You use the Notes app on your iPhone or iPad, right? And for all these years, you just filled the Notes app with words and nothing more. It is clear that you are not maximizing all the available Apple Notes features. Apple Notes is one of the best ways of taking notes as it is user-friendly and compatible with all Apple handsets. Notes have an easy-to-use interface and some features that many users don’t know about. You might have used Notes for a while, decades, or years, but the fact remains there are countless features could have missed out on.
Listed and explained below are some of the Apple Notes features you ought to know to take your note-taking exercise to yet another level.
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Scan a Document with Apple Notes
Did you know that iPhones have an inbuilt document scanner within the Notes App that allows you to scan documents, sign on them and save you the hassle of taking pictures or retyping or finding a traditional scanner? This eliminates the need to rely on third-party document scanners. To scan a document using the Notes app on your iPhone;
- Create a new note or open an existing one.
- Tap on the camera icon and select Scan Documents from the menu.
- Position the document inside the view.
- Once the document is aligned, click the shutter button to scan it.
Read Also: How to Sign a Document with your iPhone Notes App
Format a Note
If you are into customizing things and tidiness, you might want to know about how you can format a Note. The Notes app presents a variety of formatting options. You can set titles, and headings, change font size, change font type, bold words, italicize words, underline sentences, align notes and bullet them. Also, you can add a table and use mark tools. Cool, right? Here is how you can format content in your Notes folder;
- When you’re in a note, tap the table button
- Tap the Table icon to add a table to your Notes.
- You can also touch and hold Aa icon to quickly open a list of formatting options.
Take a Quick Note
The Take a Quick Note feature is only available on iPadOS 15 and IOS 16. Before, IOS 16 or iPadOS 15, Apple users had to switch between apps to find the Notes app when they needed it. However, with the Quick Note feature, users can use the Notes app to jot down information over any app or screen on an iPad/iPhone. Users can also add handwriting, links, safari highlights, tags, and mentions to a Quick Note so they can get to important names, numbers, and ideas easily. These quick notes are then stored in the quick notes folder and synced across all your Apple devices so long as they have the same Apple ID. To take a Quick Note, swipe diagonally inward from the bottom right corner of your phone screen and start typing.
Make a Note of Something from Another App
As you scroll through Safari, or you are reading something or you are viewing media and then finding something that is worth a note, ordinally you would close that app and open the Notes app. Imagine noting something on that same app. Well here is how you can do it.
- With the content/media you want to make a note of/save to Notes open in its app, hit the Share or Share via the button.
- Find the Notes app icon in the Share menu.
- Click on the Notes app.
- Add text to your note
- Select the folder where you want to save the note.
- Hit Create New Note to save it.
Use Siri to Create a Note
Why hassle and yet you have a virtual assistant to help you? Yes, you can create a note remotely using Siri. This comes in handy when you are occupied or on the go. Let’s say you are in the kitchen washing your utensils, obviously, your hands are wet but your mind is getting busy with something you need to note down. Well, in such moments call out Siri to help. To create a note using Siri;
- Press and hold the Home button, **Side Button*, or say “Hey, Siri” to launch Siri.
- Say “Take a note.”
- Dictate your note to Siri.
That’s it. Siri will automatically save the notes once you stop talking. The outcomes of this feature might not be perfect however, you will be saved in moments of need. Go edit your Notes and add headings when you get time.
Add Lock to Notes App
Lots of individuals, journal in their Notes App, and creepy individuals know it and at any time they might know more about you than you are willing to talk about. Fortunately, the Notes app lets you lock any note that you want to keep private from anyone else that might use your device. Depending on your device, you can use Face ID, Touch ID, along with a password to lock and unlock your notes.
- Start the Notes app.
- Tap on one of the notes to open it.
- Tap the Share button at the top right of the screen.
- In the pop-up, tap “Lock Note,” which has a padlock icon and should appear in the second row of icons. …
- Enter a password (and repeat it on the Verify line).
- Click Done.
Hereafter, you will need to enter the password anytime you want to access the locked Notes folder.
Add Media to Your Notes
The Notes app on your iPhone or iPad lets you add media like photos and even videos to your notes. This is the most perfect way of hiding private photos from people who are always scrolling through your Photos app. Also, if your Photos app is piling up on Storage, losen the burden to the Notes app. Below are the steps to pulling this off;
- Open an existing note or create a new one.
- Tap in the Notes.
- Click the camera icon.
- Select Choose Photo or Video to add media
- Select the photo or video from the Photos app and click Add or capture a photo or video and hit Use Photo or video to add it to the note.
Pin Notes
If you frequent the notes app, you will realize that you keep pilling up Notes. It is burdensome to peruse through a number of note titles before you find the one that you looking for. Of course, you can also always choose to search for the Notes from the search bar. You will get quick results but you can not keep doing it every time you open the Notes app. That’s why you can conder pining your favorite or most important notes to make them easier to find. To pin a note;
- Swipe right over the note, then release. Alternatively, you can go to the note, and tap the More button.
- Next tap the Pin button. That’s it! You will have pinned the Note.
- To unpin a note, swipe right over the note again.
Change the Notes Appearance
You could be used to the default appearances of Notes in your Notes app. By default, the Notes are outlined. However, you can switch the appearance to Gallery view. Gallery view gives users a new way to see your notes making it easier than ever to find the note you’re looking for. To change Notes appearance to Gallery;
- Open a folder or list of notes.
- Tap the More button.
- Tap View as Gallery.
Wrap up: More IOS or iPadOS updates present new extraordinary features. If your device does not show some of the listed updates, you will have to update the software.