Apple Notes is a simple and easy-to-use note-taking app that comes preinstalled in macOS. While it may not have all the bells and whistles of some of the more popular note-taking apps available, it has everything you need to take notes like a pro.

Let’s explore how to take advantage of these features to get the most out of Apple Notes on your Mac. We’ll also look at some hidden features that you may not know about, and show you how to organize your notes for maximum efficiency.

9. Folders

Apple Notes lets you create folders to organize your notes. You can create folders for different projects, topics, and months—basically, in any way that helps you keep your notes organized. You can find folders in the sidebar on the left.

For most of the features below, you will have to refer to the sidebar on your Notes app, which is often hidden. To unhide it, go to View > Show Folders.

To create a folder, click the New Folder button at the bottom of the sidebar, give it a name, and click Create. Now, simply drag and drop all the notes that belong there into the folder. The best part of this feature is that you can also create sub-folders within these folders to organize your notes further. Simply drag and drop one folder onto another to make it a subfolder.

8. Tags

Apple Notes showing all notes with #diet tag

You can use the tagging system in Apple Notes to filter notes based on specific topics, for which you don’t necessarily want to create separate folders. The benefit of tags is that a note can have multiple tags at once, but it can only ever be in one folder.

To add a tag to a note, simply type the hash symbol (#) followed by the word(s) you want to associate with the note. So, if you’re using Notes to plan your weekly diet, you can add a #diet tag and later filter all your diet-related Notes across all your folders.

To view all the notes that you have tagged with a particular word, click it from the Tags section in the sidebar. A list of all the notes with that tag will appear.

7. Smart Folders

Apple Notes has a feature called Smart Folders, which lets you create folders that automatically gather all the notes that have a certain tag. For example, if you wanted to create a folder of all the notes you have about dieting, you could just add the #diet tag to each note and then create a smart folder.

To do this, go to File > New Smart Folder and type in the tags you want to include in your search. The Notes app will then create a smart folder that automatically updates itself as new notes with those keywords are added.

6. Checklists

A to-do checklist created by using the Checklist feature on Apple Notes

The checklist is perhaps one of the most useful features of Apple Notes. By simply clicking the Checklist button from the toolbar in the app, you can create a list of items that you can check off as you complete—a great way to manage your daily to-do lists.

To mark an item as complete (or incomplete if it’s already checked), simply toggle the button in front of the item. To convert an existing list of items into a checklist, select the text and then click the Checklist button.

5. Float on Top

If you use Apple Notes for researching articles or video content, you can use the Float on top feature to avoid going to the dock every time you want to add to your notes. This feature saves a ton of time and effort and makes note-taking easier as a whole.

To enable this feature, open the note that you want to float on top of other apps, then go to Window > Float Selected Note from the menu bar. Once the app separates that note, go to Window > Float on Top.

4. Lock Notes

Setting a password for a note on Apple Notes using the Lock Note feature

If you’re sharing a Mac with other people who also happen to use the Notes app (like on a shared work computer), then the Lock Notes feature can help you lock a note with a password to keep it private and secure.

To lock a note, you can either go to File > Lock Note from the menu ba, or click the Padlock button from the toolbar. Once you do so, Notes will ask you to create a password and hint. After it is set, you will need to enter that password every time you want to view or edit the note.

3. Continuity

You can use several Apple apps on your Mac and iPhone together thanks to Apple’s Continuity feature. So, if you have an iPhone (or even an iPad), you can use the Continuity feature to start a note on one device and continue editing it on the other.

To do this, you just need to make sure that both devices are signed in with the same Apple ID. Then, without tweaking any further settings, you can pick up your iPhone and start completing the note from where you left it off on your Mac.

You can also use this feature to add scanned documents to your note using your iPhone camera. Simply click the Photo button in the Notes toolbar, and from the dropdown menu, click Scan Documents. Remember, this feature will only work if you have an iPhone linked to your Mac.

Adding App Links to a Note

The App Link feature allows you to add links from Safari, Chrome, Messages, Mail, and many other apps to your notes. It is most useful when you want to quickly add a link to something you’re working on, or if you want to save an interesting article or website for later.

To use the App Link feature click the Link button (which looks like a chain) from the toolbar. Then choose the app you want to link from and click Add Link.

Although this feature is supposed to work with many apps, it mostly works with Messages and browsers. Your linked content appears in the note as a rich preview, and you can even add comments or annotations to it. To view the linked content, simply click on the preview.

1. Data Detectors

Using data detectors feature in Apple Notes macOS

If you receive a message or email with an address, phone number, date, or time, Apple Notes will automatically detect data this and highlight it. You can then click on the highlighted data to take quick action on it.

For example, you can click on an address to see it in Maps, or click on a phone number to call it. Apple Notes can also automatically add events to your calendar when you create a new note with a date or time.

Make the Most Out of Apple Notes Everywhere

Apple Notes is a powerful and versatile note-taking app that lets you organize your thoughts in a variety of ways. In this article, we’ve shown you how to create folders, checklists, links, and even use Continuity to work on notes across multiple devices.

But this amazing utility of Apple Notes is not just limited to macOS. When you use the app on an iPhone or iPad, its usefulness quadruples because of the added benefits of having cameras and touchscreens.