Tactics Board View is a professional coaching and analysis tool for all levels of Soccer on iPad and Mac. Use it to build formations, design set pieces, annotate tactical plays, manage team rosters, and present your ideas on screen or an external display.

Using the pictures: Select a screenshot to enlarge it. Choose the Mac or iPad tab above to show the examples for your device. Close the enlarged picture with Close or the Escape key.

Your current board is saved automatically as you work. Use Set Pieces to keep named versions you can return to, and export important plays or rosters when you want a separate copy.

What’s on the board

Auto-save

The app saves your current board locally as you work and restores it when you reopen the app. Watch for any recovery or save error message before closing. Undo and Redo are available for recent editing actions during your session.

Mac layout

Left Sidebar — Tool Reference

The arrow below the app logo shows or hides the contextual panel. The drawing tools and utility actions follow below; hover on Mac to see available keyboard shortcuts:

iPad layout

Pan and Zoom

Zoom ranges from 1× (full pitch view) up to 6× for detailed work. Press ⌘0 at any time to snap back to the default full-pitch view.

Pitch Orientations

Switch orientation from the toolbar picker or press ⌘⇧O to cycle through all four options.

Visibility Toggles

Each layer can be shown or hidden independently. This is useful for gradually revealing a tactic or isolating one team’s movement.

Flip Vertical

Swaps which team is at the top and which is at the bottom of the pitch in a single action. Useful for switching perspective mid-session or when presenting to the other team.

Pitch Styles

Open Tactics → Pitch and choose a pitch tile. The controls below the tiles change with your selection.

For Realistic Grass, open Mowing and choose Plain, Bands (horizontal), Vertical Stripes, or Checkered. Vertical Stripes run along the length of the field; the separate Daylight control adjusts brightness.

Daylight changes the brightness of Classic, Vertical, Checkered, Solid and Turf. Realistic Grass has its own Daylight setting. Your selected pitch appearance is included when you save a set piece or export the board.

Field Zones Overlay

Toggle a 18-zone tactical grid over the pitch to discuss positional zones with your players.

• Show or hide the overlay independently of all other layers
• Toggle zone numbers on/off (useful when zones are self-explanatory in context)
• Opacity control — slide from fully transparent to fully opaque so it doesn’t overpower the tokens

Perspective Mode

Perspective Mode tilts the pitch to add depth. Turn on Shadows for front-facing player portraits and restrained contact shadows. Cards keep their chosen size; circles and kits use gentle depth sizing.

• Enable Perspective — turns the effect on/off instantly.
• Perspective — controls pitch tilt intensity (board foreshortening).
• Shadows — keeps players front-facing while the pitch recedes. It is saved with the board and each set piece. Existing boards keep their previous appearance until you turn it on.
• Token Angle — tilts cards and kits and adjusts depth sizing; circles remain front-facing. At 0%, cards and kits face you. Shadows temporarily replaces this control with Player Facing: Front and retains your angle for when you turn Shadows off.
• Background — choose Solid or Gradient while in Perspective Mode.

Team Size

In Tactics → Teams, choose Team Size between Load Team and Formation. Select 5v5 through 11v11; the number is players per team, including the goalkeeper. Your choice stays selected on this device until you change it.

Changing Team Size updates both sides, keeping the remaining players’ photos, styling and positions. Roster players outside the starting lineup stay on the bench, and drawings are kept. The roster’s Choose Starters… control selects who fills those places. If a loaded team has fewer players than the selected size, ordinary numbered tokens fill the remaining places on the board; no extra players are added to the saved roster.

Loading a team uses its available roster players, up to the selected size. Reset Board creates complete numbered sides at your selected size, with 11v11 as the default. Opening a saved board preserves its authored lineup; each team summary shows how many players are actually on the pitch. Choose the current Team Size again to fill or resize both sides. Half-pitch summaries account for the goalkeeper omitted from the opposite half. Undo restores the previous board arrangement; the chosen format and roster starter settings stay selected.

Preset Formations

Tactics Board View includes 15 built-in formations for both teams.

Select a formation from the Team panel. The formation applies to the selected side (Top or Bottom). The other side is unaffected.

