✍️ Apple Notes - Crafting the Perfect Note

[@fidoalca9]

Thanks!

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Thanks so much for that generous tip! Glad you enjoyed it, please let me know if there’s anything else you’d like to learn!

[@radensj]

Dylan: This is the best explanation of Apple Notes I have seen... so thank you! A question: have you produce a tutorial on Apple Journal? Can you compare the use of Journal vs. Notes?

[@TheMacWhisperer]

I actually just released a video on the Journal app this last weekend. 📅 They're very different programs. Notes is best for long-form documents and things you need to keep track of... 📝 While the Journal app is really made to prompt you for regular daily reflections and insights. 💭 They occupy similar territory, but definitely have different purposes. You can check out my new video on the Journal app here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h5mxopyNfpJni9E

[@doanetriggs6254]

Finding this website has been a game changer for me and I look forward to seeing a new MacWhisperer video pop up in my subscriptions! I take a little time each morning to learn something new and then spend a few days practicing and applying the knowledge. This video absolutely transformed my use of notes. Many thanks for this very well defined video.

[@TheMacWhisperer]

I'm so glad you found me. I love the practice of learning something new every day. Any specific topics you'd like me to cover in the future? And also, if you really want to up your technology game, you should check out my free live classes this week. You can register for them here: www.themacwhisperer.com/digital-declutter-3class-workshop

[@patrickgiacomini8155]

Ty for the greaaat video on Notes. This is one of my favorite Apple tools. So much so that I trusted it with my daily journal with hours on jobs and valuable information. Then one day while editing, I believe I selected everything in the note and backspaced, there by destroying everything. I called Apple and tried everything I could imagine but couldn’t restore it. After watching your video, I thought I would ask if you have any ideas on restoring that information. The undo button was not available. Everything else on the phone was fine. It was just that one particular note. At any rate, I appreciate all you do.

[@bonnij]

I like your delivery. You kept me engaged the whole time. I didn’t even wander off for a cup of coffee during the video. I love Notes. I use it for everything. This is excellent content, not just clickbait. Thank you for this. I subscribed.

[@TheMacWhisperer]

I’m so glad you got good value from this video. There’s several other videos in the series… I would recommend checking all of them out. And let me know if there’s other stuff you’d like me to cover in the future. Welcome aboard!

[@tigerlily6512]

You’re an excellent teacher.

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Thank you so much! I love teaching people how to maximize their technology. Any topics you’d like to see me cover in the future?

[@Bunny-k1x]

Thank you for this excellent tutorial! I am happy to learn how to use Notes more effectively.

[@TheMacWhisperer]

I'm so glad it was helpful! What was your biggest takeaway from the video?

[@apisV66]

Excellent content, awesome dynamics...!...I'm still assessing to migrate from other note taking app. My no-go issue is that I wanted the option to record an audio while I'm taking a note, simultaneously. It seem that currently, it's not possible yet, as the audio recording lock the app in this only task. Hopefully new actualizations can sort it out!

[@yamil.343]

You’re the best when it comes to tutorials 😊

[@TheMacWhisperer]

I’m so glad you enjoy the videos I’m making. Do you have any requests for future videos? Or any takeaways you’d like to share?

[@yamil.343]

@@TheMacWhisperer for now no but I appreciate u asking 😊

[@als7132]

I appreciate the information on how to use Apple Notes.

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Glad it was helpful. Have you seen the other videos in this series? This one is video #3: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bp_ZpmCCdqahY9E

[@perrysrc]

Great video I enjoy watching your new content and learn something every time.

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Glad to hear it! What was your biggest take away from this video?

[@perrysrc]

@ adding attachments and collapsing headers to hide bullets.

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Love it! Great work!

[@vaidy2000]

Great Tutorial explaining every aspect of Apple Note. By the way I love your colourful shirts 😊

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Glad you liked the video... and thanks for noticing the shirts! I'm a big fan of bright colors. Some of my viewers have been asking me where I get the shirts, so I may post a link in my about page later this week.

[@rameshvaidya4710]

Loved every minute of it! Simply fantastic, both Notes app & your tutorial.

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Thanks for watching! Have you seen my other videos on the notes app?

[@rameshvaidya4710]

@ not yet. Will do it.

[@kdlehmer]

Great tutorial, I learned a lot! I've also noticed that there seems to be 2 distinct types of "fields" in a Note once you add a graphic or drawing: 1) Text field, 2) graphics field. Once created you can drag the graphic field "boundaries" up or down a bit to expand or shrink it. Tap and hold within the field to add space, etc. The graphics field won't let you begin typing text again until you tap far enough below (or outside) the graphic. I've learned to work with that "rule" but what if you accidentally create a graphic field? How do you delete a graphics field? There seems like there's a short subject video opportunity here to explain how to manipulate and manage graphics vs. text fields in Notes. So far I'm stumped.

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Yeah, I keep hoping that the graphics and Tex fields can be more tightly integrated with each other but that hasn’t happened yet. At this point if you accidentally create a graphics field the best thing you can do is put your cursor below it, and then hit delete until you eliminate it . Thanks for watching, glad it’s been valuable.

