Sketch 3.4 is released

The UI designer’s tool of choice, Sketch, has just received a significant update. The version 3.4 release from Bohemian Coding includes dozens of new features, and even more bug fixes.

Sketch has never failed to impress with its minimal interface, feature-rich tool set, and design-lead workflow. It also has an unenviable—and not entirely deserved—reputation for a lack of robustness. However the sheer number of bugs resolved in this update may finally silence the nay-sayers.

90 separate bugs have been isolated and resolved, ranging from the inconvenient (the layers list’s scrollbar no longer obscures the hide and lock icons) to the essential (Sketch no longer crashes when you change fonts).

The new Material Design preset.

In addition to the necessary fixes, dozens of new features have been added: one of Sketch’s most trusted features is the auto-save, but for those occasions when it’s inconvenient, it can now be disabled in the preferences; quick masking has been enabled for bitmaps; moving layers isn’t locked to whole pixels when pixel fitting is disabled; a replace image… option has been added when right-clicking an image; SVG images can now be dragged straight into Sketch from the browser.

Additional new features allow you to:

• edit the layout or grid of multiple artboards simultaneously;
• manage installed plugins in a dedicated preferences pane;
• preview artboards in the browser;
• share artboards on local networks;
• make use of a new Material Design preset;
• use the command key for distance measuring between layers inside groups;
• use option-hover on the layer list to measure the distance to the selected layer;
• see transparency clearly when exporting, thanks to the new CC-style checkerboard background.

In addition to the new features, Sketch users will notice a number of changes:

• the reliability of undo and redo has been improved;
• copy and paste is now more predictable;
• rotating a layer in the inspector now rotates clockwise;
• double export buttons in the artboard inspector have been removed;
• zooming is now faster, especially for multiple zooms, or mousewheel zooming;
• gradients are now based on the current fill color;
• plugins now have the option to disable CocoaScript preprocessing.

A full list of features, changes, and bug fixes is available on the Sketch website.

Version 3.4 of Sketch is a free update for licensed users, app store users can log into their account for the update, non-app store users can find the update here.

Ben Moss

Ben Moss has designed and coded work for award-winning startups, and global names including IBM, UBS, and the FBI. When he’s not in front of a screen he’s probably out trail-running.