Change preferences in Notes on Mac

Sort notes by

Choose the default sort order for your notes.

New notes start with

Choose the default paragraph style used at the beginning of new notes. See Write and format notes.

Default account

Choose the account used when you use Siri to create a new note. Usually, this is your iCloud account. See Add or remove accounts in Notes.

Resume last Quick Note

When you start a Quick Note, open your last Quick Note instead of creating a new one. See Start a Quick Note.

Automatically sort ticked items

Automatically move checklist items to the bottom of the list as they’re ticked off (and subsequently move unticked items to the top of the list). See Add or change a checklist.

Allow mention notifications

Get notifications when your name is mentioned in a shared note in Notes. See Collaborate on a shared note.

Enable the On My Mac account

Store notes on your computer using the On My Mac account.

Default text size

Set the preferred text size in notes.

Use dark backgrounds for note content

Keep the background of notes dark when you’re using Dark Mode. (Appears only when you’ve selected the dark appearance in the General pane of System Preferences.) See Use a light or dark appearance.

Locked notes

Select the account (if you have more than one), then click Set Password to create a password to lock or unlock any note. If you already set a password, click Change Password or Reset Password. See Lock your notes.

Use Touch ID

Choose whether you can use your fingerprint to unlock your notes if your Mac or Magic Keyboard has Touch ID. Select the account (if you have more than one), then select this option.