29 tips to use the Notes app on iPhone like a pro!

The recent iOS 16 updates have allowed the Notes app to do a lot more than just take notes. Are you ready to unlock lesser known moments? Let me start with how to use Notes on iPhone effectively and show you some cool Apple Notes tips.

1. Create a new note

1. Launch the Notes app on your iPhone.
2. Click the compose button (a square box with a pen) in the lower right corner.
3. Start typing.
4. Pro tip: Want to record something quickly? From the home screen, press and hold the Notes app icon and select New Note.

2. Edit the note

1. Open the Notes app, find and tap the note you want to edit.
2. Click anywhere in an open note and start editing.
3. When finished, click Done.

3. Delete Notes on iPhone

Do you need a note anymore? You can delete a note in several ways.

1. Open the Notes app and enter the desired note.
2. Tap the More icon (three dots inside a circle) in the top right corner.
3. Tap Remove.
   4. Recover deleted notes

   We’re only human and sometimes you might accidentally delete a note. Well, don’t worry! You have 30 days (in rare cases 40) to receive it. Learn how to recover notes on iPhone.

   5. Quick Notes for iPhone

   Quick Notes is now available not only in iPadOS 15 and macOS 12. With this great feature in iOS 16, you can quickly jot down ideas, save links, and create drawings and handwritten notes. You can save it to a new or existing quick note without leaving the current app or screen. Check out our article to learn how to use Quick Notes on your iPhone.

   6. Create a Smart Folder with Filters

   Prior to this update, smart folders could only be organized by tags. However, you can now filter notes based on their created and modified dates, general status, checklists, attachments, pinned notes, and more. When you select a filter, it appears above Other Filters in the Filters Enabled list.

   • Tags: Choose any tag or any specific tag to organize your notes.
   • Created Date: You can select a date to search for notes. It also suggests setting a custom date range.
   • Edited: Same as Created, you can order notes by the date they were modified.
   • Shared: Find notes shared by everyone or a specified person.
   • Mentions: Select notes that mention you, someone else, or specific people.
   • Checklist: Separate a completed or incomplete checklist from your list.
   • Attachments: If you have saved any document such as images, videos, scans, drawings, maps, websites, audio, etc. as notes, select this filter.
   • Folders: Organize notes from multiple folders.
   • Quick Notes, Pinned Notes, and Locked Notes: Create a folder that includes or excludes these notes.

   7. Password Protect Your Notes

   iOS 16 has updated the lock feature for efficient use of iPhone Notes. Now you can use your iPhone’s passcode to access all of your personal notes without having to set or remember a unique passcode. If you don’t want to enter your passcode every time, you can unlock your notes using Face ID or Touch ID. In addition, you can access your encrypted notes on all devices by entering your current password. Learn how to lock Notes on iPhone.

   8. Group notes by date

   If you ask me how I rearrange my list of notes, the answer is the group by date feature. By default, when you use the sort by date filter, notes are automatically divided into chronological groups. So, you can see notes for Today, Yesterday, Previous 30 days, 2021, etc. Also, when you turn off, you will return to the previous view.

   • Click on the three dots icon in the top right corner.
   • Select Group By Date.
   • Then select “On”or “Off”.

   9. Changed exchange options

   iOS 16 has made it easier to share notes. Just tap the share icon on the top after opening a note. You may also see the Share note option if you long press a note in a folder.

   There used to be a “Send a copy”option, but this has been removed as it is now a component of the new share menu.

   In iOS 16, the share menu has changed to a standard shared sheet. However, there are options to select Collaborate or Send a copy. You can also change the settings from “Only invited users can edit”to “Anyone with the link”. In addition, you can set the permissions for a view-only copy of your note.

   Another great iOS 16 feature for using iPhone Notes effectively is that anyone with the invite link can access your note. This way you don’t have to invite everyone in person. This makes it easier to share data with large teams.

   • Open a note → tap the Share icon → select Collaborate.
   • Then tap the side arrow (>) to open the settings.
   • Now select “Anyone with the link”in the new “Who can access”section.

   10. Shared notes folder

   Each note you share or collaborate on will appear in a new Shared smart folder in your main folders list. So you can quickly find shared notes without having to create a smart folder.

   11. Communicate with your team from shared notes

   When you open a shared note, you may see a collaborator icon next to the share button. Tapping it offers features like starting a chat in the Message app or making FaceTime audio or video calls with your team. Also, it will show all activity in the note and editing highlights. You can also manage your sharing settings by clicking Manage Shared Note.

   12. Organize your notes with tags

   Tags allow you to quickly and easily categorize and organize your notes in folders on iPhone. Using tags in the updated Notes app is easy. When creating a note, add a hashtag symbol and enter a word. For example, #mango. It turns yellow, which means the tag has been created.

   After that, go to the folder section and scroll down to see all the tags (Apple likes to call this Tag Browser). Then tap one of them to see all notes with that tag. In addition, you can click a combination of two or more tags to see notes with all the selected tags.

   13. Pin Important Notes to iPhone

   I have over a thousand entries. Of course, I can search to find the ones I need. But pinning the most frequent ones at the top is more effective.

   To pin a note, open the Notes app → swipe the note from left to right → tap the pin icon. Follow the same steps to unpin.

   14. Use Siri to create a note

   Siri, Apple’s built-in voice assistant, makes it easy to take notes with your voice.

   To do this, invoke Siri by pressing the side/home button or by saying “Hey Siri”. Then ask something like, “Please note that my train to Delhi will arrive at platform number 6 and my carriage will be parked near the escalator.”

