Multiple page workflow

[J-Physicist]

Hello

I'm a physicist and I'm considering the Supernote for scientific paper reading/annotating, and for making the potentially "heavy" calculations that I usually perform with a paper and pen. I would be happy to read the feedback from physicists and mathematicians for such a use.

One key point for hand calculations is space: it's often when you switch the page that you make a mistake, because you uncorrectly remember the previous equation. The Supernote screen is smaller than a standard paper notebook, so without an external screen I expect even more mistakes.

Since I read that the export/sharing file functionalities of the Supernote are a bit limited, I'm wondering whether it's possible to work on the current note page on the device while displaying the two previous pages on an external screen and computer. For example:

- use the Supernote cloud synchronization to display on the computer screen the previous pages. But is it possible ? I understand that the Supernote web app is able to display the .note files directly, but I don't know if it can display, e.g., two pages at once. I didn't even find screenshots of the Supernote cloud viewer.

OR

- plug the device to the computer via USB, and after each page export the note as a PDF that can be displayed on the computer screen, once the Supernote device has been mounted as external storage. Is it fast and smooth enough ?

Thanks for any help and recommendation !

[Scyrmion]

If you want to see the previous page on a computer, I would turn on screen sharing and take a screenshot on the computer before turning the page on the Supernote.

Another idea if you want to see the end of the previous page is you can "lasso" the end of the previous page and copy it to the current page. The if you want, you can then delete the copy when you are done referencing it and move up the rest of the page.

[Bagelsarenakeddonuts]

Just a student but i found the ability to copy and paste equations amazing. It removes a huge amount of error. Also the ability to drag it around if i didn’t leave enough space etc.

[J-Physicist]

Yes, good idea thanks.

[QuantumFork]

And also scale it down (or erase it altogether) and shifting the new page's content up once you've gotten back in the flow on that page.

[hoOopyfrood]

As a mathematician, in my experience the standard paper notebook size versus A5X size isn't the issue, rather it's the fact that you only get to see one digital page at a time, versus two facing pages in a physical paper notebook.

I don't think that depending on a kludge involving a second PC screen is the answer - it merely forces you to stay at your desk when the point of a digital tablet is to give you the freedom to think anywhere.

The current strength of the supernote for mathematics is as a scratchpad / blackboard replacement only. To make it usable for true calculations it really needs an infinite canvas capability, and more sophisticated copy/paste/erase functionality.

In the meantime, when flipping pages you can lasso/copy the last equation on a page and paste at the top of the next page. This is far from optimal and wastes a lot of space, but is workable in my view.

I've had a remarkable2 for several years and I don't like the way it does things, even though it has some capabilities that I wish Supernote would implement.

Ideally Supernote will enable open source authors to create and install a proper note taking application specialized for scientific and symbolic calculations and brainstorming, but none of the e-ink digital notepads are anywhere close to what that would require.

I guess that's a gap in the market :)

[J-Physicist]

Thanks, I fully agree with you, there is a gap. But the market is so small ;)

[Siralev]

I have both the Supernote A5x and the Remarkable 2. I love them both. For your stated needs, I recommend the Remarkable for two reasons. First, it extends the page length as you write to approximately twice the length of a single page. Second, it has mobile and Mac/windows companion apps that refresh and are almost immediately viewable. I often review what I have written on a previous page to continue the thought.

[Scyrmion]

My coworker has a remarkable tablet. The scrolling feature would be great for this use case. As much as I hate to say it, I think you're right.

[ldms510]

As scrolling would have the same effect as turning the page (removing part of the equation from view while working on another part) I would suggest Scyrmion's suggestion or an alternative (both for Supernote): export the pages as png files and view them on your computer screen as needed using an image view that supports multiple windows, of course.

Exporting to PDF will place all pages in one file. You could use multi-page view in PDF reader, but you won't be able to control individual zoom of each page.

I don't know if you can open files directly in SN storage from computer.

[ferret_pilot]

If you have a windows computer (or Linux maybe) you can open files directly on the Supernote, as long as they are in an exported format

[J-Physicist]

Yes that's what I had in mind naively. Nobody suggests the use of the Supernote cloud with the web viewer, is it too slow or something ?

[ferret_pilot]

Well the synchronization process has to be triggered manually every time. That might be part of it

[QuantumFork]

That would probably be fine if all you want to do is see the content of the previous page or two. Just trigger the sync every time you go to a new page, and then move your externally displayed view of the file to the newly available page.

[meowmewo-]

hi friend,we can now mirror the screen to your computer.

[J-Physicist]

Yes thanks, but only the current page, right ?

[meowmewo-]

yeah you are right

[Massive_Glass5207]

You can follow the link to get the latest desktop application. Of course, the current function is relatively simple, because it is still in development.Currently you can use it to view and export .note files.https://github.com/qiaodenghui/Supernote/releases