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The best app for note taking in iPad is:

  • Notebooks for iPad

    Votes: 17 4.6%
  • UPAD

    Votes: 28 7.5%
  • neu.Notes

    Votes: 1 0.3%
  • Penultimate

    Votes: 65 17.5%
  • FastFinga

    Votes: 1 0.3%
  • Noterize

    Votes: 7 1.9%
  • Noteshelf

    Votes: 49 13.2%
  • Note Taker HD

    Votes: 43 11.6%
  • CourseNotes

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • PhatPad

    Votes: 2 0.5%
  • Notebooks for iPad

    Votes: 8 2.2%
  • WritePad for iPad

    Votes: 4 1.1%
  • Other (Please mention)

    Votes: 147 39.5%

  • Total voters
    372

GerritV

macrumors 68020
May 11, 2012
2,127
2,434
Anyone tried Thinkbook? Looks interesting.

This is a very nice interface, I like clean and uncluttered.
Unfortunately, I can't find anything in the app description about importing resp. annotating pdf's, exporting as... Also, no handwriting nor sketching.
Still, thanks for the heads-up.
 
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GerritV

macrumors 68020
May 11, 2012
2,127
2,434
Here's a nice feature of Remarks I just discovered: when you're writing in Zoom mode and make a mistake, you select the eraser to correct some. Once you stop erasing, a second later the Pen tool is automatically selected again, ready to continue. Saves one tap!
Doesn't work on fullscreen mode.
 

wadjj

macrumors regular
May 6, 2012
115
0
Here's a nice feature of Remarks I just discovered: when you're writing in Zoom mode and make a mistake, you select the eraser to correct some. Once you stop erasing, a second later the Pen tool is automatically selected again, ready to continue. Saves one tap!
Doesn't work on fullscreen mode.

Wow, I've been asking for this in other apps in ages, I always said in zoom mode it should be short tap for one-off erase, long tap for permanent switch. It won't be as convenient in fullscreen mode cuz probably one might want to erase several parts.
 

Lunfai

macrumors 68000
Nov 21, 2010
1,566
519
Sheffield
Wow, I've been asking for this in other apps in ages, I always said in zoom mode it should be short tap for one-off erase, long tap for permanent switch. It won't be as convenient in fullscreen mode cuz probably one might want to erase several parts.

Yeah, I think it should be a norm in note taking applications. I've been using this one other overs for ages, haven't looked back at Evernote since! But I've just been using normal Notes application since it syncs with Mountain Lion without hassle.
 

Roberson

macrumors newbie
Jun 11, 2012
11
0
I would like to vote for Note Plus and Noteshelf as best Note Taking app for iPad as per my experience.
 

Ruffian829

macrumors 6502
Jun 17, 2008
319
2
Notability is the best by far IMO.
From handwriting to typing to picture insert to PDF annotation... I LOVE this app.
Used it through my last year of law school, I didn't have to bring my laptop to school at all.
 

Travmakar

macrumors newbie
Jun 19, 2012
6
0
I chose Notability since it addressed all my wants. As long as you have Dropbox you can go back and forth between the iPad and PC.

Some features with this app.

- Numerous fonts, colors, bold/italic/underline options.

- Ability to email via PDF, RTF or note.

- Ability to work offline but unable to send or upload your notes unless you have wifi access. Which is what I expected.

- Compatible with Dropbox, Box, iDisk, WebDAV and iTunes.

- Ability to print or "open in" options.

- Within the same note you can - add photos, recordings, type text, handwritten notes and highlight.

I am sure I missed many more features BUT this is what I learned in 20 minutes from using the new app. Worth the .99 cents to see if you like it.
 

jojoba

macrumors 68000
Dec 9, 2011
1,584
21
As I've written upthread, my favourites are Notability and Circus Ponies Notebooks, but I've recently also checked out Daedalus. It's low on features compared to the former, but I like the simplicity of the interface and the way it just works with stacks of paper.
 

mattdeezy

macrumors 6502
Jul 3, 2011
300
286
Notability is awesome. I use 7 Notes Premium HD also for the handwriting recognition if I need to convert to text. But mainly I use notability.
 

CaptureNotes

macrumors newbie
Jun 28, 2012
1
0
Easily done in CaptureNotes 2

Is there an app that can combine typed notes and handwritten notes/drawings on the same page?

Sometimes I want to type down notes and at the same time write down equations or draw molecule structures.

Hi ebolamonkey... in CaptureNotes 2 you can easily combine drawings/writing on a page with typing. You can also do this with PDF imports or use one of our new Templates. We have an elegant Binder & Notebook file structure, Audio Recording and time-synced Flags which are great for recording lectures and getting back to exact points of the lecture when reviewing.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/capturenotes-2/id464386684?mt=8

Please give CaptureNotes 2 a look... we're implementing many great new features for the benefit of both students and professionals.
 

Ruffian829

macrumors 6502
Jun 17, 2008
319
2
Is there an app that can combine typed notes and handwritten notes/drawings on the same page?

Sometimes I want to type down notes and at the same time write down equations or draw molecule structures.

Notability works great for this. And only .99$
 

richimages

macrumors regular
Mar 20, 2008
128
4
Southeastern US
Notability is awesome. I use 7 Notes Premium HD also for the handwriting recognition if I need to convert to text. But mainly I use notability.

