Typing and text input in PencilTime

PencilTime supports typed text on full-page Note pages, Notes areas in the Basic Year, Basic Month, and Basic Week templates, and designated fields in the Basic Day template. You can type with the on-screen keyboard, Apple Magic Keyboard, or another connected hardware keyboard.

PencilTime remains a drawing-first planner. Typing begins only after you activate a supported text area or text field. Tapping an arbitrary empty area of the canvas does not create a text box.

Does typed text require Premium?

No. Typed text does not require a Premium subscription.

You can use the on-screen keyboard, Apple Magic Keyboard, or another connected hardware keyboard in supported text areas and fields.

Premium is required for some unrelated features, such as Apple Calendar integration and iCloud synchronization. It is not required for the typed-text features described in this guide.

Can I type with an Apple Magic Keyboard?

Yes. Apple Magic Keyboard and other connected hardware keyboards work whenever a supported PencilTime text field or text editor is active.

First activate the appropriate text control and wait for the insertion cursor or editor sheet to appear. Then type normally with the hardware keyboard.

It is normal for the on-screen keyboard not to appear while a hardware keyboard is connected.

How can I quickly test text input?

The simplest way to confirm that text input is working is:

1. Open a Note page.
2. Tap the keyboard button in the pen toolbar.
3. Wait for the insertion cursor to appear on the page.
4. Type with the on-screen keyboard or a connected hardware keyboard.
5. Optionally use the Page Template button to show or hide the paper background.
6. Tap the drawing button when finished.

Note pages

Where typing is supported

Full-page typed text is available on every bundled Note page template, including structured Study, Work, Productivity, Personal, Home & Money, and Creative layouts.

How to type on a Note page

1. Open the note.
2. Tap the keyboard button in the pen toolbar to enter Text Edit Mode.
3. Once the insertion cursor appears, type directly on the page.
4. Use the text toolbar to format the text.
5. Tap the drawing button to save the text and return to Canvas Mode.

Available formatting includes:

• Title, Heading, Subheading, Body, and Small text sizes
• Text color
• Bold
• Underline
• Bulleted lists
• Numbered lists
• Indentation and outdentation

The text stays inside the page canvas and moves with the page when it is scrolled or zoomed.

Showing or hiding a Note Page template

Typed text does not require changing a Note page to Blank. The selected bundled template remains attached to the Note page.

While editing text, tap the Page Template button in the text toolbar to hide or show that background. Hiding it gives the text a plain background without deleting the text, handwriting, stickers, Links, Reminders, shapes, or the selected template. Tap the button again to restore the complete selected layout.

If there is no actual Note page yet—for example, the Notes section is showing its empty placeholder—the user must first create or open a note.

How do I use the text toolbar?

While editing full-page Note text, the drawing tools in the pen toolbar are replaced by text controls. The same text toolbar appears when editing the typed Notes area in a Basic Year, Basic Month, or Basic Week template.

On a narrow iPhone, the entire toolbar may not fit on the screen at once. Swipe the toolbar horizontally to reveal controls that are off-screen.

Undo and Redo

Use the curved back and forward arrows at the beginning of the toolbar to undo or restore changes made during the current text-editing session.

Text Size

The text-size button displays the current size. Tap it to choose:

• Title
• Heading
• Subheading
• Body
• Small

Bold and Underline

Tap the B button to toggle bold or the underlined U button to toggle underline. An active button remains highlighted.

Text Color

Tap the palette button to open PencilTime's color palettes and select a text color.

Page Template

Tap the Page Template button to show or hide the selected paper background behind typed text. This does not delete the text or change the selected template.

On a Basic Year, Month, or Week Notes area, use the ellipsis (…) options button to choose Blank, Lined, Dot Grid, or Grid. The toolbar button then toggles that choice on or off.

Bullets and Numbering

Tap the bulleted-list or numbered-list button to turn the paragraph containing the cursor into a list. Press Return to continue the list with another item.

Indent and Outdent

Use the increase-indent button to move the current list item one level deeper. Use the decrease-indent button to bring it back one level.

Formatting existing text or new text

• To change existing text, select it first and then choose a size, style, or color.
• If no text is selected, the chosen size, style, or color applies to what is typed next.
• List and indentation buttons act on the paragraph containing the insertion cursor.

Hardware-keyboard shortcuts available while editing include:

• Command-B: Toggle bold
• Command-U: Toggle underline
• Tab: Indent a list item
• Shift-Tab: Outdent a list item

When editing a full-page Note, tap the drawing button that replaced the keyboard button to save the text and restore the normal drawing toolbar. When editing a Year, Month, or Week Notes area, tap the drawing button inside that Notes area.

Year pages

Where typing is supported

The Basic Year template has a dedicated Notes area for annual plans, goals, trackers, and other multiline text. The twelve month calendars are not text fields.

How to use the Notes area

1. Open a Year page using the Basic template.
2. Find the Notes area.
3. Tap the small keyboard button in the upper-right corner of that area.
4. Type and format the text over the current paper template.
5. Use the Page Template button to show or hide the background, or the ellipsis button to choose another template.
6. Tap the drawing button in the Notes area when finished.

The text toolbar provides the same controls described in How do I use the text toolbar?, including undo and redo, sizes, colors, bold, underline, lists, and indentation.

