How to digitize your handwritten notes

Similarly, if you use the free Google Docs, open it in a Chrome browser, start a new document and click TOOLS at the top of the screen. One option is VOICE TYPING. Click it when you’re

ready to speak. Even better is Otter, one of the most powerful solutions for mobile phone and computer users, which gives you 600 minutes of audio or video transcription a month in its

free version. It could save you several hours of manual transcribing, and the AI is surprisingly fast and accurate. It even works with video chatting services like Zoom. Along with tapping

the microphone and transcribing audio in real time, Otter also can convert recorded audio into text. In other words, Otter can turn files that you import into digital text, including .acc,

.m4a, .mp3, .wav and .wma audio files and .avi, .mov, .mp4, .mpg and .wmv video files. Courtesy Microsoft CONVERT HANDWRITING INTO TEXT You have a few ways to turn your chicken scratch into

digital text. Microsoft’s OneNote, which is also part of the Microsoft 365 suite, includes a conversion tool so you can change handwritten text into typed text. This is useful if you want to

share your handwritten notes in a more legible format with other people. To convert handwriting to text, start a new note, and on the DRAW tab, choose the LASSO SELECT button. With your

finger or stylus pen on a touchscreen device or a computer mouse on a laptop, press down on the screen and draw a selection around the handwriting that you want to convert; when you let go,

the ink strokes in your handwriting should appear selected. Now click or tap INK TO TEXT to convert your handwriting selection to typed text. FUN FACT: OneNote will automatically format the

converted text in the same color as the ink your handwriting was in. Once the handwriting has been converted, you can select EDIT and format the text any way you want. Evernote is another

great option for converting handwriting into text. The free version allows you to sync up to two devices with a 25-megabyte maximum note size. Like OneNote, everything is synchronized in the

cloud, so all devices will always have the same up-to-the-minute notes. Among several other features, the more robust Evernote Personal plan ($7.99 a month or $69.99 a year) includes

syncing unlimited devices, 200-megabyte maximum note size, document scanning, and searching for text inside images, documents and PDFs. Other good iPhone and iPad note-taking apps that

support handwriting include GoodNotes 5, Notability, Notes Plus, Pen to Print, Text Scanner and WritePad for iPad. For Android users, the Google Play store has other handy apps for this,

including Adobe Scan, CamScanner, Google Keep, Readiris and Smart Lens.