Learn how to take action on email addresses, phone numbers, addresses, or dates, and create perfect shapes within your handwritten notes on your iPad.
Apple’s “on-device intelligence” is used in a variety of forms. From Smart Stacks and Siri Suggestion widgets to the Translate app to Accessibility recognition features, your device continues to learn from your actions and patterns.
If you use your Apple Pencil for handwritten notes and shapes, you can take advantage of your iPad’s smart intelligence with Data Detectors and Shape Recognition. Each of these makes capturing notes that you want to save or share simpler for others to read or for you to act on.
Also see: The top 25 Apple Pencil tips and tricks everyone should know
Data Detectors on iPad
If you use handwriting to jot down addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, or dates, Data Detectors recognize these pieces of information and will underline it. If the underline does not appear, select another note and then come back to this one.
Simply touch and hold the underlined text, you can take action like open Maps, Contacts, Mail, or Calendar from the action menu. You can do things with a phone number, like call it, add it to a contact, or send a message. For a date, you can set up an event, create a reminder, or show the date in Calendar.
Shape Recognition on iPad
Maybe you use shapes when you’re writing notes, like a star, heart, or square. With Shape Recognition, those shapes you draw are automatically transformed into geometrically correct ones. So, if you’re creating a diagram, for instance, the shapes you use will look precise.
Draw your shape as you normally would using your Apple Pencil or your finger, but stop briefly before finishing. It should automatically change before your eyes into a perfect shape.
As we have seen over the years, technological advances can make our lives easier and tasks simpler. Data Detectors and Shape Recognition using Scribble on iPad are just more examples of that.
Check out next: How to use handwriting in text boxes with iPad and Apple Pencil