How to Use GoodNotes 6: From Beginner to Expert

Introduction

GoodNotes recently released a new version, GoodNotes 6, and if you're a longtime user or you're new to considering it for digital planning and note-taking, this is the video you want to watch. We're going to dive into some basic tips on how to use the program, how to get started, but we're also going to get into the benefits and features that really enhance the experience of using GoodNotes 6. Stay with me as we embark on this journey.

I'm Branden Bodendorfer, creator and founder of the Key2Success Planner. Thank you for taking a few minutes to learn about GoodNotes 6 and how you can use it for digital planning and note-taking. If at any time in this video you've learned just one thing, go ahead and hit the like button so we can share this with other people in the community. If you have questions, drop them in the comments. If you like this kind of content, hit Subscribe — we cover everything from tech reviews to productivity and how to use these applications for digital planning and note-taking.

Importing Documents into GoodNotes

One of the first things you need to know about GoodNotes 6 is that you can import documents. You can import PDFs to mark up, create your own documents, use templates that come built into GoodNotes 6, or import a digital planner. It starts by clicking the New button. From here you can create a notebook, create a folder — and inside the folder you can create additional notes, add images, and import documents. If you're importing a planner, this is the best way to start.

Create Your Own Notebook

If you want to create your own notebook, simply click on Notebook. This gives you the opportunity to choose a cover, name it, and choose from various templates that are available. That allows you to create your own notebook and opens up a blank notebook space.

Tools in GoodNotes

Now let's talk about the actual tools and how to start making notes. Across the top of the toolbar you'll see a Drawing tab, a Typing tab, and a Recording tab. Clicking through these gives you different options. In recording mode you can record audio; in typing mode you can type directly on the page; in drawing mode you can write. One important note: if you're using a digital planner that has hyperlinks, you need to be in reading mode to tap and navigate between pages. I'll also show you a tip for following hyperlinks without leaving writing mode.

Using Writing Tools in GoodNotes 6

Clicking on the Drawing tab reveals the writing tools: undo and redo, pen, eraser, highlighter, shapes, lasso, and a few additional tools we'll get to. The pen tool gives you three options: fountain pen, ballpoint pen, and brush pen, each with its own settings. I personally prefer the ballpoint pen. I also like having some writing aids on but I keep spell check off because it creates an underline under my handwritten words. You can choose line thickness, and there's a new option in GoodNotes 6 for solid, dashed, and dotted lines. That's new as of a recent update and it's really useful for blocking out calendar sections or marking appointments.

Turning Off Spell Check in GoodNotes 6

To turn off spell check, go into the pen settings and look for Writing Aids. You can toggle spell check off from there. When it's on, it underlines words it thinks are misspelled — which gets distracting when you're handwriting. Turning it off gives you a cleaner writing surface.

Using the Eraser in GoodNotes 6

The eraser tool has three modes: Precision, Standard, and Stroke. The Stroke eraser erases the entire pen stroke that you touch. The Standard eraser erases whatever falls within the circle as you move it. The Precision eraser erases only the pixels and connected strokes at the exact edge of the eraser. There's also a Highlight Eraser Only option — this is really effective if you use color-blocking to organize appointments in your planner. With Highlight Eraser enabled, running the eraser over a highlighted area removes only the highlight and leaves the text underneath untouched.

How to Use the Highlight Pen

Highlighting works similarly to the pen tool. You can choose thickness, choose a color, and there's a feature where if you draw a line and hold at the end, it straightens into a perfectly straight highlight. That's a clean feature, especially when you're marking up books, PDFs, or notes where you want consistent-looking lines.

Create Shapes in GoodNotes 6

Using the shape tool, you can tap to draw a shape and it will auto-correct into a clean version. You also have the option to fill shapes with color. One thing to know: if you close a shape completely when drawing, it will fill with the active color. If you leave it open, it won't fill. Drawing circles and rectangles works the same way.

How to Use the Lasso Tool

The lasso tool is one of the most important tools for digital planning. You can use it to select handwritten text, images, or text boxes and move, copy, or paste them anywhere in your notebook. A great example: if you have a to-do list on Monday's page and you didn't finish it, you can lasso it, copy it, jump to Tuesday's page, and paste it there. That keeps your planning workflow fluid without rewriting anything.

Import Images and Media

You can also import images directly onto any page — photos from your library or files from your device storage. Combined with the text box tool in the Typing tab, you have a full layout toolkit: you can type, handwrite, and place images anywhere on the page.

Eye Dropper Tool

The eyedropper lets you sample any color from your page and use it as your active pen or highlight color. Go to the pen tool, tap the color swatch, choose Custom, and you'll see an eyedropper icon. Tap it, move the selector over the color you want, and it adds it to your palette. You can also save it to your presets.

Using Layers in GoodNotes 6

With the lasso tool selected, you can select any object — a shape, text, image — tap the Arrange option, and choose Bring to Front or Send to Back. This lets you layer objects the way you would in a design tool, stacking handwritten text over shapes or images over colored backgrounds.

