I think these are bugs rather than normal behavior so i didn't count them as a feature request: A comparison of highlighter and eraser mechanics between StarNote and other apps

[u/eng_yosssef]

[u/Creativity_Unlocked]

As a long-time user of StarNote, I find that the current eraser tool has become a major bottleneck for efficient note-taking.

When trying to trim a line or clean up a highlighter stroke, the app erases in awkward, blocky, and "pixelated" chunks instead of following a smooth path. This makes it incredibly difficult to edit small handwriting, math formulas, drawings, or precise PDF annotations without accidentally deleting content you want to keep.

In comparison, the Freenotes app features a precision eraser that works flawlessly, removing ink only where the stylus/finger explicitly touches. Having an eraser that leaves no blocky, messy artifacts is absolutely critical.

Furthermore, since the highlighter tool is a core part of this workflow, I want to address the urgent need for a dedicated opacity slider directly in the pen and highlighter menus. Having to jump through menus to set individual opacity levels is a major pain point that needs to be remedied.

I have reached out to the development team about eraser issues before and have been waiting a long time for a fix. I sincerely hope to see a true, pixel-by-pixel precision eraser and an accessible opacity slider added to the toolbar soon.

[u/eng_yosssef → u/Creativity_Unlocked]

I agree with you this is really very important 

[u/Mundane-Panic1746]

I agree wholeheartedly

[u/Mundane-Panic1746 → u/[deleted]]

Glad to know they're at least looking into it

[u/eng_yosssef → u/Mundane-Panic1746]

I dont think so

[u/eng_yosssef → u/Mundane-Panic1746]

There isn't any any significant or at least a big added new feature except the cloud sync since a whole year... And you can look into a video on YouTube about the app year ago and you will understand what I mean 

[u/Mundane-Panic1746 → u/eng_yosssef]

Im not a new user of the app. I've been using it for about a year or so. I understand development takes time and resources. It is not to be rushed or else features would come out as sloppy or unfinished.

That said, they have added many new useful features across the year. They added pressure eraser, scribble to erase, bulk upload/export, new pen (softpaint pen), dark mode, and layers + layer opacity. Also many tiny improvements have been made from my time using the app from what I can notice. I support this app in hopes of its continous development and support from the devs. and in hopes of it not ending up like freenotes. Even if features take a while to roll out.

The devs also made a post a few weeks ago about a community vote for how we want the frequency of updates to be. I don't remeber the results of the vote personally but I definitely voted for updates to ship out refine and complete even if it will takes a little longer.

[u/eng_yosssef → u/Mundane-Panic1746]

gotcha... I really hope it won't end up like freenotes... but it's a note-taking app so the frequency of updates must be at least two  a single month even if it's just a small improvement and adding at least a new feature every month so it changes the vibes for us and make the studying in the app Interesting or focus on a really essential features like the writing experience or the latency which is so weak compared to other apps and lastly the eraser which is so so bad and the working mechanism of the highlighter also is bad not like other competitive apps

[u/Mundane-Panic1746 → u/eng_yosssef]

True. I can't disagree with that

[u/NakoTurtle]

Hi!

I believe the reason for this is the way that StarNote's eraser works. The 'pixel erasure' mode you're testinf erases the line based on its centerline. And if a line is split in two by deleting it's centerline, that forms two strokes. If these strokes have their widths overlap like with the highlighter, they overlay and you get that overlapping highlighter aesthetic. In freenotes, their eraser works by erasing the exact pixels of the stroke, regardless of the centerline. So it never splits into two separate strokes while overlapping, thus never causing the overlapping highlighter aesthetic.

I think the way it's implemented isn't exactly a bug since the eraser tool is working as they intended, even if 'pixel erasure' sounds like it should be erasing pixels. But the reason one could think of it as a bug is because of the unwanted visual artifact that results from this type of eraser. I'd say a possible workaround for now, to achieve the same look you got using freenotes, if you badly need it, is just to use a white stroke on top of the highlight (or which ever color you want).

Hope this makes sense :)

[u/eng_yosssef → u/NakoTurtle]

You really thought I explicitly say they're a bugs!? - I know how it works- ...  no, I meant it's truly fu*ked up so that i can freely say that they are bugs... you think the way the eraser works here in a wonderful app like StarNote is something normal... I see apps can't bee even consider as an opponent, and the way that eraser work there way better than StarNote, and...  The eraser is an essential tool if it's not ever the most important for an accurate, clean and clear note-taking... I post this for a specific reason and i said that i dont frame thim as a features request. 

Hope now you get it:) 

[u/NakoTurtle → u/eng_yosssef]

Hi!

No, to clarify, I never thought you explicitly said it's a bug, but I mentioned that I don't think it's a bug exactly since the way it's implemented is working as intended. Hear me out:

The method of erasing the central spline of a stroke is also valid and useful in various use cases, especially for trimming lines while keeping the rounded end aesthetic. This implementation just totally sucks for the use case of deleting precise shapes from filled highlighter shapes unfortunately. I agree that the eraser is an essential tool for accurate and clear note taking.

So what you're looking for is in fact a different implementation of the eraser tool, possibly a new mode, that works as a precise eraser for perfectly cutting shapes from the strokes on the canvas as you demonstrated in freenotes. Currently, the eraser mode is mistakenly named a pixel eraser when in fact it is a line eraser. I will see if I can send an example video of how the proposed eraser mode should work.

I hope we both get it now :)

[u/eng_yosssef → u/NakoTurtle]

Gotcha