the same problem as all the others here, she can no longer open her paintings on an iPad 3 running iOS 8. May I ask which version of XCode you have used? And do you know if the paintings would be deleted if I'd build and deploy it on her iPad?

Thanks in advance.

@tougher
Copy link

tougher commented Oct 9, 2014

To be fair it's not entirely Apple fault. A part of the meta data was incorrecly set to public.data instead for public.folder. Apple should not have allowed public.data when dealing with folders in the first place and they "fixed" it with the iOS 8 update.

@mn4367 I built it with Xcode 6. You should be able to backup/restore the app data with eg. iExplorer or similar program.

@marihilda
Copy link

I'm not sure what this means. Do we need to download something? I
don't know what iExplorer is. I'm sorry to ask but could someone
explain exactly what one is supposed to do?

Thank you in advance, Linda

On Oct 9, 2014, at 9:42 AM, tougher wrote:

To be fair it's not entirely Apple fault. A part of the meta data
was incorrecly set to public.data instead for public.folder. Apple
should not have allowed public.data when dealing with folders in the
first place and they "fixed" it with the iOS 8 update.

@mn4367 I built it with Xcode 6. You should be able to backup/
restore the app data with eg. iExplorer or similar program.


Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub.

@mn4367
Copy link

mn4367 commented Oct 9, 2014

@mn4367 I built it with Xcode 6. You should be able to backup/restore the app data with eg. iExplorer or similar program.

Thanks!

@mn4367
Copy link

mn4367 commented Oct 9, 2014

I'm not sure what this means. Do we need to download something? I don't know what iExplorer is. I'm sorry to ask but could someone explain exactly what one is supposed to do?

With iExplorer it's possible to access an iDevice like a harddisk (to some extent). So you maybe you could transfer the Brushes files to your computer. But my guess is that it won't help you. I wouldn't be surprised if the file format of Brushes is something completely proprietary which can only be opened by Brushes itself.

@marihilda
Copy link

Since the file without being exported contains an animation of how it
was made, I would guess as well that Brushes is the only app that will
open it. My computer is running OS 10.5.8--will Brushes even work on
it? I do have an iTouch with an older iOS--is there any way I can get
the files from the iPad to it? Will Mr. Strang be able to fix the app
so it will work again or is it finished? Sorry to be so
unknowledgeable about all of this.

Thanks everyone, Linda

On Oct 9, 2014, at 12:43 PM, mn4367 wrote:

I'm not sure what this means. Do we need to download something? I
don't know what iExplorer is. I'm sorry to ask but could someone
explain exactly what one is supposed to do?

With iExplorer it's possible to access an iDevice like a harddisk
(to some extent). So you maybe you could transfer the Brushes files
to your computer. But my guess is that it won't help you. I wouldn't
be surprised if the file format of Brushes is something completely
proprietary which can only be opened by Brushes itself.


Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub.

@mn4367
Copy link

mn4367 commented Oct 9, 2014

Since the file without being exported contains an animation of how it was made, I would guess as well that Brushes is the only app that will open it.

Exactly.

My computer is running OS 10.5.8--will Brushes even work on it?

No, no way. Brushes needs iOS, that's a different operating system.

I do have an iTouch with an older iOS--is there any way I can get the files from the iPad to it?

I don't know, sorry. Maybe it's possible with iExplorer, but I don't know, if iExplorer can write to an iDevice.

Will Mr. Strang be able to fix the app so it will work again or is it finished?

With the fix form @tougher, sure (although I haven't tested it on my iPad, maybe I'll find the time to try it this weekend), but only he can answer that question.

Sorry to be so unknowledgeable about all of this.

No problem, you're welcome :-).

@pepysjan
Copy link

Following discussions, I too am hoping that very soon there will be a solution to brushes 3. I cannot access any work from my portfolio, or continue my work in progress. I also teach drawing using this app!
Does anyone know if Steve Sprang has commented at all, or knows of this problem?

@tougher
Copy link

tougher commented Oct 10, 2014

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1383410 :-S
I have the same thoughts as in the above link. The last online signs of life seems to be in April this year on Twitter.

Maby I should try submit a fixed version of this app to App Store, but it will more than likely be rejected.
The license says: Please do not submit unmodified (or trivially modified) versions of this application to the App Store. and I will ask Apple to pull any apps that do not comply. Please don't waste your time and mine..
Many people rely on this app. My girlfriend can't find a proper replacement, so she is stuck on iOS 7, but all her students has updated their iPads to iOS 8.

@pepysjan
Copy link

Has anyone actually made contact with Steve Sprang or had any comments or acknowledgement that there is awareness of this issue. Is brushes 3 dead?

@marihilda
Copy link

I think it makes sense to submit the fixed version. If Steve Strang is
paying attention (so far there is no indication he is for whatever
reason) then he can pull it if he pleases and fix it himself. If he is
not paying attention, then we all have the fix and so does anyone else
who wants the app. That is good. Plus if something is going amiss in
Mr. Strang's life and he doesn't have time to think about the app, he
will be grateful for the help. I am sure Mr. Strang is proud of this
very popular program and wants it to be functional. Finally, maybe the
modification of the app is trivial but the effect of the modification
is not.

Please, submit it.

On Oct 10, 2014, at 3:57 AM, tougher wrote:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1383410 :-S
I have the same thoughts as in the above link. The last online signs
of life seems to be in April this year on Twitter.

Maby I should try submit a fixed version of this app to App Store,
but it will more than likely be rejected.
The license says: Please do not submit unmodified (or trivially
modified) versions of this application to the App Store. and I will
ask Apple to pull any apps that do not comply. Please don't waste
your time and mine..
Many people rely on this app. My girlfriend can't find a proper
replacement, so she is stuck on iOS 7, but all her students has
updated their iPads to iOS 8.


Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub.

@marihilda
Copy link

OK is there anyway to make Brushes work? To retrieve files at least
readable in Photoshop? I would very much appreciate some help!

On Oct 10, 2014, at 3:57 AM, tougher wrote:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1383410 :-S
I have the same thoughts as in the above link. The last online signs
of life seems to be in April this year on Twitter.

