Perhaps the most surprising thing aboutJournalis that its a product of Microsoft.
By contrast,Journalis a simple, graceful utility thats a pleasure to use.
How do you take handwritten notes, store them, and organize them on a computer?
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By contrast,Journalis a revelation of clean design.
I tried it out using a low-end Surface Pro 7 tablet and pen.
Journal was easy to use, although it comes with useful animated tutorials.
Part of the joy of usingJournalis the things it doesnt have.
One key difference withJournalcompared to other apps is that its focused on pages.
Many similar inking apps use an infinite canvas approach.
The obvious benefit of the canvas is that youll never run out of digital paper.
The cards are a visual to browse search results.
The gestures withinJournalare simple and intuitive.
If you make a spelling mistake, for example, you’re able to just scratch it out.
it’s possible for you to select content by circling it or tapping with your finger.
Microsoft says the app uses artificial intelligence (AI) to determine which mode it should be in.
The apps ability to tell which mode I was in worked remarkably well in practice.
Journalcan detect everyday writing like headings, items you starred, drawings, and, of course, keywords.
The apps recognition also unlocks some capabilities.
you might tap it to quickly pick the associated content, then take actions like Move or Copy.
AI also powers search inJournalto great effect.
I was able to easily find past ink notes that I had created.
Theres also a very cool @ mention digital shorthand feature to privately refer to people.
Journalhas quickly become my favorite note-taking app.
My only worry aboutJournalis that Microsoft will change it or add too many features.
Some things are best left simple.
