How to SwapNote
What is this guide about?
This guide is about one of the free applications that is available for all Nintendo 3DS users since end 2011. This application, called SwapNote on the US version of the 3DS, and LetterBox on the European/Australian version , enables people to send notes, drawn on the touchscreen to other 3DS users.
Why did you make this guide?
1. Because I REALLY like SwapNote.
2. Because I've seen some other people being confused about it.
So, how can I find SwapNote/LetterBox?
SwapNote/LetterBox can be found on the HomeScreen. It has a green icon with a white Envelope and a triangle on it.
What can I do in SwapNote?
At the beginning, you can only draw notes and send them to other people through StreetPass or SpotPass.
However, after sending some notes, you will unlock more and more new features that you can use.
So tell me, what are those features?
Okay, a list of features. Most of these features are unlocked after you have made X notes, and some of these features require some Play Coins to unlock them.
Since I have unlocked all of these features already, and I did not exactly keep track on how much notes I made, I cannot give an exact list of how many notes you need.
(Hopefully, somebody can help me with this? ^^').
This list is in order of appearance. New features will appear after you have sent more notes.
-You can draw notes on the touch screen. A note can have a maximum of four pages.
-You can send notes to other players using SpotPass or StreetPass.
-You can draw text in Pop-Up mode, when the 3D slider is on, it will look as if the text pops out of the screen.
-You can reply to the notes other players have sent you. Replies can only be one page, and you cannot change stationaries or add attachments to them. Also, you can only send one reply to one note.
-You can add Pictures to your notes. These pictures can be both 2D and 3D. SwapNote can load pictures from your SD card. You have to pay 10? play coins to use it)
-You can add small sound fragments that you recorded in Nintendo Sound. These sound fragments need to be less than 5 seconds to be able to be used.(You have to pay 10? play coins to use it)
-You can set some of your notes(up to 100) to Favorite. This gives them a crown for easy recognition, you can use the L and R buttons to go from one favorite right to the next, and they won't be deleted if you have more than 3000 notes and they are the oldest one.
-You can save Pictures that other players have sent to you(costs 10 Play Coins)
-You can save Sounds that other players have sent to you(costs 15 Play Coins)
-You can change stationaries.(AKA the background of the note). There are six Stationaries unlocked at the beginning. Buying more costs 5 PlayCoins for each new kind.
-You can change the Date Stamp of a note. Setting dates back in time will make the note appear as if it was sent back then already, and setting the stamp forward in time will make the note wait until that time to be sent.(I dont remember if this costs Play Coins or not...)
Who is Nikki?
Nikki is a helpful woman-mii that will explain how to use SwapNote to you, and provide you with tips.
Whenever a new feature is added, she will explain it to you.
Can you explain what stationaries are in more detail?
A Stationary is kind of like the design of the note. The standard, first design is simply white paper with a green border.
At a certain point, you will unlock the option to change the Stationary. Different Stationaries:
-Look different
-Have different 3D effects(i.e., clouds floating by, or fireworks going off)
-Have a different location where the photo is placed(i.e., on the left side, on the right side, in a heart-shape) and sometimes even affect the color of the photo(i.e. change the photo to Black-and-White or Sepia)
A list of Stationaries released so far:
These six are unlocked as soon as you are able to change the Stationary:
-Standard. White with a green border and two rows of very small green dots. This is the Default Stationary you use.
-Music. A Note Staff and a G-clef, as well as some 3D notes floating by.
-House on the Hills. A clear blue sky with a few floating clouds, and three hills with a small house in the middle. Some trees as well.
-Happy Yellow Mii. Your mii in a circle emitting yellow rays of light. The mii has a happy look on his/her face.
-Dinner. A red-white table cloth with a cup, two knives, three forks and a Plate.
-AirMail Postcard. It's a postcard with a red-white-blue border. Your mii is on the stamp. Some planes fly over the card now and then.
