You open a hyperlinked Arabic iPad planner in GoodNotes, tap the month name with your pencil and get a dot of ink instead of a new page. Then you type a line with the Arabic keyboard and it starts from the left. These are the two most common problems in the first week of using a GoodNotes Arabic planner, and they usually come down to three small settings: how the file was imported, read-only mode, and text-box alignment. This article picks up after the basics. If you have not chosen your device and app yet, start with our beginner's guide to digital planners on iPad, then come back here to get the set-up right once.
Quick answer: Import the original PDF from the Files app via the Share button into GoodNotes as a new document, switch to read-only mode whenever you want to tap a link, and switch back to edit mode to write. Set text boxes to right alignment for Arabic, keep a clean copy of the original file, and turn on backups before you write your first page.
Import the file in a way that keeps the links
After purchase, the download link arrives straight away by email and on your order page. Open it in Safari on the iPad itself and download the file; it lands in the Files app, inside Downloads. Before anything else, move it into a dedicated folder with a clear name such as "Original planners". This is your clean copy to fall back on if anything goes wrong.
From the Files app to GoodNotes
Long-press the file in Files, choose Share, then pick GoodNotes from the app list. GoodNotes asks whether to import it as a new document or add it to an existing one. Always choose a new document: merging a planner into an old notebook scrambles the page numbers and makes links harder to follow. The alternative route from inside GoodNotes is the plus button, then Import, then pick the file from its folder.
Importing into Notability
The steps are similar: choose Notability from the Share menu in Files, or use the import button inside the app. Notability keeps the file as a separate note, so rename it right away with the planner name and year so it does not get lost among lecture and meeting notes.
What breaks the links before you even start
Hyperlinks live inside the PDF itself and disappear when pages turn into images. That happens when you import pages as images, take screenshots of them, use "Print to PDF" from another app, or merge the file with a tool that flattens pages. The rule is simple: import the file you downloaded as it is, and do not pass it through any middle app.
Read-only vs edit mode: when to tap and when to write
In GoodNotes, when the pen tool is active, a pencil tap on a tab counts as writing, so you get a dot and no jump. That is why the instructions for our planners say to use read-only mode for navigation: turn it on from the top bar, tap the tab or the day, land on the page you need, then turn it off and start writing. In Notability, links usually respond to a finger tap when the writing tool is not active; since interfaces change between versions, test this on the index page first.
The habit that saves time is separating navigation from writing: open the planner in read-only mode, go to the week, switch to edit and write everything in one sitting. In the 2027 All-in-One Digital Planner for iPad, for example, every day on a month page links to its weekly page, every weekly page links back to its month, and the side tab bar sits on every page, so any of the 52 weeks is two taps away.
Writing in Arabic: typed text and handwriting
Typed text and line direction
With the text tool, switch to the Arabic keyboard, open the text-box options and set alignment to right; that alone fixes the line that starts from the left. If you type an English word in the middle of an Arabic sentence, word order can flip around punctuation, so put the English term at the start of the line or in a separate box. A size of 10 to 12 points fits the weekly boxes, 14 to 16 for headings. If your letters appear in a different font than the one you picked, that font does not support Arabic and the app is substituting it, so choose a font that shows Arabic connected and correct, and use it throughout the planner.
Handwriting with Apple Pencil
For small boxes, use a fine pen between 0.3 and 0.4 mm and keep thicker strokes for headings. Turn on the option to write with Apple Pencil only in the app settings so your palm or finger does not leave stray lines. The zoom window is very helpful for Arabic handwriting in narrow cells, but move it by hand to follow your right-to-left writing. Stick to two ink colours and one highlighter; too many colours make a weekly page hard to read a month later.
Duplicating pages and custom templates
Duplicating a page without losing the index
From the page thumbnails, tap a page and choose Duplicate. The copy keeps its buttons and tabs, so its links to other sections still work, but nothing in the index points to the copy itself, because index links are fixed to the original pages. So place the duplicate right after the original: the tab takes you to the section and you flip one page. In the Digital Tabbed Notebook for iPad, each of the 10 sections has 15 pages (12 lined, 2 grid and 1 dot grid). When a section fills up, duplicate its pages inside it the same way, and write the section names by hand in the label boxes on the index page.
Turning a page into a template for any notebook
If you like a notes page or weekly page and want it in other notebooks, export that single page as a PDF, then add it through the template settings in GoodNotes using the import option. It becomes available whenever you add a new page to any notebook, but it is a standalone page with no links to the rest of the planner, so use it for notes, not navigation.
Back up before you need it
Your handwriting on a planner cannot be replaced if the device is lost or the app is deleted. Turn on iCloud sync in GoodNotes settings so notebooks appear on your other devices, and keep in mind that the free 5 GB of iCloud storage can fill up with photos and phone backups. Add a second layer with automatic backup to another cloud service from the app settings, choosing PDF if you want to open the copy in any program. At the end of each month, export the planner as a PDF to the Files app with the month in the name, such as "Planner 2027 - January". The download link also stays on your order page if you ever need the blank original again.
Common problems and quick fixes
This table collects what most often goes wrong in the first weeks, ordered from most to least frequent:
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Tapping a tab draws a dot and does not jump | The pen tool is active | Turn on read-only mode, then tap the link |
| No link works, even in read-only mode | Pages were turned into images on import | Delete that copy and import the original from Files |
| Arabic text starts from the left | Default text-box alignment | Set alignment to right |
| Letters appear in another font | The chosen font does not support Arabic | Pick a font that shows connected Arabic and keep it |
| The app lags when flipping pages | Large images or many stickers in the file | Cut down images and use one file per year |
| The index does not reach a duplicated page | Index links are fixed to the original pages | Place the copy right after the original |
On file size: the Student Digital Planner for iPad has 36 pages and the yearly planner 78 pages, and both import lightly. What usually weighs a notebook down is what gets added later: whiteboard photos, screenshots and colourful stickers. Keep lecture photos in a separate notebook with a clear title instead of inside the planner.
Frequently asked questions
Does the planner work in apps other than GoodNotes and Notability?
Yes, it works in any app that supports PDF links on iPad and other tablets, because the links are part of the file itself. Before you start writing, open the index page in your chosen app and tap three different links; if the pages jump correctly, the app is suitable.
Do I need an Apple Pencil to use the planner?
No. You can write with text boxes and the keyboard, a regular stylus, or your finger for short notes. But the small boxes on weekly pages and timetables are much easier with a fine-tipped pencil and the zoom window.
Can I use the same planner on iPad and iPhone?
If the app is available on both devices and you turn on iCloud sync with the same account, the notebook appears on both with everything you wrote. The small screen is fine for checking today's tasks, while handwriting in the planner boxes is more comfortable on the iPad.
What do I do when the notes pages fill up?
Duplicate the notes page from the thumbnails and place the copy right after the original, so it stays close to the tab that leads to that section. The yearly planner has 10 lined notes pages and the student planner has two notes pages for each of its 8 subjects, and you can duplicate any of them as needed.
Start with one file and a one-week trial
Do not import three planners on the same day. Choose one file that fits what you need right now: the yearly planner to organise all of 2027, the student planner if classes, homework and exams are your focus, or the tabbed notebook if you collect material and ideas across several subjects. Apply the steps in this article and use it for a week, then decide what else you need. You will find all three and more in our iPad planners and notebooks collection, each with a download link the moment you pay.