On all tablets such as iPad and also on iPhones and Android smartphones there is an application that allows you to write freehand using your finger like a pen on the touchscreen.
The same thing can also be done on Windows 7 with Windows Journal, an internal Windows program that remains hidden but which, on occasion, can be very useful for, for example, signing Word or PDF documents as you would with the pen, with the own calligraphy.
Windows Journal is hidden because it is a writing program to be installed manually in the sense that, looking for it on programs after a default installation of Windows 7, it does not appear in the list of programs.
Writing freehand on the computer means using the mouse on a spreadsheet that can then be printed.
NOTE: In Windows 10, this program no longer exists and has been replaced with Windows Ink
To use Windows Journal on Windows 7 you must first install it.
Then open the Control Panel, click on Programs and Features and then on the right link where it says " Activating or deactivating Windows features ".
From the list that opens, look for the item " Tablet PC Components ", put a cross on the square next to it and press OK.
After the installation is complete, you must restart your computer.
With the installation of the Tablet PC components a new folder of programs appears inside the path Start -> Programs -> Accessories, among which there is also Windows Journal .
When Journal opens the first time accept the request to install the virtual printer which will then come in very useful.
The initial sheet looks like a white page similar to a Word sheet only that instead of writing with the keyboard, you have to write freehand, using the mouse.
Windows Journal is optimized for touch devices such as the pen that writes on the screen so using the mouse you will find it very difficult to write with a decent handwriting.
To make the notes more readable, you can also type with the keyboard using the Insert menu -> Text box .
Since WIndows Journal is a program for taking notes and notes, there are also tools such as a highlighter, an eraser and flags.
When writing with the mouse, you can choose the thickest or thickest stroke and the color.
The best use that can be made of Journal, however, is the creation of custom signatures that can be saved and then used in any Word or PDF sheet.
Then choose, from the File menu at the top, New note from template and then select the blank sheet .
You can then write, very slowly and one letter at a time (so you can always redo the letter if it gets bad using the Undo button at the top), your autograph using all the space available.
After creating the beautiful large signature on the screen, it is better to save it as an image by taking a screenshot of the screen and then, perhaps using a simple program such as IrfanView, cut the signature from the white sheet and resize the image to a size suitable for a signature on a normal sheet, so no more than 60 as the height dimension.
The signature image can thus be inserted into any Word or PDF sheet using the image insertion function.
Since the virtual printer has been installed, under any program such as an Acrobat Reader or Microsoft Word, you can press the Print button and then select the Windows Journal converter from the drop-down menu of the choice of printers.
Instead of normal printing, a Jnt file is created that opens only from the Windows Journal program.
You can therefore write freehand on the Jnt file or insert the image of the created signature.
Overall, Windows Journal is a free option that can be used in place of another expensive program like One Note to write freehand on the Windows PC, to take notes normally and to create your own personalized signature.
In other articles, more professional but less free solutions for signing PDFs and for creating a digital signature on documents and contracts are explained
READ ALSO: Sign PDFs and documents on PC, Android, tablet, iPad and iPhone
The same thing can also be done on Windows 7 with Windows Journal, an internal Windows program that remains hidden but which, on occasion, can be very useful for, for example, signing Word or PDF documents as you would with the pen, with the own calligraphy. Windows Journal is hidden because it is a writing program to be installed manually in the sense that, looking for it on programs after a default installation of Windows 7, it does not appear in the list of programs.
Writing freehand on the computer means using the mouse on a spreadsheet that can then be printed.
NOTE: In Windows 10, this program no longer exists and has been replaced with Windows Ink
To use Windows Journal on Windows 7 you must first install it.
Then open the Control Panel, click on Programs and Features and then on the right link where it says " Activating or deactivating Windows features ".
From the list that opens, look for the item " Tablet PC Components ", put a cross on the square next to it and press OK.
After the installation is complete, you must restart your computer.
With the installation of the Tablet PC components a new folder of programs appears inside the path Start -> Programs -> Accessories, among which there is also Windows Journal .
When Journal opens the first time accept the request to install the virtual printer which will then come in very useful.
The initial sheet looks like a white page similar to a Word sheet only that instead of writing with the keyboard, you have to write freehand, using the mouse.
Windows Journal is optimized for touch devices such as the pen that writes on the screen so using the mouse you will find it very difficult to write with a decent handwriting.
To make the notes more readable, you can also type with the keyboard using the Insert menu -> Text box .
Since WIndows Journal is a program for taking notes and notes, there are also tools such as a highlighter, an eraser and flags.
When writing with the mouse, you can choose the thickest or thickest stroke and the color.
The best use that can be made of Journal, however, is the creation of custom signatures that can be saved and then used in any Word or PDF sheet.
Then choose, from the File menu at the top, New note from template and then select the blank sheet .
You can then write, very slowly and one letter at a time (so you can always redo the letter if it gets bad using the Undo button at the top), your autograph using all the space available.
After creating the beautiful large signature on the screen, it is better to save it as an image by taking a screenshot of the screen and then, perhaps using a simple program such as IrfanView, cut the signature from the white sheet and resize the image to a size suitable for a signature on a normal sheet, so no more than 60 as the height dimension.
The signature image can thus be inserted into any Word or PDF sheet using the image insertion function.
Since the virtual printer has been installed, under any program such as an Acrobat Reader or Microsoft Word, you can press the Print button and then select the Windows Journal converter from the drop-down menu of the choice of printers.
Instead of normal printing, a Jnt file is created that opens only from the Windows Journal program.
You can therefore write freehand on the Jnt file or insert the image of the created signature.
Overall, Windows Journal is a free option that can be used in place of another expensive program like One Note to write freehand on the Windows PC, to take notes normally and to create your own personalized signature.
In other articles, more professional but less free solutions for signing PDFs and for creating a digital signature on documents and contracts are explained
READ ALSO: Sign PDFs and documents on PC, Android, tablet, iPad and iPhone
