Memory Books: Reading, the Bookshelf and Export

Once you have written a few pages, this page explains how to read your book, change the page order, change the cover, tidy the books on your desk, and export a book as a file to share or print. If you do not have a book yet, read Memory Books: Start One and Arrange It on the Desk first.

Open a book

In the Memory Forest, lift the small corner at the bottom right of the top area to reach the desk:

• The book lying open at the top: tap Read from the Start to read from the first page, or Keep Writing to go straight to the most recent page.
• Other books lying on the desk: tap a cover to open it.

Turn the pages

• Swipe left and right to turn pages back and forth.
• Page corner: drag the bottom right corner of the paper up and to the left to turn to the next page.
• Pinch to zoom in on details.
• Bookmark ribbon: a ribbon the same color as the cloth hangs from the top edge of the screen. Tap it, or pull it down, to open all pages.

On the last page, pull further left, and let go when you see “Release to Add Page” to add a new page (up to 5 pages per book on the free plan).

Tap the middle of the page to show the toolbar: the title and page number at the top (such as “3 / 12”), the green Write This Page and ··· at the top right, and a progress bar at the bottom that you can drag to jump between pages. Tap the middle of the page again to hide it.

··· holds All Pages, New Page, Edit Page, Export…, Desk Tone (the color of the desk while you read), Use Current Page as Cover and Delete Page.

All Pages: reorder, duplicate and delete

Tap the bookmark ribbon, or choose All Pages from ···, to see a thumbnail of every page. Tap a page to turn to it.

To change the page order:

1. Tap Reorder (it appears only when there are 2 or more pages).
2. Drag the handle on the right of each row.
3. Tap Done.

To move a page by just one spot, touch and hold it and choose Move Up or Move Down. The same menu also has Duplicate Page and Delete Page.

To delete several pages at once: tap Select, tap the pages to delete, then tap the delete button for the selected pages. A book must keep at least one page.

The page order sets the reading order, and the page numbers when you export.

Deleting a page cannot be undone, and everything on that page is deleted with it. To reuse a layout, duplicate the page first and then replace what is on it.

The cover

• Cloth cover: the cloth, marks, layout and stamping you chose when you made the book. On the desk, touch and hold the book and choose Edit Cover to bind it again.
• Use a page as the cover: turn to that page, tap ··· and choose Use Current Page as Cover. The page is mounted on the cloth with four photo corners, and the cover changes whenever you change that page. The menu then shows “Current Page is Cover”.

Using a page as the cover does not change the page order; that page is not moved to the front.

Tidy the books on your desk

On the desk, touch and hold a book lying there to Move Backward, Move Forward, Edit Cover, Rename or Delete. The book lying open at the top has no touch-and-hold menu; once you write in another book, it goes back to lying on the desk.

When you have two or more books, Organize Bookshelf appears at the top right of the desk: drag the handles on the right into order, then tap Done.

Deleted books do not go to More › Recycle Bin, so you cannot get them back from there. Before you delete a whole book, export the pages you want to keep.

Export as PDF or PNG

1. Open the book and tap the middle of the page to show the toolbar.
2. Tap ··· and choose Export….
3. In Export Notebook, choose a format: PDF or PNG Images.
4. Under Pages to Include, choose All Pages, Current Page or Page Range.
5. Tap Export…. When it is ready, tap Share or Save… and, in the share sheet, save to Files, save the images, or send it to someone.

Fill in a Page Range under Page Numbers & Ranges, such as 1-3, 5, 8-10. Page numbers start at 1, and pages are exported in the book’s order, not the order you typed.

Exported files are not saved to Photos or any folder automatically; you choose where in the share sheet. They are finished pages for people to look at, and cannot be used to restore or keep editing the book. To back up the book itself, see Forest Backup & Restoration.

Exporting on the free plan

On the free plan, if you have more than 1 book, or any book has more than 5 pages (for example, after a subscription ends), all exports are paused, PNG included. Delete down to 1 book of no more than 5 pages, or renew your subscription, and you can export again. The books themselves are never deleted.

Common questions

Can I jump from page 1 straight to the last page?

Yes. Tap the bookmark ribbon to open all pages, then tap the last one; or drag the progress bar at the bottom.

It says a page could not be prepared?

The photos on that page may not have synced down yet. Wait until they have loaded, then export again.

Can I still change the book after exporting?

Yes. The exported file is separate from the book. Go back to the desk, open the book and keep writing.

Related guides

• Memory Books: Start One and Arrange It on the Desk
• Memory Forest and Moments in Time