Skip to main content

Notes & capture

Notes is the mode for everything that isn't the writing itself: an idea, a source, a line you overheard, a thought about chapter four. A note has no status, no word goal and no count to watch, so it costs nothing to make one. You type a thought, press Return, and get back to work.

Notes' Home: the Capture a thought box, recently edited notes and open action items, with the month, starred notes and tags on the right Notes' Home: the Capture a thought box, recently edited notes and open action items, with the month, starred notes and tags on the right

Capture a thought​

  1. Choose Notes in the mode switch at the top of the sidebar (⌘2). You land on Notes' Home.
  2. Click Capture a thought… and type.
  3. Add a #word to tag it, or [[ and a title to link it to a document.
  4. Press Return. The note is saved and the box is empty for the next one.

The note isn't opened; you stay where you were. It shows at the top of Recently edited, and in All notes.

A short thought becomes the note's title. A long one is cut to a title, and the whole of it is kept as the note's text. Only the first #word becomes a tag; the word stays in the text as you wrote it.

Capture from a list​

The same box sits at the top of the list when you're looking at All notes, a folder or a tag. A note captured there lands where you're looking:

You're looking atThe note goes
All notesIn no folder, tagged with its first #word.
A folderIn that folder, tagged with its first #word.
A tagUnder that tag, whatever you typed.

To write something longer, press + at the top of the list (New note), or ⌘N while you're in Notes. A note made with + while you're in a folder goes in that folder.

Notes' Home​

Home is where Notes opens. On the left:

  • Capture a thought…, the quickest way in.
  • Recently edited: the last few notes you touched, with how long ago and their opening line. All notes opens the full list.
  • Open action items: checklist items from your notes that are on a board and not yet done. It's there only when you have some. See Boards.

On the right, the month (darker days are days you edited more notes, and Calendar opens the calendar), your Starred notes, and your most used Tags. Click a tag to list its notes.

Find a note again​

The sidebar in Notes lists the ways in:

PlaceWhat it lists
All notesEvery note that belongs to no project.
StarredThe notes you starred.
UnlinkedNotes that nothing links to and that link to nothing. Good for finding loose threads.
FoldersYour folders, each with how many notes it holds. + beside the heading makes a new one.
TagsEvery tag on your notes, with a count.

Each list has a search field at the top that narrows it by title, opening text and tags, and a sort: Last edited, Date created or Title. ⌘K finds any document by name from anywhere. See Search & replace.

Star a note​

Star what you reach for most. Any of these works, and choosing it again unstars it:

  • The ⋮ at the top of the open note → Star.
  • Right-click the note in a list, or its ⋮ → Star.
  • The star on the note's Details… page.

Starred notes are listed under Starred in the sidebar and on Home.

Tag a note​

A tag cuts across folders, and a note can carry as many as you like.

  • Add one: open the note's Details…, type in + Tag and press Return. Capturing with a #word adds one too.
  • Remove one: click the × on it in Details.
  • Browse one: click it under Tags in the sidebar, on Home, or in Details.

A list shows each note's first tag under its opening line.

Notes and pieces are one kind of document

A note can become a piece of writing, and back. Right-click it (or use its ⋮) and choose Move to Write's pieces. A piece moves the other way with Move to Notes. See Organizing.

See also​