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by killjoywashere 1454 days ago
Hi, I was taking notes in Notability on a PDF of a manuscript I’m reviewing for a journal just before taking this break on Hacker News and finding this. I would really like this to have a freedrawing pencil interface like Notability does. I do agree that organized marginalia would be very helpful. I have struggled to find one app to rule them all this regard.
1 comments
pj747 1454 days ago
Noted! Do you think the app would work well as is on the iPad if we added free drawing with the pencil in the notebook? We’ve designed the entire interface with a laptop in mind. Very curious how iPad users feel about everything.
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mkl 1454 days ago
I don't have an iPad but I do a lot of free-drawing PDF annotation on Android with Squid. For maths it's way easier than typing Latex. Personally I wouldn't consider this kind of app unless it had free drawing as a primary tool. Even if you're focused on laptops, many laptops have pen input, especially those used by students. Many of my students use OneNote to annotate lecture slides with a pen; even though OneNote is pretty limited, there aren't many good competitors on Windows.
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pj747 1453 days ago
Very interesting! Definitely sounds like a gap even in the laptop space then. Thanks for the input!
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killjoywashere 1454 days ago
> Do you think the app would work well as is on the iPad if we added free drawing with the pencil in the notebook?

I'm not a frontend mobile developer, so definitely not entirely qualified to comment, but it doesn't open in Safari (MacOS or iPadOS). That said, I did try uploading Watson and Crick's paper on DNA and it seems to upload but won't open (hangs on 0%) in both MacOS Firefox and MacOS Chrome (both downloaded fresh today). I also tried opening the MacOS app on a computer with MDM controls and it was blocked (need a valid signature on your dmg).

Ginger Labs (publisher of Notability) has dozens of employees and has been in operation for 14 years, so it's a bit unfair to compare, but I definitely like the idea of have a Google Docs style wide margin to play in. Something like MathPad for LaTeX would be nice as well. Lots of asks, I know.

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