   15. Create a note from other apps

   By adding the Notes app to the iOS/iPadOS shared sheet, you can easily take notes directly from other apps like Photos. Alternatively, you can also create a quick note by selecting Add to New Quick Notes.

   • Open some other application. I am using Amazon.
   • Tap the Share icon.
   • Slide the horizontal row of app icons and tap Notes.
   • Choose whether you want to create a new note or save it to an existing or preferred folder.
   • Then add text as desired.
   • Finally, click Save.

   Pro Tip: From Safari, you can save the full article link with the article title (steps above). But you can also select text and click Share. Then select “Notes”to create a note with just the selected text. It’s convenient to save parts of an article (say, quotes or pictures) in the Notes app instead of a full link to the article.

   16. Create a checklist

   Do you have a shopping list or a weekend to-do list? The Notes app makes it easy to create checklists. So, how to make a tick in notes? Let’s find out!

   The easiest way: From the home screen, press and hold the Notes app icon and select New Checklist. Now enter the first entry. Tap back on your keyboard to add more.

   Or open the Notes app and tap the Write icon. At the top of your keyboard, tap the checklist icon (circled with a check mark) and start typing. When you’re done, click Done.

   17. Formatting text in the Notes app

   We agree that long text without bold, italics, bullets, etc. is read uniformly. So here’s how to spice things up and make them easy to read.

   • Open a note and select a word, sentence, or paragraph.
   • Tap Format (Aa icon) and choose from Bold, Italic, Underline, Strikethrough, or Indent.
   • Want more tools? Tap Aa above the keyboard to use Heading, Headings, Subheadings, Body Text, Full-width Lists, Bulleted Lists, Indents, and more.

   You can also insert tables into the Notes application.

   Advice. If you want all your new notes to start with a title and then a body, open the Settings app → Notes → New Notes Start With → select the option you want.

   18. Use different fonts in the Notes app

   You are not limited to the default font when taking notes. Like Pages, Numbers, Twitter, Instagram, and a few other apps, the Notes app also supports third-party fonts. You can learn how to install and use them on your iPhone.

   19. Change the paper style in the Notes app.

   By default, the Notes application has a plain white background. You have the option to use lines and grids if you wish. This is especially useful when using the Apple Pencil on an iPad for handwriting.

   20. Add media files (photos and videos) to the Notes app.

   • Start creating a new note or edit an existing one.
   • Tap the camera icon.
   • Tap Select Photo or Video or Take Photo or Video. For the screenshots below, I chose the former.
   • Select one or more files and click Add.
   • Finally, click “Done”to save the note to media.

   Note. To add maps, open Apple Maps, find a location, swipe up a bit to reveal the Share button, and tap it. Finally, select “Notes”and click “Save”. You can do the same with Google Maps by clicking the share icon in the top right corner.

   21. Scan documents using the Notes app

   You can scan any document with the Notes app without installing any third party scanning apps. Find out how.

   Alternatively, you can press and hold the Notes app icon on the home screen and select Scan Documents. Then point the camera at the document and take a photo. Adjust the angles, and when you’re satisfied, click Continue Scan → Save.

   22. View all attachments in one place

   • Open this application and make sure you are in the Notes folder.
   • Tap the three-dot icon.
   • Tap View Attachments.
   • Now tap on a photo or video to view it.
   • Optional: You can click Show in Note to jump directly to the original note that this attachment is part of.

   23. Draw and sketch inside Notes

   • Start a new note or edit an existing one.
   • Tap the sketch icon (a pen inside a circle) to see the drawing tools.
   • Use pen, pencil, thick brush, eraser, lasso, ruler, and different colors to sketch.
   • In addition, you can enter text, add your signature, or draw any shape using the add (+) button.
   • Use two fingers to scroll while drawing.

   24. Add Notes Shortcut to Control Center

   You can customize the Control Center on your iPhone by adding the Notes app and the Quick Notes feature. So you can start a new note instantly without opening the app.

   25. Add notes to your lock screen

   Need to write something quickly without unlocking your iPhone? You can add a note creation icon to the Control Center, and then choose to create a new note or resume adding to the last viewed one in a certain amount of time. You can find out how to do it here.

   26. Add the Notes app widget to your iPhone home screen.

   With iOS 16, you can now have Notes app widgets on your iPhone home screen. This allows you to instantly get into one of your note folders, or any specific note, or access your latest quick note.

   27. Create subfolders

   • Open the Notes app and make sure you’re on the Folders screen.
   • Tap the new folder icon in the lower left corner.
   • Enter the desired name and click Finish.
   • Swipe from right to left or press and hold a folder. Then click Move.
   • Now you can select any existing folder or create a new folder. For the new one, enter a name and click Save. So your previous folder has become a subfolder.

   28. Sync notes with iCloud, Google, etc.

   You can sync your notes with iCloud (default), Google or other services, leave them offline on your device, or even have multiple accounts! For this:

   • Go to Settings → tap Apple ID.
   • Tap iCloud → under Apps Using iCloud, tap Show All.
   • Now you can enable notes.

   Note. I only use iCloud. But few of my colleagues use both Gmail and iCloud. At your discretion, you can use whatever you like. You can also change the default note location (iCloud, Gmail, local on device, etc., for example).

   29. Save your note as a PDF

   • Open a note and tap the Share icon. Under the heading of the note, you’ll see Collaboration.
   • Click Collaborate and select Send a copy.
   • Swipe up and tap Markup. You will see a PDF preview of the note.
   • Click “Done”→ select “Save File To”to save the PDF document to the desired location.

   Ready to use notes on iPhone like a pro!

   I believe the Apple Notes tips here helped you learn how to take notes on iPhone and iPad. If you have any additional tips you’d like to share (and include on this list), please share them in the comments section below!