Note Your Thoughts

A photo of a band flyer. The packing list. Books friends recommend. A solution that came to you in a dream. Plenty of apps can gather all these bits of information together, and plenty do a great job. But most likely only one is already on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac: Apple’s Notes. In Sierra, Apple adds a smattering of improvements to Notes and one biggie: Now you can share notes with family and friends ①.

**①** As of Sierra, you can share notes with others to simplify everyday tasks, like making a grocery list or collecting images for a presentation.
① As of Sierra, you can share notes with others to simplify everyday tasks, like making a grocery list or collecting images for a presentation.

See Notes on All Your Devices

Since Notes syncs through iCloud and is a default app on all iOS 10 and Sierra devices, it can be a great way to move information around. Work on your meeting agenda on the bus and then when you get to work, proof it on a bigger screen and print it or paste it into an email message. Or, take notes on your MacBook during a meeting and check them on your iPhone at the hotel.

Setting up a Notes Account

To make sure you can see Notes on all your iOS and Sierra devices, go to System Preferences > Internet Accounts. Select iCloud in the list to the left and then make sure that the Notes checkbox is selected.

In Notes, you see an iCloud header in the Folders sidebar—everything under the iCloud header syncs through iCloud.

As long as your Mac is signed in to iCloud with Notes enabled for iCloud, by default, Siri creates your new notes within your iCloud account.

Removing a Notes Account

You may see other types of accounts in the Folders sidebar under their own headers—such as Gmail. If you don’t want these on your Mac, Go to System Preferences > Internet Accounts. Select the account at the left and then make sure the Notes checkbox is not selected.

Create a New Folder

Notes organizes your notes in folders. For instance, you can create a folder for a trip you’re planning or a project you’re working on. (Can’t see any folders? Click the Folders button or choose View > Show Folders.)

To create a new folder in the currently selected account:

  1. Click the New Folder button at the bottom of the Folders sidebar ②, or choose File > New Folder, or press Command-Shift-N.
    **②** To create a new folder, click the New Folder button (circled).
    ② To create a new folder, click the New Folder button (circled).
  2. The new folder appears in the sidebar with its name selected.
  3. Type a name for the new folder.

Create a Note

To start a new note in the currently selected folder, click the New Note button, choose File > New Note, or press Command-N. You can also start a new note using Siri ③. (See Say Hello to Siri to learn how to activate Apple’s digital assistant on your Mac.)

**③** Perhaps the easiest way to start a new note is to say “Siri, take a note” and begin dictating. To add to a note later, say “Siri, add to my note” and Siri will ask you to choose which one.
③ Perhaps the easiest way to start a new note is to say “Siri, take a note” and begin dictating. To add to a note later, say “Siri, add to my note” and Siri will ask you to choose which one.

A New Note entry appears in the Notes list, and a blank note appears at the right.

Start typing in the blank note. The first paragraph you type appears both in the note and in the note’s entry in the Notes list.

Format Text

How your thoughts appear is up to you as Notes supports a number of formatting options.

Choosing a Font

Choose from any of your Mac’s fonts in the Font palette. To reveal it, choose Format > Font > Show Fonts or press Command-T.

Making Text Colorful

Select text, and then choose Format > Font > Show Colors (or press Command-Shift-C) to reveal the macOS Color Picker ④. Click a color in the palette to apply it to your text.

**④** Summon the Color Picker (press Command-Shift-C) to make text more colorful.
④ Summon the Color Picker (press Command-Shift-C) to make text more colorful.

Making Text Bigger or Smaller

No exact font sizes here—we’re taking notes, not doing page layout!

  • Bigger text: Choose Format > Font > Bigger (or press Command-Equal).
  • Smaller text: Choose Format > Font > Smaller (or press Command-Minus).

As of Sierra, you can set the default Notes font size by choosing Notes > Preferences and then adjusting the Default Text Size slider ⑤.

**⑤** Make notes easier to read by adjusting the Default Text Size slider in Notes’ preferences.
⑤ Make notes easier to read by adjusting the Default Text Size slider in Notes’ preferences.

Applying a Style

  • Paragraph style: Click in a paragraph (or select text in it), click the Style button, and choose from Title, Heading, Body, Bulleted List, Dashed List, or Numbered List ⑥.
**⑥** Apply styles using Notes’ Style button.
⑥ Apply styles using Notes’ Style button.
  • Character format: Select the text and choose an option in the Format > Font submenu. Common keyboard shortcuts apply: Command-B for bold, Command-I for italic, Command-U for underline, and so on.

Indenting Text

Scoot text in from the left margin with an indent:

  • Indent: Choose Format > Indentation > Increase (or press Command-]).
  • Un-indent: Choose Format > Indentation > Decrease (or press Command-[)

Changing the Alignment

Go to Format > Text and choose from Align Left, Center, Justify, or Align Right.

Wouldn’t it be nice if Notes had a formatting toolbar so you could skip the menu? Yes. We’ll keep hoping that the next version of the macOS brings us one.

