Notepad+ is pen and paper right on your iPad.
Ever since I got my iPad, I’ve been searching for a really great note-taking app – one that you can save pictures in as well as annotate with hand-written notes. In my line of work, being able to take very extensive notes is key. Sometimes a client wants to redesign entire slides in a digital presentation and it can be hard to get the instructions accurately by writing the notes down. With Notepad+ for iPad, I can make all the changes I want and easily share those notes with colleagues or even clients.
Notepad+ allows users to take notes, draw, make sketches, annotate on PDFs, create lists and memos. The best part about this app is that it’s a native app for the iPad and it’s mobile. When I’m taking notes on conference calls, it’s almost exclusively on my iPad because it’s the most mobile option for me to carry with me.
When I started working with Notepad+ I was comforted by the familiar program layout that reminded me of Pages for the iPad. You select the paper swatch with a “+” symbol to start a new notepad. Then, you can start taking notes. One of the most impressive features of Notepad+ was the amount of templates that are available. There are 8 template galleries inside the app and each gallery has multiple options to choose from. From sports planning to geometric paper, the template galleries have you covered for any type of note-taking.
Another feature I really enjoy is the ability to handwrite notes. Even though there are many note-taking apps available, there aren’t many I’ve found that have a good handwriting option. Notepad+ does. First of all, my handwriting was legible. I have a stylus, but didn’t use it when creating an example. The one you see within this article is done with my index finger. I was very pleased with the result. In addition to the exceptional writing recognition that Notepad+ provides, the app also includes a lot of choices for pen/highlighter colors and point size. This is something that I’ve found with other apps, but they are usually an in-app purchase. These are included with Notepad+ at no extra charge.
Notepad+ just received an update today with the following features included:
- Brand-new lighter, cleaner design
- New shape tool includes arrows, squares, circles, triangles and more
- Ability to change the notebook template on the go
- Copy the notebook as much as you want
If you are looking for a good note-taking app, I would highly recommend Notepad+. It retails for $4.99 and is available in the App Store. For more information, visit apalon.com/notepad.
16 Comments
Any chance you can share how to annotate PDF’s using this application ?
I can’t figure out how to annotate PDF’s either. I can’t import images, but no PDFs.
Hello. It’s not a traditional annotation with text tools like you would have with Adobe Acrobat, but you can use the drawing tools to mark up a PDF. You first have to open the PDF on your iPad. Then tap on the Share icon. One of the options should be “Open In”. When you tap on that, Copy to Notepad+ should be an option. When you select it, the PDF will be imported to Notepad+ and you can use the tools in the app to annotate on the PDF. When you are done, you can then use the Share option (under the settings tool), to export it as either an image or a full PDF.
Hope this helps!
Thanks
that is a very clumsy process – wish there was a better way to import PDFs into the app …
I did this a couple times and it worked but then I imported another PDF and it flipped it upside down. Any idea of how to rotate pdf’s within the app?
best application
Helô. How do I do to copa and paste shapes?
Once you make an annotation on a PDF or image, there is an icon in the menu at the top of the page. It looks like a pair of scissors. When you select that option, you will see a box appear on the page with “Cut-Copy-Delete” as options. You can change the size of the box to fit the object you want to cut/paste. Once you select ‘Copy’, you will then see a dialogue appear giving you the option to Paste.
I need to know how to share it via iMessage is that possible?
I’m currently running the latest version — 3.9 updated May 2, 2017 — and it doesn’t look like they have an option available for sharing via iMessage. I show Email, Photos, and iTunes. There is an ‘open in’ option, too, but it doesn’t look like Messages is one of the apps you can share with.
Does it work with iPad 2 or with iPad Pro only?
Yes. It works with iPad Air 2.
How can you share multiple pages of the file via email? It seems I can only email one page at once… and that means if multiple pages, have to send so many emails…
I also have this problem. I would like to email the entire notebook.
I am also having the same problem. I have 46 pages and can’t share the entire notebook. Way too many pages to email separately. Does anyone know a way to achieve this? Thanks