I’ve recently updated the tools that I use to take handwritten notes on my iPad. First, I updated my hardware; I now use the Wacom Bamboo Stylus that I reviewed two days ago. Second, I updated the software that I use on my iPad. For a long time I had been using Note Taker HD. It is a powerful app but has a confusing interface and it lacks one feature that I found in another great app Notes Plus, the ability to see your prior writings in a magnification window (I’ll explain what I mean by that in a moment), but Notes Plus lacked the speed of Note Taker HD. And then there is Noteshelf, an app that has a beautiful interface but isn’t quite as powerful as those other two. For a few weeks now I’ve been using another note-taking app called GoodNotes. GoodNotes is a $3.99 app (the developer sent me a free version to review) that includes the best of all of the features that I loved in Note Taker HD, Notes Plus and Noteshelf.
[For an update to this review, see this post from July 16, 2012.]
Interface
GoodNotes has a nice interface that is easy to use. You take notes in notebooks (which can contain as many pages as you want). You can create covers for notebooks if you want. You can organize notebooks into folders, and you view the notebooks in each folder on a series of shelves that mimics the iBooks interface.
Viewing a Notebook
Once you tap on a notebook, you can view the pages. Just swipe left and right to move between pages and pinch to zoom.
The button at the top right allows you to take notes on a page using, for example, the pen tool. The button at the top left shows you the different pages in the notebook and gives you a link to return to the main library.
From here you can rearrange pages, delete pages, copy and paste pages, export individual pages from a notebook, etc.
Pen, Highlighter and Eraser
You have a choice of three pens. First, you have a thick highlighter with two different pen sizes and five different colors. When you highlight text, the text underneath the highlighting stays dark — unlike some apps that make the underlying text hard to read when you add highlighting. Second, you have a pen with three different tip sizes and ten different colors. Third, you have an eraser.
Magnified Input Field
All good iPad note-taking apps include a magnified input field so that you can write in a large window at the bottom of the app and have the text appear smaller on the page itself. This is the only way to get a large number of words on an iPad page because the iPad cannot recognize input that is as small as the tip of a real pen. Apps like Note Taker HD and Notes Plus notice when you are getting to the end of the magnified input window and let you continue writing in the left portion of the window. In Note Taker HD, however, it is tough to know exactly where you need to start writing again. Notes Plus solves this by showing you the text you have already written in that left portion of the magnified window so that you can see exactly where to place the next letter. GoodNotes works the same way and it works great. Better yet, the text input is very fast even when in the magnified window mode, just like Note Taker HD, and unlike Notes Plus which I find to have a slight lag.
You can change the magnification in this input field by pinching inside of the magnification window, making it easy to add the small print that some lawyers are famous for. You can also adjust the side margin so that when you get to the end of one line, you don’t start all the way at the edge of the page. (In the pictures above, that dotted blue line represents the left margin that I created.)
Select and Move Text
Sometimes you write something, and then you realize that you want to put something else just before it. Thus, it is nice to be able to select something that you have written and move it around. GoodNotes has the best feature that I’ve seen for this. Just tap the selection tool (right next to the eraser) and circle some text. (If you select any part of a pen stroke, the entire pen stroke is selected, even parts that fall out of the circle.) Then you simply drag the text to some other location.
Add Typed Text
Sometimes you want to type something on a page instead of writing with a stylus (or your finger). You can create a text input box by tapping two fingers at the same time on the screen. Depending upon how far apart your fingers are, that is the size of the text input box. You can then type using the keyboard, or paste text that you have copied from some other app, or dictate text if you have a third generation iPad.
Import and Annotate Files
You can import files into GoodNotes a number of different ways. For example, the app lets you import a picture from your Photos library (or take a picture using the iPad’s camera) and then you can use the tools to annotate a photograph. (Read this post from a year ago to understand why this can be incredibly useful in a deposition.) In addition to using a picture as your entire page, you can also insert a picture into a page and then resize it to make it take up as much of the page as you want.
