it is an app and once you have the designs on the I pad you can work with them and change them and do all the things you do on the computer then when you get home you can transfer them to the machine and sew out the design. the app for watching the machine while operating is so if you have a color change or a thread break you can see it coming up. It really is much easier to use, a lot more intuitive. From what I read you can plan out the whole quilt or just a block