[@kdlehmer]

@@TheMacWhisperer That worked, thanks!

[@Mrdiez82]

I’m new to this ecosystem, and all your information is highly appreciated. New subscriber. Thanks!

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Welcome aboard! 🚀 Let me know what else you need help with, and I'll be happy to point you in the right direction. 😊

[@georgevoumvakis7469]

Sorting Notes Folders - love your videos, you do a great job presenting the material in a clear one fun way. My question to you is, can we sort the note folders? I know we can sort the notes in folders quite easily, but can we sort the actual folders themselves? I know we can move the manually sort them, but when you've created a lot of folders, it be very time-consuming to sort manually. It would be nice to have a button to sort, alphabetically for example. Please let me know and thanks so much for what you do.

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Unfortunately, there's no inherent way to sort things by the titles of the folders. But what I tell people is that if you have such a long list of folders that you need the alphabet to organize it for you, then you've got too many folders. I strongly recommend creating a handful of generic folders with simple names like: - Travel - Personal - Work - Family - Friends - Finances And sort your long list into those smaller lists to make it easier. The alphabet is fine as an arbitrary sorting system, but it assumes that the folders that start with the letter A are inherently more important than the folders that start with the letter Z, which just isn't always true. So rather than looking for a way to keep all of those folders in one alphabetical list, I recommend breaking it up into simpler, smaller folders to keep it easier. Also, make sure you check out my newest video in this series which talks all about how to sort and organize your notes. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hWXIc2SXid5si8U

[@jeff2tc99]

Thanks - I thought I knew it all till I watched this vid. Great one. I live outside the US and we don’t have apple intelligence yet. I still would have liked to hear what I can eventually use that last little round icon on the menu for? (I assume it’s AI?)

[@TheMacWhisperer]

I promise… I will get to it. It’s currently set for video six in the series… Which means it’s a couple of weeks away, but stay tuned. Apple Intelligence will eventually get released outside of the US, but your iPhone 14 will not be able to take advantage of it. Still, knowing what it can do will give you a better understanding, and allow you to pick your next phone properly so that you can use it.

[@MitchGaar]

Great video! Notes is so useful when someone like yourself shows us how to use it and all the tricks! Awesome info!

[@TheMacWhisperer]

I'm glad you're finding it helpful! Let me know if you have any requests on what you'd like to learn!

[@MitchGaar]

@@TheMacWhisperer The reminder app and note app are my two things I really would like to learn more about! I am just a beginner in both! Love notes app! Can I send an Android user a Note from my Apple iPhone and they can reply and or read it? Thanks so much! Love the way you explain things!

[@TheMacWhisperer]

You can send an Android user a note, but you have to send it as text. They cannot share and collaborate because they don't have Apple Notes in their ecosystem. I have a lot more videos on notes and reminders coming soon. Thanks for watching!

[@TonyVawnz]

I never looked it up but always wanted to use the columns. Thanks!

[@TheMacWhisperer]

I'm glad you found this tip useful!

[@Pio_Nono]

Great Content. As allways! Thank you! 🎉

[@HarryJoiner-uq4yk]

I’ve had trouble with mark up. I can import a PDF and do mark up on it. I can’t type something and then go back and highlight or do mark up on something I’ve typed. There seems to be a separation between my typing and handwriting in the same document. I appreciated your video. It was clear, understandable, and easy to follow. Thank you.

[@dwarftomatoproject]

Fantastic episode - especially loved the tip for drag and drop and the power tip 🤓 But I also want to say that the more I watch your videos the more I enjoy learning new stuff which is a bonus! Thanks heaps!

[@TheMacWhisperer]

I'm glad you liked the drag-and-drop tip, it's one of my favorites too! What’s your big Takeaway from today’s video?

[@JoelDino]

Best presentation on Notes!

[@TheMacWhisperer]

So glad you got good value out of it. Stay tuned! There's a handful of additional videos in the works for this playlist, including how to share and collaborate, how to organize, the advanced tools of Notes, and even how to use Apple Intelligence with Notes. Please let me know if there's anything else you'd like to learn!

[@tigerlily6512]

Very clear!

[@1monagale]

Just discovered your channel-it’s brilliant! Always more to learn, thanks 🎉

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Glad you found it! What what did you learn in this video, and what kind of notes do you like to create on your phone?

[@maurice491]

Outstanding. Thank for great tips.

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Thanks for watching! Glad you found the tips useful. Any big takeaways you'd like to share?

[@mehmd1913]

For websites try doing the screenshot option and select all the content. It will create a PDF that you can share to the notes app

[@TheMacWhisperer]

That's a really cool trick! Thanks for sharing it.

[@marycook3958]

Wow … mind blown 🤯 Thank you!

[@TheMacWhisperer]

You are very welcome! Glad you found it helpful.

[@mvraman9394]

Prof. Dylan superb ❤

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Glad you enjoyed it! Any major takeaways?

[@mehmd1913]

Take the picture with the camera. Then crop and edit the picture then share to the note you want. Yes you can take the picture directly via notes but it better to use the camera/photos apps to get a better picture.

