Skip to content
Join waitlist

Switch to BetterNotes

Bring your notes.
Keep writing.

Your old notebooks come with you as PDFs and stay writable. Pick the app you are coming from and follow four short steps.

Join the waitlist
IMPORTBiology 101.pdfFrom GoodNotes · 48 pagesCalculus II.pdfFrom Notability · 112 pagesHistory seminar.pdfFrom OneNote · 31 pagesBIOLOGY 101 · IMPORTED FROM GOODNOTESWeek 5: Membranes- phospholipid bilayer- proteins float in it- selectively permeableWeek 6: Osmosiswater moves toward more soluteYour notebooks, ready to write in

Exported notebooks import in the background. Write on them right away.

Guide

From GoodNotes

Export each notebook as a PDF. Your handwriting, highlights and page backgrounds come with it.

  1. 1In GoodNotes, open the notebook you want to bring over.
  2. 2Tap the share icon, choose Export, then PDF.
  3. 3Save the PDF to Files, or share it straight to BetterNotes.
  4. 4In BetterNotes, tap Import, pick the PDF and choose a course for it.
Comes across
Every page as you left it, with your ink, highlights, images and paper.
Good to know
Old ink becomes part of the page, so you can write over it but not move or recolor it.

Guide

From Notability

Notability can share several notes at once. Choose PDF as the format and import them together.

  1. 1In your Notability library, select the notes you want.
  2. 2Tap Share, then choose PDF as the format.
  3. 3Save the PDFs to Files, or share them straight to BetterNotes.
  4. 4In BetterNotes, tap Import, pick the PDFs and choose a course for each.
Comes across
Every page with your handwriting, typed text, images and highlights.
Good to know
Audio recordings are not part of a PDF. Keep your original notes for those.

Guide

From OneNote

OneNote exports PDFs from its desktop apps. Use a Windows PC or a Mac and export one section at a time.

  1. 1Open OneNote on a Windows PC or a Mac.
  2. 2On Windows, choose File, then Export, pick Section and PDF. On a Mac, choose File, then Save as PDF.
  3. 3Save the PDF somewhere you can reach from your tablet, like OneDrive or Files.
  4. 4In BetterNotes, tap Import, pick the PDF and choose a course for it.
Comes across
Typed text, which stays searchable, plus your ink and images.
Good to know
Very wide OneNote pages are split into printable pages on export.

Guide

Any PDF, slides or readings

Lecture slides, readings, worksheets and past exams go straight in. Export slide decks as PDF first.

  1. 1Download the file from your course site, email or cloud drive.
  2. 2For PowerPoint, Keynote or Google Slides, export the deck as a PDF first.
  3. 3In BetterNotes, tap Import, or share the file to BetterNotes from any app.
  4. 4Choose a course. Every page is ready for your pen and the margin.
Comes across
Every page, with its text searchable and ready for your pen.
Good to know
Animations and speaker notes in slide files are not part of a PDF.

Other apps move their menus between versions. If a step looks different for you, write to us and a person will walk you through it.

FAQ

About switching.

Can I import .goodnotes or .note files directly?

Not yet. Today, PDF is the reliable way to bring everything over. Importing those files directly, with your ink as editable strokes, is planned.

Do I have to move everything at once?

No. Many students import the current semester and leave older notebooks where they are. Import more whenever you need it.

Will the margin work on my imported notes?

Yes. The margin can read imported pages, so Ask the margin and cue questions can use them too.

Is it hard to leave BetterNotes later?

No. Export any notebook as a PDF at any time, even if you stop paying. Your notes stay yours.

Something didn’t import right. Who can help?

A person, not a bot. Send us the file name and what went wrong, and we will look at it with you.

Your notes, plus
a margin that helps.

Join the waitlist

Coming to iPad, Android, Windows, Mac, iPhone and web · free to start