Apple Notes is an excellent note-taking app that often goes under the radar because many of its best features are hidden. The app does a great job at capturing your ideas and syncing them across Apple devices, but when you start digging deeper, you'll quickly realize that it has powerful features under the hood. As someone who's used the app for over a decade, I've discovered quite a few of the best Apple Notes hacks on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Here are 10 I think everyone should know.
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Credit: Pranay ParabApps > Notes > Password, and enable Use Face ID (or Touch ID, if you have an iPhone or iPad with a fingerprint sensor). On a Mac, click the Notes button in the menu bar, select Settings, and enable Use Touch ID. It's worth noting, though, that shared notes can't be locked.
Enable offline notes to bypass iCloud syncing
Apple Notes is designed to sync notes across devices, but you can keep certain notes offline by enabling the "On My iPhone/iPad/Mac" account on your device. When you do this, notes stored in that folder won't be synced with other devices using the same iCloud account. However, these notes aren't completely offline either. If you have iCloud Backup enabled on those devices, Apple will save a copy of your "On my iPhone/iPad/Mac" notes to the cloud. To enable this folder on your iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > Apps > Notes, and enable On My iPhone/iPad Account. On your Mac, click the Notes button in the menu bar, select Settings, and enable On My Mac Account.
Once you're done writing, hit the checkmark button in the top-right corner, then long-press your handwritten text to reveal more options. Select Straighten to make the handwriting more level. You can also tap the three-dots icon in the top-right corner of the note, select Lines & Grids, and pick one option to make it easier to write in a straight line. I prefer using an unruled note, but you can pick a different option that's better for you. Other handwriting options include Refine (makes the handwriting more legible), Convert a text object to handwriting, and Paste typed text in your handwriting. The last two features require you to have your handwriting saved in a note, with at least 10 unique lowercase characters, which allows Apple to convert text into your handwriting.
Some of these features are also available on iPhone. You can open any note in the app, select the pen icon in the toolbar above the keyboard, pick one of the tools, and start writing. It's not as intuitive as using an iPad with an Apple Pencil or another stylus, but it's decent enough for a quick scribble.
Use advanced search filters to find the note you’re looking for
Credit: Pranay ParabApple Notes can do basic math, too. Type a simple arithmetic operation like 625/5, then drop the "=" sign to see the result. By default, Apple Notes suggests the result in the note, and you can press the space bar to accept it. However, you can change this setting so the app automatically inserts the result instead. To do this, click the three dots in the top-right corner of any note and select Math Results > Insert Results. To turn off math results entirely, select the Off option in the same menu.
Export your notes for backup or transfer
If you wish to take an offline backup of your notes, you won't find a bulk export option in the app. Instead, you'll need to rely on third-party tools to get the job done. One such option is Exporter, which can back up all your notes for free. This method is best suited for offline backups, but if you're looking to switch to another app, you're better off using the bulk import tools those apps offer.
ProNotes is one of my favorite extensions for Apple Notes on the Mac. The app brings Markdown support to Apple Notes, a popover context menu when you select text, and slash commands for commonly used actions. All of these features make it faster to execute common actions such as adding a heading, bullets and numbering, or inserting tables. The app is a free download, and you only need to pay if you want to use its optional AI features.
Use Smart Folders for automatic notes sorting
Credit: Pranay ParabYou can also right-click any folder in Apple Notes for Mac, and select Convert to Smart Folder to retroactively turn any folder smart. On your iPhone and iPad, tap the Edit button in the top-right corner of the list of folders, tap the three dots next to any folder, and select Convert to Smart Folder.
Link multiple notes together to connect similar ideas
Apple Notes supports contextual linking, which lets you link one note to another. Say you're studying a subject and taking notes in the app. You can use this feature to link back to similar topics you've studied before, which makes it easier to go back to those topics and memorize what you need to. To do this on your iPhone or iPad, open any note, and swipe left on the toolbar above the keyboard. This will reveal the hyperlink icon, which is next to the formatting options and the pencil icon. Tap the hyperlink button, and type the title of the note you wish to link to. As you type, the app will suggest different notes that match that title. You can select the note from the list, confirm your choice, and a link to the old note will appear in the note you're working on. In Apple Notes for Mac, you can right-click inside any note, and select Add Link to locate the same feature.
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