> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.canvascope.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Lectra overview

> Lectra is a free iPad app for reading and marking up PDFs with Apple Pencil, keeping handwritten notebooks, scanning paper, and running Python, all in one place.

Lectra is a free app for iPad where you read, mark up, and work on your course documents. You open a PDF, write on it with Apple Pencil, add typed notes, and keep blank notebook pages and scans next to it. When the reading turns into work, Python notebooks, a terminal, and a code editor live in the same app.

Your library lives on your iPad and works without an internet connection. You don't need an account to use Lectra. If you sign in, Lectra also keeps a backup copy of your pages.

<Info>
  On the App Store, Lectra is listed as **Lectra Notes**. It is free, with no ads and no tracking.
</Info>

## Get started

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Install Lectra" icon="download" href="/lectra/install">
    Download the app, choose whether to sign in, and open your first document.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Organize your library" icon="folder-open" href="/lectra/library">
    Browse, sort, favorite, and file documents into folders.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Bring in documents" icon="file-import" href="/lectra/import">
    Add PDFs, images, and slides from Files, other apps, the share sheet, and Scope.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Mark up a document" icon="pen" href="/lectra/annotate">
    Write, highlight, erase, select, and draw shapes on any page.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Read and write

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Use Apple Pencil" icon="pencil" href="/lectra/apple-pencil">
    Double-tap, squeeze, hover, and finger-drawing options.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Add typed text" icon="font" href="/lectra/text">
    Place text boxes on a page and format them.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Create notebooks" icon="book" href="/lectra/notebooks">
    Start from blank, lined, grid, dotted, or Cornell paper.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Scan paper documents" icon="camera" href="/lectra/scan">
    Turn worksheets and handouts into PDFs you can mark up.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Search your library" icon="magnifying-glass" href="/lectra/search">
    Find words in your PDFs, your typed notes, and your handwriting.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Record lectures" icon="microphone" href="/lectra/record-lectures">
    Record while you write, then tap your notes to hear that moment.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Apple Intelligence" icon="sparkles" href="/lectra/apple-intelligence">
    Ask questions about your documents on your iPad, on supported devices.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Keep and share your work

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Export and share" icon="share-from-square" href="/lectra/export-and-share">
    Send a marked-up PDF anywhere, or save a full Lectra copy.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Backups" icon="cloud-arrow-up" href="/lectra/backups">
    Learn what is backed up when you sign in, and what stays on your iPad.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Version history" icon="clock-rotate-left" href="/lectra/version-history">
    Go back to an earlier version of a document.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Send between devices" icon="arrow-right-arrow-left" href="/lectra/send-between-devices">
    Move PDFs between Chrome, Lectra on your iPad, and your Mac.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Code and computing

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Python" icon="python" href="/lectra/python">
    Run Python on your iPad, with no internet connection needed.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Jupyter notebooks" icon="book-open" href="/lectra/jupyter-notebooks">
    Open and run `.ipynb` notebooks with charts.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Terminal" icon="terminal" href="/lectra/terminal">
    Use a shell on your iPad.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Git" icon="code-branch" href="/lectra/git">
    Clone, commit, and push projects.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Code editor" icon="code" href="/lectra/code-editor">
    Edit project files with syntax highlighting.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Lectra, your Mac, and Chrome

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Connect your Mac" icon="laptop" href="/lectra/mac">
    Install the free Mac menu bar app so your iPad can see and control your Mac, send it files, and share text with it.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Remote Desktop" icon="display" href="/lectra/remote-desktop">
    See and control your Mac from your iPad.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Lectra Receiver for Chrome" icon="inbox" href="/lectra/receiver">
    Send PDFs between Chrome and Lectra on your iPad.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Reference and help

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Settings" icon="gear" href="/lectra/settings">
    What every setting does.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Keyboard shortcuts" icon="keyboard" href="/lectra/keyboard-shortcuts">
    Shortcuts for a hardware keyboard.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Troubleshooting" icon="wrench" href="/lectra/troubleshooting">
    Fixes for common problems.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Get help" icon="life-ring" href="/resources/get-help">
    Contact the Scope team.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## What you need

* An iPad with iPadOS 18 or later. For the full list, see [System requirements](/get-started/system-requirements).
* Apple Pencil is recommended for handwriting.
* An account is optional. You need one only to back up your pages and to receive files sent from Scope. To learn more, see [Your Scope account](/get-started/account).

## Related

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Privacy" icon="shield" href="/get-started/privacy">
    How Scope handles your data.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Send files from Chrome to your iPad" icon="paper-plane" href="/chrome/send-to-ipad">
    Send a course file to Lectra in one tap with the Scope extension.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>


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