Use Apple Pencil with Notes

Taking notes with your Apple Pencil is an easy way to capture your thoughts and record information. You can use Apple Pencil to quickly open a note, erase mistakes, move and color handwritten text, draw perfect lines and shapes, and even convert handwritten notes to digital text.

Start a note, fast

To quickly open a note, wake iPad, then tap the Lock Screen with Apple Pencil. Tap to start writing or sketching. Make a mistake? To erase something you’ve written, just scribble over it. To erase something you’ve just drawn, tap . As you work, you can reposition the toolbar by dragging it to any edge.

Move and color handwritten text

After you write a note with Apple Pencil, you can select a portion of the note and move it or change the color. Double‑tap a word to select it, then drag the handles to expand the selection. Move the selection to a different part of the note, or tap to make the selection a different color.

Turn handwritten notes into typed text

You can take all your notes by hand with your Apple Pencil, then copy them into a new document as typed text that you can refine and format. Select your handwritten notes, tap Copy as Text, then paste into a new note or Pages document.

Draw perfect lines and shapes

Sometimes when you draw lines and shapes, the results aren’t as precise as you’d like. With Apple Pencil, you can draw geometrically perfect lines, shapes, and arcs. Start by drawing the shape in a single stroke, then pause at the end—the shape snaps into the perfect form.

Want to learn more about Apple Pencil and your iPad? Check out Draw or write in Notes, Select and edit drawings and handwriting, and Draw a shape.