Boost your learning with Glasp: A Comprehensive Guide.
Tags: productivity, glasp, learning, highlighting
Published: 2024-03-05 12:43:05

Reading content online has become an integral part of our daily routine, especially in today's digital world. Whether it's staying up-to-date with the latest news about our favorite celebrities or researching various topics of interest, the internet provides us with a vast range of written and visual content to consume. However, organizing, retaining, and assimilating all this information can be challenging. This is where Glasp comes in handy. 


![Glasp logo](https://paper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com/s_A55988F0E37893E2008F52F76A7992F6CDAA323E0AE15A0582022971D2BE8A1F_1709205301110_download.png)


Glasp is an online tool that allows you to highlight and take note of important passages that you find meaningful while learning. With the ever-increasing amount of online content, Glasp aims to improve our online learning experience by providing an efficient way to organize and share important information.

In this article, we will provide you with a step-by-step guide on how to use Glasp to boost your learning. So, let's get started!


## Prerequisite
Make sure that you have the following to get the most out of this guide: 

1. A desktop or laptop. 
2. A web browser. 
3. A cup of coffee. 

## An Introduction to Glasp
### What is Glasp 
[Glasp](https://glasp.co/) stands for **Greatest Legacy Accumulated as Shared Proof**. It's a free and open-source browser extension. 

### Glasp highlighting and note-taking feature 
Glasp allows users to highlight and note important passages from online content such as articles, PDFs, and more. Its user-friendly interface and customizable settings make it easy to use. Additionally, every highlight preserves essential metadata such as the headline, URL, excerpt, and tags. Glasp also provides users with transcripts of YouTube videos, which they can use to leave notes at important timestamps. This feature allows users to pick up where they left off easily.

Glasp is a breath of fresh air on how users consume content online, allowing them to quickly find, highlight, and save important parts of lengthy articles, documents, and other publications. Glasp takes highlighting and note-taking a step further by giving users the option to keep their collections private or share them publicly with others via social media platforms. 

### Glasp community building 
Glasp fosters collaboration and community building by recommending online groups and collections based on your activity. Users can also search through and follow other public Glasp collections for research or leisure reading.

![Glasp for you recommendations](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/w27fvpi0b4v59gian2gp.png)

### Glasp tag system
When there are many articles to keep track of, it can become overwhelming to manage them all. Glasp offers a tag system to help you stay organized. Once you highlight an article, you can add as many tags as you want to help categorize it. This makes it much simpler and more efficient to keep track of the information you need.

### Glasp user profile
Glasp offers its users an easy-to-navigate profile page that allows them to easily access their highlights, notes, highlighted articles, tags, views, and much more. 
The user's profile page features a green panel on the left-hand side, which enables them to keep track of their daily highlights. Some users find this feature motivating as it allows them to keep streaks, while others may use it to review the articles they have highlighted so far.

![Glasp activity graph](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/1v6v3v5l69otb1xmkdap.png)



### Glasp cross-platform compatibility
Glasp allows users to easily import and export their highlights and notes. If you have any highlights or notes saved on your Kindle or any other e-reading platform, you can easily import them into Glasp. Additionally, you can download your activity on Glasp by exporting it as a file. You have the option to download your highlights and notes as a file in various formats such as Text, CSV, HTML, MD, and PNG (image). You can choose to download your highlights and notes by article or all at once.

All in all, Glasp is the ultimate companion for anyone looking to boost their reading or research skills.

## Installing Glasp. 
Let's move on to the installation of Glasp.

1. Visit the [Glasp website](https://glasp.co/) to download the installer. 
2. Choose your preferred web browser for installing Glasp.
![Glasp-browser-installation-options](https://paper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com/s_A55988F0E37893E2008F52F76A7992F6CDAA323E0AE15A0582022971D2BE8A1F_1709237237936_annotely_image+33.png)


    > _Since I use an HP laptop with Windows installed, I will select "Install on Chrome"_


3. Once you click "**Install on Chrome**" you will be directed to the Google Chrome extension store.


4. Moving on, click on the "**Add to Chrome**" button to download the Glasp extension.
![Add-glasp-from-google-extension-store](https://paper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com/s_A55988F0E37893E2008F52F76A7992F6CDAA323E0AE15A0582022971D2BE8A1F_1709240633765_annotely_image+34.png)

5. To start the installation process, click on the “**Add extension**” button.
![Install-glasp](https://paper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com/s_A55988F0E37893E2008F52F76A7992F6CDAA323E0AE15A0582022971D2BE8A1F_1709241467989_annotely_image+36.png)

6. Wait patiently while Glasp is being downloaded. 

    > _Once the download process is finished, Glasp will automatically install itself._


7. Hurray! You have successfully installed Glasp. Now, let's move on to setting up a Glasp account.
![Glasp-successful-installation](https://paper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com/s_A55988F0E37893E2008F52F76A7992F6CDAA323E0AE15A0582022971D2BE8A1F_1709242081566_annotely_image+37.png)

.

