Beyond text and attachments, DicaNote has a drawing editor. Use it for a sketch, mind map, diagram, or a quick doodle you do not want to lose on paper.
To open a new drawing: tap + and choose Drawing. The full create menu is in Create note, template, checklist or drawing.
The pinned Welcome to DicaNote note already includes a sketch (Mountain sketch). Tap it to open this editor. For a blank board, use + → Drawing.
What you see on screen
- Title at the top. Tap to rename. Under it, Saved means nothing is waiting to be written.
- Page guide (the dots icon) cycles Off, Dots, and Grid, then back to Off. A new session starts on Off. The sketch in these figures had Dots on.
- Layers shows the active layer. The badge is the layer number, not a stroke count.
- Zoom is a single chip ( 100% in the screenshot). There is no − or + button.
- Bottom bar with the tools. The active one is highlighted.
Tap the zoom chip for the presets:
The list is Fit page, 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%, 125%, 150%, 200%, 300%, and Focus. Focus left the ⋮ menu and lives here.
Toolbar
| In the app | Use |
|---|---|
| Move | Pans the view. The finger does not draw. Pull the canvas to add a page. |
| Select | Selects a stroke, shape, text box, or image. |
| Draw | Freehand. With a shape armed, the icon becomes that shape. |
| Fill | Fills a closed area, or removes a fill. |
| Eraser | Deletes a whole stroke, cuts it, or rubs out a portion, depending on the mode. |
| Text | A text box on the canvas. |
| Image | Choose image or Take photo. |
| Undo / Redo | Step backward and forward. Hold the button to repeat. |
The row just above the bar follows the tool. While Draw is active, that row stays up. You do not tap Draw a second time to open it.
Style row
With Draw active, left to right: the nib in use, the color, two recent colors, More colours, Eyedropper, Shapes, line style, Symmetry, and ⋮ (All style options). The last button, the palette, is Show styles and tools.
Tap the nib (the first tile) for the quick card: Pen, Brush, Pencil, Chalk, Stroke width, Opacity, and Stabilizer. Each nib keeps its own width.
Eyedropper samples a color from the canvas. The bar then offers 1 px, 3×3 (the default), and 5×5, plus All layers or This layer. Tap the canvas to pick the color. Switching tools turns the eyedropper off.
The palette at the end of the row opens a rail: Pen, Pencil, Brush, Lasso select, and Shapes. Hold Shapes to open the catalog. Hide styles and tools closes the rail.
The row’s own shortcuts:
- Shapes opens the shape strip. The full catalog is All shapes.
- Line style: Solid, Dashed, Dotted, Dash-dot, and Round, Square, or Tape ends.
- Symmetry: Off, Mirror left and right, Mirror top and bottom, Mirror into quadrants, or Radial symmetry.
Stroke panel
The row’s ⋮ opens Stroke, subtitled Applies as you draw. Done closes it.
- Pen, Brush, Pencil, and Chalk. The red squiggle is a preview of the stroke you are about to draw.
- Solid, dashed, dotted, or dash-dot.
- Freehand, Line, Rectangle, Circle, and All shapes. The fifth icon opens the catalog. It is not a grid.
- Round, Square, or Tape ends.
- Symmetry off, mirror left and right, mirror top and bottom, four quadrants, or radial.
- Width, Opacity, and Finger stabilizer. In the screenshot, 15, 100%, and 35%.
With a closed shape armed, the panel gains a Background tab. That shape’s fill can be None, Linear, or Radial. The bucket on the bar (Fill) stays a flat pour. The tab does not show up for freehand.
Fill
Fill is its own button. Tap it and the row edits the fill: the bucket tile, the checkerboard No background, the colors, and the eyedropper. Tap the bucket tile for the card.
| On the card | What it does |
|---|---|
| Match outline | The fill follows the outline’s nib. |
| Flat | A flat color. |
| Chalk | Chalk texture. |
| Pencil | Pencil texture. |
| Opacity | How see-through the fill is. |
| Drag | Fill areas (tap or drag inside areas) or Lasso (you circle the area). |
| Close gaps | Off, Small, Medium, or Large. Small is the default. |
The No background checkerboard removes a fill. Tap an area that already has one.
To pour:
- Close the outline, or arm a closed shape.
- Tap Fill and pick a color.
- Tap inside the area.