Applying a Formation Mid-Session

Changing formation rearranges the current lineup. Once you have chosen a Team Size, preset and saved formations keep the players and count already on the board. Use Team Size to change the number of players.

Custom Formations

Build any shape you like and save it as a named custom formation for reuse.

1. Drag tokens to the positions you want for your formation.

2. Open the Tactics panel and tap Save Current.

3. Give it a name (e.g. “High Press 4-3-3”) and confirm.

4. Your custom formation now appears in the formation picker alongside the presets.

Loading a Roster into a Formation

If you have a roster set up, you can load players directly into a formation in one step. Their names, numbers, and photos are applied automatically. Position roles (LB, RW, ST, etc.) assign players to suitable slots. Left and right follow the team’s attacking direction, so the two teams face opposite ways. Use specific roles such as LB or RW for a preferred flank; general DEF, MID or FWD roles do not specify one. The last team loaded on each side is remembered on this device for new and reset boards. Reopening an authored board keeps its saved lineup and positions.

1. Open the Team panel on the side you want to populate.

2. Select your team from the roster list.

3. Choose Board side and Formation in the roster workspace, then tap Load to Board. Your starters are placed in the formation with role-aware positioning. You can change the formation any time in the Tactics panel.

Token Styles

Token style is set per-side. The Top team and Bottom team can each use a different style independently. Card tokens also offer optional Lineup and Angled Banner designs in Appearance. Existing card designs remain available.

To substitute a roster player without moving the token, right-click it on Mac or touch and hold it on iPad, then choose Substitute Player. Available players with the same position appear first. Undo restores the previous player.

Circle Token — Centre Content

• Number — shows the player’s shirt number
• Position — shows the position code (GK, LB, CM, ST, etc.)
• Photo — shows a cropped player headshot (requires photo in roster)
• Team Logo — shows the team crest

You can set the scope of this preference: apply to Both sides, or independently to Top or Bottom only.

Photo fallback — if a player has no photo, the token falls back to Number, Position, or Team Logo (your choice in Settings).

Token Colours

Ten preset colours plus a full custom colour picker:

Colours apply to all tokens on a side at once. Individual tokens can have their colour locked so they keep their colour when the side colour changes — useful for marking goalkeepers or key players.

Token Size

• Token scale — slider from 0.6× to your configured maximum (1.2× to 3.0×, set in Settings)
• Card scale — separate slider for card-style tokens, 0.5× to 3.5×

Adding Tokens on the Pitch

You can add new tokens directly from the pitch context menu while using the Select tool:

• Mac Right-click an empty area of the pitch, then choose Add Token → Add Top Token or Add Bottom Token
• iPad Long-press an empty area of the pitch, then choose Add Token → Add Top Token or Add Bottom Token

New tokens are created with the current side style and colour settings, and can be moved immediately.

Moving Tokens

Multi-Select

Select multiple tokens to move a group together. Activate multi-select mode from the toolbar button, then tap each token you want to include. Drag any selected token to move the entire group.

Token Context Menu

Right-click a token (Mac) or long-press (iPad) for quick actions:

• Edit player details (name, number, position)
• Clone Token (creates a ghost token at 70% opacity)
• Adjust Photo if loaded
• Change Token colour
• Delete token

Clone Tokens

By default, applying a formation resets all tokens to their formation positions. When a token is cloned it becomes a free-roaming token — it stays exactly where you placed it. Useful for showing a striker’s personal movement pattern within a formation.

Card Token Options

Card designs use the player’s imported roster photo or selected cutout, plus their roster number, name and position. Open Edit Player from the roster or from a token on the pitch to import a photo or choose Adjust Photo. Card and circle photo framing are separate; saved manual zoom and pan are retained.

In Appearance, choose Card Design for Top, Bottom or Both teams. Lineup uses an angled-end nameplate with the position below it; Angled Banner uses a slanted number-and-name banner. Both designs offer Card Colours: Design keeps the navy/gold or silver palette; Team uses the loaded team colours. Team colours follow changes to that side’s token colour and respect individual colour locks, including Lineup’s position and underline. Lineup also has a Show Position toggle. Choose Current / Team Default to keep the existing card appearance.

