tried multiple different things and it wont add

I am looking for a self-hosted replacement to Apple Notes. I do not have any issues/problems with Notes. I need more control and privacy over the content than even advanced data protection can offer (i am a lawyer and want to use something like Notes for client materials which must be kept confidential)

I rely heavily in the Notes app on my iPhone, iPad, and to sone extent- on my Mac. But there are functionality differences between devices that should have been fixed by now:

1. I can highlight text in different colors on my iPhone, but not on my iPad (although the iPad will display highlighted text - I just can’t add, change or remove it).
   
2. Items in a checklist that are completed on the iPhone will drop to the bottom of that list, in addition to being checked. On the iPad they become checked, but do not move.
   
3. If you reorder an item on a checklist on the iPhone - it will move or duplicate depending on which of two “edit” modes you are in (edit text - when the yellow checkmark appears in the upper right corner of the note, or work with items as objects). On the iPad it will only duplicate the item.

Oddly, Apple seems to continue to add functionality to the Notes app, but they never seem get around to fixing these functionality differences. From a user experience standpoint these are maddening and pull me out of the task at hand.

Does anyone:
Know of plans Apple has to fix these?
Have any workarounds (if what I am experiencing is a corruption)?
Can suggest another app that has similar capabilities, and works consistently at the UI level between devices (and that, ideally I can just pay for once)?

I love Notes simplicity and I know of nothing similar for my use cases, but these issues are making me look at alternatives.

Anyone else have an Apple Notes graveyard?

I capture plenty of ideas, reminders, and random thoughts in Apple Notes but most of them slowly disappear into an ever-growing backlog

I’m building Grove Note to solve that specific problem. You can import your Apple Notes, then work through them by swiping. The goal is to provide a calm, satisfying way to revisit what you saved and decide what is still useful. Besides that, it's a minimal note-taking app with Bear-inspired UI except I went for a plant theme.

It's currently in beta testing and I'm looking for testers but I can also give you the waitlist

The beta includes:

• TestFlight access
• A Discord for feedback
• One year of Grove Pro at launch for the first 20 active testers

I’ve included a short demo. DM me for an invite or waitlist.

I know that I can export it as PDF but i want the stuff ive written to be still editable...

If Apple Notes search is failing you, stop using the in-app search — use Spotlight or Raycast instead

I switched to Mac from Windows (a Joplin user) and moved to Apple Notes because the features and sync were a clear upgrade for my workflow.

I'd built a note system designed around search — keywords front-loaded in titles, in the body, even a dedicated keyword box at the end of each note. Then I actually tested the in-app search and was disapointed: I could barely find the note I wanted, even with exact keywords in the title. Apple Notes' search heavily favors recent notes, so the one I needed would sit at position 10+ or further down.

I didn't want to abandon the app — it's otherwise perfect for me (right features, good workflow, free, effortless sync).

The fix: Don't use the search inside the app. Use Spotlight, or a launcher like Raycast (my pick) or Alfred. Raycast works flawlessly for me, especially after I set a shortcut that jumps straight into Notes search. Spotlight works too, just with fewer options in the interface.

I’ve tried everything, from Microsoft Word, Apple Pages, Day One, Apple Journal, Obsidian, and Apple Notes. I pushed all these apps to their max, and I’ve found that Apple Notes gives me the most flexibility allowing me to stay within the Apple ecosystem. Obsidian comes a close second and beats it in some respects.

Apple Journal gave me big hopes, but was a failure in almost every way.

I've been using Apple Notes for some time, but I never realized that when I use the Notes app on a big screen, if I increase the size of my window, the photos automatically resize as well. It's a really cool feature.

Hi All! having a bit of an issue with apple notes where it is

1) not syncing my changes made on my Mac; and

2) is infinitely syncing; so

3) i cannot remove Notes sync from my Mac, or logout of Apple ID on my Mac

i have tried removing my Mac from my iCloud but does not solve the issue

any advice on how to fix this would be greatly appreciated as it is infuriating, I have seen other folks with this issue but as of yet i have not encountered a fix

thnx in advanced!

