This is a feature that many users voice the need for in conversations & online GoodNotes forums. Thanks very much.

I frequently work with many notebooks throughout the day on my iPad using GoodNotes. While the current open notebooks carousel (tabs) at the top of the screen is useful for a few notebooks, it becomes cumbersome and inefficient when managing & switching between numerous notebooks simultaneously.

I would love to see a pop-out side menu (from the left or right side of the screen) that displays all open notebooks in a vertical list. This would:

- Provide a clearer overview of all open notebooks at once
- Enable faster switching between notebooks without lengthy horizontal scrolling
- Improve productivity for users handling multiple projects, meetings, or clients daily

This feature would greatly enhance multitasking and organization within GoodNotes on iPad.

Thank you for considering this request!

I would like to request a more visually structured and collapsible nested hierarchy in the Library, similar to the Subject → Divider → Note system used in Notability.

While GoodNotes currently supports folders and subfolders, the structure can feel visually flat when managing many courses. A more clearly defined nested interface would improve overview and navigation.

Requested improvements:
1. Collapsible parent folders
• Ability to expand/collapse folder levels directly in the Library view
• Clear indentation to visually distinguish hierarchy depth
2. Dedicated “Subject-level” containers (optional layer above folders)
• A top-level grouping system specifically designed for academic subjects
• This would help separate semesters or major categories cleanly
3. Improved visual nesting clarity
• Stronger indentation spacing
• Subtle UI cues (lines, spacing, or grouping indicators) to make hierarchy easier to scan
4. Quick overview mode
• Ability to collapse everything and see only top-level subjects
• Expand only the area currently being used

Why this would help:

For students managing multiple subjects, lectures, practice sets, and summaries, a clearer hierarchical overview reduces cognitive load and improves navigation speed. The goal is not more complexity, but a cleaner visual structure that makes large libraries easier to manage.

At the moment, browsing folders requires opening them one by one, which makes it difficult to maintain context within the broader file structure. I would like to propose the addition of a column-based file view, similar to the column view available in Windows File Explorer or macOS Finder.

In this view, folders would open in adjacent columns rather than replacing the current view. This would allow users to:

- See the full folder path at a glance
- Navigate through nested folders without losing perspective of the directory structure
- Quickly move between hierarchy levels
- Drag and organize files more efficiently

A column view would be especially valuable for users managing large numbers of notebooks and subfolders, as it would provide better structural visibility and reduce navigation friction.

Extremely important for me. This is the only thing that keeps me from switching to Goodnotes, please add this.

This!!

Please a File Tree overview is desperately needed.

And in addition to what OP suggested, I'd also think that on the main library view this File Tree view should be accessible as well.

And while it's open within the document, it should have the option to open files in a new tab OR in the current tab. Both situations can be very useful.

It is obvious that the File Tree is implemented somewhere already, since for example when hyperlinking between documents, it shows a File Tree to select the location.

Now that custom outlining for documents was finally implemented, I feel like this would be the next step to have proper control over navigating and organizing within goodnotes.

Ideally also the ability to sort files manually instead of just by date, type, etc.

Dear GoodNotes Team,

I am an academic researcher who relies heavily on GoodNotes for managing extensive libraries of notes, e-textbooks, and research data.

I would like to propose a specific workflow improvement that combines the best of OneNote’s navigation with GoodNotes’ tab system.

The Concept: I suggest adding a collapsible sidebar (File Tree) on the left while in editing mode. However, the interaction should work specifically as follows:

Sidebar Visibility: While editing a note (e.g., "Biochemistry"), I can toggle open a left sidebar that shows my entire folder/file structure (similar to OneNote).

Action: When I click on a different file in the sidebar (e.g., "Research Data"), it should open as a NEW TAB at the top, rather than replacing my current view.

Real-world Example (My Workflow): Currently, if I am writing in my "Thesis Draft" and need to check a specific graph in my "Lab Experiments" notebook (located in a different folder), I have to exit to the Home screen, navigate through folders, find the file, and open it.

With my proposal:

I stay in "Thesis Draft".