The following Stationaries need to be unlocked by paying 5 PlayCoins for each:
-Nikki's frame. White background with slight-green winged notes in the background. Features a yellow and green dotted border. This is the Stationary that Nikki uses in all her notes.
-Squares Paper(how is this called in proper english again?). Blue border and features small squares. Can prove useful when drawing certain stuff or games.
-Angry Red Mii. Your mii in a spiky white thing, looking very unhappy. Steam is coming from your mii, and the background is red/orange with rays.
-Happy people. Features a bunch of people being happy in front of some mountains with faces.
-Hand-Made Paper. Really nice thick-looking white paper. Has a small red japanese Symbol in the lower right. "The character on the Hand-Made Paper is "nin". It means responsibility/duty"(Thanks Darkicecrystal
) Red background behind the paper.
-Sad Blue mii. Your mii in a circle under a spotlight, looking very sad. Some dots(tears?) are falling. Blue background.
-the Star Frame. Two blue curves with stars floating by in the middle.
-Cherry Blossom. Blue background. In the lower right, some twigs with blossoms. It's raining pink flower leaves.
-Snowman. A snowman and a snow...rabbit? before a red background. Some round snowflakes fall down.
-Soap Bubbles. A blue background with soap bubbles floating by in all directions.
-Frog on the Lily. Blue background with a frog on a lily. Raindrops are falling. Also, two dotted lines to write on.
-Nintendo 3DS Cristmas Card(I guess?). Features orange, green and white snowflake-ish shapes. Red background, yellow thing at the bottom. The text Nintendo 3DS can be read. In the middle a white frame with two dotted lines.
-Valentine. Pink frame with a big heart. Two white lines to write on. Small hearts floating up all around the place.
-Purple Cat. A cat in front of a purple decorative border. A chandelier and ribbons can be seen. some white flimmering stars can be seen.
-Card with Roses. A bouquet with roses, a name tag and a small white card to write on. Pink background.
-Pralines. A pink ribbon and a pink border on the top. Two purple dotted lines to write on. Also, small pralines on the bottom.
-Halloween. A moon, two bats, A web, spider, wisards hat, cat, etc. can be seen. Background looks like a checkerbord. purple/brouwn-ish. Occasionally, ghosts fly past(even a moustached one).
-Marine. An anchor logo, some pearls, two red ribbons and blue/white stripes in the background. With a white frame.
-Nature painting.(needs some better name...). Very colorful(mostly red, yellow, orange, grey), features two deers, some leaves, some butterflies and a rose. In the background, paintings can be seen.
-Confetti. Features yellow/orange Rays as well as confetti floating everywhere =D.
-Sunset. A terass, two palm leaves, the sea and a sun setting.
-Birthday Cake. A round white cake with strawberries, blueberries and candles. some presents at the side. And a name tag in the upper left. Yellow background.
-Megaphone. Red background. White pointy frame screamed from a megaphone in the lower left corner. Moves. Photos inside the frame will move as well.
-Treasure Map. Looks like an old sea chart with a small boat, a compass rose and some islands. brown-ish.
-Oldstyle Movie. On top and bottom are moving... film thingies. Features two brown dotted lines to write on and real good old flimmering. Photos will appear black-and white as well.
-Gears. White background with moving grey gears on top.
-Porcelain. Blue with a white background. Two lines to write on and a small bird on top of... something.
-Wanted Poster. Has WANTED in big letters on it. Looks worn-out. Photos will be sepia when added to this Stationary.
-Soccer. Green field, two goals. A soccer ball shooting past.
-White Winter. Really beautiful Ice Cristals are falling down. White chirsmas trees. Blue background.
-Blue Heart.(needs some better name...). A blue heart with two stars circling around it. Small twinkles are coming off of it. Blue background.
-House on the Hills at night. Just like the first house on the hills picture this features a small house, three hills and some trees. But now at night, with light in the house, some smoke from the chimney, a moon and some falling stars.
-Japanese Fireworks. A mountain landscape with a temple at the left side. A lake in the middle. A japanese Symbol on one of the mountains. Fireworks are shot up in the sky.
-News Studio. Features Nikki sitting in a New Studio, with a world map on the news screen.
-Under the Sea. Blue water. You can see sunlight coming from above. Fish are swimming around.
-Earth from the Moon. A moon landscape with the earh turning in the upper right corner. Stars floating past behind. Black background.
The following Stationaries can only be unlocked by getting them from somebody who already has unlocked them.
-Japanese New-Years Stationary. A red-and-yellow ribbon and white paper on top of a blue paper wich is again on top of a green paper. Red flowers are falling down. Was sent to japanese people at the start of 2012.
-Valentine Stationary. In the top left a red decoration, in the bottom right a red decoration. Slightly pink background. Small 3D hearts float out of the top screen. Was sent to all people in a date-locked note wich opened on Valentines Day (feb 14) 2012.
How many notes can my 3DS store at maximum?
The maximum is 3000 notes. If you get any more notes, the oldes ones will be deleted. When a note is set as a favorite, however, it will note be deleted.
Replies to this favorited note are not save from deletion, however.
It might be a good idea to clean up your notes if you are almost at 3000.
What's the maximum amount of people I can send a note to?
You can send a note to all friends in your Friend List. The maximum amount of friends in your Friend List is 100, so you can send a note to 100 people max.
Is there a way to duplicate a note somebody sent me and send it to someone else?
No. You can get the possible attached picture and sound file, but you will have to recreate the note.
TODO:
-Update photo locations in the Stationary List.
-Maybe add some stuff I forgot.
-Maybe nicer format for some things.
-Some pictures might spice this guide up. Does somebody want to share some awesome SwapNote pictures with me?
-Add a list of nice ideas you can do with SwapNote. Post your ideas too!.
So. Any help/suggestions/reactions on this will be appreciated. This guide might be missing all kinds of crucial information.
Feel free to drop a reply!
~RJ
This guide is about one of the free applications that is available for all Nintendo 3DS users since end 2011. This application, called SwapNote on the US version of the 3DS, and LetterBox on the European/Australian version , enables people to send notes, drawn on the touchscreen to other 3DS users.
Why did you make this guide?
1. Because I REALLY like SwapNote.
2. Because I've seen some other people being confused about it.
So, how can I find SwapNote/LetterBox?
SwapNote/LetterBox can be found on the HomeScreen. It has a green icon with a white Envelope and a triangle on it.
What can I do in SwapNote?
At the beginning, you can only draw notes and send them to other people through StreetPass or SpotPass.
However, after sending some notes, you will unlock more and more new features that you can use.
So tell me, what are those features?
Okay, a list of features. Most of these features are unlocked after you have made X notes, and some of these features require some Play Coins to unlock them.
Since I have unlocked all of these features already, and I did not exactly keep track on how much notes I made, I cannot give an exact list of how many notes you need.
(Hopefully, somebody can help me with this? ^^').
This list is in order of appearance. New features will appear after you have sent more notes.
-You can draw notes on the touch screen. A note can have a maximum of four pages.
-You can send notes to other players using SpotPass or StreetPass.
-You can draw text in Pop-Up mode, when the 3D slider is on, it will look as if the text pops out of the screen.
-You can reply to the notes other players have sent you. Replies can only be one page, and you cannot change stationaries or add attachments to them. Also, you can only send one reply to one note.
-You can add Pictures to your notes. These pictures can be both 2D and 3D. SwapNote can load pictures from your SD card. You have to pay 10? play coins to use it)
-You can add small sound fragments that you recorded in Nintendo Sound. These sound fragments need to be less than 5 seconds to be able to be used.(You have to pay 10? play coins to use it)
-You can set some of your notes(up to 100) to Favorite. This gives them a crown for easy recognition, you can use the L and R buttons to go from one favorite right to the next, and they won't be deleted if you have more than 3000 notes and they are the oldest one.
