[Q] Questions before purchase about S Pen

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1776

Member
Dec 22, 2011
35
5
I am looking at the Note 10.1 for purchase and I am trying to get information about handwriting recognition using the S Pen and saving what has been written to a .txt document or RTF doc or doc file. Searching for this answer on this forum and others has not helped - at least I have not found the answer. What I want to be sure that I can do is handwrite a document - for example an article for publication - and save the handwriting recognition text version and be able to use it then on a PC in software like Word or Notepad. Can this be done using the included Polaris Office app? What I have seen so far about the S Notes app is that it only saves to pdf or jpg files. Is that true?

Then somewhere I saw that files cannot be attached to emails sent from the Note 10.1 - is this true? If I installed an app like K9 Email on the Note 10.1 which has file attachment capabilities on other Android devices will I be able to attach the text files from the Note 10.1 that I have written using handwriting recognition (if txt files are possible using handwriting recognition)?

I am not interested (at least now) in annotating documents - I need to be able to create new text documents with the S Pen and be able to save and edit them as text both on the Note and then on a PC.

Thanks!
 

stateit

Senior Member
Aug 12, 2010
96
9
Lewes, UK
Hi 1776,

You can write straight into Polaris Office (or any other office app, google docs etc) using the handwriting recognition keyboard option and save into whatever format those apps support.

I've become an S Pen junkie over the last month for taking notes and docs for my work. A Note 10.1 a month ago, and a Note 2 phone (for easy noting on the move) this week.

I find the S Pen option ( Language and input | Samsung Keyboard Settings | Handwriting | Recognition type | Complete recognition) best for this (as opposed to 'Stroke recognition' option)

Good luck with it!
 
Last edited:

Hellstyrant

Senior Member
Dec 8, 2012
300
248
For that matter, you can even move your PCs My Documents folder to Dropbox, and use Dropsync on your tablet to do a completely automatic 2-way sync so that you can edit the files from the PC or at tablet at any time :thumbup:

Sent from my TI-82 using XDA Premium
 

bsaman

Senior Member
Jul 27, 2012
161
42
Or switch to google docs and scratch the office suite altogether. Or use sNote and sync to Evernote.

Lots of options available.

Sent from my GT-N8013 using xda app-developers app
 

1776

Member
Dec 22, 2011
35
5
Thanks to all! I knew I would get a fast response from this forum to answer my question. I now know from you that I can use the SPen to write into Polaris or an office suite or Google Docs and get my articles ready. There is a good price right now at Costco and I am going to take advantage of it.

Thanks again!
 

1776

Member
Dec 22, 2011
35
5
Sorry to bring this back up again - I went to Best Buy today and wanted to try the S Pen with Polaris Office. I opened Polaris Office and looked for the gear symbol to start handwriting recognition at the bottom of the keyboard next to the microphone symbol for voice recognition. It was not there. Only the microphone was there. I went into S Pen settings on the Note 10.1 and did not see much to set. A salesman came over and asked him how to get this display model to let me use the S Pen in Polaris Office and he said it cannot do that. He insisted the pen only works in S Note. I told him differently, explained what I expected to find and all of the more knowledgeable people than him (I did not say that part) that are on this forum say it works with Polaris and other apps. He tried and found nothing to get it to work.

So now I have a new question - does this now work with an update that perhaps their display did not have? He also tried it on the Note 8 that was on diplay and said it did not work.

You all say it works and I am sure it does. I would just like to see it do it before I plunk down almost 500 bucks.

What is needed to do to make it work? And if there was an update and the displays were not updated - would it then not work?

TIA!!!
 

starbuckk

Senior Member
Nov 20, 2011
189
40
Long press on the microphone button on the keyboard gives you a selection box. One of the choices switches the keyboard to pen entry.

Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk 2
 

bsaman

Senior Member
Jul 27, 2012
161
42
FYI I found the default pen settings to be less than optimal for my writing style. Keep this in mind while trying it out. You'll likely customize it to your liking once you own it.

Sent from my HTC PH39100 using xda app-developers app
 

1776

Member
Dec 22, 2011
35
5
Thanks once again. I went to a different Best Buy today and did as was described here and long pressed the mike key - and there was the button to start handwriting recognition. I worked fairly well. Thank you to bsaman who warned me about having to customize the settings to get it to write smoothly. In the store, words were split, wrong letters were put in, but I can see that with some adjustment it will work just fine and I test saved a doc handwritten in Polaris and saw in the file manager that it was saved as a .doc file which is what I need it to do.

One other question - every time my hand leaned on the glass when writing with the pen in the input box that was across the lower half of the screen, it brought up a new screen scrolling up from the bottom. I assume that this can be turned off?
 

bsaman

Senior Member
Jul 27, 2012
161
42
The only thing I can think of is the Multi-window option bar that pops up when you touch the carret in the navbar. Don't know about disabling it though.

Sent from my GT-N8013 using xda app-developers app
 

1776

Member
Dec 22, 2011
35
5
I went to Costco today and bought the Note 10.1 ($417 including a leather case) and now I have to start setting it up. Thanks to all!