/
Cycle through colors
Move to the previous or next color for the pen, highlighter, or shape tool.
A PEN. A KEYBOARD. YOUR IDEAS.
Write by pen.
Switch by key.
Work through equations and calculations by hand.
Switch tools, colors, and stroke width with your other hand,
without moving the pointer away from your notes.
A handwriting notebook, made for macOS
HANDWRITING MEETS KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS.SCROLL TO EXPLORE
01 / KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS
Draw with your right.
Control with your left.
Keep drawing with your right hand while your left switches tools, changes colors and stroke width, turns pages, and zooms.
Apply Left-Hand Operation in Settings.
In Inkquation, open Settings → Shortcuts, choose Left-Hand Operation, then confirm to apply it.
Uses letter and number keys on the left side shared by US and Japanese (JIS) keyboard layouts.
MAKE IT YOURS
Make the keys feel like yours.
Start with a preset, then change the shortcuts you use most. Edit individual key combinations in the app’s settings. Left-handed users can customize shortcuts for their right hand.
Switching toolsKEY GUIDE
Keep controls on the left. Q, W, E, and R switch to the pen, eraser, highlighter, and lasso.
- Switch to pen
- Switch to eraser
- Switch to highlighter
- Switch to lasso
- Switch to shapes
- Switch to image tool
- Switch to laser pointer
Examples from the app’s presets. Use these shortcuts in the note editor when you are not typing in a text field.
Actions for the selected preset · Left-Hand Operation
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Adjust stroke width
Change the width of the pen, highlighter, or shapes, or adjust the eraser size.
Hold for a laser pointer
Release Space to return to your previous tool. Useful when walking someone through your notes.
02 / LEARN BY WRITING
Your first strokes.
Learn as you go.
Follow the in-app guide and practice in a real note. Try switching tools, drawing, and bringing erased lines back with your own hands.
Create a note. Make a mark.
Follow the highlighted controls to create a note, check your shortcuts, and draw your first lines.
Keep drawing. Try the keys.
Draw shapes without leaving the pen and try a temporary laser pointer. Get a feel for using the keyboard as you write.
Erase, undo, and try again.
Choose which lines to erase, change your selection, then bring them back with Undo. Learn the editing flow by trying it.
Repeat the tutorial whenever you like. Your practice note stays in the library, and your edits are saved automatically.
03 / THE TOOLS
The right tools
for thinking by hand.
Start writing. Make changes as you go.
Keep the path from idea to page simple.
Shape fills and appearance editing after selection are planned for the next TestFlight update.
Give an idea its first stroke.
Write with the pen and mark with the highlighter. Lasso one or several strokes, then press and hold a red selected stroke to open a nearby appearance panel. Controls are grouped by type: color and width for pen strokes; color, width and opacity for highlights.
PenHighlighterLasso
Bring structure to your sketches.
Draw lines, rectangles and ellipses with solid, dashed, wavy or double lines. Set outlines and fills for rectangles and ellipses, and change them after selection. Width and opacity sliders update the drawing immediately.
Find your way back.
See your notebook at a glance with page thumbnails. Filter to bookmarked pages to get straight to the parts you want to revisit.
Page thumbnailsBookmarks
Start with your colors and paper.
Make the palette yours.
Set your pen and highlighter colors. Shape outlines share the pen palette, including color shortcuts and the Apple Pencil palette. Set fill colors in the appearance panel before drawing or after selecting a shape.
Your usual paper, ready to go.
Set the default paper size, orientation, background, and line spacing for new notes, so you do not have to choose them each time.
Keep important pages safe from a stray delete.
Bookmarked pages are protected from page deletion by default. This protection does not apply to deleting an entire note.
Import a PDF. Write on its pages.
Turn all pages of a lecture handout or paper into one note. Keep the original text size and add room for your own writing.
Margin settings are fixed when importing. They cannot be changed after import.
Drop a PDF onto the note list
Drag one PDF from Finder to see its filename and preview automatically. You can also import from the toolbar or File menu.
Choose margins and create the note
Add no margins, or add space on all sides, the right, or the bottom. Adjust the width, check the note name and pages, then import.
Keep the PDF in place as you write
Imported PDF pages start with their position and size locked, so the lasso can select just your handwriting above them. Right-click to unlock. The same lock works for images.
04 / AI INTEGRATION
Bring your handwritten
notes into the conversation.
Connect an external AI app through MCP, a protocol for connecting AI apps to tools. It can read an open page or lasso selection as an image and add PNG images, shapes and pen strokes to your notes.
- Read pages and selections
- Insert PNG images, shapes and strokes
- Inspect and undo insertions
Connect your AI app in Settings.
- 01
Enable AI connections
In Inkquation, open Settings → AI Connection and allow connections. This is off by default.
- 02
Copy the connection configuration
Add the configuration from Settings to an MCP-compatible AI app on your Mac. It contains an access key; keep it private. See the AI integration guide for restart behavior and reconfiguration steps.
- 03
Open a note and ask your AI app
Keep Inkquation open, then ask the connected AI app to read a page or insert an image or shape.
Set up an external AI app and any account required by its service. If you use a cloud-based AI, the note content it reads may be sent to that service.
About AI connections and privacy05 / MAC + IPAD
Write on iPad.
Use your Mac keyboard.
Open Inkquation on your Mac and move the editor to your iPad with Sidecar. Write with Apple Pencil while your other hand uses the Mac keyboard.
Sidecar setup and Apple Pencil settings- 01
Connect with Sidecar
Select your iPad in your Mac’s display settings and connect it as an extended display.
- 02
Move the note editor to iPad
Open a note in Inkquation on your Mac, then move its editor window to the iPad display.
- 03
Write with Apple Pencil
Write in the note on iPad while using your Mac keyboard to switch tools, colors, and stroke widths.
06 / THINK IN EQUATIONS
Write equations.
Think them through.
Keep each step, diagram, and observation on the same page.
- 01
Work through each step.
Write fractions, integrals, and subscripts directly with your pen. Keep the steps behind your result.
- 02
Add diagrams and notes beside your equations.
Use the grid to line up equations, with room for sketches and annotations.
- 03
Share the whole derivation.
Export equations and handwritten explanations together as a PDF, including the calculations along the way.
A page for your way of thinking.
A little room to think.
One observation leads to the next idea.
Connect your ideas as you write.
24Line up your diagrams and equations.Paper illustration
Made for
your Mac.
your Mac.
AT HOME ON MACOS
Right at home on your Mac.
Open notes in separate windows and write alongside your references.
Export finished notes as PDFs to use in other apps.
Made for macOSNotes stored locallyPDF export
INK × EQUATION × IMAGINATION
Your next idea
starts with a stroke.
For information about getting Inkquation
and its system requirements, get in touch.