Some PDFs may scroll slowly, display images incorrectly, or omit images in Goodnotes. The behavior can depend on the PDF’s size and how the original file was created.
If the same problem appears in the Files app or macOS Preview, the issue may be with the source PDF or the system’s PDF rendering.
Possible effects
- Scrolling through pages may cause Goodnotes to close unexpectedly.
- An exported PDF may contain duplicate page backgrounds.
- PDFs with copyright watermarks, including some NCERT files, may show an unintended black box after export.
- Images or other PDF elements may appear incorrectly or not appear.
Compress the PDF
Compression can reduce the file size and change how the PDF is encoded.
- Create a copy of the original PDF.
- Compress the copy using a non-Adobe PDF compression tool.
- Import the compressed PDF into Goodnotes and check whether it displays correctly.
Convert the PDF to an image-based file
You can also flatten the original PDF and import the resulting file.
Flattening may improve rendering, but you will no longer be able to select or search the PDF’s original text.
Reduce the file size in macOS Preview
- Open the PDF in Preview.
- Select File > Export.
- Under Quartz Filter, select Reduce File Size.
- Save and import the resulting PDF into Goodnotes.
Resize a source Keynote document
If you have the original Keynote file:
- Open it in Keynote.
- Select File > Reduce File Size > Reduce a Copy.
- Open the reduced copy.
- In the right sidebar, select Document and change the page size to Letter or smaller.
- Select File > Export To > PDF > Next > Export.
- Import the resulting PDF into Goodnotes and check whether rendering improves.