Add Notes Plus to that list ...
And, to be fair, a lot of these handwriting apps can do this, and if it can't ... just wait for a few updates to come along ... they're all getting better and better. Most do choose their favorite by functionality ... but it's getting to the point that functionality is so close ... that the interface is becoming more weighted for selecting a favorite.

That said, I still like Notes Plus ...
 

JMG

macrumors 6502a
May 4, 2006
554
2
I haven't been able to use it as much as I like, but between notability and penultimate, I like notability simply because I can use the keybo rd.
 

robdam1001

macrumors 6502a
Sep 23, 2008
998
2
Does Remarks have an easily accessible Wrist Guard? If so, how is it enabled?
 
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GerritV

macrumors 68020
May 11, 2012
2,127
2,434
Does Remarks have an easily accessible Wrist Guard? If so, how is it enabled?

Once you go into Zoom mode (tap on the "+" at the bottom), you get a dedicated wrist guard area below the writing box. You can easily resize it by dragging a reference point up or down.
In regular full-page mode, in fact there is wrist protection all over - but only if you disable the Multitask Gestures in the General Preferences.
 

softypolimer

macrumors member
Apr 21, 2009
55
0
I use note plus for long time and it's getting better and better every update. Recently, I brought notability which has a very similar feature and it's became my new fav.
 

robdam1001

macrumors 6502a
Sep 23, 2008
998
2
Once you go into Zoom mode (tap on the "+" at the bottom), you get a dedicated wrist guard area below the writing box. You can easily resize it by dragging a reference point up or down.
In regular full-page mode, in fact there is wrist protection all over - but only if you disable the Multitask Gestures in the General Preferences.

Thanks for the info. That sounds like a lot of work to simply bring up the wrist protection.
 

GerritV

macrumors 68020
May 11, 2012
2,127
2,434
Thanks for the info. That sounds like a lot of work to simply bring up the wrist protection.

A lot of work? Let me rephrase, I may have been unclear the first time:

- the Zoom mode automatically brings up a wrist guard that covers about 1/3 of the screen by default. So far, I didn't need to resize it.
- the Plain mode simply works, as long as you keep the Multigesture preference unchecked. A small sacrifice for some, perhaps - but I can easily work my iPad without this option.

So, in the end, Remarks gives me a wrist guard with no extra work at all. Again sorry if my first description reflected otherwise.
 

robdam1001

macrumors 6502a
Sep 23, 2008
998
2
A lot of work? Let me rephrase, I may have been unclear the first time:

- the Zoom mode automatically brings up a wrist guard that covers about 1/3 of the screen by default. So far, I didn't need to resize it.
- the Plain mode simply works, as long as you keep the Multigesture preference unchecked. A small sacrifice for some, perhaps - but I can easily work my iPad without this option.

So, in the end, Remarks gives me a wrist guard with no extra work at all. Again sorry if my first description reflected otherwise.


Ok. I tried it and you're right it really does work without the need to initiate the wrist guard. It just works! The wrist guard area is not visible, correct? You mentioned resizing the wrist guard..how is that accomplished? Also, When I upload a PDF, where will it be viewable in Remarks? I tried uploading a PDF and it appeared to upload but I can't seem to find the PDF anywhere on my ipad. Lastly, does Remarks sync audio notes along with the associated Note/PDF to DropBox? Or just the PDF? Notability has that capability and I like having that option.
 
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pcomac

macrumors regular
Jun 22, 2011
156
0
if i open pdf in notability, can i search the pdf (the pdfs have been OCRed in computer using acrobat)?
 

robdam1001

macrumors 6502a
Sep 23, 2008
998
2
Well Remarks has earned a spot on my Springboard and I've removed Notability for the time being.
 

GerritV

macrumors 68020
May 11, 2012
2,127
2,434
Ok. I tried it and you're right it really does work without the need to initiate the wrist guard. It just works! The wrist guard area is not visible, correct?
I'm glad you figured it out. In plain mode, the wrist guard is indeed not visible - unlike in the zoom mode, where it's a grayed overlay area at the bottom of the screen.

You mentioned resizing the wrist guard..how is that accomplished?
You can drag the bottom center black handle of the zoombox to resize the wrist guard area. In fact, what you do is redivide the height of the Zoom Area / Wrist Guard.

s63bc1.jpg


Also, When I upload a PDF, where will it be viewable in Remarks? I tried uploading a PDF and it appeared to upload but I can't seem to find the PDF anywhere on my ipad.
I'm not sure I understand you here. Depending on what I'm working on, here's what I would typically do:
1) On my Mac: upload a pdf to my Dropbox Remarks folder. Wait a moment for synchronisation and the pdf will show up within Remarks at my iPad.
2) On my iPad: open a pdf file in Mail, Safari... and tap the Export button that will say Open in... where I would pick Remarks. Next I'll move the pdf to one of my Remarks folders.

Lastly, does Remarks sync audio notes along with the associated Note/PDF to DropBox? Or just the PDF? Notability has that capability and I like having that option.
So far, I haven't used the audio notes yet (new in Remarks since it's latest update). I've briefly tested the setup from your question with a Remarks file that syncs to Dropbox: after adding/removing 3 audio notes, the file size in the Dropbox location didn't change a bit - so I don't think the audio is becoming part of the pdf file. Also, there's no separate audio file anywhere. I may well ask the developer about this.
 
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