Using Split Screen in GoodNotes 6

GoodNotes 6 supports iPad split-screen. You can open your planner in GoodNotes on one side and any other app on the other side. The most useful version of this for planning is having your digital calendar in one window and your GoodNotes planner in the other, so you can reference your scheduled events while you write your daily plan. You can also open two separate GoodNotes windows side by side to reference two different notebooks at the same time.

Double Tap to Undo

A quick tip: to undo anything, tap the screen with two fingers. Double tap with two fingers and it undoes your last action. This works from any tool without having to tap the undo button in the toolbar.

Pen Gestures: Scribble to Erase and Circle to Lasso

In the pen settings, you can enable Pen Gestures. Two of the most useful are Scribble to Erase and Circle to Lasso. With Scribble to Erase active, you can scribble over any handwritten content while in pen mode and it erases immediately, without switching to the eraser tool. With Circle to Lasso, you draw a circle around any content and it activates a lasso selection automatically. These two gestures eliminate a lot of back-and-forth tool switching.

Using Hyperlinks in GoodNotes 6

For those using a digital planner, hyperlinks are one of the most powerful features in GoodNotes 6. In reading mode, you can tap any linked button and it navigates to the linked page. That's how digital planners with built-in navigation work. If you want to follow a hyperlink while staying in writing mode, tap and hold on the link element. A dialog box will appear and you can choose Open Link. That lets you jump around your planner without turning reading mode on and off constantly.

Changing Scroll Direction

You can change how pages scroll in your notebook. Go into the notebook settings and choose Scroll Direction. Switch from Horizontal to Vertical if you prefer scrolling up and down through pages rather than side to side. You can change it back anytime in the same menu.

How to Access the Page Sorter

Tap the Page View button to see a grid of all pages in your notebook or planner. From here you can add pages before or after the current page, duplicate pages, export individual pages, delete pages, or open any page in a new window. This is especially useful for large planners with hundreds of pages — you can jump to a specific section visually rather than scrolling through page by page.

Using Stickers to Customize Your Planner

GoodNotes supports importing custom tiles and digital stickers to personalize your pages. Go into drawing mode, open the image import menu, and select tiles or stickers from your files. In the Key2Success Planner system, tiles are professional layout elements — things like a 24-hour time block, a mileage tracker, a habit tracker — that you can drop onto any daily or weekly page to add structure that isn't in the base template. This gives you a lot of flexibility to adapt your planner layout to what's actually happening in your day.

How to Create Hyperlinks

To create your own hyperlinks inside GoodNotes 6, first note the page number of the destination by going to page view. Then go to the page where you want to place the link, tap the spot on the page, and choose Add Link. You can link to a page within the same document, a different document in GoodNotes, or an external website URL. Once placed, you can use the lasso tool to reposition the link, add a text label next to it, and rename the link text via Edit Link Content.

Writing Aids and Spell Check

In the pen settings, you can enable spell check under Writing Aids. With it on, GoodNotes will underline recognized misspelled handwritten words. Tapping an underlined word gives you correction options or the ability to add the word to your custom dictionary. You can also select handwritten text with the lasso tool, tap and hold, and choose Convert to switch your handwriting into a typed text format.

Converting Handwriting to Text

The handwriting-to-text conversion in GoodNotes 6 is accurate and fast. Lasso your handwritten content, tap and hold, choose Convert, and select Text. GoodNotes converts it and gives you the option to copy the text or replace your handwriting with a typed version in place.

Paper-Like Writing Experience with iPad

A couple of hardware additions make a noticeable difference for daily writing. I use an aftermarket metal Apple Pencil tip that gives more precision than the stock rubber tip. I also use a magnetic matte screen protector that sticks over the display. It reduces glare and gives the screen a texture that feels closer to paper. It's magnetic, so you can remove it when you want the full display quality back. Both of these have been in my setup for months and I won't go back. Links to both are in the description.

How to Collaborate in GoodNotes 6

The sharing options in GoodNotes 6 let you share an entire notebook, export individual pages, print, or mirror your screen for presentations via Apple TV or similar. These are useful if you're using GoodNotes in a meeting or teaching context where you want others to see what you're working on in real time.

Closing Thoughts

GoodNotes 6 is a paid subscription now, which is a change from the one-time purchase model of GoodNotes 5. For me, the ability to create cross-notebook hyperlinks was the feature that made the subscription worth it. Being able to connect notes across different notebooks, use my planner as a true index for my life, and navigate everything from one place is genuinely valuable. Whether it's worth it for you depends on how you plan to use it. If you have questions about anything we didn't cover, drop them in the comments. If you found this useful, hit the like button and subscribe for more content on digital planning and note-taking tools. I'm Branden Bodendorfer, creator and founder of the Key2Success Planner — God bless, and we'll see you in the next video.