Journal, a Microsoft Garage project, is live with a new update! The project team is excited to deliver one of their most popular feature requests: Page Styles. Journal is an inking incubation exploring how new paradigms and the power of AI can transform the way we ink, and it’s available for download for any pen-capable Windows 10 device. Existing users can access the update now by tapping Check for Updates in the Microsoft Store.
Customizing the canvas
Fueled by an active base of users providing regular feedback, the Journal team has continued to iterate on the project since its February release, including a March update that added print and export capabilities, support for images and custom ink colors, and more. Today, the team is rolling out a widely requested feature for custom page styles.
With new Page Styles, users can now select the perfect canvas, including:
- Lined
- Graph
- Dotted
- Storyboard
- Blank
Users can customize the style for a page by tapping the Page Menu and choosing Change Page Style. Most styles have further customization like spacing, density, or how many story panels to show. When pages are added to a journal, it will pick the style of page that was last used to help keep users in the flow.
“From the beginning we designed Journal to be a light-weight way to help you capture your thoughts. We hope page styles build on that with a simple, expressive, and more personal writing experience” shares Nathan Luquetta-Fish, Director of New Interface UX with the Applied Science group and one of the Journal team members.
Improved Export
This release also includes an updated UX to make it easier for users to export pages. From the updated Print / Export option under the Page menu, users can find ways to make their digital notebook a little more analog with Print, or export to other apps like OneNote, or directly to PDF.
Users can also use the side panel and tap the Select icon to pick the specific pages or cards they want to print or export, too. The side panel also lets users easily search or filter to exactly the content they want, so searching for items that are starred is as easy as tapping that filter.
Improved accessibility, reliability, and performance
The Journal team also improved many accessibility features including improved narrator and keyboard navigation across the application. Users will also see better memory and performance across the application, too.
This release also includes bug fixes for the Home Screen that caused some users to have a slow or unresponsive experience – thanks for submitting bugs to help track that down! The team is able to shape the experience and train the AI even more with the help of their early adopters.
Try it Out
Users with a pen-capable Windows 10 device can download Journal in the Microsoft Store. The team shares a continued thanks to all the Journal users who have been sharing feedback through the application (tap the Settings icon > Send Feedback) or directly through Feedback Hub.
