User Guide:

Notability

(App) Notability is an app that lets

you record information in a wide

variety of formats - photos,

drawings, text, handwriting,

recording. It has a wide variety

of functions and could be a great

option for students looking for a

more accessible way of recording.

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Getting Started

Text and Typing Tool

Freehand Pen Tool

Highlighter Tool

Eraser Tool

Cutting Tool

Recording Tool

Insert Menu

Inserting Photos

Inserting Shapes and Drawings

Inserting Web Pages

Inserting ‘Stickies’

Document Overview and Exporting

Locate the Notability icon and click it to launch the app.

You will then see the screen below

Use the icon to start a new document

Settings

Help/Guide

Info and website links

This where your documents will be displayed when you have created them

This is where you can organise your documents into folders and sub-folders. For example, students could list them by year, term and school subject.

This is the first page you see when you open a new document.

To enter the settings menu, click the icon and you will see the above options. The help menu will give you a user guide.

If you select the ‘paper’ option, you will see the above menu. You can select the colour/pattern for the page. You can also select whether the page is blank, has lines or has grids. This could be useful for a variety of different activities such as handwriting practice or in a maths session.

This is the toolbar. On the right you will see the different icons explained. Undo

Text

Freehand Pen

Highlighter

Eraser

Cut

Move/Scroll

Voice Recording

Insert

Settings

Pages Overviews

Text Entry

To begin typing, select the ‘text’ icon. Click anywhere on the page and the keyboard will appear, ready to type.

There are a number of keyboard options, explained on the next page.

Move cursor

Font style

Font size

Text Colour

Style options

Favourites

Bullet points

You can also create text boxes – this gives more control when arranging the page (you can move the text box wherever you need to). Select the text tool. Press and hold on the screen and a pop up will appear: Click this pop up and a text box will appear. Then simply type whatever you wish.

Once you have created the text box, there are a number of options. You can ‘cut’, ‘copy’, ‘delete’ or change the ‘paper’.

Selecting the ‘paper’ option allows you to change the background of the text box. You will see this menu.

Click on any of the options and it will change the background, You can select lines, grids or colour/texture.

Freehand Pen

To write or draw on the page, select the icon. You will see a pop up menu displayed (as pictured below)

You can select the pen style and size in this section.

You can select the pen colour in this section.

Once you have selected the pen tool and options, simply write/draw straight onto the page. If you want to change the style or colour again, just click the pen icon in the menu bar.

Notability also offers the ability to zoom in to enable you to hand write with more accuracy. When you have selected the pen tool choose where you want put the writing – click and hold in this area.

The box (as pictured to the left) will appear. You can click and drag the box around the page. You can also increase or decrease the size by clicking and dragging on the bottom right hand corner.

At the bottom of the page you will see a zoomed in view of the box. Here, you can write and it will appear on the page

Move box right

New line

Close box

Minimize box

Move box left

Whilst in this mode, you can select the highlighter, eraser and cutting tools (as pictured above). There is also an undo option. As you write, the box will move across. When your writing enters the blue area on the right hand side, the box will automatically move across to allow you to continue writing. Once completed, click on the ‘close box’ option and select your next tool.

Highlighter Pen

To use the highlighter, select the highlighter option in the menu bar.

You will see a number of options. You can select the style/size of the pen and the colour.

The highlighter can be used on anything in the document – pictures, web pages, writing, drawings and text. If you want to change the pen, simply click on the highlighter option in the menu again and select a different colour/style/size.

Eraser

The eraser tool will erase anything produced with the ‘pen’ tool. To begin using, simply select it from the menu bar.

You do not have to be accurate with deleting. The eraser will detect anything that was written as a continuous line – you can delete a whole word just by touching it.

You can delete single letters as long as they are written separately (i.e. not written in joined up writing). Here you can see I have touched the letter ‘d’ to delete it as it is separated from the other letters. If I touched the ‘e’ it would delete everything attached to it – ‘ele’.

Cutting Tool

With the cutting tool, you can cut out a section of writing/drawing. Select the tool and draw around the area you want to cut. You can then click and drag to move it around the page.

When you click the selected item, you will see 4 options – ‘style’, ‘cut’, ‘copy’ and ‘delete’.

