Two Ways to Export Audio Files from Notability

Audio files are too big.

Here you were, diligently taking electronic notes during a deposition with Notability ($0.99), a digital handwriting app for the iPad, and now it’s time to send your notes to the office. The handwriting exports fine – it’s a .pdf file with digital ink, and sending a few pages of notes is a snap. But audio recordings? The files are huge and email is cumbersome.

Fortunately, there’s an easy way to sidestep email and send audio from Notability – see how below.

How to Record Audio in Notability

Here’s a quick overview on recording audio in Notability while you take notes.

Open a new note (“Create New Note”):

Click on the microphone icon in the upper left corner:

Then, as you type/write/highlight text, audio seamlessly records in the background. You can even switch to a different app (such as check a pleading in GoodReader) while Notability records audio.

It’s an incredible feature, one that has been immensely helpful in depositions, witness interviews, and sometimes court proceedings (if the judge allows it). Always be sure to ask your audience’s permission to record – the last thing you want as an attorney is to violate some federal wiretapping law – and click on the stop button to end your recording.

How to Send Audio from Notability

Now, it’s time export your audio recording from Notability after you have finished taking notes.

Click on the box-and-arrow button and select ”Choose Destination” in the upper left corner:

You have several options under including email, Dropbox, or Open-in, depending on the size of the audio file.

(a) Audio File <10 minutes? Use Email

If the audio file is small (less than 10 minutes), you can email the note to your office.

Select Email, then under “Choose Format,” move the on switch for Paper and Recordings:

The entire note (.pdf file plus audio file) will email as a .zip file, which you must unzip at your desktop once you receive it at the office.

(b) Audio File >10 minutes? Use Dropbox

If the audio file is large (greater than 10 minutes), email won’t work – instead, use Dropbox as a secure tunnel to move your audio file to your desktop computer.

Select Dropbox, then under “Choose Format,” move the on switch for Paper and Recordings, and click Send to Dropbox:

The notes will take several minutes to process and upload to your Dropbox account, depending on the length of the audio recording. The best advice after a lengthy hour hearing is to start the upload at your office, then set your iPad aside on your desk while you complete other work.

Conclusion

Audio is irrefutable evidence and integral to trial preparation.

After an important meeting, you can upload the audio file to your iPod and listen to the recording while you drive to a hearing.

You can also store copies of recordings in GoodReader client folders (synced with Dropbox), which you can play from your iPad to a reluctant witness whose testimony has shifted in the courthouse hallway minutes before trial.

You would ask the witness, “Is that your voice?” ”Ah, yes, now I remember,” as you close your iPad and enter the courtroom.