How to Create Cornell Notes Planner Pages in Affinity Publisher: Step-by-Step Tutorial

In this tutorial, you'll learn how to create a custom Cornell Notes layout using Affinity Publisher.

Cornell Notes is a popular and effective method for taking notes. This step-by-step guide will help you set up the page structure, merge cells, adjust borders, and colour-code sections to optimize your notes and make them more visually appealing.

Step 1: Set-up Your Document

1. Start Affinity Publisher and create a new document
2. Select a page size - I selected A4
3. Choose a portrait orientation
4. This layout doesn’t need any margins
   

Step 2: Create the Table

1. Insert a Table with 2 columns and 36 rows
2. Resize the Table to cover the entire page
3. Set the width of Column A to 60 mm and Column B to 150 mm
4. Adjust the height of Row 1 to 16 mm for the metadata area
5. Set Rows 2-36 to a height of 8 mm each
   

Step 3: Merge Cells for the Metadata and Summary Sections

1. Select both cells in Row 1 and right-click to choose Merge Cells for the metadata area
2. Scroll down to the last six rows (Rows 31-36) and merge the cells to create the summary section
   

Step 4: Adjust Table Borders

1. Select the entire Table and open the Table panel
2. Change the default border size from 0.5 pt to 0.2 pt for a lighter line
3. Change the border colour to grey to make it less prominent
4. Select Row 1 and add a bottom border with a thickness of 1 pt
5. Do the same for the last row of the middle section, applying a 1 pt bottom border
6. Select all cells in Column B and apply a left-side border with a 1 pt thickness
   

Step 5: Apply Colours to the Table

1. Select the entire Table and apply a fill colour of your choice - I used a pale yellow to replicate the look of a legal notepad
2. Alternatively, you could apply different colours to each section - I used the following colours:
   
   1. Green for the metadata row
   2. Blue for the left-hand column
   3. Peach for the summary section at the bottom
3. Customise the colours to suit your needs and preferences
   

Step 6: Final Adjustments and Review

1. Review the Table to ensure all dimensions and colours are correctly applied
2. Save the document and export it as a PDF for printing or digital use
   

Conclusion

In this tutorial, I demonstrated how to create a Cornell Notes layout using Affinity Publisher. By setting up a Table with custom dimensions, merging cells, applying borders, and colour-coding sections, you can easily design a structured, effective note-taking page for any subject.

Enjoy using your new Cornell Notes layout for studying or organizing information!

If you enjoyed this tutorial and want more tips and tricks, be sure to check out my free training at ElaineGiles.com/VIP. Don’t forget to subscribe and hit the notification bell so you never miss a new tutorial.

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Thanks for reading and watching, and see you next time!