-You can save Pictures that other players have sent to you(costs 10 Play Coins)
-You can save Sounds that other players have sent to you(costs 15 Play Coins)
-You can change stationaries.(AKA the background of the note). There are six Stationaries unlocked at the beginning. Buying more costs 5 PlayCoins for each new kind.
-You can change the Date Stamp of a note. Setting dates back in time will make the note appear as if it was sent back then already, and setting the stamp forward in time will make the note wait until that time to be sent.(I dont remember if this costs Play Coins or not...)
Who is Nikki?
Nikki is a helpful woman-mii that will explain how to use SwapNote to you, and provide you with tips.
Whenever a new feature is added, she will explain it to you.
Can you explain what stationaries are in more detail?
A Stationary is kind of like the design of the note. The standard, first design is simply white paper with a green border.
At a certain point, you will unlock the option to change the Stationary. Different Stationaries:
-Look different
-Have different 3D effects(i.e., clouds floating by, or fireworks going off)
-Have a different location where the photo is placed(i.e., on the left side, on the right side, in a heart-shape) and sometimes even affect the color of the photo(i.e. change the photo to Black-and-White or Sepia)
A list of Stationaries released so far:
These six are unlocked as soon as you are able to change the Stationary:
-Standard. White with a green border and two rows of very small green dots. This is the Default Stationary you use.
-Music. A Note Staff and a G-clef, as well as some 3D notes floating by.
-House on the Hills. A clear blue sky with a few floating clouds, and three hills with a small house in the middle. Some trees as well.
-Happy Yellow Mii. Your mii in a circle emitting yellow rays of light. The mii has a happy look on his/her face.
-Dinner. A red-white table cloth with a cup, two knives, three forks and a Plate.
-AirMail Postcard. It's a postcard with a red-white-blue border. Your mii is on the stamp. Some planes fly over the card now and then.
The following Stationaries need to be unlocked by paying 5 PlayCoins for each:
-Nikki's frame. White background with slight-green winged notes in the background. Features a yellow and green dotted border. This is the Stationary that Nikki uses in all her notes.
-Squares Paper(how is this called in proper english again?). Blue border and features small squares. Can prove useful when drawing certain stuff or games.
-Angry Red Mii. Your mii in a spiky white thing, looking very unhappy. Steam is coming from your mii, and the background is red/orange with rays.
-Happy people. Features a bunch of people being happy in front of some mountains with faces.
-Hand-Made Paper. Really nice thick-looking white paper. Has a small red japanese Symbol in the lower right. "The character on the Hand-Made Paper is "nin". It means responsibility/duty"(Thanks Darkicecrystal
) Red background behind the paper.-Sad Blue mii. Your mii in a circle under a spotlight, looking very sad. Some dots(tears?) are falling. Blue background.
-the Star Frame. Two blue curves with stars floating by in the middle.
-Cherry Blossom. Blue background. In the lower right, some twigs with blossoms. It's raining pink flower leaves.
-Snowman. A snowman and a snow...rabbit? before a red background. Some round snowflakes fall down.
-Soap Bubbles. A blue background with soap bubbles floating by in all directions.
-Frog on the Lily. Blue background with a frog on a lily. Raindrops are falling. Also, two dotted lines to write on.
-Nintendo 3DS Cristmas Card(I guess?). Features orange, green and white snowflake-ish shapes. Red background, yellow thing at the bottom. The text Nintendo 3DS can be read. In the middle a white frame with two dotted lines.
-Valentine. Pink frame with a big heart. Two white lines to write on. Small hearts floating up all around the place.
-Purple Cat. A cat in front of a purple decorative border. A chandelier and ribbons can be seen. some white flimmering stars can be seen.
-Card with Roses. A bouquet with roses, a name tag and a small white card to write on. Pink background.
-Pralines. A pink ribbon and a pink border on the top. Two purple dotted lines to write on. Also, small pralines on the bottom.