Maby I should try submit a fixed version of this app to App Store,
but it will more than likely be rejected.
The license says: Please do not submit unmodified (or trivially
modified) versions of this application to the App Store. and I will
ask Apple to pull any apps that do not comply. Please don't waste
your time and mine..
Many people rely on this app. My girlfriend can't find a proper
replacement, so she is stuck on iOS 7, but all her students has
updated their iPads to iOS 8.


Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub.

@mn4367
Copy link

mn4367 commented Oct 14, 2014

I tried some things, this is the result:

  • I used the demo version of iExplorer to look for the Brushes files. Fortunately they are accessible, moreover Brushes creates JPEG Previews of all paintings in full resolution, that is 2048x1536 on an iPad with Retina display. So it's at least possible for everyone to get good quality JPEGs of their paintings.
  • I compiled the patched version from @tougher on OS X 10.8.5 with Xcode 5.1.1 and deployed it on an iPhone 4 with iOS 7.1.1. This works (of course, since Brushes has no problems with iOS 7.x). I did this to ensure that the deployment doesn't destroy paintings already existing on the device (i made some, just to see what will happen). The paintings were all there, so this was good news. But with this setup one cannot deploy to a device running iOS 8.
  • I compiled it again on OS X 10.9.4 with Xcode 6 against the iOS 8 SDK and deployed it on an iPad running iOS 8.02 and voilà, Brushes can load the paintings again. But only those which have already been created before the iOS 8 upgrade, paintings which have been made with Brushes running on iOS 8 are broken, so it's not only a problem with loading but also with saving paintings. But this shouldn't be a problem.

Unfortunately building against the iOS 8 SDK has its own problems: the color picker isn't wide enough (it's almost unusable) and the popups for the brushes and layers no longer take the full vertical space. So I copied an iOS 7 SDK from an older Xcode installation and built Brushes against it. With this build the problems mentioned above are gone, Brushes seems to work without problems and the layout of the user interface is OK again.

So all in all, there is a future for the App if one compiles it on his/her own machine; for those who don't want to do this, the JPEGs can be downloaded from the device with iExplorer or similar tools.

PS:
On my attempts to compile it I first had to introduce a bunch of (int)-casts because the compiler complained. Later on this was no longer necessary, I have no idea why. Maybe I changed the Xcode project settings. In the end I was able to use the code from @tougher without modifications.

@mn4367
Copy link

mn4367 commented Oct 14, 2014

Many people rely on this app. My girlfriend can't find a proper replacement, so she is stuck on iOS 7, but all her students has updated their iPads to iOS 8.

There are at least two alternatives:

Brushes XP seems to be built on the sources of Brushes 3. The developer claims, that it has been updated for iOS 8, so maybe it's worth trying. Disclaimer: I don't have any relationship with this developer or project, so please don't take this as a recommendation.

Brushes Pad is also built based on Brushes 3, but since the last update dates from November 2013 I think it will have the same problems with iOS 8.

Except for the underlying sources both apps are independent, so I don't think that they can access the paintings made with Brushes 3 (I'm sure they will install in their own directories). And both are charging money, which isn't very nice (I think) since Brushes 3 has been made open source.

Edit:
I just saw that the sources for Brushes XP are available here.

@marihilda
Copy link

This fix is way beyond my abilities. But I think I might be able to
retrieve the files if that is a fairly simple matter. Maybe I could
trouble someone to reveal a little more of what to expect from
iExplorer and where one goes "looking" for files. Until there is a
straightforward upgrade to Brushes the app is finished for me. What a
shame.

Thanks to all who have worked hard on this.

On Oct 14, 2014, at 6:07 AM, mn4367 wrote:

I tried some things, this is the result:

I used the demo version of iExplorer to look for the Brushes files.
Fortunately they are accessible, moreover Brushes creates JPEG
Previews of all paintings in full resolution, that is 2048x1536 on
an iPad with Retina display. So it's at least possible for everyone
to get good quality JPEGs of their paintings.

I compiled the patched version from @tougher on OS X 10.8.5 with
Xcode 5.1.1 and deployed it on an iPhone 4 with iOS 7.1.1. This
works (of course, since Brushes has no problems with iOS 7.x). I did
this to ensure that the deployment doesn't destroy paintings already
existing on the device (i made some, just to see what will happen).
The paintings were all there, so this was good news. But with this
setup one cannot deploy to a device running iOS 8.

I compiled it again on OS X 10.9.4 with Xcode 6 against the iOS 8
SDK and deployed it on an iPad running iOS 8.02 and voilà, Brushes
can load the paintings again. But only those which have already been
created before the iOS 8 upgrade, paintings which have been made
with Brushes running on iOS 8 are broken, so it's not only a problem
with loading but also with saving paintings. But this shouldn't be a
problem.

Unfortunately building against the iOS 8 SDK has its own problems:
the color picker isn't wide enough (it's almost unusable) and the
popups for the brushes and layers no longer take the full vertical
space. So I copied an iOS 7 SDK from an older Xcode installation and
built Brushes against it. With this build the problems mentioned
above are gone, Brushes seems to work without problems and the
layout of the user interface is OK again.

So all in all, there is a future for the App if one compiles it on
his/her own machine; for those who don't want to do this, the JPEGs
can be downloaded from the device with iExplorer or similar tools.

PS:
On my attempts to compile it I first had to introduce a bunch of
(int)-casts because the compiler complained. Later on this was no
longer necessary, I have no idea why. Maybe I changed the Xcode
project settings. In the end I was able to use the code from
@tougher without modifications.


Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub.

@mn4367
Copy link

mn4367 commented Oct 15, 2014

@marihilda, are you using a Mac?
If so, then:

  1. Download and install iExplorer.
  2. Connect your iDevice to your Mac with the USB cable.
  3. Start iExplorer and click Continue with Demo. You should see something like this:
    step1
  4. In the outer left bar click on Apps. You'll see all of the apps installed. In this list double click on Brushes and you should see this folder structure:
    step2
  5. If you again double click on Documents you'll see a folder named paintings.
  6. Drag this folder to your desktop. Depending on the number of paintings on your device this can take quite a time, so please be patient.
  7. Make a backup copy of this folder since it contains all your originals!
  8. Inside the paintings folder (on your desktop) you'll see (perhaps a lot of) subfolders, the names of these subfolders correspond to the names of your paintings in Brushes. Each folder makes up a Brushes painting. The folder names end on .brushes_unpacked.
  9. Inside every folder there is a file named image.jpg. This is the full resolution image of your artwork:
    step3

I hope this helps. If you are running into problems with this approach, don't hesitate to ask.

