New GoodNotes 5.5.0 update means users can now share documents with people

Using Apple Pencil with GoodNotes on an iPad Pro (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

GoodNotes 5.5.0 is now available for download from the App Store.
The update adds the ability to share documents with other people for the first time.
Users can even share a group of notes, too.

GoodNotes is a popular note-taking app and PDF editor and version 5.5.0 is now available for download from the App Store. It adds a big new feature as well – one that could be vitally important to people who are no longer working in the same office as their colleagues. Yes, document sharing is here.

This is the first time GoodNotes has supported document sharing and it promises to be a big deal for tons of people. Not only can users share individual notes via unique URLs, but they can also share entire file cabinets, sharing every note that sits within it. They can even open a note while someone is working on it as well.

Finding new ways to work together with other people is now more important than ever. This update adds the ability to share documents with other GoodNotes users and edit them together.

Syncing is handled by iCloud, so there is no need to link any new storage services here. Syncing does take a few seconds – up to 30 of them, I'm told – but it's definitely better than not being able to sync at all.

Changes to shared documents sync via iCloud and take around 15-30 seconds to show up on other devices. Currently, anyone with the link can open and edit a shared document in GoodNotes. We recommend sharing documents with trusted people only.

The folks behind GoodNotes say that this isn't going to act as a replacement for real-time whiteboard apps but it does give people a way to share things like todo lists, calendars, or just a list of what they need to pick up the next time they're at the shop. And because it's built into the app and uses iCloud, there's no additional money that needs to change hands either.

You can download the updated GoodNotes 5.5.0 (opens in new tab) from the App Store now.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.