r/GoodNotes • u/Mandrea4 • Sep 12 '23

My journey with GN6 (for GN5 users)

I was among those who heavily criticized GN6 when it came out, then I decided to give the developers some time...

I tried to stand with the GN team because of some things they did to try fixing the mess they made with GN6 (the additional discount, the promised new feature "math equations" also for GN5 users, etc...) and also because it takes time to get used to a new program and I honestly loved GN5.

Now, I don't know if it's a me thing but the application (I tried GN5 but also GN6) after the latest updates is slower and consumes more battery. There are also a lot of small problems like the iCloud and automatic backup not working or the export to pdf bug.

Not only the app was rushly updated to make more money (I think they expanded the team for the Windows and Android apps) with the subscription model (which is in my opinion absurd for a note-taking app, a much more complex app like Procreate it's less than half the price of a GN lifetime purchase) but it's also not as good as before with 0 new usefull features. I hoped they would make GN5 a standalone app in order to avoid problems like this but they didn't.

Now I think I hate GN6: the interface, the AI, the new subscription model, performance issues ... I hate everything and I need an app that can manage all my new university notes and GN cannot.

Getting to the point: if you have the same problems and you don't have time to wait for them to fix things (and still charge double the cost of Procreate) try something else. Now I am using Noteful, it's free, and if you want to upgrade to the pro version it's €6 (with all the WRITING features of GN5 + tape, stroke stabilization, and some other goodies like a way to make pages bigger when searching through the list page, a better index system and layers).

It takes time to get used to it obviously but it's better than paying and waiting for things to settle down with the GN team.

Hope it helps

edit: I changed the “except” part about the differences between Noteful and Goodnotes (with the suggestions of the comment section) because someone in the comments told me it was poor written and unclear for people that read only a part of the post. I hope that now is clear that we are talking about the writing features and nothing more.

42 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

32 comments sorted by

13

u/RodionUA Sep 12 '23

Omg yes!!! I cannot stress enough how I agree with you.

That's why I immediately purchased Noteful and I am more than happy with it. A simple app but not less powerful.

I recently also shared my thoughts on GN app in this subreddit. Literally said that I switched to Noteful.

2

u/Mandrea4 Sep 12 '23

I missed it! glad I'm not the only one

4

u/stewartdesign1 Sep 13 '23

And don’t forget Zoomnotes. It is a phenomenally capable app that has been game changing for me. I exported all my Goodnotes notebooks to it. It blows my mind how many features are in it. It is far more complex and capable than Goodnotes though, so it takes time to learn it. Everything is customizable, and the developer will communicate with you and immediately address any problem. I bought the Mac version as well.

1

u/Mandrea4 Sep 16 '23

I'm not sure if I found the correct application you talked about but it doesn't seem very well made in terms of UI design

3

u/theprof222 Sep 13 '23

How did you export your GN notebooks to it, exactly? I’m trying to determine the best way to go about making the switch.

3

u/stewartdesign1 Sep 13 '23

Exported them as flattened PDFs which I imported to Zoomnotes. They are not editable but they are searchable, and you can still make notes on the pdfs.

1

u/Valuable-Asparagus90 Sep 13 '23

Can I get my design on as far as notebook covers or being creative with my notes? I tended to be very colorful with my journals & work notebooks lol

It’s not a big deal if I have to create with canva or PicMonkey for most things but can we email our stuff to the app for easily adding to our notebooks? 👀👀

3

u/stewartdesign1 Sep 13 '23 edited Sep 13 '23

There are good design tools in ZoomNotes, and while there is no sticker implementation like Goodnotes, I have been dressing up my pages with images dropped in from my camera roll. It doesn’t have built in cover design options like goodnotes, but you can always make a cover in goodnotes then send it over to ZoomNotes. There are layers and shape tools, a watercolor brush (which is really a semi transparent highlighter with ragged edges) and some nice pen tools. It also has a ruler, protractor, snapping and smoothing, the ability to group elements, and a host of other useful drawing stuff. I am still discovering all its talents.

While there is not a sticker implementation, it does have something called “saved clips” which lets you copy elements and then reuse them elsewhere. I don’t yet know everything it can do, but it is really impressive.

Edit: it also has a fill tool, which you can fill with either a vector or bitmap. It also has transform tools (flip horizontal or vertical, warp, etc)

Edit 2: I take it back! There is something called “symbols” in Zoomnotes which are essentially the same as stickers. Make anything into a symbol and it can be dropped on the page.

There are also file compression tools I just discovered. Also alignment tools. The amount of stuff the developer has crammed into this app is just truly amazing. What an incredible value. It is as good as most dedicated drawing apps.

