M92 - Scribbles on pdf template remain even after merging annotations

[Jmirko]

A few weeks ago I started using my M92 for taking handwritten notes at meetings at the office. Due to the limitations of the Scribble function (no search, no sorting, troublesome archiving), I am using the workaround of scribbling on blank pdf templates.
Until a few days ago, it was fine: I created a single, 10-page, lined pdf as my template. I wrote my notes on this pdf, and at the end of the meeting I used the "merge annotations" function. This created another pdf with a similar file name (adding the date and time at the end of the filename), and automatically cleared the original template. I then renamed the second (merged) pdf using my own convention. When I opened the original pdf template, it was blank again, so I could re-use it.

A few days ago, this changed. After merging, the original template was not cleared, but still had my notes from the meeting.
At first, I manually erased the notes and re-used the template, but the problem remained - after the next meeting, my notes would not be cleared from the template after merging.
When I connect the M92 to a computer and open the pdf template, it looks blank. This is because the scribbles are actually stored in a .sketch file in the folder ".onyx". If I delete this file, the template becomes blank again (also when viewed on the M92). However, after the next use the "merge" function again fails to clear the template.

Can anyone offer any advice about how to fix this? (The device is from Booxtor and runs firmware 1.8 20130425)

Thanks in advance!

P.S. Please do not suggest these workarounds:
- install file manager to manually delete the .sketch file each time;
- prepare several templates and use a different one for each meeting.
I am irritated enough that the Scribble function is unusable for its purpose. I am not happy with the limitations of the pdf workaround (no page insert/delete, need to merge scribbles before re-using the template, inability to edit the writing after merging). Any more inconvenience and I will migrate back to my EeeNote, my Iliad, or my Hanvon N800, and put the M92 on the shelf/ebay. But I would rather find a solution and keep using my M92, because the hardware is gorgeous...

[FMP]

Originally Posted by Jmirko

A few weeks ago I started using my M92 for taking handwritten notes at meetings at the office. Due to the limitations of the Scribble function (no search, no sorting, troublesome archiving), I am using the workaround of scribbling on blank pdf templates.
Until a few days ago, it was fine: I created a single, 10-page, lined pdf as my template. I wrote my notes on this pdf, and at the end of the meeting I used the "merge annotations" function. This created another pdf with a similar file name (adding the date and time at the end of the filename), and automatically cleared the original template. I then renamed the second (merged) pdf using my own convention. When I opened the original pdf template, it was blank again, so I could re-use it.

A few days ago, this changed. After merging, the original template was not cleared, but still had my notes from the meeting.
At first, I manually erased the notes and re-used the template, but the problem remained - after the next meeting, my notes would not be cleared from the template after merging.
When I connect the M92 to a computer and open the pdf template, it looks blank. This is because the scribbles are actually stored in a .sketch file in the folder ".onyx". If I delete this file, the template becomes blank again (also when viewed on the M92). However, after the next use the "merge" function again fails to clear the template.

Can anyone offer any advice about how to fix this? (The device is from Booxtor and runs firmware 1.8 20130425)

Thanks in advance!

P.S. Please do not suggest these workarounds:
- install file manager to manually delete the .sketch file each time;
- prepare several templates and use a different one for each meeting.
I am irritated enough that the Scribble function is unusable for its purpose. I am not happy with the limitations of the pdf workaround (no page insert/delete, need to merge scribbles before re-using the template, inability to edit the writing after merging). Any more inconvenience and I will migrate back to my EeeNote, my Iliad, or my Hanvon N800, and put the M92 on the shelf/ebay. But I would rather find a solution and keep using my M92, because the hardware is gorgeous...

What I do is to open a blank template (with an imperceptible dot at the top right corner so that it can be merged) that I open and immediately merge to produce a new blank pdf file on which I take notes (by closing the template and opening the new file, which conveniently has the date and time). This is a workaround with the minimal amount of overhead that I could come up with. Hope it helps.

[Mono]

Also you may use peterx's scrible app. Also the suggestion with dot and merge is quite cool... It is possible to edit scribles in merged pdf on PC. And also delete and add pages... Or merge several pdf's.

The behaviour of pdf merge scribles always worked as you describe and i consider it correct behaviour. The scribles should not disapear/be erased after merge.

[Jmirko]

Originally Posted by FMP

What I do is to open a blank template (with an imperceptible dot at the top right corner so that it can be merged) that I open and immediately merge to produce a new blank pdf file on which I take notes (by closing the template and opening the new file, which conveniently has the date and time). This is a workaround with the minimal amount of overhead that I could come up with. Hope it helps.

Thanks FMP, that's a great idea - I should have thought of it myself. As you say, a minor inconvenience, but acceptable. A workaround for the workaround, as it were :-)

[Jmirko]

Originally Posted by Mono

Also you may use peterx's scrible app. Also the suggestion with dot and merge is quite cool... It is possible to edit scribles in merged pdf on PC. And also delete and add pages... Or merge several pdf's.

The behaviour of pdf merge scribles always worked as you describe and i consider it correct behaviour. The scribles should not disapear/be erased after merge.

Thanks, Mono.
I installed the latest (?) version of peterx's scribble app (scribble_static.zip, from Jan 12, 2013), but it's very disappointing, probably due to incompatibility with my firmware. I will ask my questions in the relevant thread.
Of course one can edit pdf's on a pc (with the right software), but I think such simple operations should be possible on the M92 directly. The software of the $200 Asus EeeNote is very simple but should be studied closely by Onyx sw designers in this respect
Maybe you are right and scribbles "should not" disappear from the template after merging, however they did for my first 1-2 weeks of use, and I was very happy with this - so for me, that was the "correct behavior"

[Mono]

Try to ask Booxstor to get it (blank page insertion & page deletion for pdf) implemented.

[Jmirko]

Good idea. I am actually working on a table comparing the handwriting functions of 5 devices. It shows that the M92 is lackluster when it comes to handwriting support. Based on this I plan to request several functions, and page insertion/deletion will be high on the list.