Another perhaps important observation: it is possible to drag files and folders back into the file browser of iExplorer! This worked on my iPad with about 60 paintings (.brushes_unpacked folders) I copied from another device.

So there is at least a chance that this procedure also works with, for example, Brushes XP. This would mean that one could transfer files from Brushes 3 to Brushes XP. I'm not going to spend the money for Brushes XP to try this out, maybe some other user could try it. I'd be willing to help with a desktop remote session in case of any problems.

@marihilda
Copy link

Yes I am using a mac. Is the fact I am using system 10.5.8 on the
macbook going to be a problem? Also since I upgraded to iOS 8 does it
make sense to continue to make the iOS 8 upgrades as Apple issues
them? I didn't install 8.0.2. If I understand correctly, it seems the
error is with Brushes and there won't be anything coming from Apple
that will fix this.

Does anyone know if Brushes XP will open the Brushes file as if it
were a native file? Is that what you are getting at in the last
paragraph? Otherwise if Brushes XP works like Brushes you could just
import the unfinished file as you would any jpeg and work from there.

You are a wonderful person for doing this! Thank you so so much!

On Oct 15, 2014, at 2:18 PM, mn4367 wrote:

@marihilda, are you using a Mac?
If so, then:

Download and install iExplorer.
Connect your iDevice to your Mac with the USB cable.
Start iExplorer and click Continue with Demo. You should see
something like this:
In the outer left bar click on Apps. You'll see all of the apps
installed. In this list double click on Brushes and you should see
this folder structure:
If you again double click on Documents you'll see a folder named
paintings.
Drag this folder to your desktop. Depending on the number of
paintings on your device this can take quite a time, so please be
patient.
Make a backup copy of this folder since it contains all your
originals!
Inside the paintings folder (on your desktop) you'll see (perhaps a
lot of) subfolders, the names of these subfolders correspond to the
names of your paintings in Brushes. Each folder makes up a Brushes
painting. The folder names end on .brushes_unpacked.
Inside every folder there is a file named image.jpg. This is the
full resolution image of your artwork:
I hope this helps. If you are running into problems with this
approach, don't hesitate to ask.

Another perhaps important observation: it is possible to drag files
and folders back into the file browser of iExplorer! This worked on
my iPad with about 60 paintings (.brushes_unpacked folders) I copied
from another device.

So there is at least a chance that this procedure also works with,
for example, Brushes XP. This would mean that one could transfer
files from Brushes 3 to Brushes XP. I'm not going to spend the money
for Brushes XP to try this out, maybe some other user could try it.
I'd be willing to help with a desktop remote session in case of any
problems.


Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub.

@mn4367
Copy link

mn4367 commented Oct 15, 2014

Yes I am using a mac. Is the fact I am using system 10.5.8 on the macbook going to be a problem?

Do you really mean 10.5.8??? That's more than five years old now... Or did you mean 10.8.5?
In the case of 10.5.8, I don't know if iExplorer will run on such an old OS X version. But since it's a free trial download, you could try yourself (I no longer have a machine with 10.5.x)

Also since I upgraded to iOS 8 does it make sense to continue to make the iOS 8 upgrades as Apple issues them? I didn't install 8.0.2. If I understand correctly, it seems the error is with Brushes and there won't be anything coming from Apple that will fix this.

Apart from special cases you should upgrade. Often iOS upgrades fix security issues. The problem is on the side of Brushes 3, it simply needs an upgrade to work on iOS 8.x. But Brushes isn't the only case, I had other apps that didn't work after the update, but meanwhile all of them had been upgraded to work on iOS 8.

Does anyone know if Brushes XP will open the Brushes file as if it were a native file? Is that what you are getting at in the last paragraph? Otherwise if Brushes XP works like Brushes you could just import the unfinished file as you would any jpeg and work from there.

I don't know if it will open files from Brushes 3 and as I said, I won't buy it just to test it. I'm not using Brushes (my painting skills are ridiculous...). I just get involved into all this because my girlfriend uses Brushes 3 and she had the same problems like all the other users here. With the fix from @tougher I was able to install the fixed version on her iPad. I could do that because I have an Apple developer account which enables me to deploy apps on iDevices. So she is able to use it again and doesn't have to look for other apps.

@marihilda
Copy link

There was something else--I thought I would be installing iExplorer on
the iPad--yes? How does it have to "run" on the macbook and yes
10.5.8. I'm a designer and I couldn't afford the adobe design suite
until last summer so I have had to keep this older system.

Brushes xp says compatible with Brushes 3 files. It's only 3 bucks so
I may get it. It is compatible with iOS8. Or so it says.

On Oct 15, 2014, at 4:05 PM, mn4367 wrote:

Yes I am using a mac. Is the fact I am using system 10.5.8 on the
macbook going to be a problem?

Do you really mean 10.5.8??? That's more than five years old now...
Or did you mean 10.8.5?
In the case of 10.5.8, I don't know if iExplorer will run on such an
old OS X version. But since it's a free trial download, you could
try yourself (I no longer have a machine with 10.5.x)

Also since I upgraded to iOS 8 does it make sense to continue to
make the iOS 8 upgrades as Apple issues them? I didn't install
8.0.2. If I understand correctly, it seems the error is with Brushes
and there won't be anything coming from Apple that will fix this.

Apart from special cases you should upgrade. Often iOS upgrades fix
security issues. The problem is on the side of Brushes 3, it simply
needs an upgrade to work on iOS 8.x. But Brushes isn't the only
case, I had other apps that didn't work after the update, but
meanwhile all of them had been upgraded to work on iOS 8.

Does anyone know if Brushes XP will open the Brushes file as if it
were a native file? Is that what you are getting at in the last
paragraph? Otherwise if Brushes XP works like Brushes you could just
import the unfinished file as you would any jpeg and work from there.