If the outline is open, the app says No closed area here. A small gap can be marked, with a note that Close gaps at that size would close it. A gap that is too wide: The marked gap is too wide to close. Draw it shut to fill. An area that is already that color: Already filled with this color. Checkerboard where nothing is filled: Nothing filled here to remove.
A closed shape can also be born filled. On the shape strip, Outline shape, tap to draw filled switches between outline and filled. That is the shape’s own fill, separate from the bucket.
Eraser
Eraser opens four actions and a size. In the screenshot the size is 30.
| In the app | Use |
|---|---|
| Delete whole strokes | Removes the whole stroke the finger touches. This is the mode in the screenshot. |
| Cut strokes into separate pieces | Cuts the stroke apart. |
| Erase portions of strokes | Erases only the bit the finger crosses. |
| Clean board | Clears the board. |
Clean board opens Clean Board? with the text This will clean the board. This change cannot be undone. The confirm button is Clean. Do not use it on the welcome sketch.
Selection
Select, with nothing selected, offers All, Tap multiple, a rectangle, a lasso, and the area mode.
All selects everything. Tap multiple lets you mark objects one by one. The rectangle and the lasso mark a region. Touching includes what the mark hits. Fully enclosed keeps only what sits entirely inside it.
With something selected, the upper row offers Duplicate, Transform, Arrange, Selection options, and Delete. Copy selected shows up in the ⋮ when there is something to copy. Paste shows up when the clipboard has something.
Text
Text arms a box. The row has Aa (in the screenshot, Sans Regular), colors, the eyedropper, alignment, style, and effects. Tap the canvas to place the box. While you are only looking at the tool, do not tap the page.
The ⋮ on that row opens the text options, including the box outline and background.
Image
Image opens Choose image or Take photo. The app then asks for a quality.
| Option | Text in the app |
|---|---|
| Original | Keep full quality, plus that file’s size. In the screenshot, 15.9 MB. |
| Standard | Smaller file size - Max 1600px JPEG 70% / PNG WebP 80% |
| HD (High Quality) | Larger file size Max 4K WebP 85% |
The picture lands selected. The lower row rotates, crops, and treats the file. The upper row is the usual selection bar: view, duplicate, transform, arrange, and delete.
| In the app | Use |
|---|---|
| Rotate left / right | 90-degree steps. |
| Fine rotation | A small turn. |
| Crop image | Crop. |
| Remove image background | The wand. Removes the background. |
| Image frame ratio | The frame’s ratio. |
| Replace image | Swaps the file. |
| Image opacity | Transparency. |
Remove the background
With the picture selected, tap the wand. The app shows Removing background… over the photo. The first time, you may see Downloading background removal model… Internet is needed the first time.
The cutout keeps the subjects in the photo and the frame shrinks to them. The page shows through where the background was. The done message is Background removed.
There is no step to pick which subject stays. On a drawing, the wand keeps the subjects it finds. If it finds none, the message is No foreground subject was found. Try a photo with a clearer subject. Without internet the first time, the model does not download. A photo that is too large can run out of memory. Undo puts the original back.
Shapes
Tap Shapes on the style row. The quick strip is Freehand, Line, Rectangle, Circle, Arrow, Triangle, Star, the filled toggle, and All shapes.
All shapes opens the catalog. The subtitle is The one you pick joins the palette. The shape you pick joins the strip, and the Draw icon becomes that shape.
| Group | Shapes |
|---|---|
| Basic | Rectangle, Rounded rectangle, Circle, Semicircle, Triangle, Right triangle, Diamond, Pentagon, Hexagon, Octagon, Pie, Crescent |
| Lines and arrows | Line, Arrow, Block arrow, Double arrow, Bent arrow, Chevron |
| Flowchart | Pill, Parallelogram, Trapezoid, Cylinder, Document, Callout, Manual input, Process, Delay, Tag |
| Extras | Star, Burst, Heart, Cross, X mark, Bolt, Cloud |
With a closed shape armed, the strip gains the Perfect shape lock (it keeps the proportion) and Outline shape, tap to draw filled. A circle also offers Pill and Semicircle. A line or arrow gains end styles.
How to draw
- Open the welcome sketch, or create one (+ → Drawing → Create).
- With Draw active, drag on the canvas. The color row is already visible.
- Fill inside a closed area. Eraser in whichever mode fits.
- Text, then a tap on the page, for a label. Image for a photo.
- The disk at the top writes the note. When it is current, the title shows Saved.
