A to Z Index Book for iPad

The A to Z Index Book for iPad is an a to z index book iPad PDF that files notes by letter: 26 letter indexes with 15 entries each, 390 note pages in all. People use it for recipes, contacts, vocabulary, plants, book notes or anything they look up by name.

The file opens on its cover. The main index lists all 26 letters, and every page carries an A to Z tab strip, so any letter is one tap away. Each letter’s index has 15 numbered rows that link to their own note pages, and the bar at the top of a note page steps through that letter’s entries or goes back to its index.

Rabia painted the cover by hand, as she does for every mildspring product.

Works with five iPad apps

Before listing our iPad notebooks, we loaded them onto an iPad and tapped through them in five apps. The index rows, the arrows and the links back all landed on the right page in each one. A few apps ask a question on import, so here’s what to pick.

• Goodnotes: import it as a new notebook. Links work while the pen is selected. The free plan holds three notebooks, and this one counts toward them.
• Notability: import it as a new note and leave Add space on None. The app’s toolbar floats over the top of the page, so scroll down a little to reach the bar.
• Noteshelf: after a link jump, its Return to Page button takes you back to where you were.
• CollaNote: when it asks whether to add space to write, pick None so the pages keep their size.
• Apple Books: already on your iPad, and handy for reading back through a finished notebook.

Sized for iPad not stretched

We drew this index book at three page sizes, one for each iPad screen shape. The 11 inch file is 158 by 227 mm for the 11 inch iPad, iPad Air and iPad Pro. The 13 inch file is 197 by 263 mm for the 13 inch iPad Air and iPad Pro. The mini file is 118 by 180 mm.

You pick your iPad at checkout and get the file drawn for that screen. There are no blank bands at the top or bottom, and the side margins stay even. Each file is about 5 MB, because of the 12,794 links in it.

What is inside the a to z index book iPad

• A main index with all 26 letters, each with a line for naming that letter’s category.
• 26 letter indexes, each with 15 numbered entry rows that link to their own pages.
• 390 dotted note pages, one per entry, with a title and date line at the top.
• An A to Z tab strip on every letter index and note page, with the current letter filled in.
• A link bar and page arrows on each note page.
• 418 pages in total, including the cover.

How it works

It’s one hyperlinked PDF. There’s no extra app to install and nothing to sync. Download it on your iPad, open it from Files and import it into your notes app as a new notebook. Once it’s in, the links work offline.

Name what goes under each letter on the main index, then add entries as they come. Looking something up later is the tab for its letter, then its row.

The same notebook is drawn for other tablets too, so there are Supernote, Kindle Scribe, reMarkable and Quaderno versions, each cut to that screen.

Frequently asked questions

iPad and Apple Books are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries and regions. Goodnotes, Notability, Noteshelf and CollaNote belong to their makers. mildspring is not affiliated with any of them.