[@TheMacWhisperer]

I agree with you, that’s definitely the best way to take photos in the Notes app.

[@wvkol]

I like your clear explanation of the topics that you cover, but I am a little confused about the difference between Apple Notes and the Files / Finder app. There seems to be a lot of redundancy there. Do you have a video on the best ways to use each?

[@TheMacWhisperer]

I have separate videos for the Files app and the Finder. Those two are somewhat similar to each other, but they are both 100% different from the Notes app. The Finder is a Mac application that allows you to navigate through your computer, find documents and folders, and organize everything digitally. The Files app is an iPad and iPhone application that allows you to access files stored to the cloud through iCloud, Dropbox, Google, or more. The Notes app is a place to save the text (and some images or attachments) of things you need to refer back to quickly, so you don't have to scramble through multiple files, folders, and file paths to find that document that you need to read or write on every day. They have very different functions. Check out this video to learn more about the Finder: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q3SThKuYf7aYmaM And this video to learn more about the Files app:kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3vEipSsdt6to5o Watch this Notes video next to clear up any other questions you've got: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bp_ZpmCCdqahY9E And feel free to ask for any more information.

[@aa664_]

15:00 ( i couldn't agree with you more ! ) 💯 for telling people not to Crap up their Apple Notes by adding toooo much stuff to it... mine is soooo SLOW since i've been using it since 2014. That is 10 years of notes bloat and I've screwed myself over as Notes is having Speed and Sync issues etc. ( YOU'VE ALL BEEN WARNED to avoid Digital Hoarding ). 😛

[@TheMacWhisperer]

You know I don't have a problem with people hoarding information, and if you organize it well, it's really not an issue. But when you add a bunch of attachments to your notes, it can really screw things up. I have several thousand notes and have been using them for a long time without any slowdown or sync issues, but I also think it's important to have separate folders because if everything is just in one folder, it can really screw up the system.

[@adco]

Very well done 👍

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Glad you liked it! Anything in particular that you found helpful?

[@adco]

I thought you were very thorough and you communicate very clearly. 😊 That helps my old ears.

Thanks for sharing your experience!

[@TheMacWhisperer]

I hope you've learned some things that will help you get organized!

[@hesousa8488]

Very clear. Thank you

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Awesome, glad you got good value out of it! Any takeaways you'd like to share?

[@oastie3]

The new collapsible sections function works with headings and subheadings, not just titles. It is hierarchical so each level can be separately collapsed or expanded.

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Absolutely true. When I first started working with it and recorded this video, I didn't know that, but I have learned the flexibility of collapsible notes since then. Thanks for pointing it out!

[@Πτς369]

Very helpful video. Thank you much.

[@TheMacWhisperer]

I'm glad you found it helpful, thanks for watching! Any takeaways you would like to share?

[@lisaschmidt8531]

Love your videos and explanations. Got excited about scanning texts from recipe-books only to find that scan text is not available in Denmark 😖. Maybe one day…🤞

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Damn, that's unfortunate. There are still ways that you can do it, but that makes it a little more complicated. Thanks for watching, and let me know if there's anything else I can help you out with!

[@sharonfransen1191]

So much to learn

[@TheMacWhisperer]

It’s true, but we have to start somewhere. As you learn the separate pieces and build some foundation blocks you’ll find it easier and easier to add new technology and concepts in as you go. Please let me know if you have additional questions.

[@ArtificiallyFlavoredIntelligen]

The collapsing can be done for Headers and Subheaders too. I would not recommend using Title on anything other than the actual title of the note.

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Absolutely true, and a great point. I learned that shortly after recording this video… But have not updated the information on the video itself so thanks for helping me stay on top of the updates.

[@pwhitty742]

Great content with personality. I love apple notes. I create text based info most of the time. Rarely use the drawing tool. It’s very frustrating when it appears when I don’t want it which is most of the time. Is there away to turn it off and quickly turn it on when I want to use it?

[@TheMacWhisperer]

How are you accidentally turning it on? Are you referring to using it on the iPad? If you are, there's a setting you can turn on where it won't draw unless you use the pencil, then if you don't use the pencil it won't accidentally happen. If you're talking about "on the phone," don't click markup and it generally won't happen. When you do accidentally get a drawing box, just put your cursor underneath it and press the Delete key until you remove it. That's the fastest way to get rid of a nit. I also don't use anything but text the vast majority of the time, so I understand the concern.

[@annebjones]

Great info. Thank you.

[@TheMacWhisperer]

I'm glad you enjoyed it, Thanks for watching. What was your biggest takeaway?

[@johnsenra2815]

Great tutorial . I have been using notes for a grocery list using the check off list. Is their anyway to have the list sorted into categories or just simply alphabetically

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Thanks for watching! I would immediately stop using Notes for my grocery list and start using the Reminders app. It's a much better and simpler tool for that, and it literally has an automatic way to sort your list into categories. Plus you can share it with your family and loved ones, so that whoever goes to the grocery store always knows what you need. For sure a better tool than Notes for that function... Check out this video to learn more! kzbin.info/www/bejne/jKizdJSpYtyHe5Y

[@trickster11300]

Value, thanks!

