Beyond the Basics: Advanced Notability Tips for Experts

Outcome: Get faster, cleaner, and smarter notes in Notability - and spend less time hunting for information later.

You’ll walk away with concrete, repeatable workflows that use Notability’s deeper features: precision writing, multi-note efficiency, audio-syncing for review, advanced export and backup habits, and ways to integrate Notability into an expert productivity system.

Why this matters. Good notes are one thing. Notes that turn into action, projects, and memory are another. This article shows you how to make that jump.

1. Start with structure: Library, Subjects, Dividers, and Smart Organization

Treat organization like an inbox triage system. Create Dividers for big areas (e.g., Projects, Courses, Reference). Inside each, use Subjects for active items (e.g., Project A, Course B).
Use consistent naming conventions. Add short tags or prefixes for context - e.g., “MTG*”, “PRJ*”, “STUDY_“. That helps filters and quick-search.
Pin key notes to the top of a Subject for immediate access.

Why this helps: when you scale beyond a few notes, predictable structure beats frantic searching.

2. Master Multi-Note + iPad Multitasking (Split View & Drag & Drop)

Outcome: Work with two or more notes side-by-side and move content between them without copying-and-pasting.

How to set up:

Open Notability, then swipe up to the Dock and drag Notability again to the right edge to create Split View. (Or use Slide Over if you prefer a temporary overlay.)
Use Multi-Note within Notability - tap to open a second note in a pane. Resize panes to prioritize the note you’re writing in.
Drag handwriting, text boxes, or images from one note to another using the Lasso tool to select and then drag across panes.

Pro workflow: Keep a reference note on the left (reading material, slides, or source) and a working note on the right. Capture quotes, annotate, and transfer only the distilled highlights to your master note.

Reference: Apple multitasking gestures and workflows: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207582

3. Precision handwriting: Zoom box, pen settings, and shape detection

Use the Zoom window (magnified writing area) for tiny, dense handwriting or for creating neat diagrams. It lets you write at high precision without changing pen size.
Customize pen pressure and smoothing to match your Apple Pencil preference. Lower smoothing for faster, more natural strokes; higher smoothing for neater lines.
Use Shape Detection (usually called “Shapes” or “Perfect Shapes”) to draw crisp geometric shapes. Draw a rough circle or rectangle and hold the pen at the end - Notability snaps it to a perfect shape.

Tip: Combine Zoom box for fine detail and shape detection for diagrams: draft the shape in zoom and then release to snap.

Reference: Apple Pencil guide (tips often apply across apps): https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205236

4. Lasso tool power moves: Rearrange, transform, and repurpose handwriting

What the Lasso does for experts:

Select handwriting + images to move, resize, rotate, or change color all at once.
Reflow content - select a paragraph of handwriting and drag it to a new spot, or into another note in Split View.
Convert selection to typed text where needed - select handwriting, then use the conversion option to turn it into editable text (if you prefer searchable typed notes).

Pro tip: When reorganizing a dense page, use the lasso tool to select whole columns or blocks and nudge them - it’s faster than rewriting.

5. Audio + Note Replay: Record smarter, review faster

If you record lectures or meetings, Notability’s synchronised audio is a game-changer.

Advanced recording workflow:

Record on the default quality for long sessions; switch to higher quality only if you need crystal clear audio (large files).
While recording, annotate actively - underline key phrases and add short keywords as you record - these act as anchors during review.
Use Note Replay to watch your handwriting appear in sync with audio. Jump to a moment in the audio by tapping a word or stroke.

Study tip: After the session, replay the audio at 1.25x or 1.5x speed while you add a short summary and action items to the top of the note.

6. Handwriting recognition and search: make handwriting discoverable

Notability can index and search your handwriting across notes. But it helps to be deliberate:

Write legibly for headings and keywords so OCR can find them reliably.
Add typed tags or short typed summaries to the top of notes for guaranteed discoverability.
Use consistent shorthand for repeating topics or people (e.g., “Lec_01”, “ClientX”).

Pro hack: After a long lecture, spend 2–3 minutes converting only the headings and action items to typed text. That dramatically improves future search hits.

7. Templates, paper types, and custom paper backgrounds

Use different paper types for different tasks - Cornell for study, graph paper for diagrams, lined for journaling.
Create or import custom paper templates for branded notes, meeting agendas, or annotation layers over slides.

Workflow idea: Keep a library of 3–5 go-to templates and clone them for each new project. Consistency speeds review and export.

8. Import, annotate, and export like a pro (PDF workflows)

Importing and annotating:

Import PDFs (slides, articles) and annotate directly using pens and highlights. Use two-pane mode so the original is on the left and your summary is on the right.
When annotating dense PDFs, reduce pen size and use color-coded highlights (e.g., yellow = facts, blue = questions, red = action items).

Export strategies:

Export master notes as PDF for sharing. Toggle options like include audio if you want recipients to have synced playback.
When sharing drafts for collaboration, export a flattened PDF (annotations baked in) to prevent layer misalignment on other apps.

Pro tip: When you want to archive, export both a PDF for easy reading and a native Notability backup for future edits.

9. Auto-backup, versioning, and safe-guarding your notes

Enable Auto-Backup to your preferred cloud (Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Box). Set it to back up frequently and keep the Notability-native file format when possible.
Periodically export important notebooks (monthly/quarterly) to a second backup location. Don’t rely on a single cloud provider.
Use device-level security - enable Face ID/Passcode for Notability and lock sensitive notes when needed.

Reference: Notability support for backup options: https://support.gingerlabs.com/hc/en-us

10. Keyboard shortcuts and external keyboard productivity

If you use a keyboard with your iPad, learn the shortcuts. They save minutes every day.

Common time-savers:

Cmd-N - new note
Cmd-F - find in note
Cmd-Z / Shift-Cmd-Z - undo/redo
Cmd-Tab and iPadOS App Switcher for rapid app navigation

Add your own routine: Keep a cheat-sheet of 6–8 shortcuts on your desk until they become automatic.

11. Integrations and automation: bridge Notability to your workflow

Use cloud auto-backups to feed your reference library in other apps (PDFs into a Zotero folder, exported meeting notes into a CRM folder).
Combine Notability exports with automation tools (Shortcuts, Zapier) to route finalized notes into project management apps or long-term archives.

Caveat: Notability’s built-in automation options are limited compared to some apps; treat it as your primary capture and then forward exports into your systems.

12. Advanced study and review workflows (spaced repetition + active recall)

Turn notes into study gold:

After lecture, create a one-page distilled summary (top 10% of content) and tag it as “Summary”.
Convert key points into flashcards stored in a spaced-repetition app. Export or copy-paste concise Q&A from your distilled summary.
Use audio playback while reading your summary aloud to reinforce memory through multisensory review.

Quick Cheatsheet: 12 Advanced Moves

Use Dividers + Subjects + consistent prefixes.
Multi-Note + Split View for reading + live note-taking.
Use the Zoom box for tiny, neat handwriting.
Shape Detection for crisp diagrams.
Lasso to move, resize, convert handwriting to text.
Record audio; anchor notes while recording.
Convert headings/action items to typed text for search.
Keep 3–5 reusable templates.
Export both PDF (share) and Notability file (archive).
Auto-backup to at least two cloud services.
Learn 6–8 keyboard shortcuts.
Convert distilled notes into spaced-repetition cards.

Final advice: consistency > perfection

You don’t need to master every feature at once. Pick two or three techniques from this list, practice them for a week, and iterate. Small, consistent changes compound. Your notes will become faster to create, easier to find, and far more useful.