## Setting up Glasp

1. To sign up, visit the [Glasp website](https://glasp.co/) and click the **Sign-up** button in the top right corner, or log in if you already have an account.
2. To finish the registration process, click on the "**Continue with Google**" button. 
![Glasp-sign-up](https://paper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com/s_A55988F0E37893E2008F52F76A7992F6CDAA323E0AE15A0582022971D2BE8A1F_1709242586437_annotely_image+38.png)

    > _Make sure to enable pop-up functionality in your web browser to allow Glasp to complete the registration process._


3. Voila! You have successfully set up a Glasp account. 
![Glasp-account](https://paper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com/s_A55988F0E37893E2008F52F76A7992F6CDAA323E0AE15A0582022971D2BE8A1F_1709243201237_annotely_image+40.png)


## Glasp in action 

In this section, we will go over the steps to use Glasp for highlighting, taking notes, and much more. 


### Highlighting

We will use this [blog post](https://dev.to/backendbro/a-step-by-step-guide-how-to-create-and-publish-an-npm-package-2off) to illustrate how to highlight using Glasp.



1. Make sure you are viewing this [blog](https://dev.to/backendbro/a-step-by-step-guide-how-to-create-and-publish-an-npm-package-2off). Although you can choose any online content you prefer. 
![Blog-example](https://paper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com/s_A55988F0E37893E2008F52F76A7992F6CDAA323E0AE15A0582022971D2BE8A1F_1709244948827_annotely_image+41.png)

2. Before highlighting, open the Glasp sidebar by clicking the extension tab on Google Chrome. 
![Google-chrome-extension](https://paper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com/s_A55988F0E37893E2008F52F76A7992F6CDAA323E0AE15A0582022971D2BE8A1F_1709315127193_annotely_image+44.png)


    Proceed by selecting the Glasp extension. Ensure to click only once 
![Glasp-extension](https://paper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com/s_A55988F0E37893E2008F52F76A7992F6CDAA323E0AE15A0582022971D2BE8A1F_1709315251524_annotely_image+45.png)

    > _I used this method to open the Glasp sidebar because the icon may not always appear on everyone's browser, and no, it's not a bug. It's most likely due to your browser._

3. To start highlighting, left-click on your mouse or mousepad and drag your cursor over the text that you want to highlight. A pop-up will appear with several options, including highlighting colors, adding notes, creating a Quoteshot, and sharing on Twitter.
![Glasp-highligting](https://paper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com/s_A55988F0E37893E2008F52F76A7992F6CDAA323E0AE15A0582022971D2BE8A1F_1709246211352_annotely_image+42.png)

4. To continue, highlight your selected passage by clicking a color option. 
![Color options to highlight with using Glasp](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/7plqj16u96boud9oldpd.png)

5. Head over to the Glasp sidebar to view your highlighted text.
![Glasp-sidebar](https://paper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com/s_A55988F0E37893E2008F52F76A7992F6CDAA323E0AE15A0582022971D2BE8A1F_1709315451336_annotely_image+46.png)


6. In addition to highlighting, Glasp offers a range of other features. If you hover your mouse over any highlighted text in the Glasp sidebar, an ellipsis menu will appear in the top right corner. This menu provides you with access to a variety of options that can help you to better manage your highlighted content.
![Glasp-highliting-options](https://paper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com/s_A55988F0E37893E2008F52F76A7992F6CDAA323E0AE15A0582022971D2BE8A1F_1709316187270_annotely_image+47.png)


    To access the list of available actions on your highlighted text, click on the ellipsis.
![Glasp-elipsis](https://paper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com/s_A55988F0E37893E2008F52F76A7992F6CDAA323E0AE15A0582022971D2BE8A1F_1709316368966_annotely_image+48.png)


8. You can use the "**Create Highlight Image**" feature to generate an image from your highlighted text.
![Glasp-highlight-image](https://paper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com/s_A55988F0E37893E2008F52F76A7992F6CDAA323E0AE15A0582022971D2BE8A1F_1709316903397_annotely_image+49.png)


9. Glasp offers several image customization options, including orientation, background color, font style, a download button, and the ability to share on social media platforms.


### Note-taking

This section will demonstrate the two ways to take notes using Glasp.

