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August 25th, 2024

Rnote – Sketch and take handwritten notes

Rnote is an open-source vector drawing application for sketching and note-taking, featuring an adaptive interface, multiple layouts, various formats, and community engagement, available on Linux, MacOS, and Windows.

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Rnote – Sketch and take handwritten notes

Rnote is an open-source vector-based drawing application tailored for sketching and handwritten note-taking, ideal for students and educators using drawing tablets. It features an adaptive user interface optimized for stylus input, pressure-sensitive stroke styles, and tools for creating and manipulating shapes. Users can work with multiple document layouts, including fixed pages and an infinite canvas, and customize backgrounds and page formats. Rnote supports various import/export formats such as PDF, Bitmap, SVG, and its native `.rnote` format, along with a tabbed interface for managing multiple documents. The application includes autosave functionality and printing capabilities. Installation options are available for Linux via Flatpak, MacOS through an app bundle, and Windows through an installer or Winget. Rnote promotes community engagement, inviting contributions in code, translations, and artwork sharing, with discussions facilitated on GitHub and Matrix chat rooms. The application is licensed under GPL-3.0-or-later.

- Rnote is designed for sketching and handwritten notes, particularly for students and teachers.

- It features an adaptive UI, pressure-sensitive input, and various document layouts.

- The application supports multiple import/export formats and includes autosave and printing options.

- Installation is available for Linux, MacOS, and Windows.

- Community contributions and discussions are encouraged through GitHub and Matrix.

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AI: What people are saying
The comments on Rnote highlight various user experiences and suggestions regarding the software.
  • Users appreciate Rnote's intuitive interface and functionality, often comparing it favorably to other note-taking applications.
  • There are requests for improved export and sync options, particularly for integration with devices like the Kindle Scribe.
  • Some users express interest in an iOS version and discuss the potential for Android compatibility.
  • Comments reflect a desire for more features, such as vertical space management, which some users found beneficial in other applications.
  • Overall, the community shows enthusiasm for Rnote's open-source nature and its development in Rust.
Link Icon 17 comments
By @dvdkon - 5 months
I used this for taking notes last semester, and I think it's the best free software option right now. The UI is intuitive and, more importantly, the drawing feels good.

The absolute best might still be Styluslabs Write, which has very nice editing capabilities and I prefer its "pencil case" tool model (you have multiple tools with colour, shape, hardness, etc.). But it's closed source, doesn't run natively under Wayland, and I like Rnote's smoothing more.

By @olejorgenb - 5 months
~~Unfortunately doesn't implement expand/contract vertical space (insert or remove vertical space).~~ Ages ago when I used a Toshiba tablet laptop to do math this was a real killer feature in xournal (https://xournal.sourceforge.net/ | https://xournalpp.github.io/)

Demonstration: https://youtu.be/uxFRWpY5o8k?t=299

By @astr0n0mer - 5 months
An earlier post from about 5 months ago https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39671212
By @snoutie - 5 months
I found out about this software way too late, but converting from Xournal to Rnote was not hard luckily. Since then this is among the first apps I install on my 2in1 and I urge anyone using Xournal to give this one a try. I wonder which one of them has the better performance (battery life), this might be an interesting marketing point
By @airstrike - 5 months
This looks cool. I'd love an iOS variant too.

I used to do a LOT of handwritten notetaking on top of existing PDFs so if you're shopping around for apps I'd call out

https://pdfexpert.com/ which to date has the best handwriting recognition I've seen. Plus I they're Ukrainian so bonus points for helping support that economy

https://www.drawboard.com/ which is what I used for Windows

By @Abishek_Muthian - 5 months
I recently tested Rnote(Rust) and Saber(Flutter)[1] with a wacom tablet; RNote is minimalist, gets the job done while Saber does some post-processing to make the note prettier, has lot of features and even makes sounds of pen writing on the paper which creates some latency.

Unfortunately Saber crashes when I move to another window and could not even report it to Gnome; Too bad as I do like flutter & dart lang but I don't think the runtime is stable enough for linux.

[1] https://github.com/saber-notes/saber

By @sbt567 - 5 months
This piece of software is so good and fast even I'm using it for presenting my work at dayjob
By @fastasucan - 5 months
Having onenote erase a days worth of work because it couldn't sync my tablet (and there was no way of exporting it as pdf or anything else) this looks really interesting. Hope there is an android version eventually.
By @m-s-y - 5 months
Who’s going to use this on MacOS to take notes? The only input devices are expensive Wacom-style devices. iPad Pro with Apple Pencil is the way to go here, am I wrong?
By @graypegg - 5 months
I really like how a lot of software built to run amongst other GNOME applications, usually looks really GNOME-y. I know it's mostly just an effect of the system GTK components looking the way that they do, but it seems like people keep to the same icons, layouts, fonts, etc. when they make GNOME apps. RNote wouldn't look out of place next to any other system app, which is a rarity on other platforms!
By @bloopernova - 5 months
I'd really like better export and sync options on the Kindle Scribe. Its pencil input is great, but it can only export by emailing a PDF.

Couldn't it just dump everything you write into a WebDAV share? It's apparently Android underneath, so it's not like the software can't support it.

By @purple-leafy - 5 months
This is really cool.

Besides the obvious “have idea, build idea”, how can one start a successful challenging open source project like this?

By @patrakov - 5 months
Sadly, this is not in Debian (but it is in Arch repositories).
By @arminiusreturns - 5 months
GPLv3 and Rust! Color me impressed! I wonder how hard it would be to run on android (or port if needed).
By @novagameco - 5 months
Looks cool!
By @syngrog66 - 5 months
pencil/ink on paper
By @mrinfinitiesx - 5 months
Excellent. As somebody getting in to and learning Rust with some ideas, this is amazing to see and learn, especially with Linux application development.

Gives me a lot to play with!

Absolutely great work.