[@TheMacWhisperer]

You're welcome! Anything specific that you learned and would like to share?

[@eymbaque3446]

I use Notes for everything and love using it. Notes downfall is the lack of undo and redo options. I have lost things by accident, dropping my phone or my cat jumping on my ipad when i am working.

[@TheMacWhisperer]

As long as you hit 'undo' as soon as you make the mistake, you can usually recover it. Otherwise, for really important notes, I tend to keep a backup in a separate folder just in case. You can use iCloud to restore some notes, but you're right, it's a little flawed. Do you know how to quickly undo on your phone? Just shake your phone... Now when the cat jumps on your Notes app, before you berate them, just shake the phone and it will undo that last action.

[@eymbaque3446]

@ Ty so very much. I didn’t know this! Tytyty

[@rickr1482]

Um, my Notes has an Undo and Redo button at the very top of the screen. Even without the buttons you can use the 3-finger swipe to the left or right across the screen. 3-fingers left is Undo, 3-finger swipe to the right is Redo. This works across iPhone apps and the Mac touchpad.

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Absolutely true!

[@debeye13]

Thanks for this informative video. I love Notes but was frustrated after IOS 18 when they hide the scan documents. After watching this video I see where it is now in the paper clip icon. But what is the other icon for? The one with the squiggly circle with the arrow in it?

[@TheMacWhisperer]

That's Apple Intelligence. You need to have an iPhone 15 Pro or later and be on at least iOS 18.1 to use it. It has a ton of features and functions that I will discuss in the final video of this series in a couple of weeks. Any other major takeaways or questions you've got?

[@lynnjames8986]

How did you get the body highlighted and not the title line? What did you do, I keep trying but I can’t figure it out.

[@TheMacWhisperer]

I'd have to look through the video to be more specific, but in many cases I either double or triple click on what I want to select. A double click grabs a word, and a triple click grabs an entire sentence or paragraph. Then you can use little dots on the top and bottom to select or deselect additional items. Hope that helps!

[@JOHNCHEN1024]

Thank you share your knowledge with everyone. I take a lot of screenshot for a note. is that a limit storage size on apple note? I only using 5GB for my icolud. will that be enough for using photo note. many thanks.

[@TheMacWhisperer]

In my opinion the 5 GB iCloud storage is not enough for most people. Especially if you’re going to add a lot of attachments to your notes. I recommend at least upgrading to the $.99 per month 50 GB plan. On top of that, I find there are a lot of better ways to Store and organize screenshots. Notes is a decent tool for it, but there are better systems in my opinion.

[@steveallen6388]

Very informative, thank you. How do I work with Word documents from my organisation, is this possible with Notes?

[@TheMacWhisperer]

I guess I need more information. If you have a document you need to keep track of, you can copy it from Microsoft Word and paste it into Notes. If you need to share information with other people via Microsoft Word, you can copy it from Notes (or Pages) into Microsoft Word. Beyond that, you'll need to give me more information.

[@steveallen6388]

@@TheMacWhisperer I often get Word documents from my company which, sometime require specific answers to be given within that same document, sometimes I need to amend with Track Changes. Thank you for your reply but it looks like Notes are limited to creating a new document for your own use or possibly for those who also have Notes where they would do I good job? As an aside how would you transfer a Note document to someone else, without the need to send an uneditable pdf document etc?

[@michaelbaker5070]

I use Apple notes but I like Google Docs notability and good notes six too

[@TheMacWhisperer]

I try to avoid Google programs and services whenever possible. 🚫 It's not something I can 100% eliminate, but if I have a tool that works as well as a Google tool, I will use the other tool first. 🛠️ I don't really trust Google, and I think their organizational tools are really subpar. 📉 And as far as GoodNotes 📓, I haven't used that in over a decade. Notability is great 👍, but it's really meant for the iPad and the Apple Pencil ✏️, which is not always the way I take notes. For me, Apple Notes 📝 covers almost all of my note-taking needs, but it's good to know there are alternatives out there.

[@TVSaurus]

@TheMacWhisperer But how did you create the highlight like the one is the video thumbnail? I get how to format and make it color but what about highlighting?

[@TheMacWhisperer]

It's the same thing. When you highlight the text you want and click the formatting button, you can change the color and press the highlight pen in order for it to make the highlight. Hopefully that makes sense.

[@TVSaurus]

@themacwhisperer Thank you. After a couple of days and some digging, I figured out it’s because I am using dark mode and it is very hard to see. Not in dark mode it’s perfect! Thank you for your reply.

[@lawrenceatkinson]

One always finds something out or missed. 🎉

[@TheMacWhisperer]

I appreciate your comment. It's also a little weird because I'm not MacMost. I'm MacWhisperer. MacMost is a completely different channel. Were you accidentally mentioning that channel or intentionally comparing my channel to that awesome channel that Gary runs? Just curious.

[@lawrenceatkinson]

Sorry about that... If I didn't see your response, I would have never known I made a mistake.🤝

[@zebo11]

is there any way to resize images/scans/etc so they don't make for major bloat?

