Objects are the building blocks of content in your .notebook files. An object is simply an item on a page that you create or import and then work with.

Writing, drawing and erasing digital ink

Digital ink is freehand text or objects that you create using your interactive display’s pen or pens, or the SMART Notebook software Pens tool. Writing or drawing digital ink enables you to quickly add content to your SMART Notebook software files, either when creating the files or when presenting

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the files to students.

After you create digital ink, you can erase it.

Writing, drawing and erasing digital ink

The easiest way to write or draw digital ink is to use your interactive display’s pen or pens.

You can also create freehand objects using the Pens tool. The Pens tool enables you to write or draw digital ink using the following pen types:

Pen type

Standard

Purpose and example

Write or draw digital ink in a variety of colors and line styles.

Notes

The Standard pen can be used for most writing applications.

Calligraphic

Write or draw digital ink, like you do with the Standard pen type, but with lines of varying thickness.

The Calligraphic pen type is useful for teaching students handwriting.

Crayon

Write or draw crayon-like digital ink.

Highlighter

Highlight text and other objects.

The Crayon pen type is intended for artistic work, such as painting and coloring pictures, rather than writing.

Use the Highlighter pen to add emphasis to text.

Text Write notes that automatically convert to editable text.

You can edit your text as you work without touching a keyboard.

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Pen type

Creative

Purpose and example

Add colorful elements to your presentations.

Notes

You can create custom Creative

pen styles (see Creating custom

Creative pen styles on page 108).

Paint Brush

Write or draw paint-like digital ink.

The Paint Brush pen type is intended for artistic work, such as painting and coloring pictures, rather than writing.

Magic

Shape

Recognition

Write or draw digital ink that fades after a few seconds.

Draw a variety of shapes with digital ink.

You can also use the Magic Pen to open a magnification window

or a spotlight window (see Using

the Magic Pen on page 159).

You can draw circles, ovals, squares, rectangles, triangles

and arcs (see Creating shapes

with the Shape Recognition Pen

tool on page 45).

To write or draw digital ink

1. Press Pens

The Pens tool buttons appear.

2. Press Pen Types, and then select a pen type.

3. Select a line type.

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4. Optionally, customize the line type using the property selectors.

NOTE

You can also customize the line type using the Properties tab (see Changing object

properties on page 68).

5. Write or draw digital ink on the page.

TIPS

Don’t rest your elbow or the palm of your hand on your interactive product’s surface while you write or draw.

If you write or draw multiple lines, SMART Notebook software automatically combines the lines into a single object. For example, if you write the letters of a word,

SMART Notebook software combines the individual letters, enabling you to interact with the whole word. If you want to write words on the same line but don’t want them combined, leave a large gap between them, use different pens, or briefly put the pen in the pen tray before writing another word (interactive whiteboards only).

If you want to write diagonally, write in a straight line, and then rotate it.

If you want to write in small letters, write large letters, and then reduce their size.

You can fill areas that you’ve enclosed with digital ink.

Erasing digital ink

You can erase digital ink from your interactive display using the eraser or the erasing gesture. If you’re erasing digital ink from a .notebook file page, you can also erase objects using the Eraser tool.

NOTE

Although you can erase digital ink, you’re unable to erase other types of objects, including shapes, lines, text and pictures. To remove these types of objects, you must delete them.

To erase digital ink

1. Press Eraser

, and then select an eraser type.

2. Erase the digital ink.

Creating shapes and lines

In addition to creating freehand shapes and lines by drawing digital ink, you can create shapes and

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lines using the tools in SMART Notebook software.

NOTE

To remove a shape or line from a page, you must delete it. The Eraser tool doesn’t remove shapes.

Creating shapes with the Shapes tool

You can use the Shapes tool to create a variety of shapes, including perfect circles, perfect squares, perfect triangles, other geometric shapes, hearts, check marks and Xs.