I don't know if it will open files from Brushes 3 and as I said, I
won't buy it just to test it. I'm not using Brushes (my painting
skills are ridiculous...). I just get involved into all this because
my girlfriend uses Brushes 3 and she had the same problems like all
the other users here. With the fix from @tougher I was able to
install the fixed version on her iPad. I could do that because I
have an Apple developer account which enables me to deploy apps on
iDevices. So she is able to use it again and doesn't have to look
for other apps.


Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub.

@mn4367
Copy link

mn4367 commented Oct 16, 2014

No, iExplorer is a Mac application, you can't install it on an iPad/iPhone/iPod, therefore I asked about your Mac OS X version. If I were you, I'd give it a try.

@marihilda
Copy link

I have an external drive with 10.6.? and I could use it. I also may
spring for the piggy-back app Brushes YP. They seem to be claiming it
opens Brushes files and it works with iOS8. I understand why people
would be annoyed at something parasitic but if it works and this one
doesn't then what can ya say?

What did that last email from Jerry Zhao mean?

Thanks again for the instructions and for being so patient. I'm an
artist, not a programmer and I had so hoped the app developer would
have a fix that us non-techies could use.

I'll let you know how it turns out. Again thanks!

On Oct 16, 2014, at 1:51 PM, mn4367 wrote:

No, iExplorer is a Mac application, you can't install it on an iPad/
iPhone/iPod, therefore I asked about your Mac OS X version.If I were
you, I'd give it a try.


Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub.

@jw70
Copy link

jw70 commented Jun 29, 2015

All,
I have read the thread. Trying to access Brushes 3 files through iExplorer on system 8.3. No folder for the apps of interest. Access not allowed by ITunes only by Developer for Brushes 3, Brushes XP and Brushes Redux.
Dropbox loops between all 3 apps.
Where to now?
Info on the iExplorer web site indicates they are working on the issue for IOS 8.3-
Help appreciated.
Julian

@angcew
Copy link

angcew commented Jun 29, 2015

Sorry to say I gave up and now use procreate.

Sent from my iPad

On 29 Jun 2015, at 04:51, jw70 [email protected] wrote:

All,
I have read the thread. Trying to access Brushes 3 files through iExplorer on system 8.3. No folder for the apps of interest. Access not allowed by ITunes only by Developer for Brushes 3, Brushes XP and Brushes Redux.
Dropbox loops between all 3 apps.
Where to now?
Info on the iExplorer web site indicates they are working on the issue for IOS 8.3-
Help appreciated.
Julian


Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub.

@marihilda
Copy link

So does this mean that iExplorer doesn't work for all the Brushes apps in system 8.3 or just won't access the old Brushes app. Does it access other apps besides Brushes or is it useless?

Happily I got all of my paintings transferred to Redux and I haven't upgraded my iPad to 8.3. By the way I just transferred the individual paintings' folders and everything works and plays back.

I tried Procreate but it doesn't have the immediacy of Brushes.

Can you trash something from the Brushes folder? I tried using iExplorer and it didn't seem to work.

Linda
On Jun 28, 2015, at 11:51 PM, jw70 wrote:

All,
I have read the thread. Trying to access Brushes 3 files through iExplorer on system 8.3. No folder for the apps of interest. Access not allowed by ITunes only by Developer for Brushes 3, Brushes XP and Brushes Redux.
Dropbox loops between all 3 apps.
Where to now?
Info on the iExplorer web site indicates they are working on the issue for IOS 8.3-
Help appreciated.
Julian


Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub.

@jw70
Copy link

jw70 commented Jun 30, 2015

Linda,
I cannot access any of the 3 "Brushes " apps using iExplorer with system 8.3. Good that you were lucky with an earlier systems do Redux.
The iExplorer demo accesses other apps and shows those that it can't.

Very frustrating for users with "trapped" Brushes files.

Julian
Julian Wigley
www.wigley.com.au

On 30 Jun 2015, at 7:56 am, marihilda [email protected] wrote:

So does this mean that iExplorer doesn't work for all the Brushes apps in system 8.3 or just won't access the old Brushes app. Does it access other apps besides Brushes or is it useless?

Happily I got all of my paintings transferred to Redux and I haven't upgraded my iPad to 8.3. By the way I just transferred the individual paintings' folders and everything works and plays back.

I tried Procreate but it doesn't have the immediacy of Brushes.

Can you trash something from the Brushes folder? I tried using iExplorer and it didn't seem to work.

Linda
On Jun 28, 2015, at 11:51 PM, jw70 wrote:

All,
I have read the thread. Trying to access Brushes 3 files through iExplorer on system 8.3. No folder for the apps of interest. Access not allowed by ITunes only by Developer for Brushes 3, Brushes XP and Brushes Redux.
Dropbox loops between all 3 apps.
Where to now?
Info on the iExplorer web site indicates they are working on the issue for IOS 8.3-
Help appreciated.
Julian


Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub.


Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub.

@jw70
Copy link

jw70 commented Jun 30, 2015

FYI. This is the message in iExplorer

Cheers

Julian Wigley
www.wigley.com.au

On 30 Jun 2015, at 7:56 am, marihilda [email protected] wrote:

So does this mean that iExplorer doesn't work for all the Brushes apps in system 8.3 or just won't access the old Brushes app. Does it access other apps besides Brushes or is it useless?

Happily I got all of my paintings transferred to Redux and I haven't upgraded my iPad to 8.3. By the way I just transferred the individual paintings' folders and everything works and plays back.

I tried Procreate but it doesn't have the immediacy of Brushes.

Can you trash something from the Brushes folder? I tried using iExplorer and it didn't seem to work.

Linda
On Jun 28, 2015, at 11:51 PM, jw70 wrote:

All,
I have read the thread. Trying to access Brushes 3 files through iExplorer on system 8.3. No folder for the apps of interest. Access not allowed by ITunes only by Developer for Brushes 3, Brushes XP and Brushes Redux.
Dropbox loops between all 3 apps.
Where to now?
Info on the iExplorer web site indicates they are working on the issue for IOS 8.3-
Help appreciated.
Julian


Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub.


Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub.

@marihilda
Copy link

I wonder if you could copy the whole app to your desktop and access the files on your computer, not on the iPad or iPhone? Or could you copy the app to an iDevice that did not use 8.3 and access the files there?

