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Sketch Notebooks and Rich Text Doc Pages on Shelf

Beyond PDF uploads: draw on A4 sheets, type structured notes, or import existing documents — all live beside PDFs in your collections.

12 min read
Sketch notebook
Ruled paper · draw & annotate

Three page types

Shelf pages can be PDFs (uploaded or linked), HTML documents (imported or edited), or sketch notebooks. Pick Add page → Notebook for draw-only multi-sheet editors, or Add page → Doc for typed rich text without ink.

Sketch notebook
Ruled paper · draw & annotate

Sketch notebooks

Notebook pages use fixed A4 sheets with ruled, grid, or blank paper and a GoodNotes-style color palette. Add sheets with + Page when a diagram spills over. Legacy blank-canvas pages (combined type and draw) still open for older content.

Shelf — Upload

Drop your PDF here

Parsed text or original PDF view

Parsed

Highlight & Study AI

Original

View as PDF

Doc editor

Doc pages support headings, lists, fonts, and colors — ideal for lecture notes you type directly in Shelf. HTML imports from TXT, MD, or DOCX can be highlighted and edited where the legacy flow allows.

Shelf — Library
Polity notes
Current affairs
Essay drafts

Same library, same AI

Imported HTML text is indexed for Study AI like PDF-derived content. Ask questions on typed notes the same way you would on a scanned chapter — retrieval runs over processed text in your library index.

Sketch notebook
Ruled paper · draw & annotate

Sketch notebooks

Create ruled notebook pages for freehand diagrams, map sketches, and quick calculations. Pen tools respect palm rejection settings on tablets.

Notebooks live in collections like PDFs — topic or collection level — so Organic Chemistry diagrams stay with Organic Chemistry.

Shelf — Upload

Drop your PDF here

Parsed text or original PDF view

Parsed

Highlight & Study AI

Original

View as PDF

Typed doc pages

Doc pages are lightweight editors for essay drafts, answer scripts, and revision notes without leaving Shelf. No forced Word export — your text stays in the library beside source PDFs.

Shelf — Library
Polity notes
Current affairs
Essay drafts

When to sketch vs highlight PDF

Highlight PDF when the source text matters for citations. Sketch when you need spatial layout — geography maps, anatomy, circuit diagrams — that PDF markup cannot capture cleanly.

Sketch notebook
Ruled paper · draw & annotate

Study AI on docs

Indexed doc text participates in library search like PDFs. Ask Study AI to tighten an essay intro using both your draft doc and uploaded reference PDFs.

Shelf — Upload

Drop your PDF here

Parsed text or original PDF view

Parsed

Highlight & Study AI

Original

View as PDF

Upload alongside create

You can still upload external PDFs; doc pages complement uploads rather than replace them. Many users maintain one doc per collection for running summary notes.

Shelf — Library
Polity notes
Current affairs
Essay drafts

Device tips

Tablet + stylus shines for sketch notebooks; laptop keyboard shines for doc pages. Same account syncs both.

Sketch notebook
Ruled paper · draw & annotate