You can also use the “Open in…” menu to open a file such as a PDF file from an e-mail. Or, from within GoodNotes, you can import a file from Dropbox or Box.net. I have found this to be very handy when a colleague sends me a PDF file and I want to annotate it. Using the pen and highlighter, I can circle things, draw in the margins, highlight text and then e-mail back the annotated file when I am done.
You can also import a file and then use it as a template for future notebooks. GoodNotes comes with several notebook templates including a blank page, a page with lines on it, a page with a grid (like graph paper) and even a page with music staffs. But you can create any other background on your computer and then use it as a basis for a new template. For example, I thought it might be nice to have lined paper that also had a dotted red line on sides to create a left and right margin, so I took the built-in template with lines (called “Ruled Paper”) and then used a PDF program on my computer to draw two dotted lines. I sent that file back to GoodNotes and made it my new default template:
Conclusion
GoodNotes does not have every feature of those other apps I mentioned. For exaple, unlike Notes Plus, it cannot convert handwriting into text or create perfect circles and squares. In fact, unlike many other apps, GoodNotes cannot insert shapes at all (although the developer says that this is planned for a future release). But when it comes to the features that I find most useful in other apps when taking notes, GoodNotes has them all, and the app itself is very fast to use. And while there is always tension between ease of use and features, I find that GoodNotes strikes the right balance, packing a lot of capability into a good looking and relatively intuitive interface.
If you want to take handwritten notes on your iPad, I highly recommend that you get yourself a stylus and download a copy of GoodNotes. This is an excellent app that has quickly become one of the most-used apps on my iPad. If you want to try before you buy, there is a free version of the app that limits you to two notebooks, a limitation that can be removed with a $3.99 in-app purchase.
Click here to get GoodNotes ($3.99): [removed]
Click here to get GoodNotes Free (free): [removed]
NOTE: Those old links no longer work; here is an updated link to the GoodNotes app ($7.99): 
Jeff,
THANK YOU for pointing out this superb program. For the use I’ve been writing you about — marking up PDF drafts of briefs — it may be the holy grail. It has just the tools I need and no more, and they work very well. And it has one great feature that I haven’t seen anywhere else that solves a real problem.
PDFs generated from word processors render very quickly on my third-generation iPad, but not scanned PDFs (whether or not OCR’d). Not only do the pages load slowly, but they can be very slow to reload when you zoom in or out. This is a particularly big obstacle for Notability, which is otherwise one of my favorites.
When you first load a scanned document in GoodNotes, you get the opportunity to “optimize” it — you can speed it up with some loss of definition. It works very well. I tried it with a 1.5M, 55-page scanned/OCR’d document, and while the rendering wasn’t instantaneous, it was easily fast enough for serious work.
I don’t think this is the same process as optimizing in Acrobat, although it must be similar. When I loaded the same 55-page document after optimizing it in Acrobat, GoodNotes still asked if I wanted to optimize. However, when I declined, the document seemed as zippy as when I optimized the original PDF from within GoodNotes, so they must be at least similar.
It looks like the developer did an excellent job of cherry-picking the best features from its competitors and brought them together in a smart and elegant way. I expect to use the program a lot.
Robin
Can you please explain again how I can type on this app. I haven’t been able to. Thanks!
Hold down your finger on the screen wherever you want to type. After a few seconds a window pops up with five icons in it. The first icon has a “T” in it. Tap that icon and a text box is created where you can type.
Hi and thanks! But of course you can make squares, circles and triangles; in the left corner of the pen icon you have a few geometric figures. If you tap there you can draw a free hand circle that turns to a vector circle. The same goes for other geometrical figures.
I found this review because I had forgot how to type, but you reminded me. 🙂
That feature was added after I published the original review. See my updated post on July 16, 2012 — there is a link in the above post.
They are plenty of apps to take notes on your ipad but very few are really productivity apps able to generate structured reports. Writing down meeting minutes or meeting reports is a painful process which is time consuming.
iTakeNotes has been released on the appstore recently: the principle is to formalize notes during the meeting and get a meeting report as soon as the meeting is over in pdf and in .txt if you want to review the format. They provide audio recording and camera so as not to lose any data during the meeting. The app exists in english and french and a spanish version is on its way, it is a very productive tool for those who spent desperate time formalizing their meeting notes.