I queried the iExplorer people and have not heard back. I was going to buy iExplorer not just use the demo but I'm not so interested if it isn't going to work with Brushes. You say they are working on this problem?

Thanks, Linda
On Jun 30, 2015, at 5:46 AM, jw70 wrote:

Linda,
I cannot access any of the 3 "Brushes " apps using iExplorer with system 8.3. Good that you were lucky with an earlier systems do Redux.
The iExplorer demo accesses other apps and shows those that it can't.

Very frustrating for users with "trapped" Brushes files.

Julian
Julian Wigley
www.wigley.com.au

On 30 Jun 2015, at 7:56 am, marihilda [email protected] wrote:

So does this mean that iExplorer doesn't work for all the Brushes apps in system 8.3 or just won't access the old Brushes app. Does it access other apps besides Brushes or is it useless?

Happily I got all of my paintings transferred to Redux and I haven't upgraded my iPad to 8.3. By the way I just transferred the individual paintings' folders and everything works and plays back.

I tried Procreate but it doesn't have the immediacy of Brushes.

Can you trash something from the Brushes folder? I tried using iExplorer and it didn't seem to work.

Linda
On Jun 28, 2015, at 11:51 PM, jw70 wrote:

All,
I have read the thread. Trying to access Brushes 3 files through iExplorer on system 8.3. No folder for the apps of interest. Access not allowed by ITunes only by Developer for Brushes 3, Brushes XP and Brushes Redux.
Dropbox loops between all 3 apps.
Where to now?
Info on the iExplorer web site indicates they are working on the issue for IOS 8.3-
Help appreciated.
Julian


Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub.


Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub.


Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub.

@mea1top
Copy link

mea1top commented Jul 6, 2015

I have same problem - downloaded iexplorer - but I don't see the Brushes app in iexplorer when connected to my ipad. I can't send pictures from Brushes to dropbox or anywhere else - it just says it's "downloading" but nothing happens. So I have a bunch of images still trapped on Brushes - which is very upsetting - if anyone has any further suggestions it would be very welcome - thanks

@mn4367
Copy link

mn4367 commented Jul 6, 2015

Hi all,

since there seems to be a bit of confusion about what can be done with iExplorer I'll try to explain the current state again.

  • If you have iOS 8.2 and older on your device you'll be able to rescue your paintings, the procedure has been described above.
  • Starting with iOS 8.3 this is no longer possible. Apple has made it impossible to access the Documents folder of most Apps from outside. This affects all tools like iExplorer, so please don't blame them, it's not their fault.

But there is one last chance: iExplorer allows you access the contents of your iOS device backups (see the corresponding entry in the left panel). You all have made device backups via iTunes (which also saves your precious paintings), haven't you ??

The screenshot shows how to locate the folder with your paintings.
bildschirmfoto 2015-07-06 um 21 01 45
But you can only get JPEG images of your paintings with this. As far as I know you can't transfer them to another Brushes App, for the same reason which makes it impossible to get access to the Apps Documents folder.

So is this really the end? I don't know. There's still hope that iExplorer can get around the limitation in the future, but today nobody can tell.

@marihilda
Copy link

I thought that this had forwarded to the list but here is what I heard from Macroplant. Can you grab the whole app and access files on your computer and then replace an app on an iDevice? Can you enable iTunes file sharing on these apps?

Hi Linda,

iExplorer is fully compatible with iOS 8.3 though Apple has blocked access to many of the Apps directories for apps downloaded from the App Store beginning in iOS 8.3, and we are currently investigating it as a top priority. Our latest iExplorer update has restored read/write access to the Documents folder of apps with iTunes File Sharing enabled, and you can still access most app files and transfer them to your computer in the Backup Explorer section of iExplorer and iBrowse. To update to the newest version, just click on File menu (PC) or iExplorer menu (Mac) and choose Check for Updates. Version 3.7.4.0 now has a toggle button to “Show All Apps” to either hide or show apps that do not have iTunes File Sharing enabled since those can’t be accessed directly in iOS 8.3.

Here’s how to access the files in the Backups section instead:

Click on Backups in the left panel.
Click on Backup Explorer below it.
Find the app folder in the list which will be named after its bundle ID in a reverse domain format (com.developer.AppName).
Double-click on the folder to open it, and you’ll see the Documents and Library folders inside most app folders which contain all of your personal app files (i.e. game saves, documents, media, etc.).
Simply drag/drop any files to your computer or right-click and choose Export to folder.
The only apps that aren’t affected by this in iOS 8.3 are ones installed via an Enterprise app certificate or via Xcode on a Mac. The files in those apps installed outside the App Store can still be fully accessed in the Apps section of iExplorer or iBrowse in iOS 8.3 (with the exception of the .app (dot app) folder).

Since this is a change on Apple’s end with how iOS works and how the file system can be accessed, all other iDevice transfer utilities have the same limited access to the Apps folder in iOS 8.3, and any devices running iOS 8.2 and earlier are obviously not affected by it. The issue only affects the Apps section for iOS 8.3 devices, so all other sections of iExplorer should be fully accessible for all iPhones, iPads, and iPods.

Sincerely, 

Mike

Macroplant Support Specialist

On Jul 6, 2015, at 4:40 PM, mn4367 wrote:

Hi all,

since there seems to be a bit of confusion about what can be done with iExplorer I'll try to explain the current state again.

If you have iOS 8.2 and older on your device you'll be able to rescue your paintings, the procedure has been described above.
Starting with iOS 8.3 this is no longer possible. Apple has made it impossible to access the Documents folder of most Apps from outside. This affects all tools like iExplorer, so please don't blame them, it's not their fault.
But there is one last chance: iExplorer allows you access the contents of your iOS device backups (see the corresponding entry in the left panel). You all have made device backups via iTunes (which also saves your precious paintings), haven't you ??

The screenshot shows how to locate the folder with your paintings.

But you can only get JPEG images of your paintings with this. As far as I know you can't transfer them to another Brushes App, for the same reason which makes it impossible to get access to the Apps Documents folder.

So is this really the end? I don't know. There's still hope that iExplorer can get around the limitation in the future, but today nobody can tell.


Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub.

