Left Image Right Image
Articles in this section

Import files into Goodnotes

Goodnotes allows you to import different types of files that you can mark up and annotate. You can import files from within the app, from an external app, or by using drag and drop.

Supported formats on iOS

  • PDF
  • Image (.jpg, .png)
  • Word (.doc, .docx) and PowerPoint (.ppt, .pptx) (iPadOS/iOS only) (*)
  • Goodnotes document (.goodnotes)
  • Goodnotes backup (.goodnotes.zip). See Back up and restore your library manually.
  • Comma- or Tab-Separated Values file (.csv, .tsv). The app can import a file in this format to create Flashcards. See Study with Flashcards.

(*) Goodnotes can handle these formats directly, but the internal conversion to PDF may not preserve the original layout perfectly. Importing PDF versions of these files can avoid this issue and give you better results.

Supported formats on Android, Windows and Web

  • PDF
  • Image (.jpg, .png)
  • Goodnotes document (.goodnotes) - Study Set is not supported

Important: File size limits for import on Android, Windows and Web: While subscribed users enjoy unlimited notebooks, the import file size limit is 1GB per PDF file, and 200Mb per Goodnotes file (.goodnotes).  Free users have a limit of 3 notebooks, the import file size limit is 5Mb per file.

Note: New > Take photo not available on Windows and Web.

Import file(s) as new document(s)

From within the app

  1. Tap the + New icon in the Documents tab of the Library View > Import. (*)
  2. Select the file(s) and tap Open.

(*) If you’ve connected a cloud storage to Goodnotes (available to Goodnotes Pro users): choose New > OneDrive or Google Drive to import directly from that storage:

From external Cloud storage

  1. Tap the + New icon in the Documents tab of the Library View > Import.
  2. Navigate to iCloud Drive, Google Drive or OneDrive without leaving Goodnotes.
  3. Select the file and tap Open.

From an external app (iOS only)

  1. In Goodnotes, open the library view.
  2. Switch to the other app, then do either of the following:
    • To import one file, tap to open it.
    • To import multiple files, select them from the list of files (if supported by the external app, indicated by the presence of a Select icon).
  3. Tap Share (or Open In..., Send a copy, or the like) in that app.
  4. Choose Open in Goodnotes.
  5. Select the "New Document" tab and choose the location. Then, click in "Import to ..." to confirm.

Via Drag & Drop (iOS only)

Using a multitasking feature called Split View, you can import files from other apps into Goodnotes with ease. This feature lets you have two apps open next to each other and drag files from one to the other. Below, we’ll show you how to import files from the Files app using the Drag & Drop method, but you can use the same steps for other apps as well.

  1. Open Goodnotes and the Files app in Split View.
  2. In Goodnotes, open the folder that you want to contain the new document(s).
  3. In the Files app, open the folder that contains the file(s) you want to import to Goodnotes, then do either of the following:
    • To import one file, simply long-press the file for half a second, then drag it to the Goodnotes window.
    • To import multiple files, select them from the list of files, then drag the selection to the Goodnotes window.

Import files into an existing document

With Goodnotes, you can import files as new documents and then merge them to an existing one, or you can combine both steps in one. This can save you some time and hassle.

From within the app

  1. In Goodnotes, open the destination document and go to the page before/after which you want the new file(s) to be added.
  2. Tap the Add Page icon.
  3. Tap Import, select one or more files and tap Open.

From an external app (iOS only)

  1. In Goodnotes, open the destination document and go to the page before/after which you want the new file(s) to be added.
  2. Switch to the other app, then do either of the following:
    • To import one file, tap to open it.
    • To import multiple files, select them from the list of files (if supported by the external app, indicated by the presence of a Select icon).
  3. Tap Share (or Open In..., Send a copy, or the like) in that app.
  4. Choose Open in Goodnotes.
  5. Tap in the "Current Document" tab. Select import location (after current page, before current page, end of document). If importing multiple files, drag and drop to determine the sequence. Click "Import to Current Document"

Via Drag & Drop (iOS only)

  1. In Goodnotes, open the existing document that you want to import the file(s) to.
  2. Tap the icon near the top-left corner to enter the Thumbnail View.
  3. In the Files app, open the folder that contains the file(s) you want to import to Goodnotes, then do either of the following:
    • To import one file, simply long-press the file for half a second, then drag it to the Goodnotes window to the desired position in the document.
    • To import multiple files, select them from the list of files, then drag the selection to the Goodnotes window to the desired position in the document.

Import a folder of files from the Files app (iOS only)

  1. Compress that folder into a .zip file.
  2. Import that .zip file to Goodnotes. 

Import notes from another note-taking app

Migrating your notes from one app to another can be tricky, because each app uses its own unique native format. But there is a way around this: most note-taking apps let you export your notes as PDFs, which you can then import into Goodnotes. The downside is that you can’t edit the notes anymore, but at least you don’t have to redo everything!

Appendix: Connect your cloud storage with Goodnotes (Goodnotes Pro plan)

  1. Open Goodnotes menu > Integrations > Cloud Storage.
  2. Choose a supported cloud storage, and authorize the connection. Once done, you’ll see Import and Disconnect buttons under the cloud storage entry.

See also: