Pencil Page / Help in the margin
A notebook should leave you space to think. I built Pencil Page’s timing policy to wait for enough new writing, then choose a quieter moment for feedback.
Recorded Swift decisions. Illustrative writing. Synthetic drawing changes, selected check times and fictional response readiness. No model, network, handwriting recognition or app timer runs here.
Timing lab / Pencil Page
The app asks two different questions: may I review the writing? Then, if feedback is ready, may I show a note?
A short passage and a pause. Is there enough new work to justify a review?
Wait before reviewing
The pen is still active. Give the person room to keep writing.
Selected evaluations / not a live clock
30 s elapsedA pause alone is not a reason to interrupt.
Every row below is output from the unmodified Swift source. “Begin”, “ready”, “failed” and “shown” are supplied fixture transitions. The controls above select recorded decisions; they do not calculate the policy.
| Time | Event | Result | Source reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 s | write-range | write-range | Synthetic drawing-change series |
| 12.5 s | decide | wait | writing |
| 16 s | decide | wait | short pause |
| 30 s | decide | wait | pause, but only 13 s / 26 strokes of new work |
The unmodified Swift scheduler at Pencil Page revision 07474bf was compiled on macOS. Nine fictional scenarios produced 34 review and presentation decisions. All matched the expected sequences. Eleven original extracted scheduler and ledger tests passed.
d21f2900bd5039dcbcef7cbc15e99c11355d6abed9269491750dd585b9dcb519Drawing changes, timestamps, request success or failure, visible-note counts and response readiness are synthetic. Checks occur only at the listed times.
This does not exercise PencilKit, recognition, model transport, the app coordinator’s timer or native note layout. A permitted review is not proof that a model answered. A permitted note is not proof that the app displayed it.
Download the execution receipt Download the fictional event inputsA short passage and a pause. Is there enough new work to justify a review? A pause alone is not a reason to interrupt.
A longer passage, then the pen stops. Step through the pause and the separate permission to show a note. Enough new writing earns a review. Showing feedback has its own check.
The writing has accumulated for 150 active seconds. A small settling pause gives the review a quieter opening. New strokes add to the writing time. A small pause can release the waiting review.
A review was permitted. Its fictional response becomes ready just as the person starts writing again. Ready feedback can wait for the person.
A review fails. The writing stays available for the next check, and repeated failures leave more time between attempts. Keep the work. Leave space before trying again.
Check the same unchanged page five times, up to an hour later. Elapsed time does not turn an unchanged page into new work.
The person keeps writing past the usual settling window. Accumulated work eventually reaches the hard deadline. Continuous writing cannot postpone the review indefinitely.
Compare a recent note, a longer wait, and one versus two notes already visible. Unsolicited notes respect time and available space.
New work accumulates while a request is in flight. Afterward it still observes the spacing between calls. New work stays available for the next check.
A separate native demonstration
This real iPad Simulator recording shows a manual review, an actual Opus 5.5 response, a follow-up and a folded note thread.
The ink is synthetic PencilKit input. Manual Review starts the request. This clip demonstrates native feedback; it does not run the automatic timing cases above end to end.
Explore the smaller toolsRecorded in the product
Actual native app · iPad Simulator · synthetic Danish exercise ink · real Opus feedback
Manual Review asks for feedback on a fictional Danish exercise. A margin card appears, a question continues its thread, and the card folds and unfolds. Waiting is cut from the recording. This is separate from the pure scheduling replay.
Two timing decisions
Accumulated writing decides when there is enough to review. Presentation makes a separate decision about whether to show an unsolicited note. A response can be ready while its note still waits: the person may be writing, a recent note may need time, or the margin may already be full.
After a failed request, the policy keeps the writing available for another review and delays the next attempt. The goal is a useful companion that keeps track without turning every pause into an interruption.