Get Started with Google Keep
Keep is available as an app, or you can access Google Keep on the desktop using the Keep site. If you use Chrome, install the Chrome extension to make it easier to save bookmarks as you surf the web. After you download the app or are on the Keep page on your desktop, a prompt asks you to enter your Google account information. Download Google Keep For: The Google Keep app looks and operates almost identical on both the iOS and Android apps. There’s a difference between how the app works on these devices only when you interact with the phone’s software, such as saving a bookmark to Keep. Here are instructions for the app, desktop versions, and for specific devices.
How to Set Up Google Keep
You can choose preferences for the way you engage and how Google Keep appears in the Settings menu. Use these preferences to control where notes appear, set default times for reminders, and display images on bookmarks with rich links.
Create and Organize Notes
After you create a note, you can use labels and colors to organize notes so that your important information is easy to find. To make your notes more efficient, pin notes you view frequently and archive notes you no longer need.
Add Drawing and Handwriting to Keep
If you draw a note or create a photo note, Keep uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to turn the words in the image into text. To activate this feature on a mobile device, select the photo, choose the three dots in the upper-right corner of the screen, and then select Grab image text. On the desktop version, the three dots are at the bottom of the screen. On the desktop version, select the notes you want to label, choose the three-dot menu in the upper-right corner, then select Add Label. Type the name of the label you want to create. The stylus icon in Google Keep works on the desktop version with a mouse, and on mobile devices and tablets using your finger or a stylus. You can customize the color and switch between pen, marker, or highlighter. You can also select the eraser to start over. To access the stylus on the desktop, select the three vertical dots at the bottom of a note, then choose Add Drawing. On mobile devices, select the + sign at the bottom of the note.
Work with To-Do Lists
To turn any note into a checklist, select the more sign at the bottom of the screen and choose Show checkboxes. When you check off an item as done, Keep moves the item to the bottom of the note, with a line crossed through so that you can see completed tasks.
Share and Copy Notes
Keep lets you share notes with contacts, automatically syncing any updates or additions across a team of collaborators.
Use Keep to Save Bookmarks From the Web
The Google Keep Chrome extension adds the Keep icon to the top of the Google Chrome web browser. When you are on a web page that you’d like to save, click the Keep icon and Keep creates a new bookmark of the page. Keep also copies the text you highlight on a web page on the same note. You can continue to copy text from the article by clicking the Keep button, and Keep continues to add the text you highlight to the same note. On Android, send a bookmark to Google Keep by selecting the three dots at the top of the web page you want to save and choosing Share link. Select Keep from the apps that appear. On iOS, select the Share button while visiting a web page you want to save, then choose Keep. Keep automatically creates a note. If Google Keep does not appear as an option, select More and add Google Keep to the list of options.
Automatically Sync Keep Across All Your Devices
Google Keep data syncs to the cloud through an internet connection. Keep is still available offline, but new notes and edits to existing notes don’t sync until you connect to the internet. Syncing is automatic, regardless of the device you use to access Keep. To open your Keep notes on any device, log in to your Google account.
