Xournal
Encyclopedia
Xournal is a notetaking
application written for Linux
and other GTK+
platforms. It bears some similarity to Windows Journal
, Jarnal
and Gournal. It is designed to be used with either a stylus or a mouse. It is also capable of adding annotations to PDF documents.
Additionally, strokes and blocks of text can be selected, moved and copied using a rectangular selection tool.
library to render PDF documents. The documents then become immutable background images. Annotation can then proceed using any of Xournal's standard tools: Pen, eraser, text, and highlighter.
Annotated PDF documents can be saved in either of two ways. They can be saved in the native Xournal file format and then associated with the original PDF file. Alternatively, the document can be exported to PDF format. Once an annotated document has exported to PDF, the annotations can no longer be edited using the standard Xournal tools (though new annotations can be added).
and Tablet PC
displays. It can also be used on platforms without Java support, such as the Maemo
4 (OS2008) platform running on the Nokia N800
and Nokia N810
Internet Tablets and the Maemo
5 platform running on the Nokia N900
smartphone.
Xournal saves in an XML
-based format (similar to SVG
) which is then compressed with gzip
. The Xournal todo list currently lists support for the Jarnal file format under its objectives. Being an existing open format based on compressed SVGs, this move would allow users to easily export their notes into external editors such as GIMP
, Inkscape
and Adobe Photoshop
.
Unlike Windows Journal
, Xournal lacks the capability to automatically perform OCR
on handwritten text, thus precluding the existence of features such as searching a handwritten document for text.
Notetaking
Notetaking is the practice of recording information captured from a transient source, such as an oral discussion at a meeting, or a lecture. Notes of a meeting are usually called minutes. The format of the initial record may often be informal and/or unstructured. One common format for such notes is...
application written for Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
and other GTK+
GTK+
GTK+ is a cross-platform widget toolkit for creating graphical user interfaces. It is licensed under the terms of the GNU LGPL, allowing both free and proprietary software to use it. It is one of the most popular toolkits for the X Window System, along with Qt.The name GTK+ originates from GTK;...
platforms. It bears some similarity to Windows Journal
Windows Journal
Windows Journal is a notetaking application, created by Microsoft and included in Windows XP Tablet PC Edition as well as Home Premium or superior editions of Windows Vista and Windows 7. It allows the user to create and organize handwritten notes and drawings and to save them in a JNT-File...
, Jarnal
Jarnal
Jarnal is an open-source cross-platform notetaking and sketching application similar to Windows Journal. It is written in Java.Jarnal can be used with mouse or graphics tablet for freehand notetaking or it can be used for annotating imported PDF files and other importedpictures.It has a feature...
and Gournal. It is designed to be used with either a stylus or a mouse. It is also capable of adding annotations to PDF documents.
Tools
- A "PenPenA pen is a device used to apply ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Historically, reed pens, quill pens, and dip pens were used, with a nib of some sort to be dipped in the ink. Ruling pens allow precise adjustment of line width, and still find a few specialized uses, but...
" with optional sensitivity to pressure data from the tablet driver, operating at five different preset thickness levels - "EraserEraserAn eraser or rubber is an article of stationery that is used for rubbing out pencil markings. Erasers have a rubbery consistency and are often white or pink, although modern materials allow them to be made in any color. Many pencils are equipped with an eraser on one end...
" which can either delete everything in its radius of operation (potentially breaking strokes up), act as a white pen ("whiteout") mode or delete the whole length of any continuous stroke in the affected area - "HighlighterHighlighterA highlighter is a felt-tip pen which is used to draw attention to sections of documents by marking them with a vivid, translucent colour.A typical highlighter is fluorescent yellow, coloured with pyranine.-History:...
", which acts as a semitransparent pen allowing the user to highlight areas of text or image - Text tool, allowing insertion of basic blocks of character-based text
- Shape recognizer, which can be enabled alongside with the pen to automatically detect circles, lines and polygons when they are drawn and replace them with a clean version
Additionally, strokes and blocks of text can be selected, moved and copied using a rectangular selection tool.
PDF annotation
Xournal supports annotation of PDF files. Xournal uses the PopplerPoppler (software)
In computing, Poppler is a free software library used to render PDF documents. It is used by the PDF viewers of the open source GNOME and KDE desktop environments, and its development is supported by freedesktop.org....
library to render PDF documents. The documents then become immutable background images. Annotation can then proceed using any of Xournal's standard tools: Pen, eraser, text, and highlighter.