Make a Checklist

Select a list in a note and then click the Checklist button, choose Format > Checklist, or press Command-Shift-L.

Round circles appear next to each item. Click one to check it off ⑦. These checklists don’t hook up to a database or anything fancy like that. They just tell you what you need to know: Did you do this task, or did you not?

**⑦** Once you’ve formatted selected items as a list using the Checklist button (circled), you can check off completed items.
⑦ Once you’ve formatted selected items as a list using the Checklist button (circled), you can check off completed items.

Attach Photos and More

Sierra’s Notes isn’t limited to plain text and simple attachments. Collect all sorts of items that catch your attention. Add sketches, voice memos, Web pages, photos, videos, documents, and map locations.

Adding a Photo or Video

Perhaps you like to take a picture of the sunset every night, or you frequently snap shots of flyers and other things you see to remember later. It’s easy to add images and videos to notes and the app can display many different image file formats, including GIF, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, MOV, and Photoshop (PSD).

Here are a few methods for adding a photo or video to a note:

  • Choose Window > Photo Browser to look through your Photos and Photo Booth images and videos ⑧. Drag and drop one from the palette to insert it in a note. If the image is a video, you can click the palette’s Play button to preview it.
**⑧** Choose Window > Photo Browser to look through images and videos in your Photos library. Drag and drop images from the palette to a note.
⑧ Choose Window > Photo Browser to look through images and videos in your Photos library. Drag and drop images from the palette to a note.
  • Drag and drop an image onto a note, say from the Finder, an email message, or a document.
  • Choose Edit > Attach File (or press Command-Shift-A), navigate to one in the Finder, and click Attach.
  • Control-click a note and choose Import Image to capture an image from an attached camera or scanner. (Note that an iPhone connected to the Mac shows up as a camera, but the Mac’s built-in camera does not.)
  • When you’re in an app—for example, Preview or Photos—click the Share button and choose Notes to send an image or video to Notes. If you’d rather append it to a note you’ve already made, click the Choose Note pop-up menu and select the note you want from the list ⑨.
**⑨** Use the Share button to send an image or video to Notes. To add the image to the end of a preexisting note, click the Choose Note pop-up menu and select the note from the list.
⑨ Use the Share button to send an image or video to Notes. To add the image to the end of a preexisting note, click the Choose Note pop-up menu and select the note from the list.

Adding a File

Sometimes it helps to gather the files for a project—PDFs, documents, spreadsheets, you name it. Notes can display PDFs and include links to most other file types. To add a file:

  • Drag and drop a file on your note.
  • Choose Edit > Attach File (or press Command-Shift-A), navigate to one in the Finder, and click Attach.

If the file is a PDF, its first page will preview in your note ⑩. Otherwise, its name will appear along with its file size and icon. Double-click the preview or link to open the file in its parent app.

**⑩** When you add a PDF, by default its first page previews in the note.
⑩ When you add a PDF, by default its first page previews in the note.
  • Type the URL (Web address) and press Return. It automatically becomes a clickable link.
  • To add a link to a page you see in Safari, click the Share button, choose Notes, and click Save. A note appears with a short description, the link, and, in most cases, a thumbnail representing the story or Web site.

Adding a Map

  1. When in Maps, pull up the map that you want to add to a note, click the Share button, and choose Notes.
  2. In the Save dialog, leave the Choose Note menu set to New Note or choose a note to append the map to.
  3. Optionally, enter text. For a new note, the first paragraph of text that you enter appears as a title in the Notes list.
  4. Click Save.

In Notes, the map appears as a thumbnail. Double-click this to jump back to the directions or location in the Maps app ⑪.

**⑪** Share a map to Notes and it appears as a thumbnail with a brief summary. Double-click this to jump to the location or directions in the Maps app.
⑪ Share a map to Notes and it appears as a thumbnail with a brief summary. Double-click this to jump to the location or directions in the Maps app.

Deleting Content

If you change your mind about something you’ve added to a note, just select it and press Delete.

New(ish)! Lock a Note

Whether you use Notes as a diary or simply store tidbits there you’d rather keep to yourself, you’ll be happy to hear that Apple slipped in a new Notes feature as of iOS 9.3 and 10.11.4 El Capitan that lets you lock notes for privacy. Use a single password for private notes on all of your devices. (Or, if your iOS device has Touch ID, unlock your notes there with your fingerprint.)

Password-protecting a Note

  1. Select a note. It can’t contain video, audio, PDF, or document files.
  2. Choose File > Lock This Note or click the Lock button on the Notes toolbar and choose Lock This Note ⑬.
    **⑬** To protect a note against prying eyes, click the Lock button on the toolbar and choose Lock This Note.
    ⑬ To protect a note against prying eyes, click the Lock button on the toolbar and choose Lock This Note.

    If you’ve already set up a note password, a lock icon appears adjacent the note’s title and you’re done. If this is the first time you’ve locked a note, continue with these steps.