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Once you have scanned an image or attachment and added it to notes, there’s no easy way to resize it. But if you resize it before attaching it to notes you can adjust the blow. In my opinion, adding attachments or even scanning documents should only be done sporadically… In most cases you don’t need the document, you need the content of the document… So copying and pasting, or scanning the tax (instead of the image) can really help. I don’t think of notes as a file storage system… If I’ve got a document I need quick access to in its document form I usually use files instead. I use notes for text information that I need quick access to… And in most cases that means pulling it out of the PDF or document before attaching it. Hopefully that helps.

[@AG-en5y]

Hi sir I have a question regarding the search function in Apple Notes. If you’re a student in anatomy degree where you often encounter diagrams with labels, do you know if there are any way I can make the images more searchable-the text within the images pointing to the gooey human part? Thank you

[@AG-en5y]

I’m actually doing my masters so I have a tremendous amount of notes that range from cellular slices , thin fibrous tendons/ ligaments to whole anatomical parts - searching through OneNote is doable but I find it to be subpar . But on apple notes it’s unusable. I really hope that you can give me some insight+ knowledge. Thank you in advance

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Are you using it on an iPad 📱, a phone 📞, or a computer 💻? I know that the iPad has some new tools that have been added in the latest operating system, making it much easier to search for specific words, even when they're handwritten ✍️ or in an image 🖼️. I don't think it's as good on the phone or computer yet since the iPad is really made for handwriting with the Apple Pencil ✏️. I know there are some tools that are bringing those pieces together. In the interim, you may just want to add specific words about what the image shows onto the note to help locate it easier. If you are using an iPad, you might want to consider checking out Notability, which is a third-party app made for the iPad and note-taking 📝 that has infinitely more powerful searches right out of the box.

[@AG-en5y]

@@TheMacWhisperer I use a Mac but in lab I use my phone usually. It’s hard not to get your laptop or iPad all sticky with brain juice

[@AG-en5y]

@@TheMacWhisperer yah I was being cheap so I’m gonna have to just spend my Canadian bux

[@ThomasMagee-r6h]

Awesome!

[@danilott794]

Dylan, were you swiping between apps on your phone?!? How??

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Yes, you can easily swipe between apps by dragging the Home bar at the bottom of your screen to the right. Once you’ve dragged to the right a couple of times you can also go to the left but you have to move quickly because the apps will re-organize themselves if you swipe to the right and wait too long.

[@tahirkhairyoperacenteresto3329]

Thanks alot

[@TheMacWhisperer]

You're welcome a lot! Any good takeaways you'd like to share?

[@ivectord]

?? I don't know if I have this right - I have used the scan feature often, and subsequent searches see the individual words in the scan, which is very useful. The thing I don't understand is that when you scan a document you cannot copy and paste the text like you can if you were to make it a photo and use the text capture option. It's counterintuitive and frustrating, but I may be missing something?

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Rather than clicking scan doc, click scan text and it will give you that option. When you have the photo app open and it sees text you will usually see the text option as well. You will see that example at the end of this video. Once you start with scanning a document eliminates the scan text feature, which is much more effective since you can do exactly what you’re requesting, pull the words out of the image. You can also do it after the fact if you take a photograph, but when you click the scan document option it eliminates that tool. Which is one of the reasons I don’t use the scan document very often…

[@vaidy2000]

Hi. Can I make note colourful? Like pages can I make the background of note colourful?

[@TheMacWhisperer]

You can’t make the background colorful except by using the highlight feature which is just OK at best. You can change the color of the text… But only on the computer. It’s really not made for as many design elements as pages is used for… It’s intended to be a simple notetaking app with some formatting features. Hopefully they will continue to add new capabilities as we move forward… Without making the app bloated and breaking it. As with everything, it’s a balance between functionality and simplicity.

[@hollypike6363]

I started using the journal app. The state of mind showed only the first time. It is turned on in the app to show. Can you help?

[@Neilveg]

I tried your tip of pasting text from my mac to Notes on my i phone and it didn’t work. It did work on Drafts app and also on Craft docs

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Not sure why you had trouble with it. 🤔 It should work seamlessly across your devices as long as they are all synced with the same Apple ID. 🍏

[@fullgospelbusinessmensfell5188]

I want to write a book. Is Notes the best way to dictate for future use?

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Notes will certainly get you started faster than anything else because you can dictate to it and it will always be in the palm of your hand... In the long run, Notes lack some of the formatting tools you will need for the book, so start in Notes and then you can export from Notes to Pages as the document gets longer for better formatting. Or the app that is most recommended for creating books is something called Scrivener. I find it a little complicated. But over time you're definitely gonna run into the problem that Notes was not made for long form documents with proper formatting, so it's only going to be a stepping stone to get you started.

[@girmatulu4093]

Thank you GOD. BLESS YOU

[@Greg-fg1rd]

A little long. But a decent video. BTW, don't need a "Title", can use "Heading" etc. format to get a reveal arrow.

