Using Apple Pencil with GoodNotes on an iPad ProSource: 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 from the App Store now.

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