Lifehack: converting handwritten notes into digital text

You've just been scribbling away in your Bambook during a lecture or a meeting. Nice work! Writing by hand is better for processing information and helps you stay more focused than when you're sitting behind your laptop. Read more here about the benefits of handwriting compared to typing.

And now… once you're back home or back at the office, you might be thinking: “Do I have to retype all of this?” Definitely not. With the Bambook App you can convert your notes into digital text directly in the app. So retyping is no longer necessary.

Do you prefer working on your laptop or do you like editing your texts further in Google Docs or Word? Since your scans in the Bambook app are only stored on your mobile device, you can use this lifehack. This way, your scan is shared as digital text (.txt) to Google Drive and can then be edited as a Google Doc.

👉 Note: to convert your notes into digital text and share them as a text file (.txt), you need Bambook Premium.

Step 1: Time to scan!

You've filled your page with notes. Time to scan!

1. Open the Bambook App.

2. Scan the page.

3. Convert the text using the text recognition feature (Premium).

4. Give your note a name & save it.

Thanks to the recognisable black frames around the page, the app only scans the Bambook page and not the surroundings.

Step 2: Save to Google Drive

Happy with your scan and digital text?

1. Tap on the scan / digitised note.

2. In the share menu, choose to share as a text file (.txt) – this is a Premium feature.

3. Select Google Drive as the destination.

Your notes are now stored as a text file in your Drive account, ready for the next step.

Step 3: Open with Google Docs on desktop

On your laptop:

1. Go to Google Drive.

2. Find the .txt file you just shared.

3. Right-click > Open with > Google Docs.

Google will now convert your text file into a Google Doc.

Step 4: Voilà – ready to edit!

A Google Document opens with the text from your scan. Now you can:

• rewrite sentences

• add headings

• collaborate with others

• easily share or hand in your document

This way, you combine the best of both worlds: the focus of writing by hand in your Bambook and the convenience of editing digitally on your laptop.