You can add a shape to your page, and then edit its properties. Alternatively, you can customize a shape’s outline color, fill color and line thickness, and then add it to your page.

To create a shape

1. Press Shapes

The Shapes tool buttons appear.

2. Select a shape on the toolbar.

Press and then select a shape.

3. Optionally, customize the shape using the property selectors.

NOTE

You can also customize the shape using the Properties tab (see Changing object properties on page 68).

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4. Create a shape by pressing where you want to place the shape and dragging until the shape is the size you want.

TIPS

You can create perfect circles, squares, triangles and other shapes by holding down

SHIFT as you draw the shape.

You can select a shape while the Shapes tool is active without having to switch to the Select tool . Press the shape once, and a selection rectangle appears around the shape.

Creating shapes with the Polygons tool

In addition to creating shapes using the Shapes tool, you can create regular polygons with 3 to 15 sides using the Regular Polygons tool.

To create a shape with the Regular Polygons tool

1. Press Regular Polygons

The Regular Polygons tool buttons appear.

2. Select a shape on the toolbar.

Press and then select a shape.

NOTE

The number in the shape indicates its number of sides.

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3. Optionally, customize the shape using the property selectors.

NOTE

You can also customize the shape using the Properties tab.

4. Create a shape by pressing where you want to place the shape and dragging until the shape is the size you want.

Creating shapes with the Shape Recognition Pen tool

You can use the Shape Recognition Pen tool to draw circles, ovals, squares, rectangles, triangles and arcs.

To draw a shape

1. Press Pens

The Pens tool buttons appear.

2. Press Pen Types, and then select Shape Recognition Pen.

3. Draw a shape on the page.

If SMART Notebook software recognizes your drawing as a circle, oval, square, rectangle, triangle or arc, it adds this shape to the page.

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Creating straight lines and arcs

You can use the Lines tool to draw straight lines and arcs.

You can add a line to your page, and then edit its properties. Alternatively, you can customize the line, and then add it to your page.

To create a straight line or arc

1. Press Lines

The Lines tool buttons appear.

2. Select a line or arc type.

3. Optionally, customize the line or arc type using the property selectors.

NOTE

You can also customize the line or arc type using the Properties tab (see Changing object

properties on page 68).

4. Create a line by pressing where you want the line to start and dragging to where you want the line to end.

Creating and working with text

You can create text in SMART Notebook software by doing any of the following: l

Typing the text using a keyboard connected to your computer l

Typing the text using the on-screen keybarod l

Writing the text and then converting it to typed text using the software’s handwriting recognition feature

After creating text, you can edit it, check its spelling and change its properties, including font style, size and color.

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Typing text

You can type new text or edit existing text.

To type new text

1. If a keyboard isn’t accessible, press and hold SMART Board Tools in the notification area

(Windows operating systems) or the Dock (OS X operating system software), and then select

Keyboard.

2. Press Text Properties

, and then select an available font style.

3. Optionally, customize the font style (see Formatting text below).

4. Press where you want the text to start.

5. Type your text.

6. When you’re done, press outside the text object.

To edit existing text

1. Double-click the text object.

2. Edit the text.

3. When you’re done, press outside the text object.

Formatting text

If you want to format all text in a text object, select the text object.

If you want to format specific text in a text object, double-click the text object, and then select the text.

You can format text using the buttons in the toolbar or the options in the Properties tab or the

Format menu.

NOTE

If the Properties tab isn’t visible, press Properties , and then press Text Style.

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The following table presents the formatting changes that you can make using the above tools:

Change Toolbar Properties tab

Format menu

Character, paragraph or object level

Change the font face

Change the font size

Yes

TIP

To select a font size that doesn’t appear in the drop-down list (including font sizes with decimal values such as 20.5), type the font size in the Font

Size box on the toolbar.

