macOS Monterey brings one of iPadOS 15’s most interesting features to the Mac: Quick Notes. Apple’s Notes app is already a robust note-taking solution, but it’s now more integrated into the OS. Using the new Quick Notes feature, you can start taking notes from anywhere on the Mac. All it takes is a gesture or a keyboard shortcut. Here’s how it works.
How to create a Quick Note from anywhere
Want to jot something down in a hurry? Instead of searching for the Notes app, just take your cursor to the bottom-right corner of the screen. When you do, a little white box will peek out of the corner. Click on it, and the new Quick Notes feature will kick in.
From here, a new note will open up in its own window, which floats above all other windows (if you switch apps, you’ll still see your Quick Note). You can now start note-taking. Once you’re done, just close the window.
The next time you do this, the Notes app will open the last used note, so you can pick up where you left off. If you want to create a new note, use the Command + N keyboard shortcut.
How to add links to a Quick Note
Only Safari has native integration with the Quick Notes feature (more on that later), but Apple has created a feature that lets you add links from other open apps directly to a Quick Note.
After launching the Quick Note, click the Add App Link button from the top toolbar. You’ll see a list of all available website or app links from different browsers or apps. Click the “Add Link” button next to the link to add it to the note.
A Quick Note is still a fully-fledged note in the Notes app, so you get access to all the formatting and media options you’re used to.
How to start a new note every time in Quick Notes
What if you don’t want to see the same note every time you use the Quick Notes feature? There’s a setting that creates a new note every single time you use the Quick Notes gesture.
To enable this, open the Notes app, click the “Notes” option from the menu bar, and go to the “Preferences” section. Here, uncheck the “Resume Last Quick Note” option.
Some more ways of launching Quick Notes
If you don’t like the Hot Corner gesture for bringing up Quick Notes, there are a couple of other ways to start a quick note. Just like on the iPad, the Quick Notes feature is integrated into the Safari app, and here, too, it can help you add text and links to a note. Select some text or a link, right-click, and choose the “Add to Quick Note” option.
This will open a new Quick Note, with the attached text and the web page already linked.
You can also start a Quick Note using a keyboard shortcut. Press the Fn + Q key combo. If you want, you can change this keyboard shortcut from System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts > Mission Control > Quick Note.
How to disable or change the Quick Notes gesture in macOS Monterey
If you find the bottom-right corner gesture annoying, or if you already use that gesture for something else, you can disable or change the corner. Click the Apple icon in the menu bar and choose “System Preferences.” Go to Mission Control > Hot Corners. By default, you’ll see that the bottom-right corner is taken by “Quick Note,” but you can enable Quick Note for any corner. If you want to disable the shortcut, choose the “–” option from the menu and click the “OK” button to save the setting.