Take notes on Mac

The Notes app is a replacement for the paper notebook, but one with extensive features. Notes is more than just text. Of course, the app can be used for making a quick doodle, but you can also add checklists, images or links to websites. Folders bring order to the notes you have taken. And by syncing the app through iCloud, the notes are on all your Apple devices.

In this article we assume a Mac with the operating system macOS 10.14 Mojave and higher. Open the Notes app as follows:

• On the Dock, click the Finder icon. That’s the smiling face
• click on apps.
• Double click on Notes.
• Click the first time Continue to open the program.

Make a note like this:

• Click (if necessary) first in the left pane on a folder in which the note should be placed.
• You can then create a new note in two ways:
  1.) Click on at the top Archive > New Note
  2.) Click the pencil icon in a square .
• A new note opens and the cursor is in the empty space. Start typing a note title.
• Press the Enter key.
• Now type the rest of the note.

The note saves automatically. Here you see the title, the first words of the note and the time when the last change was made.

A note can also contain a checklist. Handy for, for example, a to-do list or a shopping list.

• Create a new note as described earlier.
• Click in the menu bar on the icon of a circle with a check mark .
• A circle appears in front of the cursor. Type the first item for the checklist.
• Press the Enter key to add another item. Repeat this step as many times as necessary.

The list has been created. Click on the circle for an item to check it off, the circle will then get a color. The first time you do this, the app will ask if you want to move checked items to the bottom of the list. Do you want that? Then click on Enable sorting. Rather not? Then click on Not now.

Attachments, such as images, can also be added to a note. An image is immediately visible in the note. This way you brighten up a note or provide more information about the information in the note with a photo. To other files, such as text documents, a link comes in the note. This gives you quick access to the file on the computer.

• Create a new note as described earlier.
• Click at the top of the screen Change.
• click on Attach file.
• Find the correct file and click on it.
• click on add to.

You bundle notes that belong together in a folder. That way you get a better overview. This is how a new folder is created:

• Click on the bottom left New map.
• Type the name of the folder.
• Press the Enter key.

From now on, when creating a new note, first click on the folder in which the note should be placed. Move an existing note to the correct folder? Then right click on the note. Then click Move to and finally the folder name.

Don’t need a note anymore? Then it can be easily removed:

• Click (optionally) on the folder containing the note.
• Click on the note in the middle pane.
• In the toolbar, click the trash can icon .
• If a message about deleting notes appears, click OK.

The note has been deleted. Deleted notes remain in the Recently Deleted folder for 30 days. After that they are permanently deleted.

Do you have other Apple devices besides a Mac, such as an iPhone or iPad? Then sync the notes so that they are visible on all devices. The synchronization is done via the iCloud service. This online data storage service is standard on a Mac, iPhone and iPad. But iCloud still needs to be turned on. You can read more about this in the article ‘Exchange data between Apple devices with iCloud’.

Also make sure the Notes app is checked to sync:

• Click the Apple logo at the top left of the screen.
• click on System Preferences.
• click on Apple ID (macOS 10.15 Catalina or later).
• Make sure there is a checkmark next to ‘Notes’. Isn’t that the case? Then click on Notes and close the top left window with the cross.