All card designs retain the existing card controls and behavior:

• Photo placement — zoom and pan the player’s photo within the card frame
• Card Size — adjust cards independently from Circle and Kit token size
• Card Outline — Black, White or Off, using a close-fitting frame around the card
• Card Background — shared by both teams and all card designs. None uses the cutout without a backing, Team Color adds a colour backing, and Original shows the imported photo background. If a cutout is unavailable, the imported photo is used.
• Names and numbers — player names stay visible on cards, including when the general Names switch is off. Numbers can be toggled in the Tactics panel. Lineup’s Show Position option controls its separate position label.

Current / Team Default retains the player’s Classic or Broadcast frame. Its Name Background control offers Gradient or Solid; Lineup and Angled Banner use their separate Card Colours choice for the nameplate.

The drawing tools live in the vertical strip on the left side of the canvas. Click or tap any tool to activate it. The contextual panel beside the tool strip updates to show that tool’s options.

Working with Drawings

Lines and Arrows share the same option set. An Arrow is simply a Line with a filled arrow as the end cap — you can convert between them by changing the end cap style.

Drawing a Line

1. Select the Line (L) or Arrow (A) tool.

2. Click or tap on the pitch to set the start point.

3. Drag to the end point and release.

Curved Lines (Bézier)

After drawing a line, select it with the Select tool. Two control point handles appear on the line. Drag these handles to bend the line into a curve. This creates a cubic Bézier curve — perfect for curved run lines and through-ball paths.

Line Options

Start and End Caps

Both ends of a line can have an independent cap style:

Right-Click Options (Lines & Arrows)

Right-click a line or arrow on Mac, or long-press on iPad, to access additional options:

Shapes — Circle, Square, and Triangle — work identically. Draw them by dragging. After drawing, use the Select tool to reposition, resize, and rotate them.

Shape Options

Fill Patterns

10 fill patterns are available when fill is enabled:

Right-Click Options (Shapes)

Right-click a shape on Mac, or long-press on iPad, to access additional options:

Choose the Text tool and tap the pitch to place a label. Editing supports native text selection and scrolling, so you can revise longer notes. Press Return for a new line. On Mac, press Command-Return to finish or Escape to cancel. Click or tap outside the label to finish. On iPad, Done and Cancel are above the keyboard. In Select mode, drag a corner handle to resize a label and adjust its font size.

Text Options

Moving and Rotating Text

Switch to the Select tool after placing a text label. Drag to reposition it. A rotation handle appears above the label — drag it to rotate the text to any angle. Rotation snaps to 0°, 90°, 180°, and 270° when within 10° of a cardinal angle.

Freehand Drawing

Select the Freehand tool (F) and draw freely on the pitch like a whiteboard marker. Choose your colour and width in the panel.

• Any colour from the picker
• Any stroke width
• Renders above all other layers

Eraser

Select the Eraser tool (E) to erase freehand strokes by drawing over them. The eraser size is adjustable — use a larger eraser to clear areas quickly, a smaller one for precision.

Double-tapping the canvas while in freehand mode instantly switches to the eraser and back — no need to reach for the toolbar during a live session.

Clear All Freehand

A Clear Freehand button in the Freehand panel removes all freehand strokes at once. This is undoable.

You can import images and place them as overlays on the pitch — useful for pressing diagrams, heatmaps, zone reference images, or club logos.

Importing an Image

There are three ways to import an image:

The image is placed at the centre of the pitch at 20% of pitch width by default. On Mac, the file picker accepts PNG, JPEG, HEIC, WebP, TIFF, BMP and GIF images.

Cancel the picker to return without adding an image. If an image cannot be read, check the message and choose another file or try the import again. Wait for Reading Image… to finish before starting another import.

Image Controls

Lock Position

Right-click (Mac) or long-press (iPad) any placed image and choose Lock Position to pin it to the pitch. A locked image cannot be dragged accidentally but can still be selected, resized, rotated, and styled. Choose Unlock Position from the same menu to make it moveable again.

This is especially useful when you’ve placed a heatmap or reference diagram precisely and want to draw over it without accidentally nudging it during a session.

