How I Set Up My Surface Pro for Handwritten Notes

Introduction #

Devices like the Microsoft Surface Pro are amazing laptops. With them it is possible to switch from writing an email to taking handwritten notes in the blink of an eye… and this is a real productivity boost. Even though most of us know how to write an email on our laptop and how to organize Word documents, setting up your laptop for handwritten notes is not as straightforward. But in this guide I will tell you exactly how to set up your Surface for handwritten notes and give you a few valuable tips and tricks I wish I had known earlier myself.

What app is the best? #

Most important: What app to use? And my clear answer is Noteastic. This is a rather novel application on Windows, but it does so many things right where other apps fall short. What I enjoy most about Noteastic is that it has a super smooth writing feel with close to zero latency. Also, the app is super slick and really aesthetic. This is important to me as I spend hours on end in my note-taking application as a student. It is simply joyful to use this app. Another aspect that is extremely important to me is that Noteastic handles PDFs very well. I import and export slides, papers and scripts all the time in and out of this app and never have problems.

If you want to check alternatives to Noteastic, check out this blog on apps for handwritten notes on Windows. Here you find all other serious options you have.

Taking notes in Noteastic #

I really enjoy the tools Noteastic offers. The app gives you all the flexibility in shape, color, and size of your notes you could wish for. The nexus of the app is the toolbar, where you can select the various tools at your disposal:

You can choose between pen, highlighter, eraser, lines, shapes and the lasso tool. What I really appreciate is that you can customize colors however you want. The same goes for shapes, ink strokes, and highlighters alike. You can customize colors like here:

Another thing I enjoy a lot is that you can freely customize the note-taking page with different grids and colors. If you, for example, want to write on lined paper that does not strain your eyes that badly, simply change the background and update the colors, like here:

Set up your workspace #

Jumping straight into it, I will show you how I set up Noteastic. I’ll use my university studies as the running example because that’s what I know best, but the same topic-based logic works for professional projects, hobbies, or anything else where notes pile up over time. The folder structure is the starting point, because handwritten notes can get really messy if you don’t sort and organize them cleanly, so here is what I do:

First, I have a folder for my university on my home screen. Inside this folder I basically try to replicate the structure of my degree with folders. For example, my degree has three main sections called “STEOP”, “CBK”, and “Hauptstudium” (I study in German btw). This is what it looks like:

Each of these sections has different lectures. For example, in the “CBK” I have a lecture called “Accounting and Management Controlling II” (AMC II):

This was quite a big lecture with A LOT of information per lecture, so inside the lecture I created a separate folder for each class or rather each general topic:

If you have a lecture that covers a lot of different underlying topics, I would also recommend creating topical folders instead of simply dropping your notebook inside the lecture folder. This allows you to have the necessary slide deck, your notes, summaries and homework cleanly isolated in their own folder. I did this for the topic “Budgetierung” for example:

Here you see separate notebooks for my notes, the slides, my exam preparation and my homework, just as I explained. Especially for exam preparation this structure really paid off, because I could easily prepare myself for the exam topic by topic. And it felt like progressing through the entire lecture step by step, because I was literally wandering from one folder to the next over 10 distinct topics. Going from one folder to the other was a much-needed sense of accomplishment in the already stressful exam preparation period… if you are a student, you know what I am talking about.

I follow this structure for virtually all lectures I have.

Workflow #

What does this look like when I actually have the lecture and start filling a new lecture folder? Just like this:

First, I create a folder for a new lecture. Let’s say I have a lecture called “Global Business”. If you want, you could even color code your folders to better distinguish lectures you have in parallel:

Then inside this new lecture folder I create a folder for my first lecture like “Lecture 01 - Basics”

Then it is simply about filling the folder, so I drag my lecture slide deck inside the folder. Noteastic then lets me choose whether I want to import all pages of a PDF or only a selection of them, but in this case I import all of them:

Now it is your choice whether you will take notes on the lecture slides or in a separate clean notebook. I personally prefer to take my notes cleanly outside slides. So I would go ahead and create a notebook that I then fill with notes in the lecture like here:

Tips and Tricks #

There are also a few tips and tricks I want to share with you. I use them all the time and they make my life a lot easier.

Taking screenshots with your stylus #

This is so cool. On Windows you can customize what the button on the back of your stylus does.

If you take a lot of screenshots from all around your laptop or from the internet like me, this is a lifesaver. I simply click the button, drag a rectangle over the region I want to screenshot and click ‘paste’ in Noteastic… suuper smooth

Using the shortcut button in Noteastic #

Noteastic lets you customize what happens when you click the side-button on your pen. By default the lasso is used when you hold down the side-button and start drawing. However, you can customize this to whatever tool you use frequently. I can imagine that you would rather use the eraser or switch to the highlighter via the side-button. You can change this behavior in the Noteastic settings under “Quick Actions”:

Stop accidental tapping while writing #

Some people complain that even while they are writing with their stylus, Windows recognizes touch gestures, which can lead to accidental zooming or moving around while writing. This is really annoying, but can be easily fixed by selecting which hand you write with in the settings and additionally checking “Ignore touch input when I’m using my pen”.

Have fun! #

Now you are well prepared to start taking handwritten notes on your Surface or any other device. I hope you found some valuable insights in this blog, and that you have a lot of fun on your note-taking journey!

If you are interested in finding out more about handwritten note-taking on Windows, from the psychological advantages of handwriting to a detailed breakdown of what makes a good note-taking application, I would recommend reading my complete guide on handwritten notes on Windows.

-Lukas
Co-Founder and CEO of Noteastic