Documentation
Everything Pinday can do, with every keyboard shortcut. Use the search above to find a feature or a shortcut.
Nothing matches that search.
Quick start
- Export your timetable from your university app as an
.icsfile (PocketCampus, TimeEdit, Google and Outlook calendars all work). - Open /app and choose Import my .ics. Your next class lands on top, and every class type gets its own colour.
- When a class ends, say if you went (in person, online or missed) and how it was. Your statistics build up from there.
- Connect Google Drive to take notes, add slides, export PDFs and share notes. Everything stays in your own Drive.
Timetable, check-ins and statistics
Install it like an app
On a phone or computer, use Install in the menu (or your browser's “Add to home screen”). The page then opens on its own, and the last version you loaded works without a connection.
Your Google Drive
Pinday only sees the files it creates in your Drive. It makes this structure:
Pinday— the root folder.Pinday / <Course>— one folder per course, holding a.mdfile per lesson.<Course> / Slides— the slide PDFs, and<Course> / PDF exports— the exported notes.Pinday / Shared with me / <Title>— copies you saved of notes others shared with you.Pinday data— the Google Sheet with your classes, check-ins and note statistics.
Taking notes
Open a class and choose Take notes. The note is a Markdown file, saved to your Drive a moment after you stop typing.
Views
Write shows the text, Preview the formatted note, Split both side by side. Drag the bar between them to change their sizes.
Write straight in the preview
You do not have to see any Markdown: click a block of the preview and write. Type #, -, 1., > or [] followed by a space to start a title, a list, a numbered list, a quote or a checklist. The toolbar and Ctrl B / I work on the block you are writing. Enter on an empty item ends a list or a quote.
- + Add a block at the end of the note, and a small + that appears under a block when you hover it, add a new block exactly there.
- Alt + ↑ / ↓ moves the block you are writing; a table also has a grip in the margin to drag it.
- Tables are written cell by cell: Tab goes to the next cell (and adds a row at the end), Enter to the cell below. A bar above the table sets its side (left, centre, right), its width and moves it up or down.
- Pictures: click one for its size and alignment bar, or drag it sideways to align it and up or down to move it. The same bar shows in the Markdown field when the cursor is on a picture line.
Paper and margin
Paper (in the toolbar, or in the ⋮ menu on a phone) gives the page plain, lined or squared paper, a margin line on the left or the right, and a colour. The margin beside each block shows what is in it: comments, tasks, dates, links to other notes, slides and things to review. The paper is also used in the export.
The toolbar
| Button | Writes |
|---|---|
| H1 · H2 · H3 | # Title, ## Subtitle, ### Small heading: three levels of titles |
| B · I | **bold** and *italic* |
| H (highlight) | ==highlighted== |
| List · Task | - item and - [ ] to do (tick them in the preview) |
| [[ ]] | A link to another note or to a heading |
| Quote · Code · Divider | > quote, `code`, --- |
| Callout | > [!tip] Title — Note, Info, Tip, Success, Important, Warning, Danger, Question, Exam, Summary, Example, Quote, To do |
| Template | A ready-made layout per class type: lecture, lab, seminar, sport, revision sheet or blank |
| Image | Adds a picture from your device; click it in the preview to set its size and alignment |
| Table | Inserts a table (on a phone: Contents ▾ → Table) |
| 🏷 Title | Gives the selected picture or the table you are in a numbered title (see below) |
| ¹ Footnote | Asks for the text of a footnote and puts its mark at the cursor |
| @ Reference | Refers to a titled picture or table: [@fig-1] shows as « Figure 1 » |
| Contents ▾ | A table of contents, a list of figures, a list of tables, a glossary, a definition or a table |
Markdown you can use
Headings, lists, numbered lists, tables, quotes, code blocks, links and images. Callouts and ==highlights== are added on top.
Titles, references, footnotes and a glossary
| Write | Result |
|---|---|
Figure: A title {#fig-1} after a pictureTable: A title {#tab-1} after a table | A numbered title: « Figure 1. A title », « Table 1. A title ». The 🏷 button and the picture bar write it for you. |
[@fig-1] | A reference to it, shown as « Figure 1 ». Type @ to pick from the list. Click a reference to go to the title. |
[^1] and [^1]: The text | A footnote, numbered in order (1,2 when two follow each other). The texts are listed at the foot of the page; click one to edit it. In the export each footnote is printed at the foot of the page where it first appears. |
{{toc}} · {{figures}} · {{tables}} · {{glossary}} | The table of contents, the list of figures, the list of tables and the glossary, made from the note and always up to date. In the PDF, each line shows its page number. |
Word :: its meaning | A definition. A Definition callout whose title is the word works too. Both fill the glossary. |
The Links panel lists the figures, the tables and the footnotes of the note.
