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Note taking on the iPad Pro?
- Thread starter JawneeWin
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I like the ability for different page styles - traditional lined paper does it for me
Dark blue page style and white/yellow/cyan for me.
Many would disagree but I class notability as a 'Pro' app.
Dark blue page style and white/yellow/cyan for me.
Many would disagree but I class notability as a 'Pro' app.
again, the argument is what does 'Pro' mean.
i think Apple use the word literally just that. a word. nothing more or less. Just a nominal marketing word. Pro - meaning bigger and better. they're not trying to convince us it's just for paid professionals or high end users. it literally is a word in the title.
So, is notability a 'Pro' app? if you say so
to me it's just an app. a very good app, but no better/worse than any other app out there. it's all relative to who's using it and what it means to them.But, having used notability on my ipad2 with my stumpy finger and regular stylus, compared to the ipad pro and Pencil is chalk and cheese. using notability on my Pro with Pencil elevates the whole experience to my everyday working life. it helps me earn my living. this goes for other apps like Numbers, Pages, Paper etc etc - life on the ipad Pro is now professional for me, where as before on the regular sized device is certainly was not.
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Another vote for Notability. The seller for me is being able to record audio and Apple Pencil support. Hands down the best IMHO.
I'm gonna go against a lot of the crowd here, but my notes tend to be a bit different than most. I have about a half-dozen dotted notebooks that I've used over the years for work notes. My notes tend to be free-form, contain diagrams, and the like. The dotted notebooks work well for this.
Lately, I've been using Paper for my notes (even though it originally billed itself as a sketching tool). The pages when zoomed in act like dotted paper so that my writing is more neat (fairly new feature), and I can use the dots to set the size of objects in my diagram. I've used it to annotate images to take notes on a UI design that I'm working on. And if I just need a list, it handles that fairly well with text pages/attachments. The main downsides are the lack of search, and the organization is sparse if you like OneNote/Evernote levels of organization. But I have no problem with saving a "notebook" as a PDF when a project is done so I can archive it somewhere. Also, if you care about sync to another iOS device, it is limited (you can restore backups from other devices, but there is no strict "sync" that will only move a couple pages).
Lately, I've been using Paper for my notes (even though it originally billed itself as a sketching tool). The pages when zoomed in act like dotted paper so that my writing is more neat (fairly new feature), and I can use the dots to set the size of objects in my diagram. I've used it to annotate images to take notes on a UI design that I'm working on. And if I just need a list, it handles that fairly well with text pages/attachments. The main downsides are the lack of search, and the organization is sparse if you like OneNote/Evernote levels of organization. But I have no problem with saving a "notebook" as a PDF when a project is done so I can archive it somewhere. Also, if you care about sync to another iOS device, it is limited (you can restore backups from other devices, but there is no strict "sync" that will only move a couple pages).
Exactly. Moleskine and Leuchtturm both have notebooks in this style. The difference is Leuchtturm had much more subtle dots, so using a document scanner app would usually ignore them, which was perfect. Having something like that in 53's app is nice for those of us who used this type of paper with physical notebooks, since it behaves similarly: zoom in, get the dots, zoom out, they disappear and leave just the content.
Notability is cool. I prefer Evernote and OneNote though, since they are both available on both Windows and OS X.
I'll have to check it out that seems like it would be nice
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I can see where that would be more beneficial I started with one note and moved to notability but I'm only using Mac d the backing up between devices was easier that way
I like Notability, except when I insert a .pdf floorplan of a building and start making notes. Notability can be slow to redraw when I move the drawing around. Other note programs don't do this so it doesn't appear to be an ipad pro issue. I don't like one note for ios with it's limited functionality compared to windows versions.
I posted this in the other thread where they are talking about apps for note taking. Here are some of my thoughts...
- Paper by 53: I really don't like the ink engine. I'm glad they have a lot of tools, but I really don't like the way the pen marks appear. It's just too skinny for me. Plus there is quite a bit of lag with the Apple Pencil. I really feel like the app isn't really made for notes as much as it's made for sketching and diagramming. Great app, but not for note taking IMO. Also a pain to sync notes because you have to sign up for a Paper account. Blah.
- Penultimate: I like the writing engine more. The size 2 pen is great. It doesn't lag as much and the ink just flows nicely. The one thing that really annoys me is that scrolling w/ 2-fingers is hit or miss. Sometimes it doesn't move and it just makes a pen mark. Plus it really annoys me that there isn't any gesture support for undo. I have to actually tap the button at the top-right to undo. Don't like the syncing that much either. I've never gone over the limit, but you only get like 60 MBs of data transfer a month. Weak. Oh yeah, cutting and moving text also leaves behind some marks and doesn't cut smoothly. That's also real annoying.
- Notability: Downloaded it today after all the recommendations. It's good. Easy to keep stuff organized, UI is decent. I think it's easier to use and understand than Penultimate. The pencil works amazing with the app. No perceivable lag. I really like the pen writing engine. It looks nice and it's extremely customizable when it comes to the thickness and color of the stroke. Scrolling with 2-fingers is spot on. Paper is easy to customize. This really makes up for all the things Penultimate is lacking. HOWEVER, I'd like to see an undo gesture. It's just easier than tapping on a specific target. Other than that, I'm happy I paid $5.99, it's worth the money.