@mea1top
Copy link

mea1top commented Jul 7, 2015

Dear Marihilda

thanks so much for that last post - I followed those instructions and I was able to retrieve jpegs of my pictures - what a relief - and thanks too to Mike - phew!

@marihilda
Copy link

I wasn't sure that email got to anybody so thank you for letting me know mea1top

marihilda (Linda)
On Jul 7, 2015, at 11:32 AM, mea1top wrote:

Dear Marihilda

thanks so much for that last post - I followed those instructions and I was able to retrieve jpegs of my pictures - what a relief - and thanks too to Mike - phew!


Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub.

@marihilda
Copy link

How come it looks like you have access to the whole documents folder? Macroplant says you can drag any of the files to your desktop out of the documents folder. So why couldn't you drag the whole documents folder out of the back-up of Brushes to your desktop and using iExplorer if you can access the app folder of Redux replace the documents folder in Brushes Redux with it? Otherwise, I am assuming what cannot happen is dragging it all back into the back-up (this would be of Redux) because what you are looking at is not the app? Is that correct? I am presuming there is no way to alter the back-up? I am talking about replacing the Brushes Redux stuff with the no longer-working stuff within Brushes.

Since you can't access the drill-down folders, can you replace the entire app--I have asked this before and not gotten an answer so I am assuming not. Since I was able to access everything in the paintings folder on my desktop, why couldn't I access everything in the app folder. I don't understand how these folders work and if they work that differently from app folders on the laptop. The hierarchy looks very similar though there is no icon for the app itself as there would be with Photoshop for instance.

marihilda

On Jul 6, 2015, at 4:40 PM, mn4367 wrote:

Hi all,

since there seems to be a bit of confusion about what can be done with iExplorer I'll try to explain the current state again.

If you have iOS 8.2 and older on your device you'll be able to rescue your paintings, the procedure has been described above.
Starting with iOS 8.3 this is no longer possible. Apple has made it impossible to access the Documents folder of most Apps from outside. This affects all tools like iExplorer, so please don't blame them, it's not their fault.
But there is one last chance: iExplorer allows you access the contents of your iOS device backups (see the corresponding entry in the left panel). You all have made device backups via iTunes (which also saves your precious paintings), haven't you ??

The screenshot shows how to locate the folder with your paintings.

But you can only get JPEG images of your paintings with this. As far as I know you can't transfer them to another Brushes App, for the same reason which makes it impossible to get access to the Apps Documents folder.

So is this really the end? I don't know. There's still hope that iExplorer can get around the limitation in the future, but today nobody can tell.


Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub.

@jw70
Copy link

jw70 commented Jul 8, 2015

Thanks for this. Just accessed Brushes files, including Actions, onto the desktop from all iDevices through the backups icon.
Thanks so much GitHub, and iExplorer.

Julian Wigley
www.wigley.com.au

On 7 Jul 2015, at 6:40 am, mn4367 [email protected] wrote:

Hi all,

since there seems to be a bit of confusion about what can be done with iExplorer I'll try to explain the current state again.

If you have iOS 8.2 and older on your device you'll be able to rescue your paintings, the procedure has been described above.
Starting with iOS 8.3 this is no longer possible. Apple has made it impossible to access the Documents folder of most Apps from outside. This affects all tools like iExplorer, so please don't blame them, it's not their fault.
But there is one last chance: iExplorer allows you access the contents of your iOS device backups (see the corresponding entry in the left panel). You all have made device backups via iTunes (which also saves your precious paintings), haven't you ??

The screenshot shows how to locate the folder with your paintings.

But you can only get JPEG images of your paintings with this. As far as I know you can't transfer them to another Brushes App, for the same reason which makes it impossible to get access to the Apps Documents folder.

So is this really the end? I don't know. There's still hope that iExplorer can get around the limitation in the future, but today nobody can tell.


Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub.

@plumkin
Copy link

plumkin commented Mar 14, 2016

I was wondering if you were all successful with retrieving your work in the end? I'm going to try to follow the last advice given and I'm hoping I will be able to reaches the 40 original hand drawn artwork files I lost over a year ago.

@BarbaraTapa
Copy link

You can take a picture of your screen albeit very small, then email the jpg to yourself as an attachment. Then open in the brushes program you're using now. That might work.

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 13, 2016, at 6:51 PM, plumkin [email protected] wrote:

Hi everyone,
I was wondering if anyone was successful in retrieving their files from the Brushes app. After the update that froze all files? It's already Msrch 2016 but I'd still be very interested to know how to get back all that hard work even if it's only a jPeg of each files. I lost over 40 pieces of hand drawn artwork works and would love to have them again.


Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub.

@marihilda
Copy link

You can use iExplorer to retrieve all the files if you didn't update past 9.2. If someone else hasn't answered this question by tomorrow afternoon (I have to go to sleep now) I will try to dig out the walk throughs for you.

marihilda
On Mar 13, 2016, at 10:12 PM, BarbaraTapa wrote:

You can take a picture of your screen albeit very small, then email the jpg to yourself as an attachment. Then open in the brushes program you're using now. That might work.

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 13, 2016, at 6:51 PM, plumkin [email protected] wrote:

Hi everyone,
I was wondering if anyone was successful in retrieving their files from the Brushes app. After the update that froze all files? It's already Msrch 2016 but I'd still be very interested to know how to get back all that hard work even if it's only a jPeg of each files. I lost over 40 pieces of hand drawn artwork works and would love to have them again.


Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub.


Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub.

@Geniisis
Copy link

Not a techy...but had the same experience you did. Found the jpg files on
my computer. Had a friend with high pixel camera photograph them, then used
the images into the new brushes. Not great but the original art work is in
tacked and perfect. Bets of luck, Pat

On Sun, Mar 13, 2016 at 6:51 PM, plumkin [email protected] wrote:

Hi everyone,
I was wondering if anyone was successful in retrieving their files from
the Brushes app. After the update that froze all files? It's already Msrch
2016 but I'd still be very interested to know how to get back all that hard
work even if it's only a jPeg of each files. I lost over 40 pieces of hand
drawn artwork works and would love to have them again.


Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub
#33 (comment).