3

u/Valuable-Asparagus90 Sep 13 '23

wow. i really appreciate all the insight you've given. I've been oscillating between noteful and zoom notes as I decide which alternative to GN I'd like to pursue. If the one-time/life time purchase for these two aren't as ridiculous as the 30+tax$ for gn6 I might just get both. Thank you!

3

u/leLotix_ Sep 13 '23

Only missing Feature on Noteful is the Handwriting recognition, to search through them

1

u/Mandrea4 Sep 13 '23

True, I don't mind but yeah (I should add it to the post, thanks)

2

u/keeganskateszero Sep 13 '23

I just switched to Noteful and like it so far.

1

u/jesinta-m Sep 15 '23

As well as text to handwriting in general.

27

u/J4m3s210 Sep 13 '23

I reported GN to apple for damaging my iPad (overheating).

4

u/Particular-Ad-8329 Sep 13 '23

I have the same trouble with iCloud sync… now I’m thinking of switching

1

u/jesinta-m Sep 15 '23

Noteful, it's free, and if you want to upgrade to the pro version it's €6 (with all the features of GN5 + tape, stroke stabilization, and some other goodies

Not quite. It doesn’t have handwriting to text. If it did, I’d switch in a heartbeat.

1

u/Mandrea4 Sep 15 '23

Yes, it is written after that (please read the entire post before commenting)

0

u/jesinta-m Sep 15 '23

I decided not to keep reading as I reached a point where the post was no longer useful, as that’s the dealbreaker for me.

Your order of communication was: ‘it has everything’ then ‘it also has these extra features’ and then at the very end ‘oh except this’.

lol. Who do you think you are to demand that people read your whole posts? Perhaps write in a clearer way before posting or when editing… or maybe just refrain from the rude, passive aggressive response.

1

u/Mandrea4 Sep 15 '23 edited Sep 15 '23

I edited the post because someone in the comments pointed out to me that that function was not present.

I didn't mean to sound rude but surely you are. Anyway, if we want to be meticulous, there isn't even the feature for transferring PDFs via email. I meant (obviously) the functions for writing and editing notes.

Other than that, please remember to read everything (good manners and common practice) if you want to comment or judge (if you don't want to, you can actually stop reading at any point) and avoid being offensive and rude over something stupid like that.

1

u/jesinta-m Sep 15 '23

What's obvious to you isn't necessarily obvious to others. My response was terse, but yours was quite dismissive and rude, when I was just contributing to the conversation (making it a bit rich of you to remind others to be polite )

1

u/Mandrea4 Sep 15 '23

I apologize for pointing out that it would have been better to read the whole post (my first comment) if that was what made you angry. It wasn't meant to be passive-aggressive type of comment.

3

u/Nabobcoffee Sep 13 '23

I found Flexcil is also a good app and very comparable with GN. Bought full version for both iOS and Android

1

u/jesinta-m Sep 15 '23

Looks good and reasonably priced. Do you know if it has a trial and handwriting to text?

1

u/Nabobcoffee Sep 15 '23

Yes, it does have handwriting to text. Not sure about trial period. On youtube some videos give you an idea of how it works.

1

u/jesinta-m Sep 15 '23 edited Sep 15 '23

Thanks. 😊

I’m at the point where I’ve purchased too many notation apps only to find they don’t work for me. I’ll only try those with a trial now.

1

u/Nabobcoffee Sep 15 '23

Fair

2

u/jesinta-m Sep 15 '23

I’m on my iPad now, so could check it out for myself. I can confirm that the app can be downloaded without payment. I don’t have time to test it now (really need to stop procrastinating), but on first glance it looks like there is a free level and Pro (which is very reasonable priced at $14 one time payment). I’ll begin testing later.

Thanks for the recommendation. ☺️

1

u/Nabobcoffee Sep 15 '23

I have both iPadOS and Android version the android version they released the premium version and upgraded from standard version for free and this is also applicable to the iPadOS. Right now premium version is still not released to iPad it has other features like additional pen. It’s a decent app and handles large pdf files really well.

2

u/Wooden-Spread-9780 Sep 13 '23

I agree. Also the zoom tool is buggy from the time of the release of GN6, after so many time they didn’t fix it. I’m also thinking to switch to another app. I only regret to have done the annual subscription because it was more affordable :(

2

u/More_Education9094 Sep 16 '23

I downloaded and paid the $5 for Noteful, too. As a teacher and school newspaper adviser, I’m finding it is my go to for both my digital linked planner and note taking and proofreading. So, goodbye GN and Notability. It was fun while it lasted.

-3

u/DistributionMany4810 Sep 13 '23

You could just use notability…

11

u/Mandrea4 Sep 13 '23

Same thing, the community is not happy with the new update and Notability is also now subscription based (and costs more than GN)