Remove Background (Imported Images)

You can remove the background from any imported pitch image via the image context menu:

1. Select the image on the pitch.

2. Right-click (Mac) or long-press (iPad) the image.

3. Choose Edit Image → Remove Background.

4. Pick a mode: Person (best for people) or Subject (best for non-human objects/logos).

5. Pick a strength: Soft, Balanced, or Strong.

• Person mode uses human segmentation for photos with people.
• Subject mode uses foreground instance masking for non-human images.
• If a cutout result is too weak, the app keeps your original image instead of replacing it.

Tip: Start with Soft for faces and detailed logos, then increase to Balanced or Strong only if needed.

Two independent features help you manage lines, shapes, and images once they are placed on the pitch: Lock Position prevents anything from being moved accidentally, and Group Drawings ties multiple lines and shapes together so they always move and select as one unit.

Lock Position

Lock Position pins any line, shape, or imported image to its current location on the pitch. A locked element:

• Cannot be dragged or moved by gesture
• Can still be selected and tapped
• Can still have its style edited (colour, fill, width, opacity)
• Can still be deleted
• Is instantly unlocked from the same context menu at any time

How to Lock or Unlock a Line, Shape, or Image

1. Switch to the Select tool.

2. Tap the line, shape, or image to select it.

3. Right-click it on Mac, or long-press it on iPad.

4. Tap Lock Position to lock it, or Unlock Position to release it.

Group Drawings

Grouping links two or more lines and shapes so they behave as a single unit. Once grouped:

• Tapping any member of the group selects the entire group
• Dragging any member moves the entire group together
• Each member still has its own style — colour, width, and fill stay independent
• The group can be ungrouped at any time to restore individual control

How to Group Drawings

1. Switch to the Select tool.

2. Tap the Multi-Select button in the toolbar to turn it on — it shows Multi-Select On when active.

3. Tap each line or shape you want in the group. Each tap adds it to the selection — a second tap on the same item removes it.

4. Once all items are selected, long-press (iPad) or right-click (Mac) any one of them.

5. Tap Group Drawings in the context menu.

6. Turn Multi-Select off. The items are now grouped — tapping any one selects all of them.

How to Ungroup Drawings

1. Tap any member of the group to select the whole group.

2. Right-click (Mac) or long-press (iPad) any selected item.

3. Tap Ungroup Drawings.

4. Each item is now independent again and can be moved separately.

Combining Lock and Group

Lock and Group work well together. For example:

• Group a set of shapes that define a defensive block
• Lock the group’s position so it stays in place during a live session
• Draw run lines freely on top — nothing in the block will shift
• Unlock the position when you want to reposition the whole block as one unit

To lock a grouped set, tap any member (which selects all), then right-click or long-press and choose Lock Position. This locks every member of the group individually, so even if items are later ungrouped they each stay locked.

Any line, arrow, or shape can be saved as a preset. Presets remember the stroke’s style, colour, width, caps, and fill — everything except its position on the pitch.

Saving a Preset

1. Draw a stroke or shape and style it exactly how you want it.

2. Right-click the stroke (Mac) or long-press it (iPad).

3. Choose Save as Preset.

4. The preset now appears in the Drawing Presets section of the Line panel.

Using a Preset

Tap a preset in the Line or Shapes panel to place a copy on the board. The new drawing is selected and the tool switches to Select, so you can move or edit it immediately. You can store up to 36 presets.

A Set Piece is a complete snapshot of your board — every token, drawing, formation, and annotation — saved under a name so you can return to it instantly. Build your entire tactical library here.

Saving the Current Board as a Set Piece

1. Set up the board exactly as you want it — tokens, drawings, everything.

2. Open the Set Pieces panel using the flag icon in the sidebar.

3. Under Save Current, select a category or choose New Category, then enter a name.

4. Tap Save. A thumbnail is generated automatically.

Loading a Set Piece

Tap any saved set piece in the list to load it onto the board. The current board is replaced (but you can undo this). You can also overwrite an existing set piece with the current board state.

Saved set pieces appear as compact rows with a pitch thumbnail, name and date. Tap the row to load it, or use its trailing options menu for actions such as rename, duplicate, move, overwrite, export or delete. The Collapse All control beside Saved closes every visible category; Expand All opens them again. You can still expand or collapse one category at a time.

