Handwrite with a stylus

You can handwrite short or long text and annotate PDFs with a stylus on your Chromebook’s virtual keyboard.

Open the on-screen keyboard in tablet mode

If your Chromebook can be used as a tablet, the on-screen keyboard will automatically open when you flip the screen of your Chromebook over its hinge.

Use a stylus with your virtual keyboard

You can use a stylus to write longform content on a virtual keyboard. 

  1. Open any text box or app that you can type in, like Docs or Gmail. 
    • Tap into the text box. The handwriting pad should appear.
      • If you don’t see Handwrite: At the top of the virtual keyboard, tap the Right arrow , then Handwrite .
  2. In the pad that appears, write text with your stylus.
  3. As you write, you can edit the text in your pad by using certain pad controls and gestures.
    • Use keyboard pad controls to:
      • Undo: On the right, tap Undo .
      • Add a new line: On the right, tap Enter
      • Scroll: When you write past the third line, a scroll bar will appear on the right. Tap the scroll bar and slide the stylus up or down.
      • Submit text: On the right, tap Done . The pad will clear.
    • Use gestures to:
      • Delete text: Strike, scribble on, or cross out a word, phrase, or line.
      • Insert a word: Under the line between words, draw a Caret . You can also tap on or between words. 
      • Correct a word: Tap and hold a word, then tap a suggestion.

Edit submitted text

To edit text that’s in the app and no longer appears on the keyboard, you can use these pad controls:

  • Backspace : In the app, delete the character that appears before the cursor. 
  • New line : In the app, create a new line. 
  • Space : In the app, create a new space where your cursor is.

Annotate PDFs with the stylus

You can mark a PDF file you’ve downloaded on your Chromebook.  Learn how to find and open a file.

  1. Open your PDF file.
  2. At the top right, tap Annotate .
  3. In the toolbar that appears, select one of the following:
    • Draw thin or thick lines: Double tap the Pen , then choose a color and size. To find more colors, tap the Down arrow .
    • Highlight: Double tap the Highlighter , then choose a color and size. To find more colors, tap the Down arrow .
    • Erase: Double tap the Eraser .
    • Undo: To immediately cancel an action, tap Undo .You can tap it repeatedly to undo consecutive actions.
    • Redo: To redo an action, tap Redo . You can tap it repeatedly to redo consecutive actions.

Related resources

Was this helpful?

How can we improve it?
Search
Clear search
Close search
Google apps
Main menu
17361002446424117108
true
Search Help Center
true
true
true
true
true
208
false
false