Links, headings and tags
| Write | Result |
|---|---|
[[Note name]] | A link to another note (its file name). [[Course]] opens the latest note of that course. |
[[Note name#Heading]] | A link to a heading of that note. The note opens and goes to the heading. |
[[#Heading]] | A link to a heading of the note you are writing. |
[[Note|text]] | The same link, shown with your own text. |
#tag | A tag. Click it to find every note that uses it. |
Type [[ and a list of notes appears. Type # after the name, or [[#, to pick one of its headings. A link that points to nothing is shown crossed out.
Every title can become a reference: in the Outline panel, the [[ ]] button next to a heading copies its reference (for example [[My note#Introduction]]), ready to paste in any note.
The panel on the right
- Outline — the headings of the note, click to jump to one; the slide notes are listed too.
- Links — what this note links to, and which notes link to it (backlinks).
- Tags — the tags used in this note, and the notes that share them.
- Comments — comments left by people you shared the note with.
Slides
Choose Add slides and pick a PDF. Switch between Notes and Slides at the top of the note.
- Slide notes — each slide has its own note beside it. It is Markdown too, with
[[links]], tags and highlights. - Drawing — Pen, Highlight, Eraser and four colours; Scroll goes back to moving the page. Your drawings stay on the slide.
- Order — hold the
⋮⋮handle of a slide and move it onto another one; a line shows where it will land. A small picture of the slide follows your pointer.▲and▼do the same, step by step. - Add —
+on a slide adds, right after it, either a blank slide or the pages of another PDF. + Add a slide at the bottom adds at the end. - Delete and restore —
✕removes a slide from the list; Restore slide at the bottom brings it back. Its notes and drawings are kept. - Size — drag the bar between a slide and its note to change their sizes; the choice is remembered.
The order, the deleted slides and the added slides follow the note everywhere: in the exported PDF, on shared pages and for the people you invited.
My notes (the library)
Open My notes from the schedule to see every course folder and file.
- New note — creates a note file in the folder; New folder in the side panel creates a folder.
- Delete — a file, or a whole folder, goes to the Google Drive trash after you confirm. You can restore it from Drive.
- Move — drag a note onto another folder in the side panel, or use its move menu.
- Search — type in the search box: names, text,
#tags. Ctrl K focuses it. - Open in Drive — opens the folder or the file in Google Drive.
- Map — shows the interactive map of everything on the right; Open the map there opens it on its own page (see below).
Shared with me
Folders and notes other students shared with you. A shared folder shows its notes inside; a note shared alone is a single file. Click a file to open it and write live.
Sharing and writing together
Invite people by email
In a note, choose Share and add email addresses. Invited people write in the note at the same time as you, with their changes appearing at once. Under People with access you can remove someone: the note disappears from their Shared with me.
An invited person can do everything you can in that note: write, add slide notes, draw, comment, reorder, add or delete slides, add a PDF, and export.
Links to the website
Create as many links as you want, each with its own role, and switch any of them on or off or delete it:
| Role | What the person can do |
|---|---|
| Viewer | Read the note, its slides and its slide notes |
| Commenter | Also leave comments, on a selected passage or on a slide |
| Editor | Also write the note and the slide notes, with the same editor as yours |
Share a whole folder
On a course folder's page, choose Share folder and write email addresses. Each person can read the folder in Drive and write live in every note of it. Remove access takes it back.
Comments
Select a passage (in the note or in a slide note) and choose Comment on selection. The button appears next to the selection. Comments are listed in the panel on the right, and clicking one goes back to its passage.
Export a PDF
Export makes a PDF of the note and its slides, in the order you chose. You can keep it in your Drive (PDF exports), share it, or download it. People you invited can download it or save a copy in their own Drive.
Choose the paper size in the export window: A4, A5, A3, Letter or Legal. The PDF uses your paper (lines, squares, colour, margin), numbers its pages, prints each footnote at the foot of the page where it first appears, and gives the page of every line of the table of contents and of the lists of figures and tables.
The map
It sits on the right of My notes. Open it on its own page at /map, with Map or Open the map in My notes. It draws everything you have as one living map:
- Your folders and notes as bubbles; a bigger note has more words.
- The [[links]] between notes, with a small light travelling along each; tags shared by several notes; and what is shared with you.