Annotated PDF documents can be saved in either of two ways. They can be saved in the native Xournal file format and then associated with the original PDF file. Alternatively, the document can be exported to PDF format. Once an annotated document has exported to PDF, the annotations can no longer be edited using the standard Xournal tools (though new annotations can be added).
Comparison to and interoperability with other applications
Xournal was designed to be a better-performing program than Jarnal. However, unlike the Java-based alternative, Xournal has no collaboration facilities and is not binary portable to other platforms. Being a native program it runs considerably faster and also has support for the high subpixel resolution provided by the XInput system of X11, and by most Graphics tabletGraphics tablet
A graphics tablet is a computer input device that enables a user to hand-draw images and graphics, similar to the way a person draws images with a pencil and paper. These tablets may also be used to capture data or handwritten signatures...
and Tablet PC
Tablet computer
A tablet computer, or simply tablet, is a complete mobile computer, larger than a mobile phone or personal digital assistant, integrated into a flat touch screen and primarily operated by touching the screen...
displays. It can also be used on platforms without Java support, such as the Maemo
Maemo
Maemo is a software platform developed by the Maemo community for smartphones and Internet tablets. It is based on the Debian Linux distribution, but has no relation to it...
4 (OS2008) platform running on the Nokia N800
Nokia N800
The Nokia N800 Internet tablet is a wireless Internet appliance from Nokia, originally announced at the Las Vegas CES 2007 Summit in January 2007. N800 allows the user to browse the Internet and communicate using Wi-Fi networks or with mobile phone via Bluetooth. The N800 was developed as the...
and Nokia N810
Nokia N810
The Nokia N810 Internet tablet is an Internet appliance from Nokia, announced on 17 October, 2007 at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco. Despite Nokia's strong association with cellular products, the N810 is not a phone, but instead allows the user to browse the Internet and communicate using...
Internet Tablets and the Maemo
Maemo
Maemo is a software platform developed by the Maemo community for smartphones and Internet tablets. It is based on the Debian Linux distribution, but has no relation to it...
5 platform running on the Nokia N900
Nokia N900
The Nokia N900 is a smartphone made by Nokia. It supersedes the Nokia N810. Its default operating system, Maemo 5, is a Linux-based OS originally developed for the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet. It is the first Nokia device based upon the Texas Instruments OMAP3 microprocessor with the ARM Cortex-A8...
smartphone.
Xournal saves in an XML
XML
Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
-based format (similar to SVG
Scalable Vector Graphics
Scalable Vector Graphics is a family of specifications of an XML-based file format for describing two-dimensional vector graphics, both static and dynamic . The SVG specification is an open standard that has been under development by the World Wide Web Consortium since 1999.SVG images and their...
) which is then compressed with gzip
Gzip
Gzip is any of several software applications used for file compression and decompression. The term usually refers to the GNU Project's implementation, "gzip" standing for GNU zip. It is based on the DEFLATE algorithm, which is a combination of Lempel-Ziv and Huffman coding...
. The Xournal todo list currently lists support for the Jarnal file format under its objectives. Being an existing open format based on compressed SVGs, this move would allow users to easily export their notes into external editors such as GIMP
GIMP
GIMP is a free software raster graphics editor. It is primarily employed as an image retouching and editing tool and is freely available in versions tailored for most popular operating systems including Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS X, and Linux.In addition to detailed image retouching and...
, Inkscape
Inkscape
Inkscape is a free software vector graphics editor, licensed under the GNU General Public License. Its goal is to implement full support for the Scalable Vector Graphics 1.1 standard....
and Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a graphics editing program developed and published by Adobe Systems Incorporated.Adobe's 2003 "Creative Suite" rebranding led to Adobe Photoshop 8's renaming to Adobe Photoshop CS. Thus, Adobe Photoshop CS5 is the 12th major release of Adobe Photoshop...
.
Unlike Windows Journal
Windows Journal
Windows Journal is a notetaking application, created by Microsoft and included in Windows XP Tablet PC Edition as well as Home Premium or superior editions of Windows Vista and Windows 7. It allows the user to create and organize handwritten notes and drawings and to save them in a JNT-File...
, Xournal lacks the capability to automatically perform OCR
Optical character recognition
Optical character recognition, usually abbreviated to OCR, is the mechanical or electronic translation of scanned images of handwritten, typewritten or printed text into machine-encoded text. It is widely used to convert books and documents into electronic files, to computerize a record-keeping...
on handwritten text, thus precluding the existence of features such as searching a handwritten document for text.
External links
- Mon cahier de textes en classe en images is the website of mathematic teacher from Reunion Island, who gives to her students all the images of what have been done in the classroom with Xournal.
- Xournal, logiciel de prise de notes manuscrite