Documentation

Quick-Start Guide

Get from zero to your first NotesXML note in about 5 minutes.

1. Download and install

NotesXML is available on four platforms. Pick yours:

2. First-launch wizard

The first time you launch NotesXML, a brief setup wizard runs:

  1. Choose a location for your notebooks (defaults to ~/Documents/NotesXML on desktop, app private storage on Android).
  2. Pick an initial theme (4 themes are free, all 16 themes unlock with Professional).
  3. Optionally download the Free tier AI model (Llama 3.2 1B, ~0.79 GB).
  4. Optionally download the Whisper voice transcription model (~80 MB).

You can skip any step and revisit it later in Settings.

3. Create your first notebook

Notebooks are containers for related notes — like physical notebooks, but searchable. From the main view:

  1. Tap (or click) the + New Notebook button in the sidebar.
  2. Give it a name (e.g. "Meeting Notes," "Project Apollo," "Recipes").
  3. Optionally set an icon and a description.
  4. Tap Create.

Notebooks live as .nxl files on your device — you can move them, back them up, sync them via Google Drive or Dropbox, or open them in any text editor.

4. Note types

NotesXML supports 22 different note types. Pick the right type for the content:

5. AI model download

NotesXML's AI runs entirely on your device. To use AI features (summarize, polish, translate, AI Chat), you need at least one model downloaded:

  1. Open Settings → AI Engine.
  2. Tap Manage Models.
  3. Pick a model that fits your hardware. The list shows download size and peak RAM. Llama 3.2 1B Instruct is the Android free-tier starter (0.79 GB download, 1.3 GB peak RAM).
  4. Tap Download. Models download from Hugging Face; the first download may take a few minutes.
  5. Once downloaded, the model is loaded automatically the next time you invoke an AI feature.

The full 11-model catalog is available at Products → AI Models. Free tier ships with Llama 3.2 1B Instruct (lower) and Ministral 3 3B (upper, vision-capable); Professional tier unlocks all 11 models.

6. License activation

If you purchased a Professional license (direct from website) or a Beta key:

  1. Open Settings → License.
  2. Tap Activate.
  3. Paste your license key (formats: PRO-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX, ACAD-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX, or BETA-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX).
  4. Tap Activate again.

The license is valid on up to 5 devices. If you've already activated 5 devices, use Manage Devices to deactivate one before adding a new one.

Google Play and Microsoft Store purchases activate automatically — no key entry required.

Beyond the Quick-Start

The full reference documentation is the in-app Help Guide (Help menu → User Guide). It covers all 22 note types, every AI feature, PDF annotation tools, sync setup, and platform-specific quirks.

Documentation Roadmap

Per Spec Section 6.1, we are progressively publishing comprehensive online docs. Status:

Support