RemNote makes it easy to keep all of your study content organized in a single place: lectures, flashcards, to-dos, exam dates, PDFs, and more. This article walks you through setting up a class structure, taking notes, attaching source material, scheduling exams, and managing your content across semesters.
Setting up your class structure
In RemNote, you organize your work using documents and folders. A document is a page where you write notes, create flashcards, and add content. A folder groups documents together, just like folders on your computer.
For a deeper look at how these work, see Documents and Folders.
To set up your class structure:
Click Create in the sidebar.
Select Folder and name it something like "Classes".
Inside that folder, create a subfolder for each class you're taking this semester by clicking the + button > Subfolder (e.g., Biology, Anatomy, Computer Science).
Within each class folder, click Create Notes to add a new document for each lecture, homework assignment, project, or anything else you want to organize.
When you're in a given lecture, open the corresponding document and start taking notes. You can type regular notes, hide bullets if you want, create flashcards, add headers, insert to-dos, and much more. Click the + button in the toolbar at the bottom of the editor to see all the different block types you can add.
Tip: Toggle open your Classes folder in the sidebar to see all of your content at a glance across every class
Finding your notes quickly
As your notes grow, you can use Global Search to instantly find any topic. Press Ctrl+P (Cmd+P on a Mac) or click in the Search box in the upper-left corner, and start typing.
Global Search also lets you search for specific text within your documents - when you click a result, you'll be taken directly to that location.
Attaching source material
If you're learning from a lecture PowerPoint, a PDF handout, a textbook, or any other file, you can attach it directly to a lecture document using Document Sources:
Open the document where you want to attach the file.
Click on the document title area and select Upload PDF/PPT.
Upload the file from your computer or paste a link.
The file will open in the RemNote Reader on the right side of your screen, next to your notes. You can reference it directly as you study: highlight a section, copy it, and paste it into your notes with Ctrl+V (or Cmd+V on a Mac).
When you come back to that document later, your linked PDF will be available right there. Open it on the side and you'll even jump back to the place where you left off reading.
You can also upload source material that isn't linked to a specific lecture. From inside a class folder, use the upload button to add the file. It will appear as its own item in the folder, and you can open it and take notes on it independently.
Scheduling exams
When you have an upcoming exam, you can store your exam dates and organize your practice directly in RemNote.
Creating an exam from a folder
The easiest way to set up an exam is from the folder that holds your material:
Open the folder for the subject or course you're studying.
Click the + button in the upper right of the folder and select Exam.
Choose which documents are covered on this exam, or select all documents in the folder.
Give the exam a name and set the date.
Adjust your exam details in the scheduler, then confirm.
Once you create the exam, a new Exams tab appears in the folder.
Switch to that tab to see your overall progress, the content included in the exam, and a weekly study plan showing how many cards you'll practice each week up to exam day.
Your exam is also added to your daily goal, so as long as you hit your goal each day, you'll stay on track automatically. To see a full calendar of upcoming practice, click Exams at the top of the Flashcard Home. RemNote will automatically compute a daily practice schedule to help you achieve mastery by your exam date.
For more details on how the exam scheduler works, see Preparing for an Exam.
Setting an exam date for a single document
If your exam only covers one document, or you prefer working with documents instead of folders, you can set an exam date directly on that document too:
Open the document.
Click the dropdown arrow next to the Practice button in the upper right.
Select Set Exam Date and set your date.
Managing content across semesters
When a semester ends, you can reorganize your content to keep things tidy:
Rename your current Classes folder to something like "Spring 2024 Classes."
Create a new folder for your upcoming semester's classes.
Set flashcard priorities to control what you see in your queue. Go to the Flashcard Home, scroll down, and click the Priority button next to each folder:
Currently Studying: Cards you're actively learning and focused on. Use this for your current semester.
Maintaining: Cards that appear in the queue after you finish all your Currently Studying cards.
Paused: Cards that won't appear in the global queue at all.
For more on setting priorities, see Setting Priorities and Disabling Flashcards.
Personalizing your workspace
Beyond class notes, you can organize all sorts of content on your sidebar. For example, you might create documents for current projects, upcoming to-dos, or even a personal homepage. To customize a homepage document:
Add an icon by clicking Document Style at the top (the smiley icon).
Turn on Hide Bullets for a cleaner look.
Add references to your current classes by typing
@followed by the class name.Use Columns to split your page into sections, or embed a website.
To discover all the formatting and content options available, type / anywhere in the editor to open the slash menu. For a full overview, see Formatting Your Notes.
Next steps
Make sure to download the desktop and mobile apps so that you have all of your flashcards, notes, and content available offline wherever you are.
For step-by-step interactive tutorials, open the Tutorials box in the bottom-left corner of the app and work through the "Organizing your school notes" section.