[@TheMacWhisperer]

You are absolutely correct! When I recorded this video I had just started using the feature, and since then I have learned that you can use title, heading or subheading to create the arrows… It’s added a whole extra level to the collapsing that I’ve been doing… Thanks so much for pointing it out!

[@MAK403]

Hello dear I have a question please answer is root files transfer when you sync iphone to Mac with iTunes or Finder by cable?

[@TheMacWhisperer]

I’m not quite sure what you’re asking… But if you back up your phone to your computer with the cable, and restore to a new phone with the cable everything should be transferred. The same is true if you use iCloud for the back up…

[@johnfutter1464]

I didn’t realise how good apple notes was until viewing this video. Is it possible to link an email into apple notes without copying the email text into the note?

[@TheMacWhisperer]

I get asked this a lot… At this point there’s no way to link an email directly to a note without copying and pasting, but for me the bigger question is why would you want to? People seem to think that email is a really great storage system… But that was never how it was created. It was always intended as a communication system… For me the emails or documents that get sent to me are things that I saved to my computer so I can find them. If they are references I need easy access to I will copy and paste them into a note… But that’s rare. So the short answer is no there’s no way to do it… But the longer answer is if you explain what you’re trying to do or why you would like to do that maybe there’s an alternate method.

[@johnfutter1464]

@ Thank you for the quick response. I was compiling a note for an upcoming trip and thought if you can link emails I could quickly find the emails containing all booking references and data easily with one click. No harm in copying and pasting. I am one of those who keep emails forever, a lesson there for me to archive and delete 😁

[@TheMacWhisperer]

If you take the booking references and data out of mail and put it into notes, you won't need to go to the email in the first place and you can easily access all of that information directly from your phone (even without an internet connection). And if you get in the habit of doing that in the future as soon as you get the email, you can take the pertinent information out and put it where it's more useful for you right away and NEVER need to go back and reference the email. Email is great for correspondence... it's lousy for storage and organization.

[@vpetryniak]

Can we use notes for todo things? And how? I mean as a todo app

[@TheMacWhisperer]

You certainly can by using the checklist… But I find it to be an inefficient way to conquer your to do list. Especially when Apple gave us a much better tool in the Reminders app to do exactly that… So you can use checklists, but if you really want to be productive I recommend exploring the Reminders app itself. I have several videos about how to use it, and more on the way. Let me know how I can help.

[@lorainea9840]

Is it possible to export a Notes folder into one pdf, ie. All the notes in that folder into one pdf? I couldn't find a way.

[@TheMacWhisperer]

I get this question more times than I've ever expected to hear it. You can individually export any note to a PDF, but you can't export all of the notes at once - not even from the computer. So it's doable but super time consuming. The biggest question I want to ask is, why you're exporting out of the Notes app in the first place? If it's for making a backup, I understand, but it's going to be an exhaustive process, and there are probably better ways to protect your notes and back them up. If it's because you want them in a different app maybe you shouldn't be using notes in the first place. Using something that synchronizes with other applications easier. Let me know why exporting all of the notes is important. If you have a computer, it's way faster than it is on the phone.

[@lorainea9840]

@@TheMacWhisperer I use notes to create a daily journal with a single new note for every day. I would then export a years worth of notes into one PDF. Onenote let me do this. I think instead I will have to use just a single note for my yearly journaling. If you have any suggestions for creating a journal using notes I'd be interested.

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Yeah, I think creating one entry per year is a much easier system. I recommend putting the newer entries on top instead of on the bottom, so you aren't constantly scrolling underneath the prior entry to update it. I know that makes it inconvenient for reading back, but it's much easier for creating it.

[@skirolf]

I have iphone16 with 18.1. Many of the menues aren’t complet like your menues. European edition. You should mention this in your videos.

[@lisateachey]

I don’t have the same menus either. I am using iPhone 15 Pro with 18.1.

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Yes, Apple Intelligence features aren't yet available outside of the US. You can change your language and region to English and US and you might get some of the features, but otherwise you'll just have to sit tight and wait. I didn't know about that when I released this video, but thank you for bringing it to my attention.

[@johnsharptool]

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 I’ve noticed with the new iPhone 16 Pro Max iOS 18.1 my scanned documents which used to be less than one megabyte now are between five and 10 MB per page. Is there a way to scan at a lower resolution or reduce the size of the files?

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Unfortunately, there's not a lot of control about the size of attachments and scanned documents. I know everyone loves to scan everything into Notes, I prefer to take the text and the other information out and paste it into Notes where it's more editable and workable than keeping the attachment... as I showed in the power tip on this video. But if you are going to scan documents, there's really not a lot of control you have about how much size they take up. Sorry... 🤷‍♂️

[@johnsharptool]

Thank you for the reply, the only thing I’ve found so far is to change the colors to black-and-white

[@GeeWhizbang]

I'm loving collapsible headers BUT every time I re-open notes, I have to re-collapse them manually, meaning it doesn't seem to remember the last action of how I set them...which is frustrating and defeats the purpose of time-saving...thoughts?

