Can Penultimate convert handwriting to text?

FAQ Handwriting to text
Published April 21, 2024

Penultimate, developed by Evernote, is a popular note-taking application designed specifically for Apple iPads. One of its key features is allowing users to write notes by hand, making it particularly useful for those who prefer the tactile experience of handwriting. However, users often wonder if Penultimate can convert their handwritten notes to digital text for easier editing and searching.

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As of the latest updates, Penultimate itself does not support native handwriting-to-text conversion. It is primarily focused on providing a seamless handwriting experience and integrating with Evernote for better organization and note management. Still, the app can recognize your handwritten notes and make them searchable when they are synced to Evernote, thanks to Evernote's inbuilt OCR capabilities.

For users looking for more robust handwriting-to-text conversion, there are alternative solutions available. You can use HandwritingOCR, a web-based service, to convert handwriting in PDFs or images to digital text. Simply upload your handwritten notes from Penultimate to HandwritingOCR at https://www.handwritingocr.com, and it will process your document to extract the text.

Other alternatives include apps like Nebo and MyScript, which are specifically designed for handwriting-to-text conversion and offer a more integrated approach. Here's a short comparison:

  • Nebo: Offers advanced handwriting recognition and can convert notes directly to text, even supporting complex structures like diagrams and math equations.

  • MyScript: Similar to Nebo, MyScript provides powerful handwriting recognition capabilities but has a wider range of app integrations.

  • GoodNotes: Another app with strong handwriting features, although its handwriting-to-text conversion is somewhat less mature compared to Nebo and MyScript.

Ultimately, while Penultimate is excellent for writing and organizing handwritten notes, you'll need additional tools or services if you require full handwriting-to-text conversion.

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