# Pen support - For real this time

**URL:** <https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/pen-support-for-real-this-time/26496>\
**Category:** Features\
**Created:** [17 July 2022 19:10 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/pen-support-for-real-this-time/26496 "2022-07-17T19:10:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![christmascoding](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/discourse.joplinapp.org/christmascoding/32/14370_2.png) [@christmascoding](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/christmascoding)\
**Post date:** [17 July 2022 19:10 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/pen-support-for-real-this-time/26496/1 "2022-07-17T19:10:43Z")

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Similar topic: [https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/drawing-with-a-pen/](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/drawing-with-a-pen/)

Joplin is an awesome App for note-taking, however there is one thing that is stopping me, as well as a lot of other students that's stopping me from using it.

It's pen support. Unlike OneNote, Joplin doesn't just allow you to scribble around your note with a pen or select/move drawings, transform to text, etc. Generally - this is also the only reason why I am still on windows and not on Linux - getting OneNote to work natively without that one really bad snap that only supports the web OneNote features.

I highly recommend adding this feature in, as this will attract a ton of potential new users. Especially since the 2-in-1 Laptop(touchscreen) and Tablet world is growing.

The previously mentioned thread is 4 years old, and yet still nothing has happened - which is exactly why I am opening this one. Thank you for considering.

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**Author:** ![Imperial\_Squid](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/discourse.joplinapp.org/imperial_squid/32/15471_2.png) [@Imperial\_Squid](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/Imperial_Squid)\
**Post date:** [18 July 2022 06:27 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/pen-support-for-real-this-time/26496/2 "2022-07-18T06:27:53Z")

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Everyone wants this feature, it's not a dead topic. There are just two problems in the way:

- There's no support for plugins on mobile atm (though I believe this is on the way)
- Iirc, there's problems with updating a resource and updating the links to it (though this may be an old issue)

Mostly it's the first one though, there's a tonne of options for how to implement the idea, it just woudln't be supported on mobile anyway right now

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**Author:** ![personalizedrefriger](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/discourse.joplinapp.org/personalizedrefriger/32/13210_2.png) [@personalizedrefriger](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/personalizedrefriger)\
**Post date:** [18 July 2022 06:57 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/pen-support-for-real-this-time/26496/3 "2022-07-18T06:57:09Z")

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I'm currently working on this! See [GitHub - personalizedrefrigerator/joplin at pr/svgEditor](https://github.com/personalizedrefrigerator/joplin/tree/pr/svgEditor).

It's going _much_ slower than I thought it would, however.

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**Author:** ![Imperial\_Squid](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/discourse.joplinapp.org/imperial_squid/32/15471_2.png) [@Imperial\_Squid](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/Imperial_Squid)\
**Post date:** [18 July 2022 07:10 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/pen-support-for-real-this-time/26496/4 "2022-07-18T07:10:25Z")

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Nice! I spotted your comment scrolling through the other thread, glad to see it's still being worked on 😁

Is mobile plugin support not still a problem though...?

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**Author:** ![personalizedrefriger](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/discourse.joplinapp.org/personalizedrefriger/32/13210_2.png) [@personalizedrefriger](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/personalizedrefriger)\
**Post date:** [18 July 2022 07:29 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/pen-support-for-real-this-time/26496/5 "2022-07-18T07:29:01Z")

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I'm implementing it as a part of Joplin's core functionality (in the mobile app), not as a plugin. It's being developed primarily for mobile (desktop support may be added later).

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**Author:** ![kevinfrteels](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/discourse.joplinapp.org/kevinfrteels/32/14989_2.png) [@kevinfrteels](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/kevinfrteels)\
**Post date:** [4 August 2023 18:52 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/pen-support-for-real-this-time/26496/6 "2023-08-04T18:52:38Z")

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I installed this on my Note 9 but don't see anything at all that would allow me to use touch or my stylus. Check the settings to see if maybe it had to be enabled separately but didn't see anything there either. I don't see any place on the git for comments or reporting. I'll be glad to help troubleshoot but as far as i can tell, i just installed a rogue app on my phone. Lol

I suspect the complexity is what is preventing this for so long and if it wouldn't make sense to maybe approach it as a separate app which simply lets you handwrite or draw a note and appends it to Joplin as an image. Meanwhile the image can be shared out of Joplin to the app allowing one to edit it.

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**Author:** ![personalizedrefriger](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/discourse.joplinapp.org/personalizedrefriger/32/13210_2.png) [@personalizedrefriger](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/personalizedrefriger)\
**Post date:** [5 August 2023 02:11 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/pen-support-for-real-this-time/26496/7 "2023-08-05T02:11:04Z")

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It should be under the attach menu. See [the description in the pull request](https://github.com/laurent22/joplin/pull/7588).

Additionally, make sure that you installed one of the SVG editor pre-releases (and not one of the "Testing: " releases) — I also use the [`personalizedrefrigerator/joplin`](https://github.com/personalizedrefrigerator/joplin/releases) repository to publish potential bug fixes. [This should be the latest pen support prerelease](https://github.com/personalizedrefrigerator/joplin/releases/tag/svg-editor-beta-17).

**Note:** I'm in the process of implementing a [redesign of the editor's UI](https://github.com/laurent22/joplin/issues/8568). As such, the UI contained in the latest prerelease will likely be very different from the final GUI.

Thank you for helping test this!