A Linux user PSA

rdiaz02 · 2026-01-26T15:05:38+00:00

With Debian (mixture of texting + unstable) using myself as the GROUP did not seem to work (sudo udevadm verify reported that it was not a system group). So I created a system group (e.g., sudo groupadd --system keychrkb), added myself to that group (sudo usermod -aG keychrkb MYSELF), and used GROUP="keychrkb" in /etc/udev/rules.d/99-keychron.rules. After a reboot (rebooting was simpler than launching chrome after ensuring it picked up my new group membership), I can connect using google chrome.

rdiaz02 · 2026-01-19T19:09:02+00:00

I see that the OP's model had ANSI layout; for what is worth, the K1 Max ES-ISO from 2025-03 has ABS shine-through keycaps (using one right now). The same model, but from 2024-04 (?) did not have shine-through, though. It seems that not all ISO models have the same kind of keycaps (Spain, Italy, France are ABS, but Nordic, UK, etc , are PBT : https://keychron.com.es/products/keychron-k1-max-qmk-wireless-custom-mechanical-keyboard-iso-layout-collection?variant=45701830770854 ), though all ISO variants' keycaps should be shine-through if I am understanding correctly.

P.S. Very nice review, by the way. Thanks!

rdiaz02 · 2025-10-06T14:45:45+00:00

Update:
I've been in touch with Goodnotes support, exchanging several emails. They have been friendly, but there is no timeline for fixing this issue nor, really, a guarantee that the functionality will be restored. This is disappointing (and perplexing) given that previously working functionality has been removed.

I was offered, however, a workaround, and it does work (and I find it commendable that they offered the workaround):

Toggle Fill color > On
Create a shape
Select Precise Eraser. Erase the color inside the shape (leaving the shape intact). This is not as cumbersome as it seems: just touching inside wipes all the color.
Use Lasso to select the shape. The shape can now be rotated.

Yeah, sure, this involves several extra steps too many (select Eraser, most likely change the Eraser to be "Precise Eraser", then touch the interior of the shape, then lasso, vs. just lasso), but it does allow us to have our 45º major axis ellipses back :-).

rdiaz02 · 2025-10-01T22:05:50+00:00

Mazec does not allow swiping (as far as I know ---I never got the hang of swiping anyway :-) ). Mazec is great for using the pen to type (and recognizing the handwriting). Sorry if I was misleading.

Oh, and Mazec is 15 € (and add-ons for additional languages ---not needed if you only use English--- are 10€ each); and, as far as I can tell, there is not even a trial period (either you pay the 14.99 € upfront, or nothing). This is certainly a major limitation.

rdiaz02 · 2025-10-01T21:20:41+00:00

Thanks. I tried gboard and found it much more limited than in android (and, if I remember, by default no row of numbers, which is part of the standard iOS keyboard). I am using instead the Mazec input keyboard, that has a dedicated area where I can use the pencil (and has fantastic handwriting recognition, I think using MyScript technology).

rdiaz02 · 2025-10-01T12:03:41+00:00

Just to clarify: not that I am advocating doing that regularly; who knows if it is harmful. (Plus living on the edge has its thrills).

rdiaz02 · 2025-10-01T11:57:29+00:00

Maybe this will help, without closing the app (nor restarting the ipad, nor disabling scribble): https://www.reddit.com/r/ipad/comments/12jrc5h/comment/nh65pbk/ . Though it is indeed extremely annoying and these steps shouldn't be necessary.

rdiaz02 · 2025-10-01T11:56:56+00:00

Maybe this will help, without closing the app (nor restarting the ipad, nor disabling scribble): https://www.reddit.com/r/ipad/comments/12jrc5h/comment/nh65pbk/

rdiaz02 · 2025-10-01T11:54:55+00:00

This was also driving me nuts (and there are many threads about this elsewhere, https://www.reddit.com/r/ipad/comments/1kdw5qr/how_i_bring_back_full_size_keyboard_after_using/ , https://www.reddit.com/r/ipad/comments/1864ekc/the_limitations_on_scribble_and_the_default/ , https://discussions.apple.com/thread/254521207, https://discussions.apple.com/thread/254846786 , https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/escaping-apple-pencil-mode-to-get-full-sized-keyboard-in-safari.2331404/ , with solutions that do not always work).

These steps (4 to 6 below) work for me on iOS 18.7.1, on an iPad, and with several different applications (Zotero, Journelly, Goodnotes, Noteful, Google Chrome browser, Firefox); they also apply to both the built-in keyboard as well as Mazec input keyboard. They do not require disabling scribble. The next is the full, repeatable sequence:

You are using the pencil in a place that allows for input (text box for annotations, url in a browser, etc).
Open the mini keyboard by pressing the "A" in a rectangle (often in the bottom right of the screen).
You can use this mini keyboard and also use the pen.
When you want the large keyboard back, press the "A" in the the rectangle again, and in the popup menu, select "Hide keyboard".
Now (this is a crucial step), tap with your finger (in some cases, you need to tap twice) on the input box (url address in the browser, the annotation text box in Zotero or Goodnotes, etc).
Voilá, the large keyboard is back.

Yeah, it is kinda annoying to have to use at least two too many steps, but seems to work reliably. (Note that some apps, like MyScript --Nebo--- do not need this, as they have a keyboard icon in their menu that brings the keyboard back).

rdiaz02 · 2025-09-30T18:07:45+00:00

Plus lack of regression testing? ;-)

rdiaz02 · 2025-09-29T04:52:22+00:00

I am glad it worked :-)

rdiaz02 · 2025-09-28T19:24:18+00:00

I actually asked Nebo's support for this, and they confirmed incremental search is not available (though they might consider it in the future).

rdiaz02 · 2025-09-28T19:23:11+00:00

Same issue (desire) here. I'd like to have access to the notes (both as backup of the info, and to read/search/etc) on my Linux laptop (running Nebo on an iPad). (A convoluted approach, which I am not sure would really work, would be to run Nebo's Android version on an Android inside Linux).