I open the sidebar, locate "Lab Experiments", and tap it just like an oneNote (see an image below)

"Lab Experiments" instantly opens as a new tab next to my draft.

I can now toggle between them seamlessly using the top tabs.

This "Hybrid View" would solve the navigation friction while maintaining the powerful multitasking capability of GoodNotes. This feature would be a game-changer for scholars and professionals.

Thank you for listening to user feedback.

Best regards,

This is very important

There’s one thing that really limits my productivity: the folder navigation. It’s currently very time-consuming and confusing to navigate between nested folders or PDFs.

You always have to click multiple times to move between documents if they are stored in different subfolders. This becomes extremely inefficient, especially when managing complex hierarchies (like for studies or work).

Please take a look at Noteful or OneNote — they have an excellent folder overview / hierarchy structure that shows all folders and subfolders clearly on one screen (like a sidebar or tab structure).
That way, users can easily switch between documents without losing time or overview.

Two reviews from other users describe it perfectly:

“It’s very annoying that you need to click so many times to go to another PDF you saved in another file since you have multiple hierarchies. Please do it similar to OneNote!!!!!”
“It would be very practical and helpful for students and teachers if the folder structure were structured like a kind of TAB structure (similar to the pages in GoodNotes), so one would have a better overview.”

I’ve also attached two images that visualize exactly what I mean — how other apps handle folder hierarchies in a much clearer and faster way.

Please consider this seriously — it’s really a deal breaker for me right now because navigation in complex folder setups takes way too long and breaks my workflow.

Thank you very much for considering this improvement 🙏

For sure! This is such a missing feature. When you have many folders in goodnotes, you have to click so many times to get to the desired document. For example, Noteful has this feature and it makes the app so much better. It's a ydeal breaker for me unfortunately...

This is the one reason I can't commit to Goodnotes. I love it otherwise. But I hate going back and forth between so many folders.

Can you improve the file structure by allowing folders to be shown on the left?

SUPPORT! A column preview style is absolutely ESSENTIAL. I've generally nice experiences with Goodnotes. But the documents is also general unorganised. When have multiple documents opened, listed them on top of the window makes it hard to manage the window size. One has to keep it as big as possible that it dominates a large proportion of my MacBook display. Also the current style has a flaw displaying when it comes to a long document name (possibly academic paper with a full, long citation).

My suggestion is to give us users a choice to choose between the original, current view style and one list and icon view with multiple columns (folder hierarchy) possibilities. It would give us a more efficient way to browse documents and sort out between folders. It also helps in displaying documents with long names with a more subtle mean showing more preview while displaying the whole name.
PLEASE ADD this feature.

Adding a dropdown menu for folders in the left toolbar, akin to Notability and OneNote's setup, would streamline navigation, especially for users juggling multiple categories of notes or documents

As everyone else has said above, the real estate in that left sidebar could be used to house folders for easier access to other documents. This would make it so efficient to go back and forth to documents!

Add the ability to see folders in the sidebar in a structured view, to enable easier navigation between many folders and files.

Please i beg you it would be so much more convenient to have access to folders by having the option to expand on the left side of the screen like how the apple filing system works on files or finder. It is such a simple change i don't understand why it is not being implemented. thank you

This sidebar:
- must be swipeable from either the left or right side of the screen
- can show all notes, recents, favorites, unfiled, shared - exactly like what Notability currently has (please see attached screenshot)
- shows important information about each note, e.g., modified date, created date, location, etc.
- can filter and sort notes based on selected options, e.g. modified date, created date, etc.
- when the user taps a note to open, either switch to that note or open it in the background

As a GN6 paid user, this feature is critical.

A sidebar that allows you to open any notebook without fully leaving the one you are currently using.

It’s a long process to search and open notebooks from folders every time when a notebook is already opened and I want to open another I have to go all the way back and click on the folders search through it and open other documents .
It will be really easy , time saving and will be a better organization idea if we can access all folders ,sub folders and notebooks within those folders from the side panel in home page as well when a notebook is opened .
Please add this feature