An app to take handwritten notes and store/edit them as files

[jsx97]

Is there an iPad app to take notes by hand (that is, by using Apple Pencil) that works more like Pages and not Notability?

What I mean is that Pages (or Numbers or e.g. TextEdit) work with your files. You have some document, that is, a file, for example ~/Documents/my-document.pages, double click it in Finder, then edit it with Pages, and after you have finished to edit it, you close Pages, and the edited file remains in the same folder where you have opened it.

This simple approach is impossible with Notability (or GoodNotes, which I have also tried). Yes, you can export your handwritten note from Notability to some folder on your disk, but to edit that exported copy, Notability will ask you to import that note back first.

 

[neutrino17]

Actually, you can use Pages. Start annotating and then choose the pencil with the capital A on it. You write with the pencil then when you pause it converts to text. I don’t think it saves the scribbles, just the text.

I just tried it. The keyboard remains active while you scribble with the pencil which is helpful.

 

[jsx97]

The problem is that I don't want to convert my scribbles to typed text. I have some kind of OCD when it comes to work with typed text, so I try to use it as less as possible.

 

[neutrino17]

Sorry, so you don’t want to convert writing to text, you just want to save the hand written lines.

You can still do that with Pages, just choose a different pen.

You might also look at Concepts. Concepts has a number of pens, line widths, etc. You can create individual files.

It is more oriented to sketching out ideas than note taking but it might work for you. I use it for keeping hand written notes mixed with simple drawings (I’m not at all artistic.)

For hand written notes I add in a small amount of smoothing, about 5 - 10% in the settings for each pen.