1. **Using the Elipsis**
 - Click the ellipsis in the top right corner of the highlighted text in the Glasp sidebar to reveal a list of options.
![Glasp elipsis menu](https://paper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com/s_A55988F0E37893E2008F52F76A7992F6CDAA323E0AE15A0582022971D2BE8A1F_1709325774557_annotely_image+48.png)
 - To add a note, click the "**Add a Note**" button.
 - Add a note that best describes the highlighted text.
![Taking notes using Glasp](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/f5k33aa7iw9wy288nxql.png)   

2. **Using the Pop-up palette** 
 - Left-click on your mouse or mousepad and drag your cursor over the selected passage to display the pop-up palette. 
 - To continue, click on the "**Add a Note**" icon.   
![Glasp add a note](https://paper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com/s_A55988F0E37893E2008F52F76A7992F6CDAA323E0AE15A0582022971D2BE8A1F_1709326908895_annotely_image+51.png)
 - When you click the "**Add a Note**" icon, Glasp will automatically highlight the selected passage and provide an input field to enter your desired note.
    


### Comment
1. To comment, use the designated input field. Refer to the screenshot below for guidance
![Glasp-comment](https://paper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com/s_A55988F0E37893E2008F52F76A7992F6CDAA323E0AE15A0582022971D2BE8A1F_1709327608924_annotely_image+53.png)

2. To save your comment, click the "**Save**" button. 


### Tag

Adding a tag to highlight collections makes them easier to search for and categorize.

1. To add a tag, click the "**tag icon**" in the top left corner of the Glasp sidebar.
![Glasp-tag](https://paper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com/s_A55988F0E37893E2008F52F76A7992F6CDAA323E0AE15A0582022971D2BE8A1F_1709328189085_annotely_image+55.png)

2. Input a tag name with a maximum of 25 characters, then press **Enter**.
![Glap-tag-name](https://paper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com/s_A55988F0E37893E2008F52F76A7992F6CDAA323E0AE15A0582022971D2BE8A1F_1709328431889_annotely_image+56.png)

3. Yay! A tag has been added successfully. 
![Glasp-tag-added](https://paper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com/s_A55988F0E37893E2008F52F76A7992F6CDAA323E0AE15A0582022971D2BE8A1F_1709328722557_annotely_image+57.png)

4.  You can also add a tag using the pop-up palette by left-clicking, and dragging your cursor over the highlighted text. Then click the "**tag icon**".
![Glasp-tag-alternative](https://paper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com/s_A55988F0E37893E2008F52F76A7992F6CDAA323E0AE15A0582022971D2BE8A1F_1709415457759_annotely_image+62.png)


### Using Glasp in PDFs

Highlighting and taking notes in PDFs using Glasp is a simple process, just like doing it on websites. However, it's important to note that Glasp can only be used on online PDFs and not on locally downloaded PDFs. 

1. I will be using the [PDF](https://web.pdx.edu/~pmoeck/books/Tipler_Llewellyn.pdf) below. I understand that it may seem brainy, but it's just for illustrative purposes. I couldn't find a simpler PDF, so feel free to use any PDF of your choice.
![Glasp-pdf](https://paper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com/s_A55988F0E37893E2008F52F76A7992F6CDAA323E0AE15A0582022971D2BE8A1F_1709487897465_Screenshot+2024-03-03+234425.png)

2. Load Glasp on the PDF by clicking on the Glasp icon in the top-right corner.
![Glasp PDF icon](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/s479fo58htvv4i4zrwly.png)


3. Wait a few seconds while Glasp prepares your PDF for use.
4. After your page has finished reloading, you can begin highlighting by left-clicking and dragging your mouse over your selected passage. 
![Highlighting PDF text using Glasp](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/sfi6de4yw5o9gxh466ea.png)


    To highlight, click on a color option.
![Glasp PDF highlighted text options](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/k1200adyoffkpnbeccww.png)


5. After highlighting, you can add notes, comments, tags, or create images from the text.

### Using Glasp as a YouTube companion

When it comes to learning on YouTube, Glasp makes the perfect companion. Here are some tips to help you boost your productivity and focus while learning.


