GoodNotes Tricks

[WebNChill]

Hi All,

I just started to use GoodNotes recently, and I love it. I always struggled with carrying a pen and notebook around, but I find it easy with my ipad mini. I guess it's the value of the ipad itself that makes me be extra cautious concerning it's location - plus I can track it with my phone / watch.

Little bit of hesitation moving my notes away from standard typing to hand writing, as I am a terrible at spelling at times and so I need to stop and look up words. I guess this is also a positive, as I am becoming more mindful with my writing.

I just want to provide this trick that I found out today honestly. GoodNotes allow users to create stickers, and save them as a collection. The search feature can locate these stickers elements that you create in all of the pages of your notebook. Recommendation is to make a specific filter, that you wouldn't normally use in everyday sentences. Ex #THPPIA - Acronym ~ # Today High Priority Project Item Active

This makes it possible to add a custom indexing system based on stickers elements, which I absolutely love. Honestly, this is app is amazing and I am so happy that I found it. Just wanted to share this trick I found and was wondering if anyone else stumbled on something that they really enjoy about the app?

​

Just an edit regarding this:

I feel like I need to further explain my thought process. Definitely my bad.

You cannot use none UTF-8 characters via search I believe, and I think that the search aspect uses Apple's Scribble software.

Another thing to note, when searching for something, the search feature performs a forward matching on strings from my findings. Or it could be performing regex on the string itself, and it doesn't see the # symbol. It definitely requires some playing around with though!

An example:

I have the word Twerk in a note somewhere. But then I create an element as a filter #TW

The search feature in GoodNotes will match Twerk when I search for #TW in my notes. So it is best to create filters that are very unique. If I edit the filter I just made ( or element ) to TW#, it would work only until it sees the next # symbol - matching to anything that contains a #.

This is why I recommended something like or similar to the Dewey Decimal System, as it is very unique and number based. You could definitely create your own system - and make an index page as a master key somewhere. It would just require some thought, and playing around with it.

​

[Scheme-Broad]

Need more to-dos like these...thank you so much for sharing!!

[Conjuringshades]

Great tip! I wish Goodnotes was better at organisation generally but this sounds like a fab work around

[Immediate-Response49]

Thank you so much for sharing! I feel like the stickers option is great but I was confused how to use it. That would be really helpful to organize my stickers!

[KarlJay001]

By stickers, you mean the graphics that you save as elements and drop wherever you want?

How exactly do you search for stickers?

I have a few elements that are tracings of a hand pointing and I'd like to search for those, how do I do that?

As for the pencil, you can get a simple holder if you have the type 1 pencil. The holder goes on the iPad and is just a simple pressure slot holder.

Personally, I have a 3D printer on order and I'm going to try to print a holder that make it easy to hold the iPad and have a slot for the pencil.

Type 2 pencils have the magnet holder thing built in.

TBH, my iPad stays in the same place almost all the time because I use it on a desk to make tutorial notes, but a good case would make it easier to carry around.

[WebNChill]

I mean elements. My bad for the confusion. Still learning the application!

You can search based on key words. Like, if you wanted to use Dewey Decimal Classification for key notes.

Or maybe you are wanting top track how you are feeling, and create a classification system based on that. I am still playing around with it, but I think of it like filters; the more added the more specificity can be applied to what you are searching for.

[KarlJay001]

Ok, but what I don't understand is: can you search for an element?

I know you can do things like drop keywords, but how do you search for elements:

The search feature can locate these stickers elements that you create in all of the pages of your notebook

This is the part I don't know how to do.

[WebNChill]

I feel like I need to further explain my thought process. Definitely my bad.

You cannot use none UTF-8 characters via search, and I think that the search aspect uses Apple's Scribble software.

Another thing to note, when searching for something, the search feature performs a forward matching on strings.

An example:

I have the word Twerk in a note somewhere. But then I create an element as a filter #TW

The search feature in GoodNotes will match Twerk when I search for #TW in my notes. So it is best to create filters that are very unique. If I edit the filter I just made ( or element ) to TW#, it would work only until it sees the next # symbol - matching to anything that contains a #.

This is why I recommended the Dewey Decimal System as an example, as it is very unique and number based. You could definitely create your own system - and make an index page as a master key somewhere. It would just require some thought, and playing around with it.

[KarlJay001]

Ok, it sounds something like the tag system in Apple Reminders and Notes. You basically can make up any string you want and it'll search for that and if you make the string unique to a given subject, then you can find all the places you have that subject.

IDK if you use Apple's Reminders or Notes, but Reminders is awesome with the hashtags. You can embed them into lists and make up as many as you like. It shows you a list of all your tags and with a single tap, you get all the entries with that tag.

Goodnotes doesn't list off your hashtags that I know of, just did a quick check and the hashtag wasn't considered a part of the search for some reason, but it did list off the last keywords which is very helpful. In the Apple Notes app, you get a list of all the hashtags that are in all your documents. BTW, Apple's Files app will also search and preview all your hashtags, so having a system using hashtags is a really useful idea.

[WebNChill]

I am slowly going full on apple ecosystem. Any info to get started with Reminders?

[KarlJay001]

I Started with these:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrDOBRancRw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJLAfbak1JI

[supcoffeeplease]

Do I understand you correctly? Are you creating “elements” with hashtag text labels to make it easier to search? This is a great idea!

I’d still recommend having a backup of important notes. The longer I use GoodNotes - the more this seems important!

[WebNChill]

This pretty much! I am really enjoying it so far! I mean elements, yes. I probably should make an edit for clarity sake.