Opening the drawing tool and inserting or editing figures is available on paid plans (as well as trial and beta plans). On the free plan, an upgrade prompt is shown. Note that viewing figures embedded in a note works on all plans.
About the drawing tool
When you take reading notes for math or science books, you often want to include a geometric figure or a quick diagram. With Reading Forest's drawing tool you can draw circles, lines, arrows, rectangles, ellipses, polygons, and labels by dragging, and paste them straight into your note as SVG. No more switching between a scanner and an external paint program. Because it is SVG, the figure stays crisp at any size and can be edited again later.
How to insert a figure
Figures are inserted in edit mode, at the cursor position. No text selection is needed.
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Put the note into edit mode
Double-clickLong-press a reading-record row to turn the memo into an editable text field -
Place the cursor where you want the figure
Click the spot in the memo where you want to insert the figure to place the cursor -
Choose Edit → Insert → Figure
Click through the menu bar in order, and the drawing tool opens in a popup -
Draw your shapes
Pick a shape (circle, line, arrow, etc.) from the toolbar and drag on the canvas to draw -
Click [Insert into note]
The figure is inserted at the cursor position, on its own line. You can insert multiple figures at different cursor positions within the same memo
Shapes and tools
- Line / Arrow — drag between two points; arrows have an arrowhead
- Rectangle / Ellipse / Circle — drag to set the size
- Polygon — click to add vertices, then double-click (or Enter) to finish
- Label — click a spot and type text
- Color / Fill / Stroke width — set the stroke color, fill, and thickness
Editing shapes
- Select & move — with the Select tool, click a shape and drag to move it
- Resize — drag the corner or endpoint handles. Polygons resize per vertex; labels change font size
- Rotate — drag the green handle above the shape
- Multi-select — Shift+click, or drag over an empty area to box-select. Move or delete them together
- Undo / Redo — undo and redo your actions
- Grid & point snap — snap to a 5px grid or to the endpoints, vertices, and centers of existing shapes for clean, aligned figures
Click a figure shown in a note and a small popover opens. Choose "Edit" to reopen the drawing tool with that figure loaded; edit it and click [Insert into note], and only that figure is replaced. Choose "Center ⇔ Left" to toggle the figure's horizontal alignment (centered or left) within the memo. On phones and tablets, tap the figure for the same options.
Examples
- Geometry figures — circles, triangles, auxiliary lines, and angle diagrams in your reading notes
- Concept & relationship maps — use arrows and labels to map character relationships or a chain of logic
- Simple graphs and diagrams — axes, points, and lines to illustrate a book's content
- Flows — connect steps or cause and effect with arrows
Frequently asked questions
Q: Which plans can use the drawing tool?
The drawing tool is available on paid plans only. On the free plan, an upgrade prompt is shown. Viewing figures works on all plans; only editing requires a paid plan.
Q: How are the figures saved?
Figures are embedded directly into your note as SVG (vector graphics). They stay crisp at any zoom and are preserved when you save and reload.
Q: Can I edit a figure later?
Yes. Click a figure shown in a note and a small popover opens; choose "Edit" and the drawing tool reopens with that figure loaded, so you can edit and replace it in place.
Q: Can I center a figure?
Yes. Click a figure shown in a note and choose "Center ⇔ Left" in the popover to toggle the figure's horizontal alignment (centered or left) within the memo.
Q: Can I draw on a phone or tablet?
Yes. Drawing with a finger or pen is supported, so it works for taking reading notes on an iPad.