Categories

Organise your set pieces into categories. Preset categories include:

Create your own custom categories (e.g. “Free Kicks”, “vs. High Press Teams”) and move set pieces between them. Categories can be renamed and deleted.

Set Piece Operations

• Duplicate — create a copy to modify without changing the original
• Overwrite — update an existing set piece with the current board
• Reorder — drag to reorder within a category
• Delete — remove a set piece permanently
• Export — share as a .tacticsPiece or .tacticsPieces file
• Import — load a set piece file shared by a colleague or from another device

Exporting Set Pieces

Export set pieces individually or in batch, by selection or by category. Select the items or categories, then choose Export. These files include the board content and settings for further editing on another device running Tactics Board View. On Mac, choose a location in the save window. On iPad, choose Share in the Export sheet, then Save to Files or a sharing destination.

Cancelling the save or share window keeps your saved set pieces. Return to the selection and export again when ready. If export fails, read the message and retry with a writable destination.

The Roster stores your teams and players separately from the tactical board. Once your squad is built, you can load players into any formation with one tap, and their names, numbers, positions, and photos appear on the tokens.

Creating a Team

1. Open the Roster panel.

2. Tap Add Team and enter the team name, league, and country.

3. Optionally set a primary colour — this is used for kit token colouring.

4. Add players to the team (see below).

5. Mark the team as My Team or Opponent to organise your list.

Adding Players

For each player you can set:

The team header shows your selected Starters, Bench, and total Squad. Use the All, Starters, and Bench filters to find players quickly. Names, shirt numbers, and positions can be edited directly in each row. New players added to an existing squad start on the bench; select Starter or use Choose Starters… to include them in the lineup.

In the team editor, open View and choose Standard or Compact. Standard shows the larger player cards and photos. Compact fits more rows on screen by hiding the player photo column and repeated field captions; names, number, position, Starter/Bench and Edit remain available. Compact also hides the named-photo drop banner on Mac. Choose Edit to change a player photo or other details in either view. Your view choice is remembered on this device.

Player Photos

In Standard view, select a player photo, or use Edit in either view, to open player details, import a photo, prepare a cutout, or adjust its crop. Compact view hides row photos without removing the saved images. Imported photos are prepared at a suitable size for use in the app. Two photo variants can be stored per player:

• Standard photo — the imported photo
• Cutout photo — a background-removed PNG with transparency for clean display in card tokens

Enable Auto Cutout in Settings to automatically remove backgrounds from photos when they are imported.

For each photo you can adjust the zoom and pan within both the card frame and the circle token frame independently. Choose Adjust Photo… in Edit Player to frame the face, then save the player. Card and circle framing are separate, so check the token style you intend to use.

Use Choose from Photos or Import from Files… in Edit Player. Cancelling the picker keeps the current photo. If a file cannot be read, choose it again or try another image; an unsuccessful import does not replace the existing photo.

Team Logos

In the roster workspace, choose Team → Edit Team Info to choose a logo from Photos or Files. Choose Edit Logo… to adjust its framing if needed, then choose Save to keep your changes. Use a clear club logo with space around its edges; transparent PNG files work well. Cancelling a picker leaves the existing logo in place.

Importing Photos on Mac Mac

On Mac there are two ways to drag photos directly into the roster — no file picker needed:

The named-photo banner and circular photo slots are visible in Standard view. Switch to Standard to auto-assign photos by filename. In either view, you can also drop an image directly onto a player row, or use Edit to import a photo.

Importing Players from CSV

Load your entire squad from a spreadsheet exported from your club’s management software.

1. Prepare a CSV file with columns for first_name, last_name, number, and position. Choose Team → Download CSV Template… in the roster workspace for a pre-made template. The Team menu also includes CSV import and player photo help.

2. In the Roster panel, tap Import CSV….

3. Select your CSV from the file picker.

4. Wait for the import to finish. Players are added to the selected team; read any result message about skipped players or errors.

The CSV importer accepts a wide range of column name variations and starter indicators (1, yes, true, x, ✓ all work). For a new, empty team without a starter column, players become starters up to the selected Team Size (11 by default). Explicit starter columns are imported as supplied. For an existing team, incoming players without a starter flag stay on the bench. Loading the team applies the selected Team Size.