1. I will use the [YouTube video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F5IaPqj7ds) below as a case study, but feel free to choose any video you prefer
![Glasp-YouTube-use-case](https://paper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com/s_A55988F0E37893E2008F52F76A7992F6CDAA323E0AE15A0582022971D2BE8A1F_1709414016880_annotely_image+60.png)

2. On the left-hand side, you will find a Glasp dropdown. The Glasp dropdown also provides buttons for actions such as generating an AI summary, jumping to the current time, and copying the transcript.
![Glasp-YouTube-Dropdown](https://paper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com/s_A55988F0E37893E2008F52F76A7992F6CDAA323E0AE15A0582022971D2BE8A1F_1709414816956_annotely_image+61.png)


    Click on the Glasp dropdown to review the transcript of the YouTube video. 
![Glasp-YouTube-Transcript](https://paper-attachments.dropboxusercontent.com/s_A55988F0E37893E2008F52F76A7992F6CDAA323E0AE15A0582022971D2BE8A1F_1709380757690_annotely_image+59.png)

3. Proceed to highlight your selected passage or timestamp. 
![Glasp YouTube Transcript](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/47v7g6o8qj9h5y1z2uw6.png)

4. To generate a summary of a YouTube video, click on the **AI icon** in the Glasp dropdown. 
![Glasp AI summary icon](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/roqww3rilv1p58z0cnv6.png)
    You will be redirected to [ChatGPT](https://chat.openai.com/) where you can find your summary.
![Glasp AI summary text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/4calxm5bbsz1y0s5dsi5.png)

    With the Glasp AI Summary, you can now get the full gist of a YouTube video in seconds.
    


### A view of the Glasp profile 

In the previous sections, we covered the steps to use Glasp. Now, head to your profile and view your activity so far.


1. Login into your [Glasp account](https://glasp.co/). 
2. After logging in, your profile will be displayed where you can view your activity log, including highlighted articles, notes, tags, and comments.

    > _Psst! While you weren't looking, I highlighted some more articles._

    .
![Glasp profile](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/efe618260mtl6q99nra0.png)

2. In the bottom left corner, you can see your activity graph. You can maintain streaks as a way to motivate yourself to learn daily.
![Glasp streak](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/3njgjiy8spgyc4llrktr.png)

3. Below your activity graph, you can find your tags. Tags help categorize your highlights and notes.
![GLA](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/k5tn5kmpo9o7o05tri0n.png)

4. Navigate to the [homepage](https://glasp.co/home) to find exciting activities, such as viewing posts and highlights from your followed users, trending topics, and more.
![Glasp homepage](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/f9gbukg36likvxvl81e4.png)

5. You can check out the [explore page](https://glasp.co/explore) on Glasp to see what others are reading in the community.

## Benefits of Glasp
1. **Easy recollection of what you learned**: Glasp helps you remember what you learned previously by allowing you to highlight important passages and take notes. The act of highlighting a passage helps your memory retain that specific text, while the notes you take can serve as an excellent reference for future use. Glasp is an incredibly effective tool for boosting your learning by providing an easy and intuitive way for you to highlight and keep track of important excerpts. 

2. **Collaboration and community building**: Glasp is designed to help you learn and grow by sharing and viewing other people's highlights and notes. With Glasp, you can easily broaden your horizon and catch up on what you might have missed out on. The platform offers a variety of features for sharing and viewing other users' thoughts and a comment section that enables different people to share their views on a particular piece of highlighted text or note. Using Glasp, you can collaborate with your peers, friends, and colleagues to create a learning community where everyone can contribute and learn from each other. 

3. **Increased productivity**: Glasp is a tool that helps users increase their productivity while learning. With Glasp, users can stay focused on their learning material without the need to switch to other apps to take notes, which can be distracting. Once they're done learning or need to check something important, they can easily visit their profile. Glasp also provides users who learn using [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/) videos with transcripts, which allows them to easily follow along with the specific video they are watching and even highlight and take notes where necessary.

4. **Cross-platform compatibility**: Glasp is compatible with multiple browsers, enabling users to highlight, take notes, and access their profiles on any browser of their choice. Additionally, the Glasp platform is also compatible with other e-reader devices such as Kindle. Users have the option to import or export their activity on any platform they prefer, making Glasp a convenient and accessible option for users who frequently switch between devices or platforms.


## Conclusion. 

So far, we have learned about what Glasp is and how it can be used. We have also explored its use cases, highlighting how Glasp can boost learning and productivity. Using Glasp, you can easily highlight important passages and take notes directly on web pages. The tool makes note-taking and highlighting fun and engaging, with an easy-to-use pop-up palette and a variety of soothing colors to choose from. 

Glasp is the perfect companion for YouTube, providing a transcript of the video and an AI-powered summary. Additionally, the platform offers many other features. You can view your activity on the Glasp profile, explore other topics of interest, comment on other people's highlights and notes, and learn from them. 

Overall, Glasp is an excellent tool for boosting and improving how you consume, organize, and assimilate online content. I hope this guide has been helpful to you. Happy learning! 😊




## Credits and Further reading
1. [Glasp website](https://glasp.co/)
2. Glasp documentation: 
    - [How to highlight using Glasp](https://glasp.co/articles/how-to-highlight-text-on-pages)
    - [3 best online highlighter](https://glasp.co/articles/best-online-highlighters)