If you’re constantly using the Notes app on your iPhone, here are 10 tips and tricks to keep in mind.
The iPhone Notes app isn’t the best note-taking app, but it comes pre-installed on every iOS device and is pretty easy to use. Its layout is also simple enough to make a great direct note-taking app without all the clutter.
If you find that you use the Notes app more and more throughout the day, it may be worth digging a little deeper into the app and truly pursuing its potential. Unfortunately, many users are not aware of the hidden power of such a simple application, but there are some little tricks in the Notes application that are worth taking advantage of.
Here are 10 tips and tricks to use the next time you use the iPhone Notes app on your device.
Bold, Italic, and Underline
Not only does the iPhone Notes app make plain text, you can also bold, italicize and underline text to add emphasis to any word or sentence.
To do this, tap and hold a word and then release it. A menu opens and you tap or . From there (if available) tap the right arrow and then select . You will have the option to bold, italicize or underline the selected word or phrase.
Sync Between All Your Devices
If you have more than one Apple product, you can have your notes synced across all your iOS and OS X devices using iCloud.
Open the Settings app and tap iCloud. Find Notes from the list and flip the toggle to the right to open it. You’ll want to do this on all of your Apple devices where you want your notes synced. From then on, every note you write will automatically appear on all your Apple devices.
Alternatively, you can use Gmail to sync your Notes app between your devices and even access them from non-Apple devices. You need to add your Gmail account to your iPhone first and then select Notes when you get to the page where you choose what’s being synced.
Share Notes with Others
If you want to share a note with someone, such as sharing a shopping list with your partner, you can do so directly from the Notes app, and there are many different ways to do it.
Once inside a note, scroll all the way down and tap the Share button; this will be the middle button. If your keyboard is still active on the screen, simply tap it to make the keyboard disappear so you can access the Share button.
From here you can send the note via an iMessage or email and share it on Facebook or Twitter. Plus, there are even more ways to share your notes if you tap on it.
Use Siri to Create or Edit Notes
If your hands are too full to write a quick note, Siri can write a note for you without having to type anything.
To do this, hold the Home button and say “Take notes” to activate Siri. Say your note aloud and Siri will automatically save it in the Notes app when you’re done. It may not be the fastest way to take notes, but it will save you from typing if you can’t right now.
Add Photos to Notes
The Notes app on your iPhone isn’t just for typing text. You can also easily add photos to your notes.
Tap on the specific spot where you want the photo, hold and then release and then select Add Photo from the drop-down selection menu. Find the photo you want to add and tap on it. Select Select from there and it will be instantly added to your note.
Print Notes
Your notes don’t have to stay digital. You can also print them directly from the Notes application if needed.
Simply tap the Share button and then select . You will need a printer with AirPrint compatibility to do this, but most new wireless printers today will come with this functionality. You may still need to go into the printer settings to enable it.
Search Notes
If you’ve created quite a few pools of notes on your iPhone, it can be difficult to go through them to find a specific note. Fortunately, you can search for specific notes within the app.
Just return to the home screen of the Notes app and then swipe down anywhere on the screen. This will open a search bar at the top. From here, type a word or phrase from the note you’re looking for and it will open instantly.
Save Notes to Dropbox
If you are a staunch Dropbox user and want an offsite cloud backup solution to backup your iPhone notes, you can save all your notes to your Dropbox account.
While in a note, tap the Share button at the bottom and select . The next screen will let you rename the note and even choose a specific folder to save it. But to do this, you need to have the Dropbox app installed and sign in with your credentials.
Swipe to Delete Notes Quickly
While on a note, simply tap the trash can at the bottom to delete that note, but a faster way to delete a note is on the Notes app’s home screen.
To quickly delete notes from your iPhone, simply swipe left on a note and then tap on it. It is a much faster method than entering and deleting each note individually.
Use a Better Note-Taking App
Finally, this was a “trick” suggested by many, but the best you can do is use Evernote, Simplenote, Vesper, Notability, etc. It is better to use a note-taking app such as
Personally, Evernote is one of the best note-taking apps available for iPhone. You can sync notes across all different types of platforms (not just Apple products), save articles to the web for later reading, and even organize notes in different notebooks.