- Paper by 53: I really don't like the ink engine. I'm glad they have a lot of tools, but I really don't like the way the pen marks appear. It's just too skinny for me. Plus there is quite a bit of lag with the Apple Pencil. I really feel like the app isn't really made for notes as much as it's made for sketching and diagramming. Great app, but not for note taking IMO. Also a pain to sync notes because you have to sign up for a Paper account. Blah.
- Penultimate: I like the writing engine more. The size 2 pen is great. It doesn't lag as much and the ink just flows nicely. The one thing that really annoys me is that scrolling w/ 2-fingers is hit or miss. Sometimes it doesn't move and it just makes a pen mark. Plus it really annoys me that there isn't any gesture support for undo. I have to actually tap the button at the top-right to undo. Don't like the syncing that much either. I've never gone over the limit, but you only get like 60 MBs of data transfer a month. Weak. Oh yeah, cutting and moving text also leaves behind some marks and doesn't cut smoothly. That's also real annoying.
- Notability: Downloaded it today after all the recommendations. It's good. Easy to keep stuff organized, UI is decent. I think it's easier to use and understand than Penultimate. The pencil works amazing with the app. No perceivable lag. I really like the pen writing engine. It looks nice and it's extremely customizable when it comes to the thickness and color of the stroke. Scrolling with 2-fingers is spot on. Paper is easy to customize. This really makes up for all the things Penultimate is lacking. HOWEVER, I'd like to see an undo gesture. It's just easier than tapping on a specific target. Other than that, I'm happy I paid $5.99, it's worth the money.
I have Notability and Goodnotes, and I've been gravitating to Goodnotes because of the text search capability. May try Notability again after all the good comments, though...
I have a question to those who take notes. Wouldn't it be better to have recording capability? If I'm in a class or meeting, the fact that the session is being recorded is a HUGE benefit. Sometimes I may miss a couple of key points. If I do or for some reason I drift off for a few seconds, I simply jot down "Listen to this". Then later I simply tap on the text and I'm exactly at that point in the recording. The Livescribe Smart Pen did this and I loved it.
This is why I like Notability so much. The fact that I can go back and listen to any portion of the meeting is much better than relying purely on my written notes. Once you experience this capability, you never want to go back.
Yeah, I know. There are some things you can't record. Also, there are those who think their written notes are sufficient which is fine. I'm just kind of throwing this out there.
This is why I like Notability so much. The fact that I can go back and listen to any portion of the meeting is much better than relying purely on my written notes. Once you experience this capability, you never want to go back.
Yeah, I know. There are some things you can't record. Also, there are those who think their written notes are sufficient which is fine. I'm just kind of throwing this out there.
My go to two are GoodNotes and OneNote. In addition to all the features discussed above (and the desktop OneNote app), both can completely ignore finger input and ink only from the Pencil, which is nice.
Yup, this is a fair criticism. And the worst part is that the ink pen tool changed recently. It used to be a bit better than it is currently. And yes, diagramming is a strength, but that's how I tend to work. My notebooks are for dumping my ideas, questions, etc out onto something so I can refer to it later. Not so much recording details in a lecture, and when I do, I tend to write them in a way to remind myself and note my thoughts, rather than the content. When I do that, I tend to bullet list things with links to the slide deck/etc, and typed notes are good for that use.
So in some ways, it may help to understand the type of notes someone takes to understand why they use certain tools. I suppose my approach isn't what the OP may be asking about.
It depends on what you are looking for. For me, if I have access to the slide deck or some other specific material, I'd rather use that as the reference, rather than the words. If there's something interesting in the words, that's what I note. But my scenario is probably a bit more common in a work setting than an academic one. Although I'd hope it would be more common in academia in the time since I graduated. I don't want lecture notes to be a copy of the lecture, but rather the key things that help me digest the rest of the material more easily.
At work, the majority of my notes are things I jot down in the course of work. So there's nothing to record, and it's more about making an idea more solid for reference, and sometimes about recording data and thoughts for later, which aren't verbal notes. Some do like to work that way though.
And while I don't think you did it intentionally, saying "those who think" tends to imply that you don't believe people when they say it is sufficient for them.
I have been trying to get an experience for taking notes like we have with the ipad pro and pencil through several tablet pc's, surface pros, and fat stylii on iPads. This is so real you swear it's on real paper--only its unlimited and has colors!
I so far just use evernote's sketching function, but it is amazing!
I so far just use evernote's sketching function, but it is amazing!
I'm in the midst school, so I take tons of notes, sketch a bunch, and then everything in-between (except photoshop or final cut pro stuff) but I love this thing. I can't really take notes on paper anymore because iPads (especially this guy) have made it so amazingly awesome.
Just make sure that everyone is aware of the limitations of the Apple Pencil in the upcoming iOS 9.3 update. Apple feels that people are getting it confused with a stylus and are limiting it's functionality. Just make sure it does exactly what you need it to do. It would be an expensive disappointment.