Productivity · 4 min read
How to Import a PDF Planner Into GoodNotes (Step-by-Step)
By The Stacked Days Team · December 12, 2025
Importing a planner into GoodNotes is the part that scares new digital planner users — and it shouldn't. It takes about two minutes.
First, download the PDF from your order email to your iPad. Save it anywhere — Files, iCloud Drive, or Dropbox all work.
Open GoodNotes 6. From the main documents view, tap the '+' button in the top right corner. Choose 'Import'.
Find your PDF, tap it, and tap 'Open'. GoodNotes will import the file as a new document. You'll see a thumbnail appear in your documents view.
Now the only setting that matters: pin a page as a template. Open your planner, navigate to the daily spread, and from the page menu choose 'Set as Default Template'. From now on, when you tap 'Add Page', GoodNotes adds a fresh copy of the daily spread automatically.
Optional but recommended: lock the cover page so you don't accidentally scribble on it. From the page menu, choose 'Page Settings' > 'Read-Only'. Done.
Now you have a working, hyperlinked planner with one-tap page creation. The whole setup, including downloading, takes less than five minutes.
Frequently asked
Questions readers ask
- Do hyperlinks work after importing into GoodNotes?
- Yes — GoodNotes preserves all internal PDF hyperlinks. Tap any linked element (dates, index entries, tabs) to jump.
- Can I import the same PDF multiple times?
- Yes. Many users import the same planner as a fresh copy each year or each quarter, keeping each year as its own document.
- Why is my planner showing as a flat image with no hyperlinks?
- Either the planner wasn't sold as a hyperlinked PDF, or you opened it in an app that doesn't preserve links. GoodNotes, Notability, Noteshelf and Adobe Acrobat all preserve them correctly.
Author
The Stacked Days Team
We make slow-made digital journals, planners, and trackers for anyone choosing to live a little more on purpose.
