r/NoteTaking

Using UPDF to make studying more efficient
▲ 2 r/NoteTaking+1 crossposts

Using UPDF to make studying more efficient

It used to be hard to review because lecture notes were spread out over notebooks and PDFs. To find certain information, you often had to flip through pages or search through a lot of files.

Using UPDF made that process easier by giving it more structure.

Course materials are brought in and put into folders based on their subject. Important parts are highlighted, and handwritten notes are scanned with OCR so that they can be searched. That alone saves a lot of time.

A consistent color scheme is used to group formulas, examples, and open questions visually. When you use full-text search with reviewing material, it goes faster, especially during exams.

AI tools can help you break down long texts or answer specific questions, but they work best as a supplement to reading, not as a replacement. When you process the material first and then clarify it, you understand it better.

Making weekly summaries is another good habit. Exporting a short overview helps find gaps early on instead of during tests.

Being able to switch between devices without losing progress makes the workflow more flexible. UPDF is a good tool for students who want to stay organized.
gives you a useful way to keep everything together.

u/DeliciousCan8044 — 3 hours ago

Where do most of your notepads come from?

Trying to figure out where people usually pick these up. If you’ve gotten free notepads before, where were they from? Here's our initial list.

  • Conferences / events
  • Charities I support
  • Organizations asking for my support
  • Grocery stores / chains
  • Hotels
  • Brands I like

Feel free to add more to the list.

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u/uprinting — 3 hours ago

what “systems” are out there for organizing?

I think I need a system but I don’t know what is out there—wanting to keep both personal notes and notes for work.

I want to be able to find what I am looking for pretty readily..if I have to sift through a lot of things I end up frustrated.

Tell me what is working for you!

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u/Unfair-Animator-9739 — 2 days ago

Do heavily structured note-taking systems actually work long term for you?

I’m curious where people here land on this.

A lot of note-taking tools seem to assume that capture should begin with structure:

  • what folder
  • what tag
  • what project
  • what title
  • what format

But at least for me, ideas usually arrive as rough voice notes, half-sentences, or brain dumps.

Do you prefer:

  1. capture first, organize later
  2. organize while capturing
  3. very little structure overall

And if you’ve quit a notes app before, what was the exact friction point?

Too much setup?

Too many choices?

Too much maintenance?

reddit.com
u/MapLow2754 — 2 days ago
▲ 5 r/NoteTaking+1 crossposts

Looking for Recs- One Time Purchase Note Taking Apps

Hello! I’m looking for a note taking app that I can buy outright, I absolutely do not want a subscription.

I’m based in the UK, so please take that into account if pricing or availability differs here.

My main requirements are:

- Works on both iPad and iPhone

- Handwritten notes (Apple Pencil)

- Ability to type as well

- Paste images/screenshots and annotate directly on them (and continue on to the page if needed - Apple’s notes app doesn’t let me do this)

I’m looking for something flexible where I can mix handwriting, typing, and media on the same page. I used OneNote while I was in uni and loved it, but that’s tied into subscriptions (and my uni sadly won’t pay for the subscription after I’ve graduated /s). I tried GoodNotes for a while, thought I’d buy it outright after a trial, but it looks like they’ve moved to subscription only.

Please, if anyone has any recommendations that are one time purchase only, do share - I’d really appreciate it. I take notes for pretty much everything in my life so I need something reliable.

Thank you to everyone in advance!

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u/Winterbear_13 — 1 day ago

Remarkable, iPad, or something else?

I take a ton of notes daily for my job, and these notes are imperative to my success so I am looking for a better method than pen and paper notebooks I’ve been using forever.

Ideal world:

Digital

Can convert my handwriting to text that can be copy/pasted into Salesforce

One note for each client that can continue forever so when I go to meet with them quarterly I can look at everything at a glance that may be pertinent

Pencil

Yes, I could type these notes but sitting at a screen / keyboard during a meeting just feels wrong to me, so is not an option.

Can be emailed to myself or synced into one note on my work laptop so I can then copy and paste into SF. One note might be good since it also auto syncs to my laptop vs. having to manually email notes to myself post meeting.

I’m open to other options and work flows that would be good or better than above and would hugely appreciate any insight into what you do/use! Thank you!

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u/VikingPHD — 2 days ago

Need a good stylus for tablet note taking

looking for a stylus for my tablet, specifically for taking notes. Any recommendations for ones that feel natural and responsive?

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u/Upset_Trifle8007 — 1 day ago
▲ 1 r/NoteTaking+1 crossposts

I’m building a tool that converts topics into exam-ready notes with diagrams. What features would make something like this actually useful for you?

reddit.com
u/No_Impression_4800 — 2 days ago

Anyone blending AI into their note-taking workflow?