I love GN and recommend it to everyone. However, there is still room for improvement. Just my opinion, but after the last update it seems different. I don’t use it every single day but at least a couple times a week.
My suggestions: I liked being able to minimize the entire page as I input. That’s not working
The other irration is that I can’t figure out how to easily reorder the Pgs.
I can’t imagine how difficult/time consuming it is to keep up to Apples updates.
Again, love, love love this App 😃
To reorder pages, just tap the icon at the top left with the boxes, then tap edit, then drag the pages around.
Yes, I am using iPad(s) since version 1 to excessively take notes with pen(s).
I was hung onto NoteTakerHd for quite some time (over one year actually) but found its GUI cumbersome and not very intuitive. The program also has gotten rather slow.
I was using NoteBinder for a while but it does not seem to store its notes in vector graphics bus instead in pixel form. Though, O found the Binder concept and easily access to all notes/pages/folders very good. In addition, one of the killer features is the scrapbook. It´s available from everywhere in the program, Just hit it, it collects all your scribbling, which you can sort later an attach page-by-page or a bunch of pages to the correct NoteBook.
Recently I stumbled across GoodNotes, especially since it supports the Pogo Connect (a really brilliant stylus). The palm rejection si implemented perfectly. Finally a software/hardware combination that I can simply start and REALLY use as if I would be writing on paper.
If I would have a few wishes for a note taking up free: 🙂
(i) Scrap book easily accessible from anywhere in the program
(ii) free rotation of marked objects
(iii) more intuitive “move pages from notebook A to notebook B” (rather than copy and paste)
(iv) a better GUI organisation for Folders (why just ugly text ?) and NoteBooks. Why can´t I collapse Notebooks to single lines or so. I organise >100 NoteBooks.
Anyway, GoodNotes has the chance to grow to my number one note taking app on the iPad !!!!
How do I email a page from a notebook?
Tap the three dots at the top right, then export the page to email.
After I write something with my finger or stylist I’d like to change the font to looked typed. Is this possible? I’ve seen someone who had an app that did this? I thought it was good notes but I’m not able to figure it out.
Thanks.
Notes Plus can convert your handwriting to text. My review:
http://www.iphonejd.com/iphone_jd/2012/01/review-notes-plus-take-advanced-notes-convert-handwriting-to-text.html
How I can copy paragraph or line?
Use the select lasso to move stuff around.
I am just testing goodnotes on my iPad – looks good so far but I am struggling to work out how to add an extra page into my notebooks… I am sure it must be simple – am I missing a trick?
Just tap the plus sign at the top left of the screen to add a page above or below the current page, and if you want you can choose a different template for the inserted page.
Thanks for the helpful review. I am using lite version of Goodnotes on my iPad for reading and marking a Vietnamese language learning textbook in PDF.
Before deciding wether to buy it or not, I came to read your review. But if you know any other better App,
then please give your opinion.
I just open a page of PDF file and at most cases zoom it to read more easily and mark whenever I come
across a phrase or a word that seems important to memorize.
Mr. Richardson:
Your comments and reviews about iPad note taking apps have been extremely helpful. I have decided to try Good Notes but I have 2 question:
1. Concerning templates-can they be multi-page and either text or handwritten formats?
2. Can camera images of eg. EKGS and photos of computer screen images eg. Chest X-rays and lab reports be incorporated into the notes?
1. Each template is a single page, but you can use multiple templates in a single notebook. For example, for the first page I can use the template that is a cover of the notebook, and for subsequent pages I can use a template of a lined notebook page.
2. Yes, you can insert an image on a page, and then you can resize and rotate that image.
-Jeff
What is the best stylus to use with this App and other handwriting apps?
I’ve used various over the years but non that I’ve tried so far have given me the fluidity I desire.
I like the Wacom Bamboo Stylus duo.
