Searching Locked Notes

Hello!


I read a post about issues searching locked notes.


It is true that you cannot search the body of a locked note within the notes app on the iPhone or Mac, however if you were to log into iCloud and unlock all locked notes (by unlocking one which automatically unlocks the others), you are able to search within the body of the locked note.


Hope that helps!

Posted on Feb 20, 2019 7:50 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Feb 21, 2019 12:10 PM

Hi there, 0_HappyToHelp_0!


If I understand your post, you'd like to know if you are able to search for content within a note in the Notes app if the note itself has been locked. I'd be happy to provide you with some information!


When a note is locked in the Notes app, you are unable to search for its content or title on iOS, Mac, or iCloud.com. If you unlock the note, you can open and view it on all platforms, and are able to search for content and titles contained within it at iCloud.com. To search within a note in the iOS or Mac Notes app, however, you must remove the lock completely (unlocking does not remove the lock itself).


Additionally, if you have multiple notes locked, choosing to unlock one note unlocks all notes on iOS, Mac and iCloud.com.


Cheers!

2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Feb 21, 2019 12:10 PM in response to 0_HappyToHelp_0

Hi there, 0_HappyToHelp_0!


If I understand your post, you'd like to know if you are able to search for content within a note in the Notes app if the note itself has been locked. I'd be happy to provide you with some information!


When a note is locked in the Notes app, you are unable to search for its content or title on iOS, Mac, or iCloud.com. If you unlock the note, you can open and view it on all platforms, and are able to search for content and titles contained within it at iCloud.com. To search within a note in the iOS or Mac Notes app, however, you must remove the lock completely (unlocking does not remove the lock itself).


Additionally, if you have multiple notes locked, choosing to unlock one note unlocks all notes on iOS, Mac and iCloud.com.


Cheers!

Mar 12, 2019 12:48 AM in response to Joseph_S.

The fact you can't search an UNLOCKED note is crazy!! I expect the reason Apple would state is a security one.


The problem is, its not a normal work method, you would 'expect' to be able to search an unlocked note. So when you try it and the search finds nothing, you do not realise that you are NOT searching unlocked notes, so you assume what you are searching for doesn't exist.


Very unintuitive programming.


I don't really care that you CAN search unlocked notes via iCloud. Yet more examples of inconsistent and unintuitive lazy programming and wasting my time thinking ive lost important info, wasting my time writing this and trying to fix it!!



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Searching Locked Notes

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