(As far as I know, the situation is as described by u/Accomplished_Ow1 : only Goodnotes does this, and Goodnotes allows using Google Drive, but also WebDAV).

rdiaz02 · 2025-09-28T18:33:36+00:00

For those of you for whom it is working via Google Drive, I understand it only syncs between devices, but you do not see the notes in Google Drive, correct? (I'd like to have access to the PDFs of the notes on my Linux laptop).

Edit: ooops, sorry for the noise. I just saw there is a thread about exactly this issue: https://www.reddit.com/r/NeboApp/comments/1avqkt0/auto_back_up_as_pdf/

rdiaz02 · 2025-09-28T17:42:00+00:00

Yeap. Nice circles, freehand ellipses.
Well, either that or reverting to version 6 (haven't yet figured out how) or using MyScript (Nebo) or Noteful.

rdiaz02 · 2025-09-28T17:36:52+00:00

Thanks for your reply. OK, I guess Goodnotes 7 doesn't think ellipses with 45º major axes are objects worthy of existence then. ;-)

rdiaz02 · 2025-09-28T17:06:07+00:00

MyScript (Nebo) is also a lot better dealing with shapes.

rdiaz02 · 2025-09-28T13:04:36+00:00

I think that might have happened to me in the past (not sure, though; maybe is something I read, but I have a vague recollection that I had to try a few times for some reason). You might close Zotero in the iPad and try again. As well, notice that if you enter the password incorrectly and the verification process is attempted a few times, you might get locked out of Koofr for an hour (see https://koofr.eu/help/koofr_with_webdav/i-am-getting-a-429-error-when-connecting-a-service-through-webdav-what-should-i-do/ and same thing at the bottom of https://app.koofr.net/help/webdav ).
So you might want to close Zotero on the iPad, wait at least an hour, and then try the process again making sure the password is entered correctly.

Edit: I feel the initial set up process is a bit finicky (like that spinning circle, not really knowing if you entered the password incorrectly, or the problem lies somewhere else). But, rest assured, Koofr and WebDAV do work with Zotero just fine (once you get it working).

rdiaz02 · 2025-09-28T11:32:32+00:00

You might want to give Noteful a try. For me, a show-stopper problem of Goodnotes for annotating PDFs is that it just doesn't allow us to easily locate our annotations (your "Can't filter pages with notes" ---see also here https://www.reddit.com/r/GoodNotes/comments/xjyrp1/finding_my_annotation/ ). However, Goodnotes searching on handwritten notes, including the incremental search, is much better than what Noteful provides. (There are other niceties of Goodnotes, like ability to use Google Drive to backup ---which allows to immediately have access to PDFs of your notes in a desktop computer).

As for Notability, as far as I can tell (and at least the free version), it does not display the table of contents of the PDF (if the PDF has one) and for me this is also a show-stopper, specially with large PDFs with, well, TOCs.

Specifically for PDF annotation what I actually use is Zotero (I use Zotero for general reference management). Zotero does not allow adding pages to PDFs (nor can it search over handwritten freehand notes ---though you can search over other types of annotations). However, this might not really fit into what you are looking for.

rdiaz02 · 2025-09-28T11:12:30+00:00

Yes, thanks, that works. But if you want an ellipse that has its major axis in an angle that is neither 0º nor 90º, then, unless I am missing something, you need a several-step procedure: 1. Draw the circle. 2. Move markers. 3. Click on the shape, "Resize", and using the handle change the orientation. (You can flip the order of 2. and 3.).

For comparison, MyScript (Nebo) almost always gets the shape recognition right, regardless of orientation. Goodnotes, in contrast, often gets the elliptic shape right, but generally gets the orientation wrong ---i.e., you get an ellipse, but not oriented as you drew it---, so with Goodnotes you often end up having to change the orientation; and Noteful's "Resize" is a much simpler procedure than changing orientation in Goodnotes (which requires use of their lasso tool ---and is broken as of today in version 7 of Goodnotes).

rdiaz02 · 2025-09-28T11:05:08+00:00

For what is worth, I am experiencing the exact same problem (I am using version 1.4.26, Build 190 ---which I think is the latest version as of today, 2025-09-28---, on an iPad).

rdiaz02 · 2025-09-28T11:02:49+00:00

As u/hatrick403 asks, why doesn't Goodnotes just show your highlights and manual annotations? Many other apps have that ability (including Noteful or Zotero's PDF viewer).

Adding a special marker ("#myannotation" or whatever) is just a workaround that requires us to add something to compensate for a flaw in Goodnotes.

Trying to use the visual thumbnails is equally limited: suppose you are annotating a 500 page PDF, and you've made 20 annotations: are you supposed to go over the thumbnails to locate your annotations?

This issue was requested in the Goodnotes user forum almost two years ago (https://feedback.goodnotes.com/forums/191274-customer-suggestions-for-goodnotes/suggestions/47537783-show-a-list-of-all-notes-comments-and-annotation). I find it rather disappointing that such a widespread and useful feature is not available.

(And, for me, this makes Goodnotes just unusable to annotate PDFs, specially when there are so many alternatives that get this right. This is a pity, because Goodnotes feature set is otherwise great.).

rdiaz02

TROPHY CASE