App Navigation
Learn how to move around Notesmakr: the five main tabs, the Home screen, creating notes, and finding your content
Notesmakr keeps its main sections one tap away. On a phone you get a bottom bar with five tabs; on an iPad or other tablet the same five sections sit in a sidebar on the left. Let's explore how to navigate the app effectively.
The Five Main Tabs
On a phone, the bottom navigation bar has these tabs, left to right:
1. Home
Icon: House
Your starting point. Home has two inner tabs next to each other: Study Desk (what's due, what's next, and where you left off) and Notes (all your notes). Home opens on Study Desk by default. Tap Notes to see your note list and create new notes.
What you can do on Home > Notes:
- View all your created notes
- Search and filter notes
- Create new notes from various sources
- Open individual notes for studying
Learn more about the Notes list →
2. Study
Icon: Graduation cap
Your study paths. The Study tab has its own inner tabs: Study, Calendar, Revision and Tests.
3. Flashcards
Icon: Stacked cards
Your dedicated space for active recall practice. The Flashcards tab lists all your flashcard decks, whether they come from your notes, were created by hand, or were imported.
What you can do here:
- Browse all flashcard decks
- Search decks and filter them by source, tag, or cards due
- Open a deck to study it
- Add a new deck
Learn more about the Flashcards tab →
4. Group Study
Icon: People
Host or join live group study sessions, and see your active and past sessions. Hosting a group study session is a paid feature.
5. Settings
Icon: Gear
Control your learning experience and manage your account.
What you can do here:
- Manage your plan
- Customize study preferences and how note cards look
- Change the language and font
- Connect AI assistants
- Contact support and view your feedback
Learn more about the Settings tab →
Understanding the Navigation Bar
Active Tab Indicator
The tab you're on is shown with:
- Its icon inside a small tilted yellow tile
- A bold label with a yellow highlighter stroke
- The other tabs are dimmer
On iPad and Other Tablets
Tablets use a sidebar instead of a bottom bar, with the same five destinations. It starts collapsed to a narrow strip of icons; tap the menu button at the top to expand it and show the labels.
Quick Switching
Tap any tab to switch to that section. Your scroll position in each tab is preserved, so you can switch back and forth without losing your place.
When the Bar Is Hidden
The bar (or sidebar) shows on the five main tab screens. Full-screen pages, such as studying a note, taking a quiz, creating a note, the Focus timer, or Settings sub-pages, cover it. Use the back button to return.
Creating Content: The New Note Button
On Home > Notes, you'll see a New note button (a pill with a pencil icon) at the bottom-right of the screen. It only appears on the Notes list, not on the other tabs. Tap it to open Create a new note, which offers six options:
- Quick Topic - Enter a topic or paste text to study
- PDF Document - Import and learn from PDF files
- Audio - Transcribe lectures or podcasts
- Scan Documents - Take photos or scan physical notes
- Solve a Problem - Snap a question, get step-by-step solutions
- Youtube Video - Extract knowledge from videos
Each method uses AI to turn your content into study notes. On the free plan you can create 5 notes and use 40 AI generations, lifetime; audio transcription is a paid feature.
Learn about all note creation methods →
Navigation Patterns Within Notes
When you tap a note card, you enter the study interface, which has three tabs of its own:
- Overview - Summary and key concepts
- Reading - The full content of the note
- Study Tools - Flashcards, quizzes, Q&A sessions and more
Gestures
Flashcard Study
- Tap card: Flip to see the answer
- Rate with buttons: After flipping, rate your confidence on the 5-level scale (Not at all, A little, Somewhat, Pretty good, Mastered!)
Note List
- Swipe left on a note: Delete it (you'll be asked to confirm)
- Pull down: Refresh the list
Flashcard Decks
- Long-press a deck (or tap its ... button): Open its actions (Study, Edit, Export, Delete)
Search and Filters
Notes Search and Filters
- Type in the search field at the top of the list. It searches note titles, content and tags.
- Tap the filter button next to it to open the tag drawer. There you can filter by tag, or show only Bookmarked or Shared notes.
Flashcards Search and Filters
- Search decks by title, description or tags
- Filter by source (All, My Decks, Imported, From Notes), or open the tag drawer to filter by tag or show only decks that are due for review
Headers
The main tab screens don't have a traditional top app bar:
- Home shows a greeting, a Focus timer button, and the Study Desk / Notes tabs. The Notes list adds a search field, a filter button, and the New note button.
- Settings shows the "Settings" title with the subtitle "Customize your learning experience".
Accessibility Features
- Screen reader support: Buttons and tabs are labeled for VoiceOver and TalkBack
- Large text: Scales with your device's text size preferences
- Right-to-left layouts: Supported for languages such as Hebrew
Tips for Efficient Navigation
Navigation pro tips:
- Use the bar for big jumps: Switching between Home, Study, Flashcards, Group Study and Settings
- Use the back button for stepping back: When you want to retrace your steps
- Use search when you know what you want: Faster than scrolling through lists
- Bookmark frequent notes: Tap the bookmark on a note card, then use the Bookmarked filter to find it again
- Organize with tags: Makes filtering and finding notes easier
What's Next?
Now that you understand how to navigate Notesmakr, explore each area in detail:
Or jump straight into creating your first note: