iPad Workflow

Capture Apple Pencil Sketches: Manual PNG Export to WriteScan

Published: 2025-10-31 Category: Idea Capture / Apple Pencil / Backup

iPad sketches are great for brainstorming, terrible for retrieval. Export PNGs from Notability, Freeform, or any drawing app, drop them into WriteScan, and add searchable tags and keywords so nothing gets lost.

Why Sketches Vanish

  • Each app has its own search; paper notes never surface alongside digital doodles.
  • Visual notes rarely contain text, so they don’t appear in keyword searches.
  • WriteScan lets you store the image plus a text summary, indexed with the rest of your notebooks.

Export iPad Sketches in Three Steps

  1. Share as PNG/JPEG: Use the app’s share menu. If transparent PNGs look faint, force a white background.
  2. Import into WriteScan: “Add from Photos,” give it a title like Brainstorm_ProjectX_2025-11-02, tag #project-x #brainstorm #ipad-memo.
  3. Add Markdown keywords: Short bullets describing decisions, next actions, or related paper pages ensure future searches hit the file.

Weekly Maintenance Checklist

  • □ Export the week’s sketches as PNG; delete outdated drafts.
  • □ Import to WriteScan and apply consistent titles/tags.
  • □ Write a text summary and link to any paper notes.
  • □ Move finished ideas to an #archive tag so active searches stay clean.

Keep Every Idea in Reach

A few manual exports per week turn sketch apps into a searchable knowledge base. Start with the free 10-page tier, then upgrade to Pro (200 pages / month) when your idea library expands.

Try WriteScan Free View Features