All about exporting and importing with the Notes app

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Want to export files from the Notes app so you can save them in another app? With the tips in this article, you can export all notes from the Notes app on Mac to PDF, text, or any other common format.

Export notes on Mac

Have you taken a lot of notes in Apple’s Notes app, but want to switch to another app? Or do you need to share one with someone who doesn’t use Apple devices? Then you want to export the notes to another common format. You do this on the Mac or on the iPhone.

  • Export to PDF
  • Export to text
  • Other apps
  • Import

Export notes to pdf

Exporting notes to PDF is the easiest method that comes natively in the Notes app on Mac. You export everything piece by piece this way. This can be done on a Mac, but also on an iPhone or iPad. It works quite differently, so we’ll explain it separately.

  • iPhone and iPad
  • Mac

iPhone and iPad

There’s no obvious button in the Notes app on your iPhone or iPad to export a note as a PDF file. Still, it is possible without downloading additional apps. That is how it works:

  1. Open the Notes app and choose the note you want to export.
  2. Tap the three dots at the top right to open the action menu.
  3. Select Print. Don’t worry, we’re not actually going to print anything.
  4. Press and hold your finger briefly on the preview of your ‘print’. Release when the preview opens, then tap it once.
  5. Tap the share menu and choose a way to share. A PDF is automatically created.

Export note as PDF on iPhone

Unfortunately, notes don’t always export beautifully. All your images will be included.

Mac

On the Mac, an easier way is to export your notes as a PDF file. That’s how you do that:

  1. Open the Notes app and choose the note you want to export.
  2. Open the menu and choose File.
  3. Click Export as PDF.
  4. If necessary, choose a new name and indicate where you want to save the new file. Then click Save.

You now have a backup of one separate note. Repeat these steps for all notes you want to export.

Export notes to text

If you want to convert the notes to plain text files, you can do that without any third-party apps:

  • Open the note and tap the three dots at the top right.
  • Choose Send a Copy > Save to Files.
  • Choose a location on your iCloud or locally on your iPhone.
  • Save and done.

Any photos in the note are saved separately, but that makes sense if you want plain text. Another option is to press the three dots and then Copy. Then paste the text somewhere else.

You can also use third-party software. Writeapps Notes Explorer is a free app that converts all your notes into .txt files. Obviously, this only works when it comes to text-only notes. For example, you can also include drawings and handwritten text in a note. Of course, Notes Explorer does not include it.

Notes Exporter for Mac

Notes Explorer can be found here. The app is free to use.

When you start the app, it reads all individual notes in the Notes app and creates a separate .txt file for each note. It is important that you give the app permission to the directories you want to write to.

Export notes to other apps

You can also export single notes to a variety of other apps via the Share menu of the Notes app. This also works on the iPhone, iPad and Mac. Choose the note you want and go to Telegram in the share menu, for example. The note is then transferred as normal text (not as a PDF).

On the iPhone, choose Telegram, Evernote, or another app from the share menu to transfer a note to another app.

Import notes into the Notes app

The reverse is also possible: you can import notes into the Notes app on the Mac. You can import files in the following formats:

  • TXT
  • RTF
  • RTFD
  • HTML
  • Evernote XML Export (ENEX)

How to import notes:

  1. Click in the sidebar of the Notes app on your Mac and choose a folder where you want to import the notes (iCloud or On My Mac).
  2. From the menu bar, choose File > Import Notes.
  3. Select one or more notes to import or choose a folder. You can optionally keep the folder structure intact.
  4. Click Import.

Did you know that in addition to taking notes, you can also scan documents with the Notes app? For this, Apple uses smart technology to optimize the result. You can read how it works in our tip.

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