Select the ‘style’ option to edit the selected text.

You will then see this menu displayed.

You can change the size of the pen

You can change the colour of the pen

Recording voice and

drawing/writing

Recording in Notability is simple. When you are ready to record your voice, click on the microphone icon:

It will start recording immediately (so make sure you’re ready!). To stop, simply click on the microphone symbol again. Click on the down arrow next to the microphone.

You will then see a menu appear below.

Playback speed

Play

Rewind 10 seconds

Volume

Settings

Click on the settings menu and you will see two options: Manage Recordings and Note Replay. Click on the ‘Manage Recordings’ option and you will see a list of the recordings you have made in that document. Click on ‘Edit’ and you will be able to delete recordings from the list. Note Replay allows you to record drawings/writing and then play them back (like an animation). Try pressing record, doing a drawing and then playing back.

Insert Menu

This menu will allow you to add pictures, web pages, drawings, shapes and post it notes. NOTE: To select any of the inserted images and edit them/move them you need to select the TEXT option:

Insert photo from Camera Roll

Take a photo with IPad Camera

Insert a drawing/shape

Insert a screen capture of a web page

Insert a ‘post-it’ note

To Insert a photo, select the ‘photo’ option. You will the be taken to your camera roll. Select ‘all photos’ and then scroll through to find the photo you wish to use. Click on it and it will be embedded into the document.

Click on ‘add a caption’ and you can type into the box. You can click and drag to move the image around. You can also change the size by clicking and dragging the blue dots in the corners.

Click on the photo and you will see the editing menu where you can cut, copy or delete. Click on the ‘edit’ option and you will be taken to a separate screen.

Undo

Insert shape

Pen Size

Crop

Pen colour Once you’ve edited the picture, click on ‘Done’ in top right hand corner. The picture will be embedded into the document.

Once you have taken the photo, click on ‘use photo’ to embed it into the document. If you’re not happy with the photo, click on ‘Retake’.

If you see this message, click on OK.

Line up the photo and click on the white circular button on the right hand side to take the photo.

You will see the same menu above the photo as when you inserted and image from the camera role. You can move the image around by clicking and dragging. You can change the size clicking and dragging the blue dots in the corner. You can ‘add a caption’ at the bottom of the photo. You can also ‘edit’ the photo – add drawings, shapes, writing and text.

Clicking on the ‘figure’ option, brings you to the screen below.

You will see a number of tools if you click on this symbol.

Move Tool

Freehand Tool

Line Tool

Square/Oblong Tool

Circle Tool

Triangle Tool

Text Tool

Click and drag to add in different shapes. You can change colours using the icon. You can change line width using the icon. Once completed, click on ‘done’.

Click and drag to move the picture. Resize by clicking and dragging the blue dots in the corners. Add a caption at the bottom if you wish.

Click on the ‘Web Clip’ options and you will be taken to an Internet Browser page. Go to Google and search or type in a web page. Open your chosen web page.

Once you have your web page displayed, click on ‘Done’ in the top right hand corner. The page will then be inserted into the document.

You can edit in the same way as editing pictures. You will see a ‘browser’ option in the menu bar – this will take you back to the Internet Browser so you can change/replace the inserted page.

Select the ‘stickies’ option and you will see the above menu. You can select which kind of ‘stickie’ you want – blank, lines, grid or typing.

Once you have selected, it will be inserted into the document. As with other objects, you can resize using the blue dots and move around by clicking and dragging.

I have selected the blank stickie. Once inserted you can write/draw on it. You can still resize the stickie and move it around after you have written on it.

Using the menu above the stickie, you can do all of the same things that you can do to pictures. You can also select the ‘paper’ option to change the background of the stickie.

Document Overview and

Exporting.

The document overview ( ) allows you to view and scroll between all of the pages in the document. You can also add pages, delete pages and clear pages (as shown below). Click on the page to select and then choose the action you want to use.

Select the ‘export’ button in the top left hand side ( ) and you will see a number of options. If you have ‘air-printing’ set up then you could select the ‘print’ option. Otherwise, you can either email the document as a PDF OR ‘share’ by saving it as a PDF in the IPad’s ‘iBooks’ app. If saving in iBooks, it can be printed or emailed at a later date.