[@TheMacWhisperer]

You know, I'm not sure why you're having that issue. Maybe it's a glitch that they've resolved. I'm currently on iOS 18.2 and it remembers the collapsed headers on my phone, computer, and iPad... so I'm not experiencing that issue, and my guess is when they release the new iOS 18.2 update in December neither will you.

[@abhay21849]

Dillon, you say, Apple Notes is to replace Google Docs and MS Word. Then what about Pages?

[@TheMacWhisperer]

I say use Apple notes as a replacement for ALL Word processors unless you need the high-level formatting tools of an actual word processor. If I’m writing a novel, or a business letter, or a résumé, I will use a word processor (and it doesn’t really matter whether it’s Microsoft Word, Google Docs or pages) but for the other 98% of documents I create (grocery lists, to do lists, poetry, basic notes, outlines) I just don’t need ANY word processor… Note suffices. Pages is fine and all when you’re sitting at the computer, but as with every other word processor as soon as you use it on your phone it becomes impossible to see what you’ve written. I like pages… I’m just not going to use it for the basics, and I recommend people stop thinking that Word processors are necessary when really you just need to have things on all of your devices that are easy to see, edit and read. Pages doesn’t do that, Google Docs doesn’t do that, Microsoft Word doesn’t do that… But Notes does. I’ve watched for years as people keep their password documents on pages or on Microsoft Word, then I watch them futilely trying to pinch and spread so that they can see the password from the pages or word document on their phone. Just foolish. Notes looks great on every device… So unless you need the heavy formatting, keep your life simple.

[@TheMacWhisperer]

And just a small note… My name is spelled Dylan.

[@1ftrjock]

I created a note with a photo and it is saved only as "NOTE". How can I change that title after it is saved?

[@toscmishra]

How to write with pencil in text area of apple note in ipad

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Unfortunately (and you're far from the first person to ask this), when you work with the pencil, it cannot directly draw in the note's text section. Instead, it needs to have an image section inserted. You can use the pencil to highlight things or to have it type things by writing them by hand... but you cannot interact with the pencil in the text area beyond that. Hopefully, they'll upgrade that in the near future.

[@kaybill2]

Can I use NOTES to journal my daily activities?

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Absolutely! You wouldn’t be the first. I will warn you though that you shouldn’t keep one note running for years at a time… It makes the app a little unresponsive. What I recommend for most people is to create a folder called journal, and then create a new note for each month… Also, a lot of clients that have been journaling on notes tend to scroll to the bottom of the note to add the new entry… But I recommend putting the new entries on top. Yes it makes rereading a little less intuitive, but it makes creating the notes much easier. Lastly, have you checked out Apple‘s journal app? It’s made for journaling specifically and has all sorts of functions that notes doesn’t have like the ability to connect your journal to photographs, audio, GPS and more. You should also check it out, but notes is a great journaling app.

[@omarbatuta]

When is apple notes going to catch with having a chatter ai capabilities such merging, summarizing and analyzing notes ?

[@TheMacWhisperer]

It’s coming. Some of the Apple Intelligence features (only available on the iPhone 15 Pro and later) are directly improving exactly what you’re asking for. Summarization, content creation, tone adjustment and more is already available to some extent and improvements are on the way…

[@RupeshBhandari-977]

Need markdown support

[@TheMacWhisperer]

I couldn’t agree with you more. Not having the markdown support means that every time I copy something over from GPT I have to strip the Asterix’s and hashtags off in order to fix it. I’ve already let Apple know this is a serious missing piece… You should do the same. Hopefully they will hear us before Next year‘s iOS 19 release.

[@anoyakashi8775]

HOW TO SAVE NOTE AS A BACKUP ON AN EXTERNAL DRIVE?

[@TheMacWhisperer]

There is no easy way to export your entire Notes database onto an external drive. It’s just not made that way. It’s made to be backed up to the iCloud service instead. You can export any specific notes by going to the note and going to the file menu on the computer or the three dots on the phone and choosing export as PDF. There is some third-party apps that can help you rapidly export large numbers of your notes database over to another hard drive for storage location, but there’s nothing built in that allows you to do that. I understand the desire of having a a back up, but for me the back up to iCloud works well enough and has been something I’ve relied upon and used for over a decade now.

[@SudheerKumar-bo6uj]

good, i am not able to understand the way to use smartfolder

[@TheMacWhisperer]

I'll be discussing how to use the Smart Folder more in one of the upcoming videos in this playlist. Smart folders are essentially used to gather notes from across the app and put them together into one place automatically. I prefer to use standard folders whenever possible because they are much more flexible. A smart folder is used for finding specific things that are scattered and creating an automatic rule that organizes them. Wait until the organization video that's coming in the next week to understand it better. Let me know if you have any specific questions about smart folders that can't wait for that upcoming video.

[@SudheerKumar-bo6uj]

Sir ,Can we transcribe the audio to note while listening to any video ?

[@TheMacWhisperer]

It's a good question. You'll have to try and find out. Let me know.