PATRICK G RILEY

MANAGING PARTNER, CO-FOUNDER

[email protected] [email protected]
415.971.9040

233 Post St. 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94108
WWW.1-PAGE.COM http://www.1-page.com/ | TWITTER
https://twitter.com/1pagebiz | LINKEDIN
https://www.linkedin.com/company/2041094?trk=tyah&trkInfo=tarId%3A1410885055616%2Ctas%3A1-page%2Cidx%3A2-1-6

@marihilda
Copy link

Here's the method to retrieve files if you are on a mac. I retrieved all the files under the Paintings as directed. I installed Brushes Redux and I put them into its Painting folder but I went painting by painting . I did not replace the Paintiing folder itself in redux. The files are workable. Some weren't finished and I have since finished them. This worked going from a laptop 10.6.8 (I'm sure newer systems would be better) to an iPad 9.2 with no further updates from that. There is a different process if you have since updated your system to 9.2.1 on the iPad or iPhone.

Marihilda

Courtesy of mn4367

@marihilda, are you using a Mac?
If so, then:

Download and install iExplorer.
Connect your iDevice to your Mac with the USB cable.
Start iExplorer and click Continue with Demo. You should see something like this:
In the outer left bar click on Apps. You'll see all of the apps installed. In this list double click on Brushes and you should see this folder structure:
If you again double click on Documents you'll see a folder named paintings.
Drag this folder to your desktop. Depending on the number of paintings on your device this can take quite a time, so please be patient.
Make a backup copy of this folder since it contains all your originals!
Inside the paintings folder (on your desktop) you'll see (perhaps a lot of) subfolders, the names of these subfolders correspond to the names of your paintings in Brushes. Each folder makes up a Brushes painting. The folder names end on .brushes_unpacked.
Inside every folder there is a file named image.jpg. This is the full resolution image of your artwork:
I hope this helps. If you are running into problems with this approach, don't hesitate to ask.

Another perhaps important observation: it is possible to drag files and folders back into the file browser of iExplorer! This worked on my iPad with about 60 paintings (.brushes_unpacked folders) I copied from another device.

So there is at least a chance that this procedure also works with, for example, Brushes XP. This would mean that one could transfer files from Brushes 3 to Brushes XP. I'm not going to spend the money for Brushes XP to try this out, maybe some other user could try it. I'd be willing to help with a desktop remote session in case of any problems.


Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub.
On Mar 13, 2016, at 9:51 PM, plumkin wrote:

Hi everyone,
I was wondering if anyone was successful in retrieving their files from the Brushes app. After the update that froze all files? It's already Msrch 2016 but I'd still be very interested to know how to get back all that hard work even if it's only a jPeg of each files. I lost over 40 pieces of hand drawn artwork works and would love to have them again.


Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub.

@plumkin
Copy link

plumkin commented Mar 15, 2016

Thank you all very much for your helpful responses. Marihilda thank you for all that useful information. I am going to get my husband to help me go through it. Unfortunately my iPad has been through another update since then so that probably means trying another way. Any way it gives me something to look into. IExplorer sounds hopeful. At the very least I could try the photograph the file image as suggested by Barbara and Genilsis. Many thanks again. I will let you know if I am successful with the techs approach as it could help others.

@marihilda
Copy link

My apologies folks you have to have iOS 8.2 (not 9.2) running to perform the original transfer that retrieves the whole paintings folder.

You can use this method however to retrieve hi res jpegs:

Hi all,

since there seems to be a bit of confusion about what can be done with iExplorer I'll try to explain the current state again.

If you have iOS 8.2 and older on your device you'll be able to rescue your paintings, the procedure has been described above.
Starting with iOS 8.3 this is no longer possible. Apple has made it impossible to access the Documents folder of most Apps from outside. This affects all tools like iExplorer, so please don't blame them, it's not their fault.
But there is one last chance: iExplorer allows you access the contents of your iOS device backups (see the corresponding entry in the left panel). You all have made device backups via iTunes (which also saves your precious paintings), haven't you ??

The screenshot shows how to locate the folder with your paintings.

But you can only get JPEG images of your paintings with this. As far as I know you can't transfer them to another Brushes App, for the same reason which makes it impossible to get access to the Apps Documents folder.

So is this really the end? I don't know. There's still hope that iExplorer can get around the limitation in the future, but today nobody can tell.

On Mar 15, 2016, at 1:14 AM, plumkin wrote:

Thank you all very much for your helpful responses. Marihilda thank you for all that useful information. I am going to get my husband to help me go through it. Unfortunately my iPad has been through another update since then so that probably means trying another way. Any way it gives me something to look into. IExplorer sounds hopeful. At the very least I could try the photograph the file image as suggested by Barbara and Genilsis. Many thanks again. I will let you know if I am successful with the techs approach as it could help others.


You are receiving this because you were mentioned.
Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub:
#33 (comment)

@plumkin
Copy link

plumkin commented Mar 18, 2016

Thank you, Marihilda, for taking the time to advise me on this. I will try using the high res screenshot.

Kind regards,

Plum Ovelgonne

On 16 Mar 2016, at 00:23, marihilda [email protected] wrote:

My apologies folks you have to have iOS 8.2 (not 9.2) running to perform the original transfer that retrieves the whole paintings folder.

You can use this method however to retrieve hi res jpegs:

Hi all,

since there seems to be a bit of confusion about what can be done with iExplorer I'll try to explain the current state again.

If you have iOS 8.2 and older on your device you'll be able to rescue your paintings, the procedure has been described above.
Starting with iOS 8.3 this is no longer possible. Apple has made it impossible to access the Documents folder of most Apps from outside. This affects all tools like iExplorer, so please don't blame them, it's not their fault.
But there is one last chance: iExplorer allows you access the contents of your iOS device backups (see the corresponding entry in the left panel). You all have made device backups via iTunes (which also saves your precious paintings), haven't you ??

The screenshot shows how to locate the folder with your paintings.

But you can only get JPEG images of your paintings with this. As far as I know you can't transfer them to another Brushes App, for the same reason which makes it impossible to get access to the Apps Documents folder.

So is this really the end? I don't know. There's still hope that iExplorer can get around the limitation in the future, but today nobody can tell.

