How to Get Cursive on Your Chromebook

Google Cursive is a pre-installed app on many touchscreen Chromebooks. If you have one, you can shortcut it to the “Cursive” app by pressing the “C” key.

The Cursive app shortcut can be found by pressing the Search or Launcher icon and typing “cursive” in the search bar.

Google Cursive is a handwriting recognition app that debuted on the HP Chromebook x2 11 in 2021. The app works on almost all new-generation Chromebook models and Chrome OS versions. If your Chromebook doesn’t have the Cursive app pre-installed, follow the steps below to install the app. ..

The Google Cursive PWA lets you keep your notes and notebooks offline, without needing to connect to the internet. However, if you have a Wi-Fi connection, you can sync your notes and notebooks with your Google account.

Google has released a new web app shortcut for Chromebooks that makes it easier to use Cursive. The Quick Tour option will show you an overview of the app’s essential features, functionalities, and how to use them. ..

If you didn’t take the tour, you can still access the short tutorial within the app. Tap the three-dot icon in the top-right corner of the app’s dashboard, select Help, and choose Tour.

The New Note option lets you create a new note, while the New Notebook option lets you create a new notebook. ..

A notebook is a document with handwritten content—texts, sketches, images, drawings, etc. A notebook is a multi-paged document with a collection of notes. Think of notes and notebooks as worksheets and workbooks in Microsoft Excel.

Create Notes with Google Cursive

To create a new note, open the Open Cursive canvas and select New note. This will launch the canvas where you can create and edit notes. ..

The artist has used dotted lines to create a pattern on the canvas. You can change the background style to make it more like a painting or wallpaper.

To change the background on your iPhone or iPad, open the three-dot menu in the top-right corner, select Change Background, and choose from one of the many styles available. ..

How to Use Google Cursive Pen Tool

Google Cursive is a handwriting style that was created by Google. It is a simple and easy to learn form of writing that can be used for any purpose. The Pen tool is what you use to write and draw in Google Cursive. Select the Pen icon on the toolbar and start scribbling texts on the canvas with your finger or stylus pen. ..

You can use the Pen to select, move, and delete content (texts and drawings) on the canvas. Select the Pen icon, scribble over the content, and tap the glowing scribble to delete the content.

To move content around the canvas, use your mouse to draw a circle over the content and drag the glowing circle. ..

To create more space on your canvas, drag the glowing line down. ..

To change the color or thickness of your scribbles, select the Color palette or Stroke Thickness options on the toolbar.

How to Use Google Cursive’s Highlighter

The Highlighter tool is a helpful tool that uses low-opacity colors to draw attention to important content on your canvas. It works similarly to the Pen tool. ..

Highlight the content you want to emphasize. ..

You can change the color and thickness of the Highlighter tool in Google Cursive. To do so, open the Google Cursive settings and select “Highlighter.” There you’ll find a range of options for changing the color and thickness of the Highlighter tool.

Erase Content in Google Cursive

Erase everything except the text you want to erase.

Google Cursive is a handwriting style that was created by Google. It is used to write in a cursive style. The Eraser tool can delete anything on the canvas, except images. In the next session, you will learn how to add and delete images in Google Cursive. ..

Manage Images in Google Cursive

Open the file named “test.png” in the Files app.

To add an image to a note:

  1. Open the note in which you want to add the image.
  2. Tap the three lines in the top left corner of the note canvas.
  3. Select “Image.”
  4. Tap the “Add Image” button at the bottom of the screen.
  5. Select your desired image from your device’s photo library or take a new photo with your device’s camera.
  6. Resize and move the image as needed, then tap outside of the canvas when you’re finished. ..

To make further changes to an image, you must first select the image using the Selection tool. Tap the Selection tool (dotted square icon) on the toolbar and tap the image you want to edit.

To resize the image, tap one of the four corners. To drag the image, use your finger to drag it around. To open the image menu, tap the three-dot icon in the top-right corner. ..

To delete an image from your Chromebook:

  1. Select the Bin icon.
  2. Tap the Copy icon to copy the image to your Chromebook’s clipboard.
  3. Press Ctrl + V to paste a copy of the image anywhere on the canvas. ..

Make Space Between Content

Google Cursive has a dedicated “Make space” tool that can adjust the space between items on different rows/lines.

Select the Make space tool on the toolbar and tap the row where you want to add more space.

To space out content between the selected row, drag the lower line to increase or decrease the space. ..

The Selector Tool

We illustrated how Google Cursive’s Selector tool works with images. Now, let’s explain how it works with texts and drawings.

Drag the crosshair over a text or drawing to select it.

To select and highlight text, tap the Selector tool and tap the text. ..

Lock Canvas in Google Cursive

If you frequently scroll or zoom your canvas, you can configure Google Cursive to show the canvas lock icon. ..

To prevent others from editing your work while you’re working on it, toggle on the “Canvas lock” option in the top-right corner of your screen. ..

To scroll up or down on the canvas, tap the Canvas Lock icon in the top-right corner. ..

To unlock the canvas, tap the Lock icon again. ..

Switch Between Stylus and Touch Mode

Google Cursive lets you write notes with your fingers or a stylus pen. It’s optimized for use with finger taps and touchscreen gestures in touch mode. ..

If you have a stylus pen connected to your Chromebook, Google Cursive will automatically activate stylus mode. You can switch between touch and stylus mode at any time. ..

In touch mode, you can use your touchscreen to interact with the canvas. In stylus mode, you can use your stylus to interact with the canvas.

If you’re using Google Cursive in stylus mode, you may experience an error message or some features may not work. You can’t use some of the features without a stylus pen.

If your Chromebook doesn’t have a stylus but supports the Universal Stylus Initiative, you can use third-party styluses or USI pens.

Undo and Redo Changes

Google Cursive doesn’t support system-wide keyboard shortcuts for undoing and redoing actions. You can use the Undo and Redo icon in the top-right corner of the canvas to do this.

Share and Export Notes

To export a note as a PDF, open the note and select Export as PDF from the menu.

Create Notebooks in Google Cursive

To create a Google Cursive notebook, open the Google Docs app on your phone or computer.

  1. Click the three lines in the top left corner of the document.
  2. Select “Create a new notebook.”
  3. Type a name for your notebook in the “Name” field and click “Create.”
  4. Click on the “New Notebook” button to open it up.
  5. To add a new note, click on the “+” sign in the top right corner of the window and type your note into the text box that pops up. You can also use keyboard shortcuts: Ctrl + A to start typing, and Ctrl + E to end typing. ..

Google Cursive: A OneNote Competitor?

Chromebooks do not support the OneNote Android app, so Google Cursive is an excellent OneNote substitute for handwritten notes. However, Google Cursive is not as powerful as OneNote and does not come close to OneNote’s features. So we’ll call Google Cursive a “simple” OneNote substitute for Chromebooks, not a OneNote rival.