Microsoft's Plumbago notebook app for Windows 10 adds portrait support and more

By John Callaham
published

Microsoft has updated its Plumbago app for Windows 10 on the PC. The app, which aims to replace paper notebooks with a digital version, has added several features, including viewing notebooks in a portrait orientation and more.

Microsoft first launched Plumbago in February. Here's a list of its new features:

  • Portrait support — Create notebooks in portrait orientation.
  • Calligraphy pen tool — Practice the art of calligraphy or enhance your drawings.
  • Cloud syncing — Sync your notebooks across devices and store them in the cloud with Microsoft OneDrive.
  • Save as PDF — Save your entire notebook as a PDF file for easy sharing, archiving, or importing into other applications.
  • Quicker warmup for handwriting smoothing — Plumbago remembers your stroke style between notebook sessions, which makes for quicker and more noticeable handwriting smoothing effects.
  • Performance enhancements — as well as several other minor bug fixes

Thanks to Zack for the tip!

Download Plumbago from the Windows Store (opens in new tab)

John Callaham
John Callaham
61 Comments
  • Plumbago.....
  • Sounds Ike the name of a drain unclogger...
  • Or a condition.... :D
  • When on phones?
  • What are you going to draw with, your finger on a 5-inch display?
  • Well. The thing is i use Lumia 950xl. And I have a set of keys that actually work on my screen. I don't know how. When I touch them on phone, it works. I use chalkboard a lot of times. So was just curious. Thought would be nice if it followed the uwp system. But yeah. I know. It is ridiculous for 5 inch screen. But still. There can be things like one note, where the notes get synched on one drive and you can see least view, if not edit on your phone. Just a thought.
  • Speech to text kinda ruined my comment. XD What i wanted to say is if you work on pc or something and save it, it would be nice if you have an app on phone to at least just view the files, if not edit.
    That's all. I know it is too much to ask for. Just a thought. (and yes. The keys... The lock opening keys... They somehow work on my phone. Also the cables... The usb chord. My phone is touch sensitive to them.) +950 xl. Win10.
  • Yep that's due to the ultra high sensitivity. Mine works through gloves too (Lumia 930). The headphone jack, a fork, teaspoon, keys, headphone wire, anything with metal will work, because metal is conductive. It's kudos to the screen for sensing your fingers through metal. Not all digitisers can do that. I don't think you can do it on iPhones or Android devices Posted from Windows Central for Windows 10
  • Oh yes! How can i forget headphone jacks and wire! :D But still. Even if we could just view the files, it would be great. It is a lovely app.
    +830. Win10.
  • Agreed :D
  • :D
  • I managed to draw on my iPod touch second generation and thought it came out very nicely. At first try actually. 3.5 inches. 6 or 7 years ago. Sent from 5 Sim Lane, in Neighborhood 1.
  • Too bad I finally managed to break it after dozens of drops little after that. Sent from 5 Sim Lane, in Neighborhood 1.
  • Neighborhood 1? Would that be Pleasantview? :D
  • My Neighborhood keep changing it's name Sent from 5 Sim Lane, in Neighborhood 1.
  • Thank you for asking that question. Posted from Windows Central for Windows 10
  • Thank you for asking that question.
  • You can draw just fine on a galaxy note.  screen sizes are similar,  and the surface pen actually works on some lumia screen....Just no software support.....SOOOOOOOOOO......its not inconceiveable that people would want this for phone.  But hey,  this IS microsoft we are talking about.  They are wanting less and less on their phones...not more. 
  • You know, there is no shortage of styluses (styliI?) designed for capacitive screens. You should pick up an Adonit Jot Mini and give it a shot. Try Fresh Paint. Still waiting for OneNote to support ink on Windows Mobile.
  • Android version likely incoming.
  • As usual your trolling comments are completely off topic here. If we wanted to hear about that shi* stain called Android, then we would go over to AndroidCentral. Here we want to read about Windows.
  • BTW, don't you love it when there is an app for Windows but not Android? The trolls who usually are here commenting about all the apps that are on Android but not Windows, need to troll more by creating fantasies about how their favorite may get the app available today for Windows.
  • This wins most dilusional post of the decade! 
  • Question was about phones so lets stay focused on that. Garage folks usually release their stuff to viable mobile platforms first and to others later or never.
  • One of the very few usernames I recognize here. You've done your job becoming a popular troll, vhyr.
  • I don't know her Sent from 5 Sim Lane, in Neighborhood 1.
  • Its microsoft...im suprised its not out on IOS already!
  • This is a really nice app for notes. The writing is very natural.
  • That's exactly what makes it such a joy to use :D
  • I downloaded it yesterday, but I haven't tried it yet. This update came just in time :) Sent from 5 Sim Lane, in Neighborhood 1.
  • First time I'm reading about this. Seems redundant
  • It's not. It's perfect for those who wants to draw like traditional, but digital :D
  • Hope they sqaushed the bugs.  Nice app but for it's love of crashing (and losing your work) up until now.
  • It seems to me that's a problem with windows apps in general :S Sent from 5 Sim Lane, in Neighborhood 1.
  • I am not sure what Microsoft is trying to do with this app.
    ​OneNote already covers a lot of what this does. If painting is the goal FreshPaint is covering that amazingly.  So what's the deal? I installed it, tested it, and really see no point of existance.
  • I was just about to type the same thing... why not add this to OneNote?  All I can think of is that Microsoft is trying to perfect the technology as a stand-alone app, then they'll merge it into OneNote?   Otherwise, it's just silly to have 2 notebook replacement apps I.M.H.O.
