Tag: GoodNotes

Regarding GoodNotes 4

Screen shot of GoodNotes version 4.
iTunes Import for GoodNotes Templates

I’m receiving questions about a new version of GoodNotes that doesn’t allow direct imports of new template pages.  Here are my thoughts so far.

In GoodNotes 3, the easy method was to download a new template in Safari, choose “Open in GoodNotes”, tap the new page on the bookshelf, select Change Template from the menu, then add the Current Template and adjust its settings.

In GoodNotes 4, it is still possible to download pages and write on them, but I see no way to add them directly to the list of templates.  This does not prevent creation of multi-page notebooks, but it does become problematic for creating notebooks offline or trying to swap to a custom template on an existing notebook.

I was able to install custom templates in GoodNotes 4 through iTunes synchronization.  The less complex method is to tap the “Wi-Fi File Transfer” on the GoodNotes Options menu.  This requires a second computer to connect to the iPad’s web server through a wired or wireless LAN connection.

Another alternative is the monumental task of installing iTunes on a second computer, making a physical USB connection, dealing with a variety of error messages, and struggling to transfer files while the program attempts to fill up my network drives with 64 GB of backup data.

Bottom line:  You can keep GoodNotes 3, if you have it, and wait for better features in new versions, or you can deal with iTunes synchronization to install the templates you want.

Questions and comments are welcome.

Previous Post: White Templates for GoodNotes

White Templates for GoodNotes

Screen shot of the template import screen in GoodNotes.
Template Import

I’m playing with a note taking application for iPad called GoodNotes. It has a lot of potential to help replace notebooks for homework. It requires some customization because the default templates have a beige background. Beige is easier to look at on a bright computer screen, but it is impractical when printing. The built-in solution seems to be to export “notes only”. However, I have mixed feelings about printing handwritten notes from lined paper that has no lines.

Here are my customized templates, based on the built-in options, with the background color removed for better printing.

iPad-Size Templates

Portrait Landscape
PDFRuled (lined paper) PDFLandscape Ruled
PDFSquared (graph paper) PDFLandscape Squared
PDFMusic (staff paper) PDFLandscape Music
PDFBlank PDFLandscape Blank
PDFWide Ruled PDFManuscript Ruled
PDFDouble Ruled

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