[@andypaps7777]

One thing that kills me - Wish I could draw on a document and then continue the writing/drawing away from the doc. Apple notes wants the user to always work within blocks which is where OneNote is so much more powerful. I hope Apple is working on this…

[@TheMacWhisperer]

You are not the first person to ask for that, and I completely agree with it. Especially when working on the iPad Notes app, the difference between a text field and a drawing field should not be such a huge problem. I know they're working on it, time will only tell how long it takes.

[@AG-en5y]

I feel like another major downfall is that the “search function” kind of sucks if I took a picture of my hand written notes

[@InimitaPaul]

I love Notes but its big downfall is that it’s not cross platform, for work that’s unacceptable as there’s always someone on Android and to view anything they need an iCloud account via a web browser. Third party apps are the only way to go for productivity if you want everyone in the team to partake unfortunately, it’s something Apple really needs to work on if they want their apps to be ubiquitous.

[@MrMDongo]

They can use icloud on chrome

[@TheMacWhisperer]

I completely agree… But since I am an all Apple business, I insist that anyone I’m working with is also on Apple products… Which can really help. For anything else I’ll just use a Google doc but I don’t have to do that very often.

[@Omuretsu]

@@TheMacWhispererI wish you could markup and draw or highlight over text and images like in Freeform or notability

[@SimplisticallyDigital]

I agree! I wanted to share a note with an Android user, and the share of it is useless. Forces others to get an iPhone to access certain proprietary apps. 😩 I hope it changes.

[@Omuretsu]

@@SimplisticallyDigital also, when using notes on the Mac you used to be able to customize the notes more with colored text but I can’t find that option anymore. And even when I try to share a note, it forces the collaboration option in order for other people using Apple notes to be able to see the original note I created with all the formatting. Same problem with Freeform. I’d like to be able to share an exact copy without doing a collaboration

[@lolathomsen4821]

I have tried to find a smarter way to take notes in school. I really like the notes app, but instead of being able to open the professors powerpoint in notes (slide after slide) and take notes under each slide, I have to screenshot every slide, so it is acutally just a picture… do you know a way of making this easier?? I know I can attach powerpoints, but I can’t figure out how to open them, so I can ‘comment’ on each slide….

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Unfortunately, that’s just not the way notes was designed. Slideshows are complicated and require multiple screens and images which makes it less relevant for notes unless you are taking singular screenshots.

[@lolathomsen4821]

@ That’s a shame… thank you for answering!!

[@hidamitaka007]

you don’t equate apple notes with words or google docs but with microsoft onenote and google keep..

[@TheMacWhisperer]

I suppose that's accurate. 🤔 After all, both Keep and OneNote are also note-taking apps... 📝 But I equate Apple Notes with Microsoft Word and Google Docs because I use Notes 99% of the time for my word processing. 🖋️ I avoid using Microsoft Word or Google Docs unless absolutely necessary. So, while Apple Notes is technically a note-taking app, in my opinion, it competes with the word processing apps that most people use as a default for all sorts of unnecessary purposes, like writing down grocery lists. 🛒 People overuse Microsoft Word and Google Docs and underuse Notes because they don't think it is fully capable of handling their needs as a word processor... But I wholeheartedly disagree. 💯 Thanks for the comment, and thank you for watching! 🙏

[@anoyakashi8775]

HOW TO SAVE APPLE NOTE FILES, SO THAT YOU HAVE A COPY?

[@TheMacWhisperer]

If you’re asking how to save your entire Notes database, that’s a little bit complicated. There are some Siri shortcuts that can help with it. Apple actually keeps a backup of your notes if you’re using the cloud, but you could also use a separate service like Google or the “on my phone“ account and duplicate notes one at a time over that way… If you’re asking how to take a specific note and back up a specific copy rather than the entire database it’s pretty easy. Click on the note, click on share, click on print, and from the print screen click on share again and it will give you the ability to save a PDF to your Files app or anywhere else you like.

[@johnconstable8512]

ty mw

[@TheMacWhisperer]

You’re very welcome! Glad I could help!

[@roncohen2904]

@macwhisperer Ty very much for responding about Mac mail!!!!

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Anytime, feel free to ask me anything you need that can help you out.

[@carltonbirds]

You are really milking this 🪣

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Sit tight, there’s another three or four videos also about notes. I have recorded multiple notes videos over the years, but I’ve had a ton of requests to update them all, so if you’re sick of them now… You might as well close your eyes for a while. The first video was just an overview, and this video is just showing people how to format and create notes… But as we move into the next ones it will shift into some higher level tips and things that you may not even know about… Including Apple Intelligence. Sorry if you feel like I’m milking it… I’m just following the requests I’ve been getting from multiple viewers.

[@carltonbirds]

@ don’t worry, I have already unsubscribed from you, so I will sit tight from your videos forever, amen.

[@rayerralf]

Hey man, just sending this to counter that negative comment. Thank you for your hard work at your content. I appreciate your video and have followed. @themacwhisperer

[@rayerralf]

good content, i’m just now getting seriously into Notes. This video showed me new things I will use. I’ve followed you.

[@TheMacWhisperer]

Lol… Thanks for countering the negative. It doesn’t really bother me, there are so many amazing people out there who get the value of what I’m bringing that I can’t chase those who don’t…