Change the color

Bold, italicize or underline text

Strike out text

Superscript or subscript text

Paragraph or object level

Change justification (left, right or center)

Change indentation

Create a bulleted or numbered list

Insert a drop cap

TIP

To insert a drop cap at the beginning of a paragraph, press Drop Cap in the Properties tab under Text Style.

Select Format > Paragraph > Drop Cap.

Yes

Under More Text Options

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Change

Change line spacing

TIP

To add spacing between paragraphs, select the

Add space after paragraphs check box in the

Properties tab or select Format > Paragraph >

Line Spacing > Add space after paragraphs.

Change language direction (left-to-right or right-toleft)

NOTE

Select Format > Paragraph > Direction > Left to

Right for languages that read left to right (for

example, English and French).

Select Format > Paragraph > Direction > Right to

Left for languages that read right to left (for

example, Arabic and Hebrew).

Object level

Change text direction (horizontal or vertical)

Change transparency

Toolbar

Properties tab

Yes

Format menu

Yes

Resizing text objects

When you resize a text object, the text in the object changes size.

If you want to resize the text object without changing the size of the text in the object, complete the following procedure.

To resize a text object

1. Double-click the text object.

2. Press one of the two white circles on either side of text object, and then drag the circle to increase or reduce the text object’s size.

Under More Text Options

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Cutting, copying and pasting text objects

You can cut, copy and paste text objects like any other objects. You can also cut and paste text in a text object.

To cut and paste text to another location on the same page

1. Double-click the text object.

2. Select the text you want to cut.

3. Drag the selected text to another location on the same page.

To cut and paste text to another page

1. If the Page Sorter tab isn’t visible, press Page Sorter

2. Double-click the text object.

3. Select the text you want to copy.

4. Drag the selected text to the other page’s icon in the Page Sorter tab.

Inserting mathematical symbols

You can insert a variety of mathematical and scientific symbols into a page.

NOTE

The mathematical symbols are characters only. They don’t perform mathematical operations.

To insert a mathematical symbol

1. Type text on a page.

2. Press More Text Options and then select Insert Symbol .

A dialog box appears.

3. Press a category.

A list of symbols appears.

4. Press the symbol you want to add to the text.

5. Press Insert.

The symbol appears in the text object.

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Checking the spelling of text

As you type text, SMART Notebook software checks the spelling. If you spell a word incorrectly,

SMART Notebook software underlines the word red. You can then right-click the word and select the correct spelling from a list of options.

If you prefer, you can disable this feature and check the spelling using the Spelling Check dialog box.

To disable automatic spell checking

1. Press Text .

2. Press More Text Options , and then select Check Spelling .

To manually check spelling of a text object

1. Select the text object.

2. Press the object’s menu arrow, and then select Check Spelling.

If SMART Notebook software finds a misspelled word, the Spelling Check dialog box appears

For OS X, the Spelling and Grammar dialog box appears. This dialog box displays the misspelled word and suggests alternatives.

3. For each misspelled word, do one of the following: o

To keep the word’s current spelling for this instance, press Ignore Once.

To keep the word’s current spelling for all instances in the file, press Ignore All.

To keep the word’s current spelling for all instances in the file and add the spelling to the dictionary, press Add to Dictionary.

To change the word’s spelling for this instance, select the correct word in the

Suggestions list, and then press Change.

To change the word’s spelling for all instances in the file, select the correct word in the

Suggestions list, and then press Change All.

NOTE

If you pressed a button by mistake, press Undo to undo the resulting change.

After you complete this step for each misspelled word, a dialog box appears asking whether you want to check the spelling in the rest of the file.

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4. Press Yes to check the remainder of the file.

Press No to close the Spelling Check dialog box without checking the rest of the file.

Creating and working with tables

You can create tables in SMART Notebook software or paste them from other programs. After you create a table, you can insert objects into the table’s cells.