-Halloween. A moon, two bats, A web, spider, wisards hat, cat, etc. can be seen. Background looks like a checkerbord. purple/brouwn-ish. Occasionally, ghosts fly past(even a moustached one).
-Marine. An anchor logo, some pearls, two red ribbons and blue/white stripes in the background. With a white frame.
-Nature painting.(needs some better name...). Very colorful(mostly red, yellow, orange, grey), features two deers, some leaves, some butterflies and a rose. In the background, paintings can be seen.
-Confetti. Features yellow/orange Rays as well as confetti floating everywhere =D.
-Sunset. A terass, two palm leaves, the sea and a sun setting.
-Birthday Cake. A round white cake with strawberries, blueberries and candles. some presents at the side. And a name tag in the upper left. Yellow background.
-Megaphone. Red background. White pointy frame screamed from a megaphone in the lower left corner. Moves. Photos inside the frame will move as well.
-Treasure Map. Looks like an old sea chart with a small boat, a compass rose and some islands. brown-ish.
-Oldstyle Movie. On top and bottom are moving... film thingies. Features two brown dotted lines to write on and real good old flimmering. Photos will appear black-and white as well.
-Gears. White background with moving grey gears on top.
-Porcelain. Blue with a white background. Two lines to write on and a small bird on top of... something.
-Wanted Poster. Has WANTED in big letters on it. Looks worn-out. Photos will be sepia when added to this Stationary.
-Soccer. Green field, two goals. A soccer ball shooting past.
-White Winter. Really beautiful Ice Cristals are falling down. White chirsmas trees. Blue background.
-Blue Heart.(needs some better name...). A blue heart with two stars circling around it. Small twinkles are coming off of it. Blue background.
-House on the Hills at night. Just like the first house on the hills picture this features a small house, three hills and some trees. But now at night, with light in the house, some smoke from the chimney, a moon and some falling stars.
-Japanese Fireworks. A mountain landscape with a temple at the left side. A lake in the middle. A japanese Symbol on one of the mountains. Fireworks are shot up in the sky.
-News Studio. Features Nikki sitting in a New Studio, with a world map on the news screen.
-Under the Sea. Blue water. You can see sunlight coming from above. Fish are swimming around.
-Earth from the Moon. A moon landscape with the earh turning in the upper right corner. Stars floating past behind. Black background.
The following Stationaries can only be unlocked by getting them from somebody who already has unlocked them.
-Japanese New-Years Stationary. A red-and-yellow ribbon and white paper on top of a blue paper wich is again on top of a green paper. Red flowers are falling down. Was sent to japanese people at the start of 2012.
-Valentine Stationary. In the top left a red decoration, in the bottom right a red decoration. Slightly pink background. Small 3D hearts float out of the top screen. Was sent to all people in a date-locked note wich opened on Valentines Day (feb 14) 2012.
How many notes can my 3DS store at maximum?
The maximum is 3000 notes. If you get any more notes, the oldes ones will be deleted. When a note is set as a favorite, however, it will note be deleted.
Replies to this favorited note are not save from deletion, however.
It might be a good idea to clean up your notes if you are almost at 3000.
What's the maximum amount of people I can send a note to?
You can send a note to all friends in your Friend List. The maximum amount of friends in your Friend List is 100, so you can send a note to 100 people max.
Is there a way to duplicate a note somebody sent me and send it to someone else?
No. You can get the possible attached picture and sound file, but you will have to recreate the note.
TODO:
-Update photo locations in the Stationary List.
-Maybe add some stuff I forgot.
-Maybe nicer format for some things.
-Some pictures might spice this guide up. Does somebody want to share some awesome SwapNote pictures with me?
-Add a list of nice ideas you can do with SwapNote. Post your ideas too!
.So. Any help/suggestions/reactions on this will be appreciated. This guide might be missing all kinds of crucial information.
Feel free to drop a reply!
~RJ
