Frame

How to move text on the reMarkable: the basics

Users new to the reMarkable often look for a “move text” command in the menus and don’t find one. The reason is that text-moving on the device is unified with selection: the lasso tool selects what you want to move, and the selected region becomes draggable on the page. The remarkable move text workflow is the lasso workflow. Once that’s understood, the steps are simple and consistent across handwriting, typed text, and inserted shapes.

Steps

Step-by-step: how to move text on the reMarkable

  1. Tap the lasso tool. The lasso is the rope-loop icon in the toolbar at the top or side of the page (depending on left- or right-handed setup). Some firmware versions place it in the secondary tool menu under the writing tools.
  2. Draw a loop around the text or content you want to move. The loop doesn’t need to be precise; the device snaps to the bounding region of any ink it finds inside. Close the loop by ending near where you started.
  3. Wait for the selection box. A dashed rectangle appears around the selected ink, with handles at the corners and a small action menu floating nearby (cut, copy, paste, transform).
  4. Drag the selection to the new location. Tap and hold inside the selection box, then drag with the stylus or finger. The selection follows. Release to drop.
  5. Tap outside the selection to deselect. The selection box disappears and the move is done.

The same flow works for typed text inserted via the typing layer (firmware 3.7+ on the reMarkable 2 and later) and for shapes drawn with the shape-recognition feature. Selection treats all ink the same regardless of source.

There’s no dedicated move command on the reMarkable. Lasso, drag, drop. That’s the whole flow.

— Templacity editorial

Beyond drag

Resize, rotate, and copy alongside the move

  • Resize: The corner handles on the selection box scale the selected content. Drag a corner outward to enlarge, inward to shrink. Useful for fitting handwritten content into a smaller area on a template page.
  • Rotate: The top handle on the selection box (small circular grip) rotates the selection. Tap and drag in an arc to rotate the content. The reMarkable rotates around the center of the selection, not the corner.
  • Copy and paste: The action menu that appears with the selection includes copy and cut. Copy keeps the selection in place; cut removes it. Paste shows up as an option after a copy or cut, and pastes the selection at the location you tap.
  • Move across pages: Direct drag works only within a single page. To move content to a different page in the same notebook, use copy-and-paste-to-page from the page menu. Select the content, copy it, navigate to the destination page, and paste.
  • Move across notebooks: Cross-notebook moves require exporting and re-importing rather than a direct device-side flow. Export the source page as PDF, import to the destination notebook, and the content arrives as a flat layer.

Trouble

Common reasons remarkable move text doesn’t behave

  • The lasso doesn’t pick up the right content. Make sure the loop fully closes. An open lasso line cancels the selection. Try drawing the loop more deliberately or zoom in if the content is dense.
  • The selection box appears but won’t drag. Make sure the stylus or finger is inside the selection rectangle, not on the corner handles. Handles trigger resize or rotate; the body of the selection triggers move.
  • The move snaps to wrong locations. The reMarkable doesn’t snap to template grids by default. If snapping is unwanted, the device’s default “free” placement is correct. If snapping is wanted, third-party templates with explicit grid lines can guide visual alignment.
  • Typed text won’t select. The typing layer is only available on reMarkable 2 and later, with firmware 3.7 or newer. On older firmware, typed text isn’t an option, and the “move text” question collapses to handwritten content only.

For more on the reMarkable’s writing toolset, including the Convert to Text feature that turns handwritten content into typed text, see our reMarkable handwriting recognition piece. For installing templates that pair well with the lasso flow, reMarkable template installer walks through the import. For sync workflows that move content off the device entirely, connect reMarkable to Google Drive covers that side. The reMarkable hub indexes the rest.

If a different remarkable move text workflow has worked better in your hands (a third-party tool, an unusual lasso pattern, a firmware version with quirks), drop the notes in the comments. The reMarkable’s writing toolset evolves with firmware updates, and a current page beats a tidy one.