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Use Smart Folders in Notes on Mac
You can create Smart Folders to organise notes by criteria you specify, such as tags, mentions, checklists or the date a note was created or edited.
Create a Smart Folder
You can create a custom Smart Folder to organise notes by criteria that you specify. Smart Folders don’t contain notes; they contain references to notes in other folders. Smart Folders also can’t be locked, turned into subfolders or shared, although they can reference shared notes.
In the Notes app
on your Mac, do one of the following:
Click New Folder in the sidebar, then select Make into Smart Folder in the dialogue that appears.
Choose File > New Smart Folder.
Type a name for the Smart Folder.
Specify the criteria for including notes in the Smart Folder.
Set the first rule: Click the first pop-up menu, choose an option (such as Tags, Date Created or Date Edited), then complete the rule using the other available menus (they vary depending on your choice in the first pop-up menu).
For example, to include only notes that contain checklists with ticked items, choose Checklists from the first pop-up menu and Ticked from the second one.
Add or remove rules: To create additional rules, click the Add button
. To remove a rule, click the Remove button
.
Set the scope of multiple rules: If you have more than one rule, use the pop-up menu under the Name field to choose whether a note must meet any or all of the criteria to be included in the Smart Folder.
Tip: To create a Smart Folder that contains only untagged notes, choose Tags from the first pop-up menu, then choose Untagged Notes Only from the other pop-up menu.
Click OK.
Convert a folder into a Smart Folder
When you convert a folder into a Smart Folder, all its notes are moved to the Notes folder and tagged with #[Folder Name]. This can’t be undone.
In the Notes app
on your Mac, click the folder you want to convert in the sidebar. If you don’t see the sidebar, choose View > Show Folders.
Click the More button
next to the folder name, choose Convert to Smart Folder, then click Convert.
You can’t convert a folder that is shared, contains a locked or shared note, or has a subfolder.
Edit a Smart Folder
You can change the name of a Smart Folder, modify one of its filters or add filters. A Smart Folder must have at least one filter.
In the Notes app
on your Mac, do one of the following:
Position the pointer over a Smart Folder, click the More button
, then choose Edit Smart Folder.
Control-click a Smart Folder, then choose Edit Smart Folder.
Do any of the following:
Change the Smart Folder name: Enter a new name in the Name field.
Change the criteria for what’s included in the Smart Folder: To remove a rule, click the Remove button
. To add a rule, click the Add button
. To change a rule, use the pop-up menus.
You can also move the Smart Folder in the sidebar. Just drag the folder to the location you want.
Delete a Smart Folder
In the Notes app
on your Mac, do any of the following:
Click a Smart Folder in the sidebar, then choose Edit > Delete.
Position the pointer over a Smart Folder, click the More button
, then choose Delete Folder.
Control-click a Smart Folder, then choose Delete Folder.
Click Delete to confirm.
Deleting a Smart Folder doesn’t delete the notes it references; they remain in their folders.