How to Keep a Digital Notebook That Feels Like Paper
By Ahmed Mahmood
Many people want to write on a computer but still miss the feel of a real notebook.
A blank page, ruled lines, a cover you chose, and nothing else asking for your attention.
Most note apps feel more like databases than notebooks. Everything is a list, a tag or a folder, and the page itself disappears.
If you want a digital notebook that really feels like paper, here is what I would look for.
Pages that look like pages. Ruled lines you can switch on or off, a cover you choose, and a page you turn instead of a document you scroll.
Room for more than text. Photos, tables and shapes next to your writing, and a pen when you want to sketch something.
A way to find things. A contents page, search across the whole notebook, bookmarks, and a quick way to go to any page. A paper notebook cannot do this, so a digital one should.
Your notebooks on your own computer. Notes are personal. Choose an app where your notebooks stay on your computer, with no account to create, and where backup is something you choose: a file, a folder or your own Google Drive.
That is the idea behind PaperStyle: Digital Notebook, the notebook app we made at Amastran NET for Mac and Windows.
You pick one of nine cover colours, write on pages you turn with the arrow keys, the page corners or a trackpad swipe, and add photos, tables and shapes. There is a pen for drawing (still experimental). Your notebooks stay on your computer, and we do not keep your data: no account, no cloud, no tracking.
Sticky notes and a highlighter are built in, you can print or export to PDF, and you can back up to a file, to a folder, or to your own Google Drive if you choose.
It works on macOS 11 or newer and on Windows 10 or 11. There is a free 14-day trial with every feature included and no card needed. After that it is $2.99 a month or $19.99 a year.
You can see the pictures and every detail on the PaperStyle: Digital Notebook page.
A good notebook, paper or digital, is the one you actually open. Start with the feel, and the habit follows. ✍️