It has been considered one of the best note-taking applications for mobile use, but it is also a very efficient note-taker on PC. Here’s why you should consider using Google Keep on your Windows PC.
What Is Google Keep?
Google Keep is a note-taking application developed by Google that helps you make and organize lists and notes, keep them secure, and access them on the go. Thus, you never have to worry about forgetting your notes anymore, as you can store them electronically and access them anywhere.
The Google Keep mobile application is available for free download on iOS and Android, while a web-based one is also available for PCs, making it readily accessible.
Benefits of Google Keep on Windows
Despite Google Keep’s popularity on mobile devices, it’s also a fantastic Windows app. Here’s why.
1. Google Keep Is Easy to Use
Google Keep has a very simple interface that makes it easy for you to navigate, simplifying how you write, save, and alter your notes. Unlike other popular note-taking applications, you do not have to go through different complex formatting options before you start writing your note or adding to your list.
Clicking on a simple dropdown bar is all you need to do to start taking down notes. You can easily start a New list, a New note with drawing, or a New note with image from this panel.
As such, first-time users will have few problems adjusting to this service. Coupled with its relatively simple interface, each icon on Google Keep also displays descriptive text that appears once you hover above any of the features.
The easy-to-use interface also means you can easily organize and keep track of your notes. This simplicity is unlike most other note-taking applications where you have to classify your notes into folders and subfolders to keep them organized.
Google Keep looks like a wall of neatly organized sticky notes, almost like how you arrange notes, lists, and other instructions on your fridge. You can also pin notes to the top for easy access, add reminders to notes, archive older notes, add pictures, or change their background easily.
Also, to easily access notes, you can filter content by label, color, and even their attributes. These features make Google Keep easy to use, increasing your productivity by making note-taking seamless and hassle-free.
2. Google Keep Is Free
Unlike some high-end note-taking applications, Google Keep is free and has no special features requiring a subscription before you can access it. All you need is a Google account.
An existing account gives you automatic access and only requires you to sign in to Google Keep to start using it. If you need help, check out our guide on how to set up a new Gmail account.
However, it would help if you remembered that each Google Account is entitled to 15 GB of storage which you are to use for all Google-related services. The good part is that your notes will not take a lot of space on your drive.
3. Google Keep Comes With Data Synchronization
Google Keep is an integral part of the Google ecosystem. As such, you can easily share your content across the different services that Google operates, including Google Drive.
As a result, you can easily share and access content across the different Google services you use. Google Keep works closely with Google Drive, automatically saving your notes as you alter them.
This means your notes will be safely backed up to your Drive at all times, giving you access to them wherever you are.
You can also copy the content of a Keep Note to Google Docs by simply clicking on Copy to Google Docs. All the content in your note will automatically be copied for you and replicated in a new document.
In addition, you can also access the Keep notepad via Google Docs by clicking on the Tools menu, which will display all your Keep notes written with that account in a side panel. This is a handy feature as it enables you seamlessly transfer ideas and content you have jotted on Keep to Docs.
4. Google Keep Allows for Collaboration
Another benefit of using Google Keep is that you can work on tasks and projects with others in real-time. By adding collaborators, you give them the ability to contribute by editing, adding text, images, voice recordings, and even drawings to the note.
Click on the Collaborator icon (marked by the silhouette of a person with a plus sign beside it). This will enable you to add people as collaborators to the note via their names or email addresses.
5. Google Keeps Can Give You Reminders
Not only can you make notes on Google Keep, but you can also set reminders. With this feature, you can attach reminders to the important things you have written down.
The best part of this feature is that Keep communicates this reminder with other Google services such as Google Calendar, ensuring that you never miss an event you have set a reminder for.
In addition to time-based reminders, you can create reminders that will be activated when you are in a particular place, such as home or work. You can also decide to set up time and location-based reminders simultaneously.
Is Google Keep Better on PC or Mobile?
Google Keep is better on mobile as, in addition to the features it shares with its PC counterpart, it also has a few perks not readily available on the web version.
There is no PC application for Google Keep, unlike mobile; you need an internet connection to get the most out of it. However, if you already have Keep opened, you can change an existing file and even create a new note without an internet connection.
Also, on the mobile application, you can easily dictate notes through the Speech-to-text tool, automatically transcribing your words into text. This handy feature, however, is not available on the PC version.
Optical Character Recognition on the PC version is also not as efficient on the web application as on mobile. On the mobile app, you can copy text from a picture to a note in two ways; by exporting images to Google Keep and then copying the text from there, or by capturing an image right there in the application.
The latter is a handy tool as sometimes, you will not have the image and will need to take a picture before you can convert it to text. At the same time, on the PC version, you can only use Optical Character Recognition on images you already have on your system, making it more stressful to use.
Note that Google Keep for PC is seamlessly connected with the rest of the Google ecosystem (especially Google Docs), making it an excellent choice for note-taking on your PC if you already use other Google services– which you likely do.
Despite all the differences between Google Keep on PC and mobile, the web-based version is still a great note-taking application due to its simple elegance and collaboration features.
These attributes keep it on par with its PC competitors, so you should not be discouraged from using it because the mobile application is debatably better. To get the most out of Keep on PC, you should check out our guide on how to use the Google Keep extension.
Note-Taking in the Modern Day
Taking notes has never been as good as it is now, as there are different note-taking applications for you to choose from that will offer you great value. However, Google Keep is one of the best options as it comes with a lot of perks alongside it being free.
