Your planner is a PDF. Any app that lets you write on a PDF will open it, but the tabs and day links only work in the app's read-only mode. Here is how to download it, open it, and make the links work in the apps teachers use most.
1. Download the PDF
Use the Download button at the end of the setup wizard. Where the file lands depends on the device. Build the planner in a real browser — some apps open web pages in their own viewer and will not download the file.
On an iPad
1
Tap Download in Safari
Safari asks "Do you want to download?" Tap Download. A small arrow icon appears at the top right of Safari while it saves.
Illustration of the step. Your screen will look a little different. Tap the picture for a bigger view.
2
Find it in Files › Downloads
Tap the arrow icon to see the file, or open the Files app: it is under iCloud Drive › Downloads. Leave it there — you will import it from your notes app next.
Illustration of the step. Your screen will look a little different. Tap the picture for a bigger view.
On an Android tablet
1
Tap Download in Chrome or Firefox
The browser asks you to confirm. Tap Download, then ignore the Open prompt — opening it in the browser would only view it. It goes to your Downloads folder.
Illustration of the step. Your screen will look a little different. Tap the picture for a bigger view.
2
It is in Files › Downloads
Open the Files app (or My Files on a Samsung) and look in Internal storage › Download. You will pick it from here inside your notes app.
Illustration of the step. Your screen will look a little different. Tap the picture for a bigger view.
Built it on a laptop?
Download it there and send it to the tablet by AirDrop, Google Drive, OneDrive or email. A cloud folder is best, because the file then shows up in Files on the tablet and the steps below are the same.
2. Open it in your app
Import the PDF into the app rather than just viewing it from Files, so your writing is saved with it. Then switch to read-only mode when you want to use the tabs.
GoodNotes
Most teachers use thisiPad · iPhone · Mac · Android · Windows
The app most teachers use, and the one we test on first. Steps are for the iPad; the other versions are laid out the same way.
1
Tap + on the Documents screen
Open GoodNotes. On the Documents screen, tap the + (New) tile and choose Import.
Illustration of the step. Your screen will look a little different. Tap the picture for a bigger view.
2
Pick the PDF from Downloads
The Files picker opens. Go to iCloud Drive › Downloads (or wherever you saved it) and tap the planner.
Illustration of the step. Your screen will look a little different. Tap the picture for a bigger view.
3
It opens as a document
GoodNotes imports it and opens it. Tap the title to rename it, for example "Planner 2026–27". It stays in your library like any notebook.
Illustration of the step. Your screen will look a little different. Tap the picture for a bigger view.
4
Switch to read-only to use the tabs
Tap the pen icon in the top toolbar. The editing tools disappear and you are in read-only mode: every tab, month, week and day is now tappable. Tap the pen again to write.
Illustration of the step. Your screen will look a little different. Tap the picture for a bigger view.
Notability
iPad · iPhone · Mac
1
Press and hold + on the library screen
Open Notability. On the library screen, press and hold the + (New) icon and choose Import.
Illustration of the step. Your screen will look a little different. Tap the picture for a bigger view.
2
Choose Files, then the PDF
Pick Files, then go to Downloads and tap the planner. It becomes a note in your library.
Illustration of the step. Your screen will look a little different. Tap the picture for a bigger view.
3
Turn on read-only to use the tabs
Open the note and tap the read-only icon in the toolbar. Links work while it is on; tap it again to write.
Illustration of the step. Your screen will look a little different. Tap the picture for a bigger view.
Noteshelf
Android · iPad · Windows
1
Tap + and choose Import Document
Open Noteshelf. Tap the + (Create) tile and choose Import Document.
Illustration of the step. Your screen will look a little different. Tap the picture for a bigger view.
2
Pick it from Internal storage › Download
Choose Internal storage, open the Download folder, tap the planner and then Done.
Illustration of the step. Your screen will look a little different. Tap the picture for a bigger view.
3
Use the eye icon for read-only
Open the planner and tap the eye icon in the top toolbar. Links work in this mode; tap it again to write.
Illustration of the step. Your screen will look a little different. Tap the picture for a bigger view.
Samsung Notes
Samsung Galaxy Tab
1
Tap the PDF import icon
Open Samsung Notes and tap the PDF (Import) icon on the main screen.
Illustration of the step. Your screen will look a little different. Tap the picture for a bigger view.
2
Pick it from Internal storage › Download
Choose the planner from the Download folder. It opens as a note you can write on with the S Pen.
Illustration of the step. Your screen will look a little different. Tap the picture for a bigger view.
3
Leave editing to use the tabs
Samsung Notes follows PDF links while you are viewing rather than editing. Tap the back arrow or Done to leave editing, then tap a tab.
Illustration of the step. Your screen will look a little different. Tap the picture for a bigger view.
Other apps
Most PDF annotation apps work the same way: import the file, then look for a read-only, view or lock mode where the links become active. The PDF is standard, so nothing about it is app-specific. Two things to know: we do not recommend a phone, because the pages are laid out for a tablet in landscape, and some e-ink note-takers ignore links inside PDFs, so check yours before you rely on the tabs.
3. Make the links work
This is the question we get most. Notes apps have two modes, and links only work in one of them.
Read-only modeTapping a tab, a month, a week or a day jumps there. You cannot write.
Edit modeYou can write, but taps are pen strokes, so the links do nothing.
Get into the habit: read-only to move around, edit to write. In GoodNotes it is one tap on the pen icon.
The Google Calendar button on each day page opens Google Calendar with that date already filled in, in your browser or the Calendar app. It works in read-only mode like every other link.
Illustration of the step. Your screen will look a little different. Tap the picture for a bigger view.
4. Keep the links working
Do not delete pagesEvery link points at a page. Delete one and every link to it breaks. If you do not need a page, leave it.
Duplicating is fineAdd extra notes pages by duplicating an existing one, and put them after the page they belong with, so a tab still lands in the right place.
Hold the tablet in landscapeThe pages are wide, with the tabs down the right edge. Portrait works but everything is smaller.
Keep the originalIf something goes wrong, download the planner again from the same link — your setup is in the address, so it comes out identical.
If something is not right
The tabs do nothing when I tap them.
You are in edit mode. Switch to read-only (see section 3) and try again.
The download did not appear.
On iPad, look in Files › Downloads or tap Safari's download icon. On Android, open the Files app and check Downloads. If you built the planner inside another app's browser, try again in Safari or Chrome.
I can see the file but cannot write on it.
You are viewing it in Files or a browser. Import it into a notes app (section 2) and it becomes writable.
The text is tiny.
Turn the tablet to landscape. If it is still small, your app may be showing two pages side by side — switch to a single-page view.
I made a mistake in the setup.
Go back to the wizard, change the answer, and download again. It takes a few seconds.
Still stuck?
Tell us which tablet and which app you are using, and what happened. A person replies, usually within a school day.