  3. In the dialog that appears, type a password in the Password field and then type it again in the Verify field. (This will be the password for all your locked notes on all your iCloud-enabled devices. )
  4. Leave yourself a helpful clue in the Password Hint field. It will appear if you mess up your password three times in a row.
  5. Click Set Password.

Locking Your Notes

To lock all password-protected notes, click the Lock button and choose Close All Locked Notes.

Unlocking Your Notes

Select any locked note and enter your password. Once you’ve entered the password, all notes stay unlocked until:

  • You’ve been idle in Notes for a period of time. (Apple says 3 minutes, but in my testing notes stayed open as long as 13 minutes.)
  • You close the Notes app.
  • You lock your notes by clicking the Lock button and choosing Close All Locked Notes.

If you decide you don’t want to lock a particular note any longer, select it, click the Lock button, enter your password, and choose Remove Lock.

New! Share Notes with Others

Whether you need to coordinate a grocery list or brainstorm a project, now you can do it in Notes in both iOS 10 and Sierra.

Sharing a Note

  1. Start a note—or view an existing note.
  2. Click the Add People button on the Notes toolbar.

    A dialog appears ⑮ where you can choose how to invite people—via Mail, Messages, Twitter, Facebook, AirDrop, LinkedIn, or by copying a link and pasting it into something else.

    **⑮** There are a number of different ways to invite someone to share a note with you.
    ⑮ There are a number of different ways to invite someone to share a note with you.
  3. Make your choice and click Share.

You can tell which notes are shared by looking for the Sharing symbol next to their names in the Notes list ⑯.

**⑯** You can tell if a note is shared by looking for a sharing symbol next to its name.
⑯ You can tell if a note is shared by looking for a sharing symbol next to its name.

Collaborating in Real-time

Once the person accepts your invitation, they can open the note on their iOS 10 or Sierra device and get cracking. You’ll see edits highlight briefly as contributors work in the note ⑰.

**⑰** As contributors work in the note, edits highlight briefly as they’re made.
⑰ As contributors work in the note, edits highlight briefly as they’re made.

Stopping Sharing

Select the note, click the View Participants button, click the button that appears to the right of a contributor’s name when you hover over it, and choose Remove Access ⑱.

**⑱** To stop sharing a note with someone, click the View Participants button, click the button to the right of the person’s name, and then choose Remove Access.
⑱ To stop sharing a note with someone, click the View Participants button, click the button to the right of the person’s name, and then choose Remove Access.

To stop sharing the note altogether, click the View Participants button and then click the Stop Sharing button.

Search for Notes

Type a descriptive term in the search field at the upper right. (There’s no natural-language search in Notes.)

To limit your search to the account that’s selected in the sidebar, click the downward arrow that appears next to the magnifying glass when the search field is active and choose Current Account. Choose All Accounts (the default) to search all your notes.

Browse Your Attachments

The Attachment Browser gives you a visual way to rummage through the files you’ve attached to notes, organized by category: Photos & Videos, Sketches (from Notes in iOS 9), Maps, Websites, Audio, and Documents.

Showing the Browser

  • Choose View > Show Attachments Browser.
  • Click the Attachments Browser button.
  • Press Command-1.

Click a category name to see the attachments shown there ⑲.

**⑲** Click the Photos & Videos category in the Attachment Browser to see all the images in your notes.
⑲ Click the Photos & Videos category in the Attachment Browser to see all the images in your notes.

You can’t change or delete an item in the Attachment Browser. But, you can double-click a thumbnail to open it in its default application. For example, images and sketches will open in Preview, map information in Maps, and so on. You can also play a voice memo or video.

Viewing an Attachment in Its Note

Control-click an attachment in the Attachment Browser and choose Show in Note from the contextual menu to see the note containing the attachment ⑳.

**⑳** Control-click an item in the Attachment Browser and choose Show in Note to open the note where it resides.
⑳ Control-click an item in the Attachment Browser and choose Show in Note to open the note where it resides.

The Quick Look command, also on the contextual menu, can be a handy way to see more of an attachment, but you can also trigger Quick Look by selecting an attachment and pressing the Space bar.

Exiting the Browser

  • Choose View > Hide Attachments Browser.
  • Click the Attachments button again.
  • Press Command-1 again.

Export and Share Notes

  • It’s possible to export a note as a PDF. To do so, choose File > Export as PDF.
  • Share a note with another app by clicking the Share button and choosing the app’s name. For instance, click the Share button and then choose Mail to create a new email message that includes the contents of your note.

Delete a Note

To remove a note, select it and then press Delete or click the Delete button. Notes has got your back: if you delete a note and change your mind, chances are that you’ll find it in the Recently Deleted folder (in the left-hand Folders sidebar ). Drag it into another folder to restore it.

Notes are permanently deleted after 30 days unless you delete them from the Recently Deleted folder first—then, they’re gone.

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