In some rare cases, one or more of GoodNotes databases may get corrupted, which will cause some problems like blank pages, not being able to duplicate or copy pages, not being able to add new pages, pages added to the wrong position, not being able to add writing to your pages, import/export hangs, etc. When GoodNotes detects that a database is corrupted, you will see an alert with an error code ("E001-N", "E001-E"). Your library needs to be repaired with the following steps.
Solution 1: Self-repair your library
1. Copy the following link (depending on the error code you're encountering), paste it to the address bar in Safari app, and open it:
- For E001-E error, use this link: goodnotes5://x-callback-url/repair?f=1&id=D52BDF7C-CF3B-474A-A5AD-7366A7E6CEAF&src=event
- For E001-N error, use this link: goodnotes5://x-callback-url/repair?f=1&id=D52BDF7C-CF3B-474A-A5AD-7366A7E6CEAF&src=notes
2. When asked if you would like to open this page in GoodNotes, tap Open. If you tapped Cancel accidentally, please clear the Safari history and website data from Settings app and try again.
3. GoodNotes will open and an alert will ask if you would like to repair the database, tap OK.
4. Please wait until the repair is completed. There will be a progress bar that appears in the middle of the screen that will disappear once the repair is completed. If GoodNotes is restarted during the repairing process, please repeat the steps above to resume the repairing.
5. Please force quit the app and restart it. Once completed, the database is repaired and you should be able to use the app as usual.
Solution 2: Reinstall the app
If the solution above doesn't help resolve this error code, please reinstall the app this way:
- Back up all your library in PDF format: Export documents or pages in GoodNotes 5. Hopefully the process is completed successfully and you can confirm that you have all your notes.
- Back up your library (that is, in .goodnotes format). If there are no error alerts during the process, continue. Otherwise, proceed to the next solution below.
- Delete and reinstall the app.
- Restore from the backup by importing the .zip file.
Solution 3: Send your library to Support for recovery
If the solutions above fail, the library is likely corrupted and our Support Team can try our best to recover it. Your files are safe with us and we'll delete them upon your confirmation that the error has been resolved and you have most or all your notes back.
How to send your library to our team
First make sure the device has enough storage space by looking in your device Settings > General > About. The "Available" capacity should ideally be a few times as large as GoodNotes' Documents & Data in General > iPad/iPhone Storage > GoodNotes.
Then, proceed as follows:
- Open the Settings app, go to GoodNotes (at the bottom of the left section), and enable Temporary Diagnostic Mode.
- Open GoodNotes again and a "Temporary Diagnostic Mode Enabled" dialog will show. Choose OK to export all data, then the app will close (not a crash).
- Connect your device to a computer via a USB cable.
- Launch iTunes (Windows or macOS) and locate GoodNotes' internal files in the File Sharing section. If you're on macOS Catalina or later, locate GoodNotes Files section instead.
- Select all_goodnotes_files.zip file from GoodNotes and drag it to your desktop.
- Send the file to us
- If its size is between 50 MB and 2 GB, you can upload it to a free cloud service like WeTransfer.com or your own cloud storage, and provide the link here.
- Alternatively, let our team know so we can generate a link for you to upload the file.