When it comes to digital note-taking, it goes without saying that there’s a wide range of apps meeting the needs of different people. However, after researching and watching tons of youtube reviews, I ultimately decided to use GoodNotes. It’s the best note-taking app for all of my activities, and here’s why.
GoodNotes is a digital note-taking app developed by Time Base Technology Limited. The version I’m using is GoodNotes 5 for iPad OS, and I can confidently say that it meets my requirements for a note-taking app while even exceeding all of my expectations. Because of this, I rounded up a list of the things I love about GoodNotes and why I think you’ll love it, too!
1. Notebook Covers
One of the things that you’ll find on GoodNotes that you’ll rarely find anywhere else is its notebook cover feature. It allows you to create a virtual notebook and customize which design it will have for its cover.
There are tons of cover designs to choose from, whether you like simple designs, strong visuals, bright hues, or darker tones. You could also choose a notebook that doesn’t have a cover at all if that’s what you prefer.
2. Magnifying Glass
A noticeable difference when going from paper to digital note-taking is that you can’t bring it closer to your face whenever you want to get a better view of something or a more accurate angle while writing notes. Thankfully, GoodNotes offers zoom-in features along with the iconic magnifying glass capability.
This tool enables you to continuously look at the page as a whole, with a section of the screen solely dedicated to a specific part zoomed in. It also allows stabler handwriting alignment and cleaner strokes!
Even better, it saves your energy without zooming in and out to see if everything’s still in place. It’s also useful during lectures when you have to write more quickly but still want nice-looking visuals.
3. Lasso Tool
Ever wanted to scratch out an entire sheet of paper because you wrote something in the wrong area or want to move a graph you drew somewhere else? Worry not, because the lasso tool in GoodNotes solves all of these issues.
This feature is a fan favorite, and it’s easy to see why! To use it, all you have to do is draw a circle to select an object then move it around wherever you want.
The cool thing is that it not only applies to handwritten text, you can also use it for things like highlights and images. Combined with the undo shortcut, you’ll never have to worry about making mistakes on your notes ever again.
4. Template Customization
One thing that separates note-taking apps from word document apps, aside from handwriting capabilities, is the amount of customization that you can make with your virtual sheets of paper. While some apps only offer the option of having white paper for their pages, GoodNotes has templates for yellow and dark paper colors that are alongside the usual white ones for people who prefer them.
Aside from this, they also offer default templates for planners, accounting documents, and music sheets in each color! If the default templates aren’t what you’re looking for, GoodNotes also allows importing documents and images of pre-made templates from other sources.
This kind of flexibility is one of the things that takes GoodNotes from being a note-taking app to journaling or even an illustrating tool. The user-friendly interface also allows you to be free and exercise your creativity!
5. Selective Erasing
Everyone messes up one time or another. However, what if you messed up writing on top of a perfect part, and you can’t undo it anymore?
The selective erasing feature of GoodNotes allows you to erase only a particular tool that you used in a place where it’s merged with another one. If you accidentally messed up a highlight, but you don’t want to erase the text, this tool is the way to go!
You could also erase an entire stroke you mistakenly made while avoiding the accidental disappearance of the critical parts of the note. Cool, isn’t it?
Overall, these are some of the things that made me decide to use GoodNotes as my main note-taking, journaling, and planning app. While it may not be perfect for everyone, it adequately meets everything I need it to do and more.
If you’re ever thinking about trying it out, now is definitely the time to do it. Happy writing!
