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How to copy or back up Notes to On My Mac with Mojave

I have a lot of information in my Notes program, but I don't want to risk losing it. I know it's backed up on iCloud but I would like to have a copy on my own computer. Using Mojave. I've set up On My Mac with a Notes folder, but I don't seem to have the option of copying the iCloud notes and pasting them to My Mac, only the option to "move" them. I don't want to move, them. I want to copy them or create a hard drive backup.

Posted on Jan 17, 2019 7:56 AM

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Thank you. This worked great. Big key here was the "Option" drag to copy instead of moving. And it appears that these notes do not sync, so it really works more like a backup copy as of the date you did the backup.

Posted on Jan 20, 2019 4:45 AM

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Jan 19, 2019 9:34 AM in response to TSHGolf

Greetings, TSHGolf.


I see that you have a lot of information stored on Notes on your Mac. You want to make sure they're safe, so you're looking for a way to make a copy. I'm happy to help.


What does iCloud back up? -- These are the things that iCloud backs up. Anything you're syncing through iCloud isn't included.

"Your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch backup only include information and settings stored on your device. It doesn’t include information already stored in iCloud, like Contacts, Calendars, Bookmarks, Mail, Notes, Voice Memos, shared photosiCloud Photos, Health data, call history, and files you store in iCloud Drive."


Back up your Mac with Time Machine -- You can back up your Notes using Time Machine, however.


Take care!

Jan 19, 2019 11:08 AM in response to TSHGolf

It is possible, but it's not the most intuitive.


Click on one of the notes in the list from your iCloud account, then either type Command+A, or use the "Edit" menu and then "Select All". All of your iCloud notes will then be selected.


Drag them to the "Notes" item under "On My Mac" in the left-hand sidebar *while holding the Option key*. This will perform a "copy" rather than a "move". You can verify you are doing it properly if the mouse cursor changes to have an additional small green disk with a "+" sign in it.


I haven't found a way that doesn't involve fiddly dragging.


Jan 19, 2019 11:24 AM in response to TSHGolf

You can find the Notes using Finder Go-To


~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Notes/Data/Library/Notes/


There should be 3 files there in special database format, so it can be only opened with Notes app.

You can copy them to another location or your USB

If you want to save them in readable format, you have to export them as PDF

How to copy or back up Notes to On My Mac with Mojave

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