- Numbers that count up: folders, notes, words, PDFs, links, tags; notes by week; attendance and rating; the most linked and the longest notes.
Move over a bubble to light up what it is connected to. Drag a bubble to move it, drag the background to pan, and scroll to zoom. Click a note to open it. Click a folder, or a line between two bubbles, to see what it is made of (a line shows the two notes it joins); double-click a folder to open it. Use the search box to light up matches, and the switches to hide links, tags or shared notes. Fit shows everything again; Replay plays the introduction again.
AI mode
For subscribers. Open a note and choose AI in its header. The AI reads your note and your slides (their text, your notes on them, and the picture of a slide that has no text).
- Summary — Short (a paragraph and the points to remember) or Detailed (sections, key terms, and the slide numbers).
- Flashcards — 8, 12 or 20 cards. Tap a card to see the answer. Export CSV gives a file you can import in Anki.
- Quiz — 5, 8 or 12 multiple-choice questions with the explanation after each answer and your score at the end.
Save in my Drive writes the result as a Markdown file in Pinday / <Course> / Revision; the flashcards and the quiz use the same callouts as your notes, so they open like any note.
The assistant and its commands
The AI tab of a note and the page /ai are a conversation. Type / in the message field to see the commands; Tab or a click writes one in the field, Enter runs it.
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
/myfiles | Answers from your files only; nothing from outside. |
/web | Your files, plus the web: the AI may search for what your notes do not contain, and lists its sources. |
/thisnote · /thiscourse · /allmynotes | What the AI reads: this note, this course, or all your notes (in a note). |
/chat · /make | Back to the conversation, or to the summary, cards and quiz maker (in a note). |
/new | Starts a new conversation. |
/history | Opens all conversations (/ai). |
/pin · /rename · /save · /print · /delete | On the page /ai: pin, rename, save as a note, PDF / print, or delete the open conversation. |
/help | Shows the commands. |
The assistant knows your timetable and can create an exam for you: it shows what it is going to do, and nothing changes until you confirm.
Keyboard shortcuts
On a Mac, use ⌘ instead of Ctrl.
In a note
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl O | Quick switcher: find a note by name, course or #tag; ↑ ↓ to choose, Enter to open |
| Ctrl K | Search your notes |
| Ctrl S | Save now |
| Ctrl B | Bold (also in slide notes) |
| Ctrl I | Italic (also in slide notes) |
| Ctrl Z | Undo |
| Ctrl Shift Z or Ctrl Y | Redo |
| Esc | Close the open window, then the side panels, then the note |
| Alt Shift F | List every footnote of the note, to use one again or start a new one |
| Alt ↑ / ↓ | Move the block you are writing up or down (in the preview) |
| @ | The titled pictures and tables you can refer to |
| Tab / Enter in a table | Next cell / cell below; a new row is added at the end |
While typing [[
| ↑ ↓ | Choose a note or a heading |
| Enter or Tab | Insert the choice |
| Esc | Close the list |
Slides
| Enter or Space | On a formatted slide note: edit it |
| Esc | Leave a slide note you are editing |
In My notes
| / or Ctrl K | Focus the search |
| Esc | Clear the search, then close My notes |
On the map page
| / | Focus the search |
| Enter | Open the selected note or folder |
| F | Fit everything in view |
| R | Replay the introduction |
| + − | Zoom in and out |
| Esc | Clear the search, then close the map |
Menus, bars and shared pages
| ↑ ↓ Home End | Move in a menu; Esc closes it |
| ← → Home | On a size bar (slides, comments): resize; Home resets it |
| Ctrl K | On a shared page: find in the note |
Addresses
| Address | What it opens |
|---|---|
/ | The welcome page |
/app | The schedule |
/notes | My notes (the library) |
/notes/<file> | One note, also a note shared with you |
/map | The interactive map of your folders, notes, links and numbers (/overall also works) |
/ai | Your conversations with the AI |
/exams | Exams and revision |
/grades | Your grades, by course |
/doc | This page |
/share/<role>/<id>?k=… | A note shared by link (view, comment or edit) |
/privacy · /terms | Privacy policy and terms |
If something does not look right
- You do not see a new version. Reload with Ctrl F5; the app keeps a copy for offline use.
- Slides do not show for an invited person. They need the owner to have opened the note once; the owner's note keeps the list of PDFs. A turning circle means they are still loading.
- “Not saved”. Check that Google Drive is connected (the Drive button) and try Ctrl S.
- A deleted file. Open the Trash in Google Drive and restore it.
Still stuck? Write to contact@pinday.ch (or see the contact page). See also the privacy policy.