If you want to customize a table, you can select a table, column, row, cell or selection of cells, and then do any of the following: l

Move the table l

Change line type, fill and text properties l

Resize the table, a column or a row l

Insert or remove columns, rows or cells l

Split or merge cells l

Delete the table

Creating tables

To insert a table using the Table button

1. Press Table .

A grid appears.

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2. Move the pointer over the grid to select the number of columns and rows that you want in the table.

NOTE

The cells of the grid correspond to the cells of your table.

TIP

The grid displays eight rows and eight columns by default. You can add rows by moving the pointer past the bottom row. Similarly, you can add columns by moving the pointer past the right row.

If you’re using a mouse, click and hold the left mouse button while moving the pointer.

3. Press the screen or click your mouse.

The table appears on the page.

To insert a table using the Insert Table dialog box

1. Select Insert > Table.

The Insert Table dialog box appears.

2. Type the number of rows and columns in the boxes.

3. Optionally, select Make cells square to make the table cells square.

4. Optionally, select Remember dimensions for new tables to use the current table dimensions for all future tables that you create in SMART Notebook software.

5. Press OK.

The table appears on the page.

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To draw a table

1. Press Pens

The Pens tool buttons appear.

2. Press Pen Types, and then select Pen or Calligraphic Pen.

3. Select a line type.

4. Draw a table on the screen.

TIP

Make the lines of the table as straight as possible and connect the corners.

5. Press Select

6. Select your drawing.

7. Press the menu arrow, and then select Recognize Table.

If SMART Notebook software recognizes your drawing as a table, it removes your drawing and adds a table to the page.

Selecting tables, columns, rows or cells

You can select a table, column, row, cell or selection of cells. After you select a table or part of a table, you can do the following: l

Move the table l

Change the table’s or cells’ properties l

Resize the table, columns or rows l

Add or remove columns, rows or cells l

Split or merge cells l

Delete the table

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To select a table

1. Press Select

2. Press outside, but near to, a corner of the table, and then drag to the opposite corner.

NOTE

Don’t start dragging from inside the table. If you do, you select a table cell instead of the table.

To select a column

1. Press Select

2. Press inside the column’s top cell, and then drag to the bottom cell.

To select a row

1. Press Select

2. Press inside the row’s leftmost cell, and then drag to the rightmost cell.

To select a cell

1. Press Select .

2. Press inside the cell.

To select multiple cells

1. Press Select

2. Press inside the top and leftmost cell, and then drag to the bottom and rightmost cell.

NOTE

If you select multiple cells and drag them to a different position on the page, you create a new table consisting of the selected cells and their contents.

Adding or removing columns, rows or cells

If you want to customize a table, you can add columns or rows.

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To add a column

1. Select a column.

2. Press the column’s menu arrow, and then select Insert Column.

A new column appears to the right of the current column.

To remove a column

1. Select the column.

2. Press the column’s menu arrow, and then select Delete Column.

To add a row

1. Select a row.

2. Press the row’s menu arrow, and then select Insert Row.

A new row appears below the current row.

To remove a row

1. Select the row.

2. Press the row’s menu arrow, and then select Delete Row.

To remove a cell

1. Select the cell.

2. Press the cell’s menu arrow, and then select Delete Cells.

NOTE

Removing a cell deletes the contents of the cell.

You’re unable to remove a cell if it provides the only connection between two halves of a table.

Resizing tables, columns or rows

If you want to customize a table, you can resize the table, a column or a row.

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To resize a table

1. Select the table.

2. Press the table’s resize handle (the gray circle), and then drag it to increase or reduce the size of the table.

To resize a column

1. Press Select

2. Press the vertical border to the right of the column.

A resize pointer appears.

3. Drag the vertical border to resize the column.

To resize a row

1. Press Select

2. Press the horizontal border below the row.

A resize pointer appears.

3. Drag the horizontal border to resize the row.

To resize all cells in a table

1. Select the table.

2. Press the table’s menu arrow, and then select Adjust size.

3. Select one of the following options: o

Make same height to make all cells in the table the same height.

