They say inspiration comes when you least expect it. That’s why it’s always better to have a sticky note handy to jot down your stunning ideas before they get lost. For exactly this purpose, Apple introduced a new and stylish feature called Quick Note in iPadOS 15 and macOS 12 Monterey. It is designed to help you write down your thoughts faster without having to open any note app. If that sounds interesting to you, check out this detailed guide on how to use Quick Note on macOS Monterey on your Mac.
Use Quick Note on macOS Monterey: A Detailed Guide (2021)
Before we move on to the steps, let’s take a closer look at what Quick Note is and how it works. If you are already familiar with the concept, use the table below to jump to the relevant section.
What Is Quick Note and How Does It Work on macOS 12?
As the name suggests, Quick Note is all about capturing thoughts and collecting information you come across with extreme ease. Often times, we fail to jot down an idea or something important because of the difficulty of opening a note-taking app and using other additional tools. You may also need to take extra steps to sync notes to make them available across devices. Apple is trying to eliminate this hassle with the new Quick Note feature in macOS Monterey.
Quick Note aims to make the entire note-taking process instant. It’s now a one-click operation so that when you want to jot down anything, you don’t find it tedious.
Quick Note is directly integrated into the Apple Notes application. So whatever you write in a Quick Note will automatically sync across all your Apple devices. While Quick Note creation is exclusive to iPad and Mac, you can also view and edit them on your iPhone. That said, let’s see how you can access Quick Note on your Mac.
Set a Hot Corner to Access Quick Notes on Mac
With Hot Corners, you can easily access a Quick Note on your Mac running macOS Monterey. Of course, you will need to set it up first. But once you do, bringing up a Quick Note only requires you to move your cursor to the selected Hot Corner.
For the unfamiliar, Hot Corners turns each of the four corners of your screen on your Mac into quick shortcuts – top-right, top-left, bottom-left, and bottom-right. So, by moving the cursor to the desired corner, you can access preferred features such as Quick Note, Notification Center, Screen Saver, Mission Control and more. Other than that, let’s take a look at how to use it
- To get started, click on the Apple menu in the upper left corner of the screen and select “System Preferences“. Alternatively, you can also launch the System Preferences application directly.
2. Next, click on Mission control.
3. Then, “Hot Corners” In the lower left corner of the System Preferences application.
4. Now select from the drop-down menu of the preferred corner and quick note. I will select the lower right corner. It’s worth noting that by default Quick Note is selected to activate from the bottom right corner. When you assign a Quick Note to the Hot Corner you want, be sure to click it. OK to confirm your selection
How to Create a Quick Note on Mac
Now that you have the Quick Note shortcut set up in macOS Monterey, let’s learn how to access it. To do this, move your cursor to the designated Hot Corner to open a Quick Note. Whether on the desktop or in an app, you can use the keyboard shortcut (detailed below) to access it anytime.
Once you open the Quick Note, click the prompt to expand it and type your thoughts right away.
Use Keyboard Shortcuts to Create Quick Notes on Mac
Alternatively, you can use a keyboard shortcut to bring up a Quick Note on your Mac running macOS Monterey. Just follow this two step process:
- On your Mac, navigate to the location or app where you want to create a Quick Note.
2. Now, Fn+Q keyboard shortcut To access Quick Note
note: You can also open a Quick Note from the Control Center on your Mac. This feature is currently available, but Apple is likely to offer it in a future update.
View and Edit Your Quick Note in macOS Monterey
Now that you know how to create a Quick Note, you must be wondering – where are Quick Notes saved on your Mac? Native Apple Notes app includes: separate Quick Notes section to let you keep track of all your notes.
- To get started, launch the Notes app on your Mac.
2. Next, select Quick Notes from the left sidebar. Now you will see all your Quick Notes saved here. Choose what you want to view. You can also edit, delete, or share a Quick Note like any other note.
note: Accessing Quick Notes on iPhone is just as simple. Open the Notes app and go to the Folders section. Just at the top of the screen (below the search bar) you should see the “Quick Notes” folder.
Add Highlighted Text to a Quick Note from Safari
You can also add text and image highlights from Safari to a Quick Note in macOS 12 Monterey. So if you come across something worth saving in a note, you can easily add it. Follow the steps below to learn how it works:
1. First, open Safari on your Mac and select the text you want to highlight. After that, right-click/control-key and select “New Quick Note” or “Add to Quick Note“according to your needs.
2. The highlighted text will now appear in the Quick Note, along with the title and the name of the source. It is worth noting that you can drag and drop copied notes from one place to another. And you double-click on the title to go to the web page where the text was added.
The ability to add Safari highlights to a Quick Note comes in handy when you’re doing extensive research and wanting to pull all the highlights together. It will also help to prepare a detailed report.
Add Smart Links to Quick Note in macOS 12 Monterey
Adding a smart link (aka hyperlink) to Quick Note on Mac is simple. Apple has included shortcuts for these features in Quick Note popups themselves.
1. Open a Quick Note and click “bridge icon” is located in the toolbar.
2. Then, “add linkThe ” button is located next to the web page link.
3. To make your task of adding a specific link very simple, Quick Note will automatically open that link. So, to add a link you want, all you have to do is press the “Add Link” button next to the website or web page you want to add. The smart link in Quick Note looks like this:
Sort Your Quick Notes in macOS Monterey
You can also sort your Quick Notes in the correct order so that they are always based on your preference.
1. Open the Notes app and ellipsis icon Next to the Quick Notes folder at the top of the left sidebar. Note that you will need to hover the pointer over the Quick Notes folder to reveal the ellipsis icon.
3. Now, “Sort Folder” and choose how you want to sort all your Quick Notes on your Mac. You have multiple options to choose from:
- Edited Date (Default)
- date created
- Title
- Newest to Oldest
- oldest to newest
Convert Your Quick Note to PDF on Mac
You can also export your Quick Note as a PDF, making it easy to share your research or notes on a topic with others. Here’s how it works.
1. Open the Notes app on your Mac and Quick Notes folder from the left sidebar. After that, open the note you want to convert to PDF.
2. Now, click on the top File menu and select “Export as PDF“.
3. After that, give a suitable name and select the target To export the Quick Note as a PDF file. At the end, make sure to click on “.Save” to finish.
Tips for Getting the Most Out of Quick Note on Mac
This is how you can create and manage Quick Notes in macOS 12 Monterey on Mac. Now that you thoroughly understand how this nifty feature works, don’t forget to bring a Quick Note to save anything worthy of your collection. The Apple Notes app has been greatly improved, with the addition of many key features such as folder sharing, tags, and the ability to lock notes. How do you think it compares to popular third-party note-taking apps on iPhone like Evernote and OneNote? Let us know in the comments below. Also, share your entries about Quick Note and whether you found it helpful.
