How to Use Quick Note on iPad Running iPadOS 15

iPadOS 15, which Apple announced at WWDC 2021 back in June, is now available for iPads. This release brings along some incredible new features and is compatible with several iPads released in the last few years, even going all the way back to the iPad Air 2 released in 2014.

One of the best features released on iPads in iPadOS 15 is Quick Note, which is the system-wide ability to quickly create a new note in Apple Notes via a floating window. Quick Note allows you to scribble anything with an Apple Pencil, type using the keyboard, and add contextual links to specific areas in apps, such as a webpage in Safari, a specific email in Spark, a PDF in PDF Expert, etc.

Here’s everything you need to know about using the Quick Note feature on iPadOS 15.

How to Launch Quick Note on iPad

The best thing about the Quick Note feature in iPadOS 15 is that it can be invoked from any app, on any screen, at any time. Here’s how to bring up Quick Note on your iPad.

1. To bring up a new Quick Note, swipe inward from the bottom-right corner of the iPad. You have to start just outside the screen for this to work every time. You can do this with your finger, an Apple Pencil, or any compatible third-party stylus for iPads.
2. As you swipe inward, you will see a small box appear at the bottom right of the screen and become larger as you continue swiping.

3. Keep swiping inward till you see the complete Quick Note floating window, then let go.
4. You can now scribble with your Apple Pencil or third-party stylus or type with the keyboard.

5. When you’re done, tap the Done button to save the note in the Apple Notes app. 

You can also simply swipe the Quick Note off to the side, which also saves it and temporarily hides it from view. Tap the little arrow peeking from the side to bring it back into view.

The floating Quick Note window can also be moved around with your finger or Apple Pencil, so you can view content that may be hidden under it.

Bonus tip: You can also switch back & forth between multiple Quick Notes in the floating window by swiping left or right on the bottom area of the window.

How to Add Links to Quick Note on iPad

Let’s imagine that you're reading an insightful email newsletter in Spark and come across an interesting quote or another piece of information that you want to save and reference later. You can instantly open a new Quick Note to scribble something & readily add a link to that specific email in Spark. Spark, along with a bunch of other Readdle apps, has been updated for all the awesome new features shipping in iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, so you can take full advantage of this nifty feature on your iPad. Here’s how:

1. While reading any email in Spark, swipe inward from the bottom-right corner of the screen to open Quick Note.
2. Tap the Add Link button at the top to insert a link to the exact email you’re currently viewing.
3. Use your Apple Pencil to scribble something or type text using your keyboard and add some additional information that you want to add.

4. You can also select, then drag & drop any text or images from the email onto the Quick Note.
5. Tap Done when you want to save the Quick Note.

Next time you open the Apple Notes app, your Quick Notes will be available in a special folder at the top. When you open the Quick Note you just created above with the link to Spark email, tapping on the link will automatically take you to the specific email in Spark and your Quick Note will open at the bottom. Download Spark for Free to get started with the best email experience available for your iPad and iPhone.

Do you know what’s cool? Not just Spark, you can also use Quick Note with other Readdle apps such as when viewing PDFs in PDF Expert or Documents, and viewing events in Calendars.

In fact, using Quick Note with Calendars has become one of my favorite things about using the iPad, simply because it makes it so much more convenient to add context or additional bits of information to my calendar events.

Now when I view or create an event in Calendars, I simply swipe in to open a Quick Note and scribble some notes, questions, and pointers with my Apple Pencil, then add a link to the event with a single tap. This way, when I open Calendars a few minutes before the event is scheduled, the Quick Note automatically opens in view along with all my notes, questions & pointers right there to assist me. I highly recommend you give this a try, you’ll love it.

Get Calendars for Free from the App Store.

How to Start Quick Note on iPad with a Keyboard

The inward swipe gesture isn’t the only way to open Quick Note on iPad. If you don’t use your iPad with an Apple Pencil or have it mounted on a stand with an external keyboard, you can still take advantage of the Quick Note feature to quickly type something you want to jot down.

1. Press & hold the Globe key on your keyboard, followed by the Q key.

Unfortunately, this means that you need to have an external keyboard that has the Globe key on it. All of Apple’s modern keyboards have this key, especially the ones made for iPad, so it’s likely that yours does too.

How to Start Quick Note on iPad from the Control Center

If you find yourself frequently using the Quick Note feature on iPad, you can even add a shortcut to it in the iPadOS Control Center so it’s always readily accessible to you. Here’s how to add the Quick Note shortcut in the iOS Control Center.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Scroll down to the Control Center option.
3. Under More Controls, tap the green + button next to Quick Note.
4. Adjust the position of Quick Note in the list to where you want it by dragging the right edge of the option.

That’s it. The Quick Note shortcut will now be visible in your Control Center.

Quick Note is a remarkably useful tool on iPadOS 15 and I’ve used it extensively over the last few months. I’ve gotten so used to creating these notes that I often find myself doing the same on my iPhone. It’s a shame that Apple hasn’t made the Quick Note feature available on iOS 15 on iPhones.

It’s not all in vain though — you’ll still be able to view & edit existing Quick Notes as long as you’re using the same iCloud account between devices.

Readdle’s apps are ready for iPadOS 15 with an incredible lineup of new features that we’ve been working on over the last four months. Along with Quick Note, our apps have also added all-new larger widgets on iPad & support for the Focus feature on iOS. Go ahead and check out what we have in store for you.