Make same width to make all cells in the table the same width.

Make same size to make all cells in the table the same height and width.

Make cells square to make all cells in the table square.

Adding objects to tables

After you insert a table on a page, you can insert objects into the table’s cells.

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NOTE

You can add only one object to each cell. If you want to add multiple objects to a cell, do one of the following: l

Group the objects before adding them to the table (see Grouping objects on page 80).

Select all of the objects at once, and then add them to the table as described in the following procedure. SMART Notebook software automatically groups the objects in the table cell.

To add an object to a table

1. Select the object.

2. Drag the object to the table cell.

NOTE

You’re unable to move an object if it’s locked in place.

The object appears in the table cell.

NOTE

If you add a text object to a table, the cell resizes to fit to the text object. If you add other object types to the table, the object resizes to fit the cell.

To remove an object from a table

1. Select the object.

2. Drag the object out of the table.

Moving tables

After you create a table, you can move it on the page.

To move a table

Select the table, and then drag it to a different position on the page.

Select all of the table’s cells, and then drag the cells to a different position on the page.

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Changing a table’s properties

You can use the Properties tab to change the table’s properties, including its transparency, cell color and line color.

To change a table’s fill

1. S elect a table, column, row, cell or selection of cells.

2. Press the table’s, column’s, row’s or cell’s menu arrow, and then select Properties.

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3. Press Fill Effects.

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4. Select a fill style:

Fill style

None (transparent)

Solid color

Gradient of two colors

Pattern

Picture

Procedure

Select No fill.

a. Select Solid fill.

b. Do one of the following: o

Select one of the 40 colors in the palette.

Press More, and then select a color in the dialog box.

Press the eyedropper , and then select a color on the screen.

a. Select Gradient fill.

b. For each color, do one of the following: o

Select one of the 40 colors in the palette.

Press More, and then select a color in the dialog box.

Press the eyedropper , and then select a color on the screen.

c. Select an option in the Style drop-down list.

a. Select Pattern fill.

b. Select a pattern.

c. Press Foreground color, select a color in the dialog box, and then press OK.

d. Press Background color, select a color in the dialog box, and then press OK.

a. Select Image fill.

b. Press Browse.

A dialog box appears.

c. Browse to and select the picture you want to use as a background, and then press Open.

NOTE

If you insert a large picture, a dialog box may appear and prompt you to either reduce the picture’s file size or retain the

picture’s file size. For more information, see Setting image

optimization preferences on page 185.

d. Select Keep image size to keep the picture’s size, regardless of whether the picture is larger or smaller than the object.

Select Scale image to fit to resize the picture to fit the object.

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5. Optionally, drag the Object transparency slider to the right to make the table transparent.

To change a table’s line style

1. Select a table.

NOTE

You can only change the line style of an entire table, not individual cells, columns or rows.

2. Press the table’s, column’s, row’s or cell’s menu arrow, and then select Properties.

3. Press Line Style.

4. Change the table’s line style.

To change a table’s text style

1. Select a table, column, row, cell or selection of cells.

2. Press the table’s, column’s, row’s or cell’s menu arrow, and then select Properties.

3. Press Text Style.

4. Change the table’s text style (see Formatting text on page 47).

Splitting or merging table cells

You can add tables to your page and insert objects into the table’s cells. If you want to customize a table, you can split or merge cells.

To split a cell

1. Select the cell.

2. Press the cell’s menu arrow, and then select Split.

3. Select an option to split the cell into multiple rows and/or columns.

NOTE

If you split a cell that contains content, the content appears in the upper-left cell after the split.

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To merge cells

1. Select the cells.

2. Press the cells’ menu arrow, and then select Merge Cells.

NOTE

If you merge cells that contain content, the merged cell contains the contents of the top-left cell. If the top-left cell is empty, the merged cell contains the contents of the next available non-empty cell, moving from left to right, top to bottom.