Export Notes from iBooks?

Question

Level 1

29 points

Export Notes from iBooks?

I have just recently started to use iBooks more heavily to take notes and highlights, but I cannot figure out how to export the notes taken? If there is a way to do this, or a workaround, I would appreciate some help... if there isn't, this is a major feature that needs to be added to iBooks, one that Kindle long since made available (even though taking notes on a Kindle is about impossible, at least you can get them). Thanks, Scott

MacBookPro5,1, Mac OS X (10.6.2)

Posted on Jun 30, 2010 11:00 AM

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Answer 1

Mykll0

Level 2

255 points

Jun 30, 2010 11:05 AM in response to scottfillmer

Right now you cannot do this. Probably some thought behind secret closed locked doors that if you could do this, then you can get around DRM by simply highlighting the entire book and exporting the text.

Edit:
This is true for highlights. For notes you type in, you can copy the text of each note, but that would seem to be a pain, unless there is an easier way to export all notes at once that I am obviously not aware of.

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Answer 2

scottfillmer Author

Level 1

29 points

Jun 30, 2010 11:13 AM in response to Mykll0

yeah, I was afraid of that, once we enter the world of DRM we enter the truly stupid.

I do know I can copy and paste but when I am talking about 50-100 notes, I need to be able to export them all at once into a text file or something like that... would love to know if anyone knows of a decent workaround to getting those note files.

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Answer 3

Aug 11, 2010 5:11 AM in response to scottfillmer

I would really like to be able to do this too.

But most of all I want to be able to make and export annotations and highlights in PDFs so I can start using my iPad to read academic papers. Until there is a way to do that, the iPad is pretty useless for academic study.

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Answer 4

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

115,940 points

Aug 11, 2010 5:23 AM in response to Secretwings

I want to be able to make and export annotations and highlights in PDFs so I can start using my iPad to read academic papers. Until there is a way to do that, the iPad is pretty useless for academic study.

There are lots of pdf readers for the iPad which are more capable than iBooks. Do none of them do what you want?

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Answer 5

Oct 18, 2010 5:38 PM in response to scottfillmer

I wonder where this ranks among their "To Do" list... It sure causes a barrier to entry & opens the door for one to leave.... I won't be purchasing anymore of the iBooks until this feature is available. It is very frustrating when you can't access information you make notes on & highlight via iBooks.

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Answer 6

zog213

Level 1

8 points

Oct 31, 2010 4:51 PM in response to scottfillmer

By way of comparison, the Kindle will sync your notes to kindle.amazon.com, where they are available for cutting and pasting. Since ibook and kindle are competing in the same space, and since I can download and manipulate the notes I made reading my kindle book but NOT notes I made reading my ibook, why should I use ibooks again? Fix it, guys.

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Answer 7

dazzler

Level 1

0 points

Nov 6, 2010 7:10 PM in response to scottfillmer

Yes, please. I just bought my first book and plan to take notes and would love to be able to export them for futher reflection on ... (gasp) ... Printed paper.

Thank you,
Anthony

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Answer 8

meitnik1

Level 1

8 points

Jan 3, 2011 2:33 PM in response to scottfillmer

It appears ibooks 1.2 can print and email notes but only one at a time. This is stupid! I am not going to go note by note to email 500 notes!! Surely Apple understands this is a deal breaker for edu market! Come on, allow me to work smart not hard 🙂 I bought an ipad to make better use of my time.

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Answer 9

Jan 3, 2011 3:29 PM in response to meitnik1

I am a writer. I am baffled by not being able to copy and paste selections into a document formreference purposes. With iPad it is impossible to gomback and forth between apps. I want tombe able to copy and paste in iBooks, kindle,and PDFs. PDFs won't even letmyou highlight. I understand that the iPad is not meant to replace the laptop, bfutmwhen one is traveling to do interviews and reading for scholarship, some massive improvements are needed..

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Answer 10

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

115,940 points

Jan 3, 2011 4:14 PM in response to Parrish Jones

Make sure you tell Apple your views via the channel they have set up for that, otherwise they will not know:

http://www.apple.com/feedback/ipad.html

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Answer 11

Jan 4, 2011 5:00 AM in response to Tom Gewecke

I did, I sent them a long note as I use several apps I'd like to be able to copy and paste from. And none permit it. Thus I think it is the iOS not the app itself.

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Answer 12

scottfillmer Author

Level 1

29 points

Apr 21, 2011 7:32 AM in response to Parrish Jones

i started this thread almost a year ago, and i am not using the iPad 2 and STILL have this problem. While you can now export your notes to an email file (it won't let you export your highlights, only your notes), it is almost useless in the manner in which Apple has allowed us to export.

Over the past year trying to find a solution to this problem i have stopped reading books in iBooks almost all together and moved to reading on the Kindle app almost exclusively. The kindle cloud syncs your notes and highlights, a perfect solution that i would have really liked to have seen Apple do as well. I still have a few books in iBooks that i feel are being held hostage, waiting for the day to come when i can access my notes AND highlights via the cloud from iBooks?

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Answer 13

Sam Katz1

Level 2

200 points

Jun 18, 2011 2:59 PM in response to scottfillmer

First of all, Nookstudy has this feature. www.nookstudy.com. It'll even import epubs that aren't DRMed. depending on how the notes are stored, you may be able to get them off. Ecamm software provides software to view the contents of an ipad and get the books or other data on/off. iTunes file sharing might work as well.

As you say, there is a share button in the table of contents view.

It's greyed out in mine. maybe it only exports notes?

Personally, I think e-mail is an acceptable solution for now. Obviously with iCloud hopefully it will be more robust, no gaurentees though.

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Answer 14

Sam Katz1

Level 2

200 points

Jun 18, 2011 3:02 PM in response to Sam Katz1

I thought I would add that it does seem to only work with notes, not highlights -- which makes sense in a way, but isn't completely desirable.

Given that it does support printing though. could you print to Dropbox or to PDF, using something like Printopia (Mac) or a similar printer utility for the PC?

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Answer 15

ssbarnea

Level 1

10 points

Jul 2, 2011 7:08 AM in response to scottfillmer

Same question added here, if you found any kind of solution please post it

http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/16863/ipad-pdf-reader-with-annotation-s upport/

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