iPad Using Notability AND Notes Plus on iPad Pro w/ Pencil?

[mdwsta4]

I just got a new 10.5" iPad Pro along with an Apple Pencil. I would like to shift away from notebooks and pens for daily notes in meetings to the iPad. I figured this would reduce the items I carry, make sharing notes easier, and searching for information in said notes easier.

The two apps I've had for years, but never really used much are Notability and Notes Plus. Bouncing back and forth between both apps, my initial impressions are the following:

Notability *Pros*
- Handwriting look/feel
- Numerous cloud service export options
- Ease of navigation
- Organizational sidebar

*Cons*
- Cannot search for keywords in handwritten notes
- Cannot convert handwriting to text


Notes Plus *Pros*
- Handwriting to text conversion
- Scratch out to erase/circle to cut/copy/move
- Ability to search for keywords in handwritten notes

*Cons*
- Extremely limited cloud service export options
- Handwriting doesn't look/feel as natural as Notability even after changing/customizing pen types
- Need to switch input type to navigate around the document


Ideally what I'm looking for is a way to email or save typed notes from meetings. Handwritten notes are great for myself, but if I want to share any of that information I need to type them out, so basically writing everything twice. Notes Plus does what I need to it to as far as handwriting to text conversion, but it does not feel that great to write with nor does it give me the cloud options I need (like Google Drive). If Notability had text conversion it would be the perfect app for me.

My question is, is there a way to transfer handwritten notes from Notability to Notes Plus simply to convert them into text? If you export something from Notability into a PDF or email, that information cannot be converted by Notes Plus.

Or is there another app that can convert handwriting into text?



Thank you!
M

 

[lexvo]

You could give Goodnotes a try. It has handwriting to text conversion, and for me also a good writing experience.

 

[qdreesmann]

I just got a new 10.5" iPad Pro along with an Apple Pencil. I would like to shift away from notebooks and pens for daily notes in meetings to the iPad. I figured this would reduce the items I carry, make sharing notes easier, and searching for information in said notes easier.

The two apps I've had for years, but never really used much are Notability and Notes Plus. Bouncing back and forth between both apps, my initial impressions are the following:

Notability *Pros*
- Handwriting look/feel
- Numerous cloud service export options
- Ease of navigation
- Organizational sidebar

*Cons*
- Cannot search for keywords in handwritten notes
- Cannot convert handwriting to text


Notes Plus *Pros*
- Handwriting to text conversion
- Scratch out to erase/circle to cut/copy/move
- Ability to search for keywords in handwritten notes

*Cons*
- Extremely limited cloud service export options
- Handwriting doesn't look/feel as natural as Notability even after changing/customizing pen types
- Need to switch input type to navigate around the document


Ideally what I'm looking for is a way to email or save typed notes from meetings. Handwritten notes are great for myself, but if I want to share any of that information I need to type them out, so basically writing everything twice. Notes Plus does what I need to it to as far as handwriting to text conversion, but it does not feel that great to write with nor does it give me the cloud options I need (like Google Drive). If Notability had text conversion it would be the perfect app for me.

My question is, is there a way to transfer handwritten notes from Notability to Notes Plus simply to convert them into text? If you export something from Notability into a PDF or email, that information cannot be converted by Notes Plus.

Or is there another app that can convert handwriting into text?



Thank you!
M

Hi,

Did you get your iPad 10.5 to recognise the Apple Pencil? I got my new iPad yesterday, but have been struggling all day to get Notes Plus to connect to Apple Pencil.

Thanks

 

[mdwsta4]

Thanks, I'll look into that app. Have you used Notability or Notes Plus as well? How does Goodnotes handwriting feel compared to either of the them?

You could give Goodnotes a try. It has handwriting to text conversion, and for me also a good writing experience.

Yep, no problems. Plugged the pen in, turned on bluetooth, recognized right away

Did you get your iPad 10.5 to recognise the Apple Pencil? I got my new iPad yesterday, but have been struggling all day to get Notes Plus to connect to Apple Pencil.

 

[qdreesmann]

Thanks, I'll look into that app. Have you used Notability or Notes Plus as well? How does Goodnotes handwriting feel compared to either of the them?



Yep, no problems. Plugged the pen in, turned on bluetooth, recognized right away

Thanks for your reply. I have 2 iPads: the Pro 9.7 and the new 10.5. Both running Notes Plus 5.0. The iPad 9.7 recognises the Apple Pencil, the 10.5 refuses to. Any ideas if I'm missing something?

 

[lexvo]

Thanks, I'll look into that app. Have you used Notability or Notes Plus as well? How does Goodnotes handwriting feel compared to either of the them?

I tried several note taking apps in the past years (Notability, Noteshelf, Goodnotes, Notes Plus, Apple Notes, Daily Notes, Drafts, ...).

For handwriting Noteshelf works best for me: it is the most fluid and has very natural handwriting. It also has good pen options. Noteshelf doesn't have OCR though. Goodnotes is close second. Notability used to be so-so for handwriting but improved dramatically in recent versions. I find Notes Plus decent, but for me the other apps work better.

I also think it comes down to personal preferences which app one finds best for handwritten notes.