A short month ago, we released Journal, a Microsoft Garage project, and the Journal team is thrilled with the response so far. Building on user feedback and what the team has learned so far, they have already introduced new features, fine-tuned gestures, and started sketching new modes for the note-taking tool. Windows 10 users with a pen-capable device can try out everything new now, via the newest version in the Windows Store.
Journal was designed to be a lightweight, ink-first, page-based experience to celebrate digital pen users who prefer the simplicity of the hand-written, but with the power of digital. The project allows Microsoft’s Applied Sciences Group to optimize and experiment with new ink gestures that help keep users in the flow of their ink without the need for mode switches. Of course, it works with Office apps with improved Export and Copy capabilities.
What’s New
The team is excited to share some new features, all based on the feedback users have been able to share. They’re now available to try out via the Windows Store for users who update to the latest version of Journal on their PC.
- Print and Export You can now print and export your journal pages to a printer, a PDF, or to OneNote. From the page menu or the navigation panel you can select what to include
- Custom ink colors Tap the pen or pencil to reveal the new custom color picker you can choose
- Support for pen pressure From the Settings > Pen Settings menu you can now turn on pressure sensitivity for a more real-life pen and pencil feel. Requires a supported pen
- Insert Images You’ll be able to easily insert images from the toolbar under the + icon. You can still copy and paste or drag and drop images manually as well
- Bug fixes and performance It wouldn’t be a release without some behind the scenes user experience work. Journals should open more reliably, and general performance should feel better, too
Try out these news features today, and tell the team what you think.
In the margins
While Microsoft never knows the contents of your journals, usage data helps the team understand what types of things you are writing.
The team has also gained valuable insights about gestures in Journal.
- Scratch out correctly helps you correct a quick mistake 98% of the time and has quickly become the most used ink gesture.
- Lassoing your content just by circling it has also been a big hit – it’s on par with our other ways Journal makes it easy to work with your ink: tapping with your finger, circling with your pen, or tapping the cues that appear for our detected ink.
The Journal team has built upon gesture feedback, tuning these interactions to be even more robust.
By popular request
The Journal team has been reading every bit of feedback to see what changes they can implement in the experience. A top request has been new page types. Here’s an early design sketch for Page Styles that’s planned to release soon.
Tip of the day
If you have a pen that has a shortcut button, like a Surface Pen’s eraser, you can click it while within a journal to have it switch between the Pen, the Pencil, and the Highlighter. This makes it faster to switch tools without having to interact with the ink menu. Let the team know what you think, and what else you might like to see Journal do.
Try it out
Download Journal for your Windows 10, pen-capable device via the Windows Store. Thank you for the feedback; please keep it coming. Happy inking!