To cancel before reading starts, close the file picker. While a CSV is being read, use its Cancel control if you need to stop. After an error, check the file and use Import CSV… again. Downloading the template uses the same save or share flow as other exports.

Exporting Your Roster

Export a team as a .tacticsTeam file to share it with an assistant or colleague, or to move it to another device. Export multiple teams as a .tacticsTeams bundle. Player photos and the team logo are included. In a team workspace, choose Team → Export Team…; use the roster export picker when you want several teams. See Export & Print for saving on Mac and iPad.

Photo Auto-Assignment Sensitivity

When using the auto-assign banner (Mac) or loading photos to the board, Tactics Board View matches image filenames to players by last name. Control how strictly the match must score before a photo is assigned:

• Strict — only high-confidence matches are applied
• Balanced — the default, good accuracy with few mismatches
• Loose — applies more matches, useful when filenames contain extra words or abbreviations

This setting only affects the auto-assign banner and board-load matching. Dragging a photo directly onto a player’s picture slot always assigns to that player regardless of sensitivity.

Image Export (PNG / JPEG)

1. Prepare the board and use its visibility controls to show the teams, ball, drawings, names and numbers you want in the export.

2. In Settings, choose the default image format and export scale. PNG preserves image detail without JPEG compression; JPEG generally produces a smaller file.

3. Choose Export Image in the sidebar. On Mac, you can also use File → Export Image… or ⌘E.

The export uses the board as it was when you requested it. To include later changes, finish or cancel the current export and start another. If a save fails, read the error, check the destination and try again.

Perspective Exports

Exports always match your current board mode:

• Perspective ON — exported PNG/JPEG/PDF keeps the 3D pitch tilt and token depth look.
• Perspective OFF — exported files use the standard flat tactical board view.

PDF Export — Mac and iPad

Choose Export PDF in the sidebar. On Mac, File → Export PDF… or ⌘⇧E opens the save flow; on iPad, tap Share tactics-board.pdf and choose Save to Files or a sharing destination. Page orientation follows your pitch orientation. Text and drawing paths stay sharp where supported. Photos, grass and areas with overlapping transparency use image layers to preserve their appearance.

Presentation tools let you show your board live on a screen, projector, or TV while continuing to control the session from your device. On Mac, Present opens the clean pitch on the selected display. On iPad, you can choose between Present and Mirror depending on the setup you want.

Starting a Presentation

1. Connect an external display via HDMI, DisplayPort, or AirPlay (Mac), or use AirPlay / a cable adapter (iPad).

2. Choose your presentation mode from the toolbar.

3. Present opens the clean audience view on the external display.

4. Mirror sends the same pitch-canvas presentation path to the external display and keeps the iPad in a simplified presentation layout.

5. Continue working on your device — token moves, drawings, and freehand updates appear live on the connected display.

Recommended Present Mode Setup

• Use a wired external display when possible for the most stable motion and lowest latency.
• If using AirPlay, prefer a strong dedicated Wi-Fi network and keep the presenter device close to the receiver.
• Prepare your board before going live: load teams, set piece, and pitch orientation first.
• During live presentation, focus on token movement and minimal tool switching for the smoothest interaction.
• When presentation ends, controls and normal editing behavior return automatically on your device.

Choosing Between Present and Mirror on iPad

• Present is the clean audience view. The external display shows only the pitch while the iPad keeps the full editor.
• Mirror is the stability-first option. The external display uses the same pitch-canvas render path as the iPad, which can feel steadier during live movement and zooming.
• Only one mode can be active at a time. Tapping the active button turns it off.
• Both modes require an external display connection on iPad.

Presentation Controls

A small overlay appears on your device — not on the external display — giving you quick access to drawing tools without switching windows. In Present mode, players on the big screen see only the clean pitch. In Mirror mode, the iPad switches to a simplified presentation layout while keeping the same board live on the external display.

