Many Google users have already begun using the company’s Keep app to make notes across their mobile devices and the Chrome web browser. Now, the browser-based version of Keep has been updated to give users the option of using drawing tools to take their notes.
The new functionality closely resembles its implementation in the Android version, which gained support for drawing and doodling over a year ago, according to a report from 9to5Google. To get started, users can either select the “new note with drawing option” from the “take a note” toolbar, or simply go into an existing note and click “add drawing.”
At that point, Keep opens a blank canvas and offers up a selection of drawing tools. A pencil, a marker, and a highlighter are all available, and each of these three options can be customized with six different tip sizes and a palette of 28 different colors.
There’s also an eraser to take care of any mistakes that the undo and redo buttons can’t take care of. Finally, there’s a handy tool that can select groups of drawings in order to adjust their size and positioning after they’ve been sketched out.
While these drawing options work fine using a trackpad or a mouse, it’s clear that they’re intended for use with a touch-based interface. The fact that Google is bringing these capabilities from the mobile versions of Keep to its web app might suggest that touchscreens will be a prominent component of future Chromebook devices.
As of the time of writing, Google Keep’s new drawing functionality is only available through a packaged app from the Chrome Web Store, rather than being accessible via the web-based version of the app. However, it seems likely that all iterations of the app will receive these features sooner or later.