  • I think it's supposed to be a simpler and more natural note-taking experience than OneNote. OneNote is incredible of course but for some people the massive number of options in it is overwhelming. Plumbago is closer to traditional writing and it even has paper styles that OneNote doesn't have such as the dot graph paper, the handwriting paper, or the music sheet paper. It's definitely more pick up and go versus nailing down a notebook, then making sections, and filling each with pages. It's power versus simplicity.
  • But they could just integrate it into OneNote... You can pick do you want this notebook to be simple, or do you want robust?  Instead of introducing yet another brand/app name...
  • I think you are giving some people too much credit. I have friends who have OneNote and refuse to use it because they just don't get it. Plumbago is good for those sorts of people and also very easy for kids to pick up and use because the interface is very simple while the options are just robust enough to be enjoyable. Not everything can be solved with a toggle.
  • Hear, hear
  • You can get page styles & templates anywhere for one note pages, not just blank screen. If it is simpler and more basic than OneNote, then why not just create a toggle in OneNote for those who want just simple?
  • See my response to erasure25 above.
  • Still lag on a Surface Pro 4 when you try to move between pages with finger... OMG
  • Especially if these pages contain a lot of scetches
  • Waiting for those people to say,"when in India?"
  • Oh boy this joke again. Well done. Thumbs up for originality. Windows Central Universal Application for Windows 10
  • OneNote, Journal, Sitcky Notes, Plumbago, etc. Wtf Microsoft. Please make 1 app instead of 10,000 that almost do the same thing! This is becoming like the Settings vs Control Panel thing.
  • Except it's not the same thing at all. Settings is, erm, setting out to replace the Control Panel, it's just not there yet. Microsoft wants an intuitive and beautiful app that users can use to quickly and simply access all the most important settings, which Control Panel never did. Control Panel has always been massively confusing, hard to navigate, and just throws everything at you at once. Accomplished and experienced users don't have a problem with it, but new users can be very quickly intimidated by the Control Panel. So, Settings is there for the quick actions and to tinker with any new features and improvements Microsoft has added, while the Control Panel exists to deal with any advanced functions (like what your laptop should do when you close the lid, etcetera) until they can be organized accordingly into Settings. As for the apps you listed, those all do their set actions. There's a little crossover (in some situations more than a little) but they all differ in their overall target demographic, their convenience, and what they're capable of doing/designed for. Windows Central Universal Application for Windows 10
  • I am completely aware of everything you just explained about the settings vs control panel. The only reason why I brought it up is for a comparison. With all these apps for notes and stuff being released I feel like one day they are going to wind up merging it all into one like they are doing with Settings. So I feel like that's unnecessary and they should just make a big OneNote app with all those features instead of releasing more and more note apps. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Well OneNote already incorporates most of these features. I think the main differences between them is like I said above: They target different consumers because of their simplicity and convenience. OneNote is one app to do it all, but it doesn't do quick reminders or Cortana integration like Sticky Notes and it doesn't do casual sketching and hand written notes like Plumbago or advanced painting like Fresh Paint. They all have their purposes, and it only makes sense that there's be an overlap of functions and features. Windows Central for Windows 10-Nokia Lumia 830
  • Yeah. I understand. People like me want it all mashed into one because we are power users and don't like clutter and like doing all the capabilities in one. So like me I would like to have Plumbago capabilities in OneNote so I could sync it into the cloud across all devices along with my other OneNote files (and yes I know they added sync to it but I'm talking about grouping it with OneNote instead of a whole bunch of folders for different note apps) and do other unique things. Therefore that's my case with all in one. Then there's other people who are like omg I don't need all that crap I just want some quick notes like StickyNotes OMG. So yeah. Hopefully MS can add more to OneNote and still allow the simple little apps. Kinda like MS Word. Notepad has the basic, Wordpad gives you a little more, and then MS Word goes hardcore extreme with picture editing and special font effects and WordArt, etc. So instead of my main comment, I guess instead of treating it like a bad thing with multiple apps, I can treat it like MS Word vs. Notepad. Thx for the perspective. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • I can see your point. I'm sure we'll see more improvements for OneNote. Their relative silence recently tells me they're working on something good. Windows Central for Windows 10-Nokia Lumia 830
  • K. Truu. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • There's no clear strategy coming from the top. MS have lost their way over the past two years
  • WHAT NO PORTRAIT SUPPORT OUT OF THE BOX? In 2016? For this  catogroy app?
  • They just updated the app. Portrait support is there, you just have to specify it when you create a new notebook by tapping the orientation icon.
  • No need for manual controls for orientation choice. Windows already supports orientation lock by default. So all Microsoft research has to do is code for auto rotation by default, just like with all other native Microsoft apps.
  • I actually think that might be a bit of a problem. This app is handwriting-based versus typing based. Your handwriting isn't going to reflow to adjust to changes in orientation. Auto-rotate would be nice but not quite as useful for this app I think.
  • Onenote can already do this by default.
  • Besides being a 'garage' project, where does this app fit in?  Seems like a natural fit to roll this into OneNote.  Especially since its being used more and more...
  • The First thing I noticed about this app is the return of the circle menu! its the one thing I fell Microsoft screwed up when the free version of one note went from 8 to 10.