Typing is limited to the Notes area. Tapping a month calendar or another empty part of the Year page continues to interact with the planner or drawing canvas.

Month pages

Where typing is supported

The Basic Month template has a dedicated Notes area for monthly plans, goals, lists, and trackers. Individual date cells in the month grid are not text fields.

How to use the Notes area

1. Open a Month page using the Basic template.
2. Find the Notes area.
3. Tap its keyboard button.
4. Type and apply any desired formatting over the current paper template.
5. Show, hide, or change the Notes area template if desired.
6. Tap the drawing button in the Notes area when finished.

Typing is limited to the Notes area. The user can continue handwriting in the calendar grid and elsewhere on the page.

Week pages

Where typing is supported

The Basic Week template has a dedicated Notes area for weekly plans, goals, and reminders. The day columns themselves are not general-purpose text fields.

How to use the Notes area

1. Open a Week page using the Basic template.
2. Find the Notes area.
3. Tap its keyboard button.
4. Type and format the text over the current paper template.
5. Show, hide, or change the Notes area template if desired.
6. Tap the drawing button in the Notes area when finished.

Typing is limited to the Notes area. The user can continue handwriting in the day columns and elsewhere on the page.

Options for Year, Month, and Week typed Notes areas

After activating typed text, an ellipsis (…) button appears beside the Notes area's keyboard/drawing button.

• Show Template turns the selected paper background on or off without deleting text.
• Template lets you choose Blank, Lined, Dot Grid, or Grid for that Notes area.
• Clear Text removes the typed text but preserves the template choice and visibility setting.

The dedicated typed Notes area is part of the Basic Year, Basic Month, and Basic Week templates. Other planner variants remain handwriting-oriented pages.

Day pages

Where typing is supported

The Basic Day template has individual text fields for:

• Eight ToDo rows
• Eight Priority rows
• Schedule notes in half-hour intervals

These are compact, single-line fields. They open a separate editor with size, bold, and color controls rather than the inline text-edit toolbar used by Note text. The rest of the Day page remains a drawing canvas. Blank, Lined, and Dot Grid Day templates do not contain these dedicated fields.

ToDo fields

1. Tap the checkbox at the beginning of a ToDo row. Tapping only the empty writing line may continue to draw instead of opening the editor.
2. Enter the ToDo in the ToDo field.
3. Optionally turn on Done.
4. Choose Small, Normal, or Big text, toggle Bold, or select a color.
5. Press Return on a hardware keyboard or tap Save.

To edit an existing item, tap its checkbox again. The editor also provides Clear ToDo for an existing entry. Escape closes the editor without saving changes.

Priority fields

1. Tap the number or marker at the beginning of a Priority row.
2. Enter the priority in the Priority field.
3. Choose Small, Normal, or Big text, toggle Bold, or select a color.
4. Press Return or tap Save.

To edit an existing priority, tap its marker again. The editor also provides Clear Priority for an existing entry. Escape cancels editing.

Schedule-note fields

1. Tap a printed hour label in the schedule, such as 9:00 AM. Tapping the blank schedule area is used for drawing or time-block interactions and does not open the text editor.
2. The editor opens for that one-hour period and shows two text fields—for example, 9:00 AM and 9:30 AM.
3. Enter text in either or both half-hour fields.
4. Select each line in the Edit Line control to give it its own size, color, and bold setting.
5. Tap Save when finished.

The editor's Clear Time Slots command removes both half-hour notes for the displayed hour. Escape cancels editing.

Home, Index, and other page types

Home and Index pages do not currently provide typed-text fields. Navigation controls continue to work normally, and any drawable portions remain handwriting areas.

Similarly, tapping an arbitrary empty area on a planner page does not create a text box. Only the designated fields described above accept direct typing.

How can I see the whole page while using an iPad in landscape?

In landscape, use the Page View button in the toolbar to switch between two viewing modes:

• Fit Width makes the page larger and easier to write or draw on. A portrait page extends below the screen, so scroll vertically to reach the bottom.
• Fit Page reduces the page until the whole page is visible. This is especially useful while an iPad is attached to a Magic Keyboard.

The Page View button appears only in landscape. PencilTime remembers the selected mode. You can pinch outward to zoom in from either mode. When the page is zoomed, tap Page View once to reset it to the current mode's normal size; tap again to switch modes. If the page is already at normal size, one tap switches modes immediately.

For more detail, see How to use Fit Page and Fit Width in PencilTime.

Troubleshooting

If pressing keys does nothing:

1. Confirm that the on-screen or hardware keyboard works in another app, such as Apple Notes.
2. Confirm that PencilTime is version 1.10.0 or later.
3. Verify that the page uses a supported location:
   • Any bundled template for full-page Note text
   • Basic for Year, Month, Week, and Day text fields
4. Activate the correct control:
   • The keyboard button on a Note page
   • The keyboard button inside a Year, Month, or Week Notes area
   • A ToDo checkbox, Priority marker, or printed hour label in the Basic Day template
5. Look for an insertion cursor or text-editor sheet before typing.
6. If a hardware keyboard is connected but unresponsive, disconnect and reconnect it, then reopen PencilTime.

If the problem continues, collect the following information for support:

• PencilTime version
• iPad model
• iPadOS version
• Page type and selected template
• The exact control tapped before typing
• Whether the hardware keyboard works in another app
• A screenshot or short screen recording, if possible