What would you like to know about Journals?
Create Journals
From the Home view, tap the + below the currently selected Journal to insert a blank Journal to the right.
Customize your Journal Covers
In the Home View, tap on any Journal title or the Journal cover button to open the customization drawer.
Change title
Tap the title field to enter the customization drawer. In the next screen, tap on the "X" to remove the current title and then add your title. When you're finished, tap to minimize your keyboard and then the "X" to exit customization drawer.
Create a Custom Cover
Photos app: To create a custom cover with an image from your iPad or iPhone's Camera Roll, tap on the Journal cover button and then "Cover Image". On the next screen, select "Cover" and then "Camera Roll". From there, select the image and position it on the cover. You can scale and move the image within the cover.
Journal content: To create a custom cover from an image in the Journal, tap on the Journal cover button and then "Cover Image". On the next screen, select "Cover" and then "Journal Pages". From there, select the image and position it on the cover.
Select a Cover Band Color: To create a band color other than black, tap on the Journal cover button and then "Cover Image". On the next screen, select "Cover Band Color" and then select a color.
Paper's Cover Sets: To create a custom cover from one of Paper's Cover Sets, tap on the Journal cover button and then "Cover Image". On the next screen, select "Cover" and then scroll through the available Cover Sets. The Colors Set is available to all users. Pro Cover Sets are labelled "Pro".
Delete Journals
From the Home view, tap the trash icon below the currently selected Journal to delete. Please note that deleting a Journal cannot be undone.
Duplicate Journals
From the Home view, tap the "..." below the currently selected Journal and select "Duplicate".
Create Drawings
In the canvas, create a new blank page by swiping left or right with two fingers on the canvas.
From the Butterfly view, tap the + below the currently selected Page to insert a blank Page to the right.
From the Grid view, tap the + . If you are scrolled all the way to the top of the grid, the new page will be inserted into the first position of the journal. Otherwise, the new page will be inserted at the end of the grid.
Template Pages
To add a template to your canvas, tap on the Canvas Roll and select a template. To remove a template, tap on the Canvas Roll and select "Plain".
ONLY FOR PAPER PRO To select a default template your Journal pages, tap on the Journal cover button to open the customization drawer and then "Page Template". From there, you'll be able to select from the templates that are available to free and Paper Pro subscribers. If you've selected a template for a new Journal, all pages added will feature that template. and then "Cover Image". On the next screen, select "Cover" and then "Camera Roll". From there, select the image and position it on the cover. You can scale and move the image within the cover.
If you add a default template to Journal with existing content, only the new pages will feature the template.
If you want to want to return to adding blank pages, tap on the Journal cover button, then "Page Template", and select "Plain".
Create Text Notes
From the Butterfly view, you can add a text note to the current page by tapping the '...' button and selecting 'Add Text Note'.
If the current page has a drawing on it, the text note will appear as a small square in the upper right corner.
If the current page does not have any drawing on it, the text note will appear as a half sheet.
From the Grid view, you can add a text note to the journal by tapping the 'T' button. If you are scrolled all the way to the top of the grid, the new text note will be inserted into the first position of the journal. Otherwise, the new text note will be inserted at the end of the grid.
Rotate Pages
From the Grid view, tap the Select icon and then tap to select the page you wish to rotate. Paper Pro subscribers can select multiple pages.
Recover Pages
Paper Pro subscribers who are syncing their Journals can recover deleted files or Journals via your device's Files app:
- In the Files app (not Paper), navigate to the Recently Deleted area under "Locations".
- You should see all of your deleted pages or journal folders there.
- Tap on "Select", select the Paper content you want to recover, and then "Recover".
If your Journals are local to your device and you've been backing up your device regularly, you could restore your entire iPad or iPhone to a point before the content was deleted. Please note that you would lose any content in Paper that you had created after that restore point.
Delete Pages
From the Butterfly view, tap the trash icon below the current page. You can delete the entire page, just the drawing, or just the note.
Duplicate Pages
In Butterfly view, you can duplicate the current page by tapping the "..." button and selecting "Duplicate".
In Grid view, tap on the "Select" icon bottom left, select the image you want to duplicate, and then tap on the "Duplicate" icon (second from the right
Reorder Pages
You can reorder pages in the Grid View. Tap and hold a page. It will "stick" to your finger. Drag the page to a new position in the Journal and lift your finger.
You can use multi-select to move multiple pages in Grid view. Tap and hold the first page and then tap on the additional pages. Once you've selected everything, drag your finger to where you want the images to be and lift your finger from the surface of your iPad or iPhone.
You cannot reorder pages in the Butterfly view. You can tap and hold in the Butterfly view to drag the current page to another app. However, this does not allow you to reorder in this view.
Grouping Notes with Drawings
You can add a single Note to a single Drawing in the Grid view. Tap and hold on any Note to move it. Drop it while hovering directly above a single Drawing.
To ungroup a Note from a group, tap and hold on the Note and it will lift away from the Drawing. Drop the Note anywhere else in the Grid.
Moving Pages to another Journal
In Butterfly view, tap the '...' button and select "Move".
In Grid view, tap the Select button, then the image you want to move, and then tap on the move button. A list of your Journals will appear and tap on the Journal you want to move the page to. and selecting "Move".
In Grid view, Paper Pro subscribers can select multiple pages to move at one time.
Change between Butterfly view and Grid view
Use the toggle in the upper left hand corner to change between Butterfly view and Grid view.
Reorder Journals
To change the order of Journals, tap on the Journal search loop icon top right. In the next screen, press and hold on the three-line "grip" to the right of the Journal you want to move. The Journal will "stick" to your finger and you'll be able to drag it up or down the list.
Private Journals
To create a Private Journal, tap on the "..." below your Journal in Home View. Tap on "Add Lock" and you'll see the "Get Started" screen.
The Private Journals feature offers a little extra privacy for users who may share a device with others (e.g. a family member or co-worker). Once a lock has been added to a journal, thereby making it private, your 4-digit numeric journal code must be entered to access it within Paper.
You can also enable Face ID or Touch ID to unlock your Journals by going to Paper Settings > Private Journals > Enable Face/Touch ID.
The files that make up a journal are stored in the app's local Documents directory, or on your iCloud Drive, depending on the journal's storage setting. These files are accessible without your journal code via external means like the Files app on iOS, or Finder on macOS.
Adding a lock to a journal does not affect any encryption already used by iOS or any of Apple's services to protect your content.
If you've forgotten your Private Journal code, you can contact Paper Support for assistance with a reset.
- Tap on the Settings icon top left.
- Tap on "Private Journals".
- Tap on "I Forgot My Journal Code".
- Paper will launch an email window. Tap on the blue circle with the white arrow to submit your request.