• Select — move tokens and interact with the board
• Freehand — draw live annotations on top of the board
• Quick pen colours — in Draw mode, tap white, yellow, red or blue to change the next stroke. The selected colour shows a checkmark; existing strokes keep their colours. The full colour picker remains available in the Freehand panel.
• Clear Freehand — wipe all freehand strokes instantly

What Shows on the External Display

The presentation view renders the full board including:

• All player tokens and the ball
• All drawn lines, shapes, and text labels
• Freehand annotations drawn during the session
• Placed pitch images (heatmaps, diagrams, logos)
• Perspective Mode — if enabled, the 3D tilt and depth effect show correctly on the external display, including all text labels and drawings

Tokens, drawings, and images all scale to match the external display resolution automatically.

Display Fit

Presentation Mode automatically fits the pitch to the connected display while preserving pitch proportions. No extra aspect-ratio setting is required.

How Remote Control Works

The Mac remains the source of truth. The controller does not take over the presentation display and does not render the audience screen itself. Instead, the controller sends input commands to the Mac, the Mac updates the real board, and the Mac presentation window stays smooth, clean, and full fidelity.

• Presentation priority: the external display is always driven by the Mac for the best quality and frame rate.
• Controller preview: the iPad or second Mac receives a live compressed preview so the presenter can see what they are controlling.
• Fresh state recovery: the controller has an Update Screen button that asks the Mac to resend the current board state and a fresh video keyframe.

Setting Up the Host (Mac)

The host is the Mac connected to the projector, TV, or presentation display. It advertises the remote session and applies every command the controller sends.

1. Make sure your Mac and the controller device are on the same Wi-Fi network.

2. Start a presentation by clicking the Present button in the toolbar. The audience display opens on your connected screen.

3. In the main toolbar — next to the Present button — click Remote Control (the Wi-Fi icon). A popover opens with a QR code and a 6-digit pairing code.

4. The board is now advertised to nearby devices. The button label changes to Ready and pulses to indicate it is broadcasting.

5. When the controller requests to connect, an Allow / Deny prompt appears. Click Allow to approve the session.

6. Once approved, the toolbar shows the session as connected and the popover shows the controller’s device name. Controller actions update the presentation in real time.

Joining as Controller (iPad or second Mac)

The controller is the iPad or second Mac used to drive the presentation remotely. It shows a live preview of the board and sends every gesture directly to the host.

1. Make sure you are on the same Wi-Fi network as the host Mac.

2. In the Tactics Board toolbar, tap or click Join Remote (the iPad icon). The browser sheet opens and immediately scans for nearby sessions.

3. Option A — QR code on iPad: tap Scan QR Code and point the camera at the code shown in the host’s Remote Control popover. The app connects automatically once the host approves.

4. Option B — Select the host name: when it appears in the Nearby Boards list, tap or click it, type the 6-digit code shown on the host, then tap or click Connect. After a successful pairing, that host may appear as Reconnect so you can join faster next time.

5. Wait for the host to click Allow. The controller view opens with a live board preview and the full control toolbar.

Using the Controller Board View

Once connected, the controller shows a live Mac-rendered preview of the board. Every action you take is sent to the host and reflected on the presentation display immediately.

Top Bar

Bottom Toolbar

Moving Players & the Ball

1. Make sure Move is selected in the tool picker at the bottom (the default).

2. Drag any player token to reposition it. The player moves live on the presentation display as you drag.

3. Drag the white ball to move it anywhere on the pitch.

4. Pinch to zoom and drag to pan — the presentation display follows your viewport in real time.

Drawing Live Annotations

1. Tap Draw in the tool picker at the bottom of the controller view.

2. Pick a colour from the colour row that appears.

3. Draw freely on the pitch — strokes appear live on the presentation display as you draw.

4. Tap Clear to remove freehand strokes from the live board.

5. Switch back to Move mode to interact with tokens again.

Loading Set Pieces

1. Tap or click Set Pieces in the bottom toolbar. A list of set pieces from the host appears.

2. Tap or click a set piece to load it. The host applies the board state and sends confirmation back to the controller.

3. A brief notification (“Loaded: Corner”) confirms success. If the set piece is no longer on the host, an error notification appears instead.

Changing Pitch View

Tap or click the Pitch View menu to switch between Full, Wide, Top Half, and Bottom Half. The presentation display and the controller preview both update instantly. If you change views and set pieces very quickly and the controller preview falls behind, tap Update Screen.

