How to copy and paste handwritten notes as typed text on iPad

In this brief tutorial, we will show you how to copy and paste handwritten notes as typed text so that the notes you took on your iPad with Apple Pencil appear as actual text ready to be used in other apps.

iPadOS 14 Notes Copy Paste Handwritten Text

If you own an Apple Pencil and take advantage of handwritten notes, a terrific lesser-known feature turns your jotted-down notes into typed ones. And even if you use your finger to scribble a note, you can use the feature without an Apple Pencil.

This is a convenient way to take your note and convert it for easier reading for yourself or someone you’re sharing your note with. Curious? Let me show you how!

Copy and paste your handwritten text

1) Open the note that contains the handwritten text that you want to turn into typed text. This works with notes you’ve written with an Apple Pencil or your finger.

2) Select the text. Tap on the screen and then tap again to bring up the shortcut menu. Then, pick Select or Select All, depending on how much handwriting you used and what you want to copy. The text you select will be highlighted. You can use the end selecting bar to manually select or de-select text.

3) Tap the screen to bring up the shortcut menu again. This time, select Copy as Text. This is the key step to make sure your handwritten text is copied correctly.

iPadOS 14 Notes Copy as Text

4) Now that you have the text on your clipboard, open the spot where you want to paste it. This can be a new note in Notes, a document in Pages, an email in Mail, or whatever you like.

5) Tap on the screen in the item for your app and tap again if necessary to display the shortcut menu.

6) Select Paste.

You should then see your handwritten text pop right into your item with the way you formatted it and all!

iPadOS 14 Notes Paste as Text

Jotting down notes in our own handwriting can be a real time-saver. But it might not be the best way to keep those notes as references or for sharing with others who may not be able to read them. Thankfully, this awesome feature for copying and pasting handwritten notes as typed text is a great addition for iPad users. What do you think?

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