On Mar 15, 2016, at 1:14 AM, plumkin wrote:

Thank you all very much for your helpful responses. Marihilda thank you for all that useful information. I am going to get my husband to help me go through it. Unfortunately my iPad has been through another update since then so that probably means trying another way. Any way it gives me something to look into. IExplorer sounds hopeful. At the very least I could try the photograph the file image as suggested by Barbara and Genilsis. Many thanks again. I will let you know if I am successful with the techs approach as it could help others.


You are receiving this because you were mentioned.
Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub:
#33 (comment)


You are receiving this because you commented.
Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub:
#33 (comment)

@AM-ia
Copy link

AM-ia commented Jan 8, 2017

Dear Brushes app lovers,

The following is re accessing artwork within Brushes v3 (blue app icon) and an updated iOS (no reflection on Tougher or Brushes Redux).

Problem.
You cannot open or access your Brushes v3 (blue app icon) files on the iPad since updating your iOS.
(Side note: iOS updates include security developments designed to protect unauthorised access to iPad files. As of this post (and as already highlighted in above posts) the Brushes app file architecture is dated. This maybe the reason for the difficulties experienced in using the Brushes app.)

Solution.
Do not delete your Brushes app off your iPad.
You will need the Brushes XP app (itunes.apple.com/gb/app/brushes-xp/id866047421?mt=8) installed on your iPad (this is an almost identical variant of the original Brushes v3 app and functions in exactly the same way), Apple iTunes (apple.com/uk/itunes/download), and iExplorer (macroplant.com) installed on your computer. The above app/programmes will help you access and copy Brushes files on your iPad therefore saving your works.

Disclaimer.
The following has worked for me with many Brushes files but try this at your own risk. You can retrieve images and the native Brushes files to continue working on these. The more files you wish to save the longer the following process may take. Prepared yourself for patience!

Instructions.

  1. Do not delete your Brushes app off your iPad.
  2. Backup your entire iPad using iTunes (if already done then skip this step).
  3. On the same computer as your iTunes backup (of your iPad files) download and install iExplorer. On your iPad install the Brushes XP app (same as the Brushes app but it has a modern file architecture, as of writing this post).
  4. Connect your iPad to your computer (if not already connected). Open iTunes and then iExplorer and you will be able to access your Brushes files via your BACKUP copy of your iPad files in the iExplorer programme. You can then copy these Brushes files back to the newly installed Brushes XP app on your iPad via the iExplorer programme on your computer - therefore saving your files. Within the Brushes XP app on your iPad you can then work as normal - making, saving and replaying your art work.

These are not detailed instructions for using iExplorer but saving your files is possible. If you cannot access your files initially in iExplorer try backing up your iPad and then accessing your files from iPad BACKUPS in iExplorer. Details re this can be found here:
http://iexplorer-support.macroplant.com/customer/en/portal/articles/1221428-access-itunes-backups-of-your-iphone. As already mentioned you will need to explore using the iExplorer programme and locate both the BACKUPs folders/files on your computer and the Brushes XP app of your iPad and copy files between the two to save your work. If I have more time I will write a more detailed description.

Many thanks to Macroplant (and the iExplorer programme) who have helped me to save countless hours of art work.

-A

@ghost
Copy link

ghost commented Jan 9, 2017

Tougher, I cannot thank you enough for creating and sharing solutions to this issue. My drawings had been locked away for over a year. I finally retrieved jpgs of them. Bless you.

@KrLikeblue
Copy link

Hello Guys.

I know this is wrong thread to ask. I asked 1 question as a new issue, but since no one is responding in that issue. I came here. I thought that you guys will help me as you are very active. Here is my issue.

I downloaded brushes code and ran on my device, but nothing is drawing. I select different brushes but nothing is drawing.

Can you please help me out ?

Thanks

@pauline1234
Copy link

My Brushes Redux paintings with extension .brushes should open in the viewer to obtain a higher resolution necessary for printing. But they won't open. Message: Document could not be opened. Other message: "viewer 32-bit is not compatible with 64-bit based OS" (probably not fatal); and (when I checked for updates) "Brushes Viewer can't be updated when it's running from a read-only volume like a disk image or an optical drive. Move Brushes Viewer to your Applications folder, relaunch it from there, and try again."
But the viewer is already in the App folder and relaunched.

viewer 1.3.5
brushes redux 3.2
ipad2 9.3.5
mac high sierra 10.13.4

Please tell me what to do. This problem exists for years. I tried many things and wasted so much time. I have several years of creative work in the app. It will be wasted as well if there is no useful export.

Thank you,
Pauline van de Ven

@plumkin
Copy link

plumkin commented Jun 28, 2018 via email

@Artinnewmexico
Copy link

Artinnewmexico commented Jun 28, 2018 via email

@pauline1234
Copy link

Dear Plum,

Thank you for your reply and encouragement. I also had the first problem you mention, of all paintings disappearing around 2014. A solution was offered in the form of Brushes Redux and I succeeded in transfering the paintings to Redux with the iexplorer method. However Redux solved only part of the problem. We could go on painting, but could no longer print or show our work in such a way that it can be bought. Enlargement by exporting .brushes files to the viewer was no longer possible. All methods that enabled a useful export for printing seem to have disappeared around 2014, both in Brushes Redux and in the older Brushes XP. If you consider the huge popularity of the app. this is quite diastrous. Countless artists, professional as well as amateurs, must have years and years of creative labour trapped in the app and no way to use it. The only person able to print and show Brushes paintings seems to be David Hockney... Even after four years, Brushes is still offered in the Apple shop with the false claim that files can be enlarged sixfold for printing. I wrote a review to warn that this is not true - it is not shown. New painters are starting to use the app every day. They start learning, developing their personal style in interaction with the app, storing their work. Then, waste a lot of time finding out what they do wrong and how they can fix it - becoming ever more frustrated and finalle coming to te conclusion that their work is useless for printing and showing, a waste of creative time. They forget about Brushes and start a new learning process from scratch in another app. Meanwhile, developers ignore questions and complaints. It raises questions about integrity. It also makes clear that justice is way behind in digital matters. In my view, what happens here should be subject to thorough criminal investigation, offenses should be formulated and accordingly punished.

@pepysjan
Copy link

pepysjan commented Jun 28, 2018 via email

Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment
Labels
None yet
Projects
None yet
Development

No branches or pull requests