How to Export Goodnotes Notes and Notability Notes Before You Switch Apps

To export Goodnotes notes, open the library, tap a notebook's title (or select several with the checkmark icon) and choose Export, then pick PDF, image or Goodnotes format. To export Notability notes, select them in the Library, tap Export and choose PDF, Note, JPEG, PNG or NTB. Export to PDF for any other app, and keep the app's own format as a backup. The details below, all from Goodnotes' and Notability's own help centers, decide whether your handwriting stays searchable.

Whether you are switching apps or just want a safe copy of a semester of notes before exams, this is the complete checklist.

Before you export: a five minute checklist

1. Update the app you are exporting from, so the export options match the help pages.
2. Check storage. Exports of many notebooks, especially with audio, can be large.
3. Pick a destination. The Files app on your iPad, iCloud Drive, or a cloud folder you control.
4. Name a folder by date, for example "Notes export 2026 10", so you never mix old and new copies.
5. Keep the original app installed until you have opened and checked the exported files.

How do I export Goodnotes notes?

Goodnotes supports three export formats, per its guide Export documents or pages: a Goodnotes document (opens only in Goodnotes), PDF (editable or flattened) and image.

Export one notebook

• From the library: tap the document title and choose Export.
• From inside the notebook: tap the Share icon and choose Export All.

Export several notebooks

1. In the library, open the Views menu and choose Select Items, then tap the notebooks.
2. Choose Export, adjust the export details, then choose Export again.

Export whole folders (the fastest full backup)

In the library, tap the checkmark icon near the upper right, tap the folders, then tap Export. Goodnotes says the result is "a single .zip file containing every notebook in the folder(s) with the folder structure still preserved." That zip can be imported back into Goodnotes as a whole, which makes it a good safety copy.

Export only some pages

Go to thumbnail view (the four square icon), tap Select, tap the pages (you can swipe across a row to select quickly), then tap Export. For one page, tap Share and choose Export This Page.

Editable or flattened PDF in Goodnotes?

This is the choice that matters most when you switch apps. Goodnotes explains it in Choose Between Editable and Flattened PDF Export:

	Editable PDF	Flattened PDF
Handwriting searchable	No	Yes, with Enable Handwriting Recognition
Items movable in other PDF viewers	Yes	No
Document outlines kept	Yes	No
Original PDF hyperlinks kept	Yes	No
Compatibility	Not stated by Goodnotes	Recommended for broad PDF viewer compatibility

For searchable handwriting: open the export dialog, select Flattened, turn on Enable Handwriting Recognition, and finish the export.

A simple rule for students: export flattened with handwriting recognition for studying and searching in another app, and keep a Goodnotes document copy as a backup you can reopen in Goodnotes.

How do I export Notability notes?

Notability's help article Sharing Notes lists five file formats: PDF, Note, JPEG, PNG and NTB (Notability Cloud). Each format has its own settings under More options.

Export from the Library

1. Tap Select (or the menu, then Select Notes).
2. Select the notes you want.
3. Tap Export in the bar at the bottom, choose the file format, and pick a destination or a connected service.

You can also press and hold a single note. Export opens Apple's share menu, and Export Options opens the format menu.

Export from inside a note

Open the note, open the Options menu, and choose Export Options to pick PDF, Note, JPEG, PNG or NTB. Quick Share sends it through Apple's share menu instead.

Which Notability format to choose

• PDF if the notes are going to another app.
• Note as your backup, because it is the format Notability itself reopens.
• JPEG or PNG only for single pages you want to send as images.

If your notes include audio recordings, check the options under More options before you export, and open one exported file to confirm the audio came with it.

After you export: check before you delete anything

Open three exported files at random, one old, one recent and one long. Check that every page is there, that handwriting is readable, and (for flattened Goodnotes PDFs) that searching a word you wrote finds it. Only then clean up. Keep the exported folder for at least a semester.

Moving your notes into Aura

Aura is a study notebook for iPhone and iPad, built for students who write by hand. It offers guided moves from Goodnotes, Notability, Apple Notes, OneNote, Evernote, Notion and other apps, and PDFs, Evernote exports, Markdown and images come in too. If a lecturer sends a Word file, Aura turns it into a PDF and then a notebook you can write on.

Once your notes are in, Ask Aura answers questions from your own notebooks, with a source you tap to open the page, and says so when your notes do not cover something. Notebooks stay on your device, and AI runs only when you ask. App names belong to their owners. Aura is not affiliated with them.

Aura is heading to TestFlight, then the App Store. Join the waitlist to hear when it is ready.