Write a note, attach files and use Skills

Notes is the other tab of Notes & Tasks, the tasks list being the first, and the one the page opens on. A note is a title, a body you can format, and a notebook it belongs to.

What you see depends on the screen. From 1024px up you get the three-pane workspace: notebooks on the left, the note list in the middle, the note itself on the right. Below that the notes draw as cards.

Capture a quick note

The capture card sits above the list on a desktop.

1. Open Notes & Tasks.
2. Type into Capture a thought… ideas, learnings, client notes (⌘↵ saves).
3. Give it a colour, and a notebook, if you want either.
4. Press Save note.

Title (optional) is the line above it, and the name is worked out from the first line when you leave it empty. ⌘↵ saves without reaching for the button.

Page does the same save and then opens the note full screen, which is where a long note wants to be written.

On a phone the capture card is gone and New note in the bottom bar opens a fresh note full screen instead.

Start from a template

The + at the top of the note list is New note or template. It offers Blank note first, then every template you have.

Write with slash blocks

Type / anywhere in the body and the block menu opens. It holds Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3, Bullet list, Numbered list, Checklist, Quote, Callout, Code block, Divider, Date, Heading snapshot, Voice note, Image or PDF, Toggle and Table.

Date drops today in full. Heading snapshot builds a contents list from the headings already in the note. Table starts at 3 rows by 3 columns with a header row.

Attach a picture or a PDF

Three ways in: / then Image or PDF, the paperclip, or a straight paste into the body.

An image is drawn in the note. A PDF can’t be, so it goes in as a link named after the file, which opens in a new tab.

Note

Only images and PDFs go in a note, and each file has to be under 15MB. Anything else is refused before it’s uploaded, and the message says what does work.

Dictate into a note

/ then Voice note starts recording. A toast says Recording… speak now and holds a Stop & insert button. Press it and the words are transcribed and dropped in at the cursor. For a whole meeting rather than a line, use the meeting importer.

If nothing was heard, the toast says Nothing heard and the note is untouched.

Hand a paragraph to the Skills

Skills are the AI rewrites, and they work on a selection rather than the whole note.

To run one:

1. Select the text you want worked on.
2. Read down the menu that appears to the Skills heading.
3. Pick Improve writing, Proofread or Explain.

Improve writing and Proofread replace what you selected. Explain leaves your words alone and adds a quote block underneath with the answer in it.

The same menu carries New task from selection, which files the selected line as a task, and Copy selection.

Sort notes into notebooks

A notebook is a label on a note, and a row in the left rail.

1. Press the + on the Notebooks & tags header.
2. Pick New notebook and name it.
3. Drop notes in with Move to notebook… from a note’s own menu.

The rail row’s menu holds Rename notebook and Remove notebook. Removing one takes away the label and nothing else: its notes stay in All notes, and the confirm says how many there are.

Search notes… sits above the list and reads tag:, in:, is: and has: alongside plain words. A search worth keeping can be saved as a smart folder from the button beside the box.

FAQ

Where did my note go after I saved it?

Into the list, newest first, and into the notebook you picked. A note saved with no notebook is still in All notes.

Can I put a video or a spreadsheet in a note?

No. Images and PDFs only. For anything else, attach it to a task instead.

Does Explain overwrite what I wrote?

No. It’s the one Skill that adds rather than replaces. The answer arrives as a quote block below your selection.

A Skill said it isn’t wired up on this app. What now?

Nothing you can fix from here. The Skills run on a function the ActivityTracker team switches on for your app.