More than one page
In the editor ⋮, Add page adds a sheet. In Move, you can pull the canvas to add a page. Remove last page only shows up when the last sheet is empty, so it cannot clip a stroke.
Page arrows and “1 / N” appear once there is more than one page.
Page size
⋮ → Page size. The subtitle is Change the page your drawing sits on.
| In the app | Detail |
|---|---|
| Fit screen | The screen size. On this phone, 1070 × 1767. |
| Portrait | 3:4 |
| Landscape | 4:3 |
| Square | 1:1 |
| A4 | 150 dpi |
| Custom | Your size. Width and height in px. |
| Trim page to drawing | Crops the page around the drawing and centers it. On the Mountain sketch screenshot, 1113 × 1291 px · the drawing is centred on it. The tap applies immediately. |
Under Custom, Width (px) and Height (px) stay between 320 and 8192. The lock keeps the ratio. A size you already used comes back as a chip. In the screenshot, 2048 × 1024, with Forget 2048 by 1024.
Scale drawing to fit decides what Apply does:
- on: The whole drawing is resized to fit the new page.
- off: The drawing keeps its size; only the page changes. If a stroke will not fit, the sheet says Part of the drawing will be outside the page.
A new drawing from + opens the same sheet titled New drawing, subtitled Choose the page you want to draw on. The buttons are Cancel and Create. That sheet does not offer Trim.
⋮ → New is a different action. It asks Start new drawing? and warns Your current drawing will be cleared. Confirming clears the open drawing.
Layers
The layers icon opens the Layers sheet. The subtitle is The top layer draws above the ones below it.
Each layer has an eye (hide), a lock, and ⋮. Opacity belongs to the layer. Add layer creates another. The Background row shows the page color (in the screenshot, #FFFDF9) and an eye to hide it. The item count (in the screenshot, 1012 items) is that layer’s content, not the badge on the top icon.
Menu and Save as
- New clears the open drawing, after you confirm
- Page size
- Add page
- Background image
- Create note / Open
- Save as / Share as
- Copy link / Delete
Save as
- ⋮ → Save as. The subtitle is Save a copy of the drawing.
- Pick a format. A file format then opens the Android folder picker.
| Option | What it writes |
|---|---|
| New drawing | Save a new copy to your drawing library |
| Dicanote package | Portable drawing with image assets |
| JSON file | Save drawing as a JSON file (.json). Embedded images need the .dicanote package |
| PNG image | .png |
| PDF file | .pdf |
| SVG file | Save drawing as a vector SVG file (.svg) |
The top disk (Save) stores the note inside DicaNote. Save as exports a copy. Share as sends the drawing to another app.
When to use drawing
Use it for a sketch, mind map, diagram, or a doodle you do not want to lose on paper. A list, a long paragraph, or a checklist belongs in a text note. A file that already arrived from another app goes in as a PDF or an attachment.
FAQ
How do I create a new drawing?
Tap the yellow +, choose Drawing, and confirm with Create. The editor opens on a blank canvas with the page guide off.
Where did Shapes go?
On the style row, tap Shapes. The strip has line, rectangle, circle, arrow, triangle, and star. All shapes opens the catalog. With a shape armed, the Draw icon becomes that shape.
How do I fill an area?
Tap Fill, pick a color, and tap inside a closed outline. The No background checkerboard removes a fill. An open outline shows No closed area here.
Does the eraser only rub out what the finger crosses?
That is Erase portions of strokes. The mode in the screenshot is Delete whole strokes, which removes the whole stroke. There is also a cut-into-pieces mode.
How do I remove a picture's background?
Select the picture and tap Remove image background. The first time may download a model and needs internet. The cutout keeps the subjects, and the page shows through.
Can I undo a stroke?
Yes. Undo and Redo on the bar. Hold the button to step through several changes. Clean board is the exception: the warning says it cannot be undone.
Can I put text on the drawing?
Yes. Tap Text, tap the canvas, and type. Aa changes font and size.
Did zoom lose the − and + buttons?
Yes. The percentage chip opens Fit page, the presets from 25% to 300%, and Focus.
Does Trim page to drawing stretch the drawing?
No. It crops the page around the drawing and centers it, and the tap applies immediately. Stretching is Scale drawing to fit, while it is on, when you change Page size and tap Apply.
What is the difference between Save and Save as?
Save stores the note in DicaNote. Save as exports a copy: a package, JSON, PNG, PDF, or SVG.
For a photo or PDF instead of a sketch: attachments and scan.