-Jeff
Hi Jeff,
Thank you for a great review. I was wondering if GoodNotes has a handwriting to text conversion feature and if those notes can be exported to say a MS Word document? I downloaded the free version but i haven’t been able to find such a feature.
Lastly, if GoodNotes is incapable of doing this can you recommend an app that is? I am specifically after an app that i can read PDF e-books in that will allow me to take handwritten notes using a stylus that will then convert my handwriting to text that can then be saved separate from the PDF e-book. This way i don’t have writing all over my e-book and i don’t have to flip through the pages and re-read my annotations to find the note i was after. Furthermore, this would be great if i could export the notes a part from the PDF e-book.
Thanks so much for your time
I reviewed an app called Notes Plus that can convert your handwriting into text:
http://www.iphonejd.com/iphone_jd/2012/01/review-notes-plus-take-advanced-notes-convert-handwriting-to-text.html
Having said that, I don’t think that even that app can do what you want, let you take notes on a PDF file and then easily convert all of those notes into text. In Notes Plus you select handwritten notes on a specific page then convert that specific page to text.
-Jeff
Jeff,
I’m having trouble on how to turn on the palm rest feature??
Great app but I have a couple of problems:
in lectures I like to take notes but don’t want everybody to read them so I make them very small. to read at home I don’t just want to enlarge the screen since then I have to move the text around because it does’n adjust to the page. so I enlarged the writing but then I lose some of the text on the bottom. I can’t scroll down…. plus when I highlight words and then make the whole thing smaller again the highlighted lines don’t stay where I put them on the words but stay where they are on the page….
is there a way to do these things that I dont’t know of?
thanks for your help!
Does it have a automatic backup?
Yes.
-Jeff
I have Goodnotes version 3 in my IPAD. When ever I touch the existing Notebook on the main screen it gives a message “Enter a New name”. I have to cancel this message and keep on touching the notebook sign and cancelling the message several times, then the page opens up. Why is it not opening my notebook document on my first touch on the notebook?
I never saw that error when I used the prior version of GoodNotes, but perhaps someone else knows what to suggest. Moreover, you should consider spending $5.99 to upgrade to GoodNotes version 4, the current version of the app — a great version, that was just updated to add the ability to convert handwriting into text so that you can search your notes.
-Jeff
Can you tell me please, why I cannot open notebooks any more, after up-dating my fantastic Good notes App?
Thanks a lot
Enrico
Are you using this (older) version of GoodNotes or the new GoodNotes 4 app? Is it possible that you use to have the old app and you just bought the new app? If so, you need to transfer your notebooks from the old to the new app, which I thought the app told you how to do. If you previously had GoodNotes 4 and you just updated to a new version of GoodNotes 4, I don’t know what to tell you since it worked fine for me. And finally, if you are still using the original version of GoodNotes, I no longer use this version of the app but perhaps the developer can help you. Good luck!
-Jeff
Why does the highlighter feature completely cover the text or writing instead of “highlighting” it? We are having issues with our Goodnotes.
I don’t see that at all. But note that I am using the current version of this app — version 4.5. (Version 4 was a different app.) I’m not sure if you are still using the old version, and perhaps that has something to do with it? But I can tell you that highlighting works great for me, using the latest version of the app.
-Jeff
I love love this app but please tell me if a document can only be a certain size. I have a program that I work on everyday so it keeps growing. Right now the size is about 1.71MB and it won’t download anymore. I keep trying but the little symbol keeps going around in a circle but never completes.I’m no longer using the old app because I’v updated some time ago. Please let me know what I might be doing wrong. Thanks,
Lorraine
It would not surprise me if the app starts to have problems as document sizes reach a certain size — especially if you are using an older iPad with less memory — but I myself have not encountered any such limits.
Are you using the latest version of GoodNotes? This review is of an older version. The new version is called GoodNotes 4 and is a different app than the original app (i.e. you need to purchase it even if you owned the older version).
Good luck!
-Jeff
I want to add a Hyperlink to my template how do I add it on goodnote and if I cant , what is a good app that I can do it and then transfer to my goonote?