Mac OS X Lion: The Missing Manual

Notes

No operating system is complete without Notes. You have to have a place for little reminders, phone numbers, phone messages, Web addresses, brainstorms, shopping-list hints—anything that’s worth writing down, but too tiny to justify heaving a whole word processor onto its feet.

The silly thing is how many people create reminders for themselves by sending themselves an email message.

That system works, but it’s a bit inelegant. Fortunately, Mac OS X has a dedicated Notes feature. As a bonus, it syncs automatically to the Notes folder of your iPhone’s mail program, or to other computers, as long as you have an IMAP-style email account (see the box on POP, IMAP, Exchange, and Web-based Mail).

Notes look like actual yellow notepaper with ruled lines, but you can style ’em, save ’em, and even send ’em to your friends. You can type into them, paste into them, and attach pictures to them. And unlike loose scraps of paper or email messages to yourself that may get lost in your mailbox, Notes stay obediently tucked in the Reminders section of the mailboxes list so you can always find them when you need them.

Tip

Ordinarily, Notes also appear in your Inbox, at the top. If you prefer to keep your Inbox strictly for messages, though, you can remove the Notes. Choose Mail→Preferences→Accounts→Mailbox Behaviors, and then turn off “Show notes in Inbox.” The Notes will still be waiting for you in the mailboxes column, down in the Reminders area.

To create a Note, click the Note icon on the Mail ...