7 Tips for Enhancing Your Apple Notes Experience

      Over time, Apple has developed Apple Notes into one of the top note-taking applications for the iPhone. However, many users only utilize the app as a space to store information rather than exploiting its full capabilities. Today, I will share seven of my favorite Apple Notes tips to enhance your note-taking experience.

      Transition between recently accessed notes

      I frequently switch between draft articles, shopping lists, and various ideas. Before discovering this shortcut, moving between notes was quite frustrating. Open any note and tap the three-dot menu in the upper right corner.

      Rachit Agarwal / Digital Trends

      From there, select Recent Notes, and you will see a list of the notes you recently accessed. It's a minor feature, but it prevents me from having to endlessly scroll through folders searching for the note I just viewed moments ago.

      Emphasize your favorite text

      At times, a particular section of a note is significant enough to warrant its own highlight. Apple introduced this functionality with iOS 18, enabling users to highlight key text in their notes. To highlight text on your iPhone, open the note and double-tap a word to select it. Utilize the drag handles to extend your selection to include whatever you wish to highlight.

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      Then, tap the Aa formatting button, and you will find the highlight option in the bottom-right corner. Select the pencil icon to apply the highlight. If you wish to change the color, tap the colored circle and choose from five options: purple, pink, orange, mint, or blue. I appreciate how Apple has incorporated highlights in Notes. The highlight colors are vivid yet maintain readability, and they appear particularly nice in dark mode.

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      Take quick notes in seconds

      When inspiration strikes, the last thing you want is to sift through the Notes app to jot it down. Quick Note addresses exactly this concern. To utilize this feature, first, add it to your Control Center. Swipe down from the top right of your screen to open it, tap the plus icon, and select Add a Control. Look for Quick Note and include it in your Control Center.

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      After that, swiping down from the top right corner provides immediate access to the Quick Note icon, which resembles a small box with a scribble. Type your note, tap Save, and it will go directly to the Notes app. You can even create a Quick Note while using another app. For instance, if you're reading an article in the Arc Search browser and want to save a link or a piece of text, just tap the Share icon and select Add to Quick Note.

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      Protect sensitive notes with a password

      Even though your iPhone offers strong security, including the option to lock apps with Face ID or Touch ID, some notes contain critical and confidential information that requires an additional layer of security. This is where the note-locking feature is beneficial.

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      Open the note you wish to secure, tap the three-dot menu in the upper right corner, and select Lock. Once the note is locked, you will need to verify your identity to view its content. I wish Apple would allow locking an entire Notes folder, but for now, this is the best option available.

      Locate all your attachments in one location

      Sometimes, you may know you've saved a document within Notes, but can't recall the note's title. I want to save you the trouble of opening each note individually to locate that document. Tap the three-dot menu and choose View Attachments, and Notes will display every photo, scan, audio recording, and document you have saved across all your notes in one scrollable view. This feature has often spared me from searching through numerous notes for a single screenshot.

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      Organize notes using tags and smart folders

      I enjoy organizing my notes with tags. You can add multiple tags to any note by typing the hash symbol followed by a word, such as #work or #recipes, anywhere within the note. A single note can have as many tags as needed, providing greater flexibility than just folders.

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      Smart folders enhance this even further. Navigate to your folder list and create a new folder, then opt to make it a smart folder. Choose the tags or other criteria you want it to monitor, and the smart folder will automatically compile every note that fits, updating itself whenever you add or remove tags.

      Rachit Agarwal / Digital Trends

      For instance, every work-related note I have is tagged with #work. Now, when I add a new note with the same tag, it is automatically included in my Work Smart Folder. This saves a significant amount of time while keeping everything organized.

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      Link notes to create your own table of contents

      This may be my