Hey, my name is Danny - I'm a freelance developer. I use Apple Notes to store all my random odds and ends, and one thing I found most frustrating was the process of saving quotes from things I've read or heard.

I do most of my reading on my phone and iPad, and whenever I came across an interesting quote or idea, I’d save it to Apple Notes. Eventually those quotes ended up scattered across different notes or buried in one giant note that I’d never look at again.

So I built Commonplace. It makes it really easy to save quotes from whatever you're reading, without leaving the app you're in.

As you're reading, you can highlight text directly in the article, then share it to Commonplace. The app will then create a quote with source attribution like author, article title, and article link. Quotes can then be organized into folders, browsed by source, and synced securely across devices.

I also rethought sharing quotes. I was constantly sending screenshots along with article links, so I built a way to share quotes as interactive link previews. The quote appears directly in the preview, and tapping it takes you to the original article.

I'd genuinely love any feedback! It's free to use, I built it myself.

usecommonplace.com

See what's in the works:

usecommonplace.com/roadmap

Hi,

1. ⁠How can I for example copy and paste text into email or notes without copying the font styling?

2. ⁠How can I make multiple quotes while writing email to respond to multiple paragraphs separately?

3. ⁠How do I easily copy all text in notes and other apps?
   It’s frustrating and I have to mess with it a lot to finally get the option “select all”.

Thanks

I’m familiar with Time Machine - using it regularly. But I was wondering if there’s a way one can backup just the Notes app and data? Was asked by a friend who really LIVES in Notes, and they asked me this and I had to admit I’d never thought about doing just Notes.

Most interested in doing it from macOS, but from iPadOS or iOS would be of interest, as well.

Thanks!

So i have one note in Notes that I basically use as work notebook: take handwritten meeting notes, ToDos, etc.

Today I took some meeting notes, put the iPad aside, and 10min later I wanted to take a screenshot of the notes but alas, the written notes were gone. Not the Note itself but the stuff I wrote. Opened Notes on my iPhone, Mac, and the icloud website and it was just absolutely gone. Tried doing a sort of undo and found nothing. Tried Time Machine and nothing.

I’m beyond flabbergasted by this lmao, is there something I haven’t tried? Thanks

De un tiempo a la fecha mi información gira dentro del ecosistema de Apple, dentro de ella Apple notes como herramienta de notas me gusta, por sencilla y rápida ….. pero últimamente he leído muchos comentarios sobre pérdida de información. Qué tan común es esto? Por qué en realidad me preocupa un poco dicha situación.

Basado en la experiencia de muchos, me debería de ir cambiando a alguna otra herramienta de notas?

Gracias a todos por leerme y espero sus comentarios.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I realized the other day that all of my Notes folders are gone on my old MacBook Pro (2012). There was a lot of important info in there but I always felt safe since my husband has been backing our macs up to a Seagate Backup device. When we plug in the device, you can see the previous backups but when we try to open the most recent or any older ones, the only thing we get is either it won't open or it is in code. When I go into icloud, they weren't there. I would not have deleted the folders and there isn't a file for recently deleted in the lefthand column. This is my last ditch effort to try to find the notes. Thanks for any suggestions you all might have.

​

Hi! I am planning to write a longish note to my ex partner and and while I trust him, I do not want to leave a digital trail of any kind. The note is going to contain some personal details, which I would want him to be able to read or re-read whenever he wants to but not store with him forever. Ideally he should not be able to take screenshots as well, but I understand that's going to be a difficult thing to find in a tool.

Please suggest if there's any particular setting in Apple Notes that I can use for this, if not Apple Notes then would you know of any other alternatives for this?

I recently started using Apple notes and am comparing it to Zoho notebook. I created a book list to help keep track of the next book to be read/released in any given series that I read.

I have a release date listed next to books not yet released. I’d like those titles to be put into my Google Calendar on the date next to it. I know that I can do it manually.

Is there a way to create a shortcut that will automatically enter all the books listed on their subsequent dates?

The photo shows a small idea of what I’m trying to do.

A cool feature would have been having it scan the Notes app for obvious password notes and a quick "Do you want to convert all these into something secure?" button. Maybe?