Microsoft Journal Help and Learning

Microsoft Journal, an application for Windows, offers a delightful freeform personal notetaking experience designed for touch-focused, pen capable devices like tablets and 2-in-1s. Its gorgeous page-based canvas and AI powered tools, let you take notes and reason through ink fluidly and naturally.

Journal is available from the Microsoft Store: Microsoft Journal.

Microsoft Journal open to a journal about renewable energy

Introduction to Journal

Microsoft Journal invites people who love to journal to pick up their digital pen, express themselves quickly, and evolve their ideas. Creating and organizing your content in journals is easy. Get started with these topics.

Customizing Journals

Working with pages

Page And Card Navigation

Pen Toolbar

Folders

An image of a man sitting in a hallway taking digital notes on a Windows tablet

AI Recognized Ink

Stay organized by doing things that come naturally, like underlining headings, creating lists, or marking important items with stars. Journal’s AI recognizes and uses those gestures in its powerful search so you can easily find your content.

Headings, Lists and Stars

Search and Filter

Shapes

Language Settings

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Importing Content

Journal isn't just about your ink, you can also import PDFs or images from your file system or capture pictures from your device's camera and then annotate right on top.

Working with PDFs

Capturing Pictures from the Camera

Working with Images

Stylized image of a pen drawing a 5 pointed star on a page

Quick Editing Gestures

On top of all the traditional methods, you can edit and create fluidly without switching tools by using AI driven gestures like scratchout and instant lasso.

Erasing Ink

Selecting Ink and Action