Whatever layout you choose, you can pick from 15 different background colors including a purple polka dot. It provides the standard blank paper and four variations of ruled, squared and dotted paper. Notability handles paper very differently because of its “continuous” sheet layout. GoodNotes maintains a Dropbox folder where you can access a limited selection of more cover and paper templates. And you can choose between either a white or pale yellow background. Most templates are available in both portrait and landscape versions. There are 21 different layouts including a few music sheets. “Planner”: basic layouts for accounting, to-do lists, monthly, and.“Writing Papers”: eight varieties of columned paper including Cornell, single, two and three column layouts.“Essentials”: standard blank, dotted, squared, ruled narrow and ruled wide sheets.GoodNotes includes several categories of paper:

GoodNotes, Notability, and Noteshelf have very different options for paper templates. While it’s not the first thing you think of when shopping for a note-taking app, paper options allow you to customize your note-taking experience. You may find it makes more sense as you transition from pencil and paper to a digital app.Ĭustomizing Your Notes App Paper Styles Included with Handwriting Notes Apps But I prefer GoodNotes and Noteshelf’s approach of creating documents in notebooks with covers. Your preferred interface may seem like an aesthetic preference. At the top, you can switch between different categories (groups of notebooks), create a new category or note and search your existing notebooks. You can sort the notebooks by name or date modified. This screen is like seeing notebooks on a shelf. Noteshelf opens to a “My Notes” screen divided into rows showing your notebooks.

Along the top are a search field and the option to create a new note.

The notes show their “subject” (folder), name and the date and time it was last modified. Selecting a subject in the left column reveals that subjects notes in the right-hand column. The left column shows a list of your notes divided into groups of subjects. You can create a new document, and along the bottom of the screen, you can navigate between the document view, a search screen or a favorites list. Below each notebook is its title and the date and time it was last modified. GoodNotes opens to a “Documents” view showing each of your notebooks or folders in a grid. Once inside a document, the differences become more apparent. Open each app and you’ll immediately see the difference in their approaches.

Notability vs one note