Undo

Board-changing controller actions, including player moves, ball moves, drawings, pitch view changes, and set-piece loads, create standard undo steps on the host. The host operator can undo using ⌘Z to step back through those remote actions.

Ending the Session

Requirements & Limitations

Troubleshooting

General

Token Sizing

Sizes are percentages of unscaled size; 100% is unscaled. The initial token size default is 80%.

Circle Tokens

Roster & Photos

Export

Performance

Unlock & Purchase

Reset

Cloud Sync

Use the same Apple Account with iCloud available on your Mac and iPad. Changes save on the device first; iCloud transfers them when account access and system conditions allow. Transfers can take time, especially after reconnecting or adding photos.

Incoming library updates do not replace the board you are currently editing. Avoid editing the same board on two devices at once: simultaneous board changes are not merged field by field. Keep a named set piece or exported copy when you need to preserve a particular version.

Data Management

Drawing Tools

Visibility Toggles

Pitch & View

Editing

Help — Mac and iPad hardware keyboards

Mac Menu Commands

On iPad, use the on-screen Export, Settings, and Present controls for these actions.

Build a Formation from Scratch

1. Open the Tactics panel and select a preset formation as your starting point (e.g. 4-3-3).

2. Drag individual tokens to adjust their positions for your specific shape.

3. Use the toolbar multi-select button to move a defensive line up or back as a unit.

4. Once satisfied, tap Save Current and give it a name.

5. Your formation is now saved and available for both teams in future sessions.

Design an Attacking Set Piece

1. Switch to Top Half orientation for a larger detailed view of the attacking zone.

2. Position your tokens in the corner kick or free kick starting positions.

3. Use the Arrow tool to draw run lines for each player. Use dashed lines for decoy runs and solid lines for primary movements.

4. Add text labels to number the phases (e.g. “Phase 1”, “Phase 2”). Cloning a token is also useful for this scenario.

5. Use a shape (circle or rectangle with low-opacity fill) to highlight the target zone.

6. Open the Set Pieces panel. Under Save Current, choose a category, name the play, then tap Save.

Load Your Squad into a Formation

1. Go to the Roster panel and ensure your team and players are set up with names, numbers, and positions.

2. Select your team from the roster list.

3. Choose Board side and Formation in the roster workspace, then tap Load to Board. Your starters are intelligently placed — LBs go to the left, RWs to the right, GK at the back, etc.

4. Switch to Card style in the Token Style picker to show player photos and names.

Run a Live Tactical Session

1. Connect your Mac or iPad to a screen or TV via HDMI or AirPlay.

2. Tap Present to send the clean pitch view to the external display.

3. Load your first set piece from the Set Pieces panel — it appears on the TV instantly.

4. Use the Freehand tool to annotate live during discussion.

5. Tap the next set piece to advance — no animations, no loading screens, instantaneous updates.

6. When done, tap the Present button again to end the presentation.

Export for Social Media or a Team App

1. Prepare the board with the formation and annotations you want to share.

2. Use visibility toggles to hide any layers you don’t want in the image (e.g. hide the opposition team).

3. Choose your default PNG or JPEG format in Settings, then select Export Image.

4. On Mac, choose a filename and save location. On iPad, tap Share in the Export sheet and select Files, Photos-compatible sharing actions or your team app.

Import Your Squad from a Spreadsheet

1. Prepare a CSV file with columns for first_name, last_name, number, and position. A pre-made CSV template can also be exported once a team has been created — use this as your starting point.

2. Open the Roster panel and select or create the team you want to import into.

3. Tap Import CSV… and select your file from the file picker.

4. Wait for the import to finish and read any result message. A new, empty team without a starter column starts with up to the selected Team Size. Existing teams keep incoming players on the bench unless the CSV marks them as starters. Loading the team applies Team Size. You can then add photos per player from your camera roll.

Create a Movement Marker (Clone Token)

Show a player’s movement from one position to another using a ghost token at the origin point.

1. Position the player token where you want them to move to.

2. Right-click / long-press the token and choose Clone Token.

3. A faded (70% opacity) copy of the token appears. You can move the cloned token anywhere you wish.

4. Draw an arrow from the clone token to the live token to show the run path.