Manual notes tend to break down in fast meetings, too much context, not enough time. AI tools that auto-capture and summarize calls can help create a solid first draft, then manual structuring keeps things intentional.

Curious where people draw the line, how much do you trust AI vs. your own system?

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u/ErnestMemah — 4 days ago
▲ 1 r/NoteTaking+1 crossposts

Best own-API text clean up or summarise

I dictate rough drafts and like to use AI for a first clean up and to weed out the typos. Sometimes I want to reduce the draft to an outline or a summary.

What are the best AI tools for this that use my existing accounts and don’t charge an arm and a leg in subscriptions?

I want something that works almost as well as Letterly (which is brilliant) but at the modest cost of my AI accounts.

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u/words_and_images — 3 days ago

Looking for input on offline AI note‑taking workflows

Hi note‑takers!

I’ve noticed a lot of AI note‑taking tools rely on cloud services. For those who prefer local storage, what features are you missing? For example, would you want on‑device transcription, project journaling, or integration with tools like Obsidian?

I’m exploring solutions in this space and want to build something that genuinely helps without compromising privacy. I’m not here to advertise—just hoping to learn from the community. Any feedback on your pain points or dream features would be super helpful!

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u/dalekpipi — 3 days ago

Which note taking app is this?

One professor used this note taking app today on his Samsung tablet.

My first thought was that this would be Samsung notes but Samsung notes looks different in other devices.

u/UnkwnNam3 — 5 days ago
▲ 5 r/NoteTaking+1 crossposts

Canvas with S Pen is too slow for handwritten notes

I have trilium 0.102.1 instance, I use firefox browser, when I started writing in canvas notes, it is too slow, not at all suitable for handwriting, I tried in different browsers too, no improvement.

when I tried writing in Excalidraw whiteboard website, it is working fine.I use nginx and tailscale for networking btw.

what is the issue and is there any other way for handwritten notes in trilium.

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u/Confident_Spread_804 — 3 days ago

I have no idea how to take notes

The title is rather self-explanatory. Never had much need for them and a cursory glance through a textbook or writing everything I remember on paper for revision is the most I've ever done.

Recently I've started a little project where I learn different subjects till I'm at a sort of intermediate level and the need for note taking has become apparent due to the sheer amount of information. I have no clue where to start, though. I use Joplin for writing short stories & poems but I don't know what note taking methods are the most efficient, any systems etc.

Any response to this post would be greatly appreciated.

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u/nochancesman — 8 days ago

Looking for note taking app

need app that fit this requirement:

- free to use

- sync across all device

- easy to use

- no need subscription of sort

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u/StarkzSan — 10 days ago

Fathom Alternatives?

Any good alternatives for meeting notes? Looking for something that doesnt just summarize but actually helps with follow ups

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u/hwnmike — 6 days ago

Best AI note taking app for meetings if you don’t want to take notes live?

I’ve realized I’m pretty bad at taking notes during meetings. If I focus, I forget stuff. If I write, I miss half the conversation. So lately I just stopped trying to do both.

I’ve been using an AI note taking app for meetings Bluedot to capture everything in the background, then I go back later and turn the transcript/summary into actual notes. It’s been way less stressful during calls, but it does add that extra step after.

How are you all handling this? Still taking notes live or doing something similar?

u/adriano26 — 7 days ago

Looking for a hands free dication app that allows simple, tag based, automatic sorting.

  • I need to be able to record notes relatively hands free. A single physical button press is fine, as long as I don't have to look at my phone, or switch back and forth between apps while listening to an audiobook, or having google maps up.
  • I need to be able to reliably add bullet points and skip to a new line, hands free.
  • I need to be able to tag each voice entry, hands free.
  • I need to be able to sort voice notes into (bulleted) lists based on the associated tag.
  • I need to easily export to amplenote.
  • I need it to be free. I miiiight consider a single payment.
  • The dictation quality needs to be at least as good as Gboard. Ideally as good as Write By Voice
  • Offline would be nice
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u/GrowBeyond — 6 days ago

Most efficient way to scan daily, handwritten notes into PDF?

I use two unlined spiral notebooks to take daily notes by hand. Can anyone recommend a simple and efficient system for scanning my notes at the end of the day and saving them in iCloud as a PDF?

One of my notebooks is slightly larger than the standard 8.5” x 11” letter paper, and I’m trying to find a good scan setup that allows me to quickly and legibly scan the entire page.

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u/doofus50O0 — 9 days ago