Use the improved Notes app
Learn about the new features that make the app more than just a notepad
Notes gets a revamp in El Capitan, and it’s much more than just a simple jotter
SKILL LEVEL
Anyone can do it
IT WILL TAKE
5 minutes whenever
you add a note
YOU’ll NEED
OS X 10.11 In past editions of OS X, Notes has felt like not much more than a simple tool for syncing random thoughts and flashes of inspiration between your Mac and iOS devices. It was little more helpful than TextEdit, and without that app’s formatting tools. No wonder the lure of rivals like Evernote has proved irresistable for so many people.
In El Capitan, Apple has rethought the app, and pretty much pulled it to bits and started from scratch. Notes still synchronises with iOS through your iCloud account, but it goes far beyond simple text-based jottings.
Notes now acts as a repository for everything that matters day to day, whether that’s your shopping list, personal tasks or recipes, to which the app has always been suited, or the photos, maps and screenshots it takes in its stride in its latest incarnation.
The app now has a wider range of formatting tools, and if you’re a fan of using lists to organise your life, you can create them, complete with checkboxes, and then tick off tasks as they are completed. This is a big improvement on earlier versions, where you’d be more likely to scrub an item from a list entirely, at which point you couldn’t refer back to see what you had done.
Here, we show you how to make the most of the new features. By the time you reach the end, Notes will be an essential tool for managing your personal information. Nik Rawlinson
If you’re a fan of using lists to organise your life, you can create them – complete with checkboxes