How to create interactive checklists in Notes for iOS 9
With Notes for iOS 9, Apple packs in a slew of powerful new features like deeper share sheet integration and drawing tools, but one of the most useful additions is the ability to create interactive checklists on the fly.
To create a new checklist from scratch, open Notes and click the pencil and pad icon at the lower right of the screen. On the new note screen, just above the soft keyboard (or at the bottom-right of the note boundary) is an action menu button represented as a gray circle with a plus sign. This small icon is the hub from which you can create checklists, format text, and insert pictures and drawings.
First, tap the action button, then select the checklist button represented by an encircled checkmark. An empty circle should appear in the note, after which your first item can be entered. This circle is interactive; tapping it will enter in a tick mark, offering visual confirmation that a task has been completed.
Alternatively, empty checklist buttons can be inserted after the fact by placing the cursor over a line of text and clicking on the checklist button in the action menu. Similarly, highlighting multiple lines of text and tapping the checklist button will create a multi-item list.
Checklists work perfectly for shopping. Lists can be imported by performing a copy and paste operation on text from emails, messages and other apps, then turned into an interactive checklist using the methods above. While shopping, simply tap the circle next to an item to tick it off the list.
Even though Notes is not yet a collaborative app, you can easily share formatted checklists with friends via email, Messages and more by tapping on the share button in the top-right corner of the screen. Further, activating iCloud syncing in Settings > iCloud > Notes automatically sends notes and real time changes to all your iOS and Mac devices.
To create a new checklist from scratch, open Notes and click the pencil and pad icon at the lower right of the screen. On the new note screen, just above the soft keyboard (or at the bottom-right of the note boundary) is an action menu button represented as a gray circle with a plus sign. This small icon is the hub from which you can create checklists, format text, and insert pictures and drawings.
First, tap the action button, then select the checklist button represented by an encircled checkmark. An empty circle should appear in the note, after which your first item can be entered. This circle is interactive; tapping it will enter in a tick mark, offering visual confirmation that a task has been completed.
Alternatively, empty checklist buttons can be inserted after the fact by placing the cursor over a line of text and clicking on the checklist button in the action menu. Similarly, highlighting multiple lines of text and tapping the checklist button will create a multi-item list.
Checklists work perfectly for shopping. Lists can be imported by performing a copy and paste operation on text from emails, messages and other apps, then turned into an interactive checklist using the methods above. While shopping, simply tap the circle next to an item to tick it off the list.
Even though Notes is not yet a collaborative app, you can easily share formatted checklists with friends via email, Messages and more by tapping on the share button in the top-right corner of the screen. Further, activating iCloud syncing in Settings > iCloud > Notes automatically sends notes and real time changes to all your iOS and Mac devices.
Comments
"Share" icon, selected "Mail" (cc'd it to myself) and hit send. It appeared to send fine but when the mail arrived, the web-pages had been stripped completely. I kind of expected that the formatted rectangular box would have been replaced with a plain text, clickable link, but there was nothing. It was completely gone... All I got in the email was the 2 paragraphs of descriptive text...
So....? Bug? Oversight? Known issue? Or intentionally omitted?
PS: If you're going to reply and claim it was intentional - please expand on your claim with a reason more substantial than "Apple doesn't make mistakes so if it's not there it's intentional" or "Its not there because Apple doesn't want it to be there"
It's working fine for me: I just emailed and texted a note to myself and it arrived intact w/ functioning web links.
Maybe your provider or mail client is filtering out the web links from your transcripts; I'm using Apple's Mail and Messages via ATT.
That's strange. After seeing your reply, I tried it again and it still isn't working. It can't have anything to do with mail server. The links don't show up in the draft that is generated locally (even before I type in a recipient address). I tried adding a checklist and a map to see If they would work. The ckecklist works properly and the bullets are correctly shaded to indicate checked or unchecked. The map is converted to a clickable link with the GPS co-ordinates. But the web-page links are completely gone!!!
I'm glad to hear it's not a global bug or oversight - but it's strange that it works for you and not for me. Any idea what else could be responsible for the difference in behavior that we're seeing?
If just it was possible to share Notes as well, like with Calendars, then I could share the shopping list with my wife, and we could both add and tick off items. Until then, I have to use Microsofts OneNote (also across iOS and OS X devices).
Fully agreed. but I use Trello iso OneNote. Any Notes/Reminders app that cannot be shared and that is not cross platform is rather useless
I don't understand why this feature does not sync with Reminders
Which country, which service provider?
No action menus at all in Notes. :-(
I think I found a bug today. I created a shopping list in Notes and when I got to the store, some of the checkboxes had disappeared.
There was still a place for them, but they were invisible.
I touched the spot where the circle should be and the checked circle would appear for a split second, then uncheck.
I tried force quitting the app, restarting the iPhone, all the usual things and the problem would not go away.
This feature only works with notes stored under iCloud. Any non-iCloud-account notes still use the features under iOS 8 and earlier.
Canada. Telus. But I just ran the same test on my iPad Air 2 (wifi only) and saw the same behavior.
You think their might be country based differences in how it works?
Is anybody else at all having this problem?
@tokyophil You may need to upgrade your Notes app. Open the Notes app and go to the all lists view and look for Upgrade in the top right.
The Upgrade doesn't occur by default since it's not backwards compatible with older versions of iOS / Mac OS (you'll need to upgrade to iOS 9 and El Capitan on all of your devices).
What a bone-headed move... On my new iPhone 6S the action bar in Notes is available only when creating a new Note on the iPhone which doesn't sync to include and hence my computer.
For me (iOS 9.0.x) the action bar is available ONLY when creating a new Note on the iPhone which then doesn't sync.
Update:
Action Bar works only if you have turned off iCould Notes, which deletes your on iPhone Notes and turn iCloud Notes again which then creates ALL new Notes as iCloud Notes - no more iPhone (only) Notes AFAICT. Syncs to iCloud accessed via a browser, but on your computer ONLY if you have upgraded to El Capitan.
Otherwise you can use Notes Action Bar only on iPhone Notes.
In the (older) Notes version you could create new Notes on the iPhone OR iCloud.