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User profile for user: DougThrower
DougThrower Author
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Notes app storing notes locally?

Morning, I'm looking for the path to see if a note in the Nptes app has stored locally on my Macbook Air, I need it urgently from a meeting yesterday and I can't seem to see if anyones asked the question before.


I've looked and it's not soted on any of the accounts I've got syncing with the Notes app, it's not appreared on my iphone, so I'm assuming it's stored locally somewhere (or maybe not)


If anyone can be of help I'd appreciate it.


Doug.

MacBook Air, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)

Posted on Jan 9, 2013 2:09 AM

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User profile for user: RodneyW
RodneyW
User level: Level 4
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Posted on Jan 9, 2013 2:27 AM

Notes are usually associated with an email account, and are stored in an "mbox" in that mail account.


To see them in Finder, you open up your Library folder (hold the Option key down and select Library from the Go menu). Then navigate to the Mail subfolder, where you will see a sub-folder for each of your mail accounts. Within that subfolder will be the "mbox" directories, which will include Notes for any account that you have created Notes in.

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User profile for user: RodneyW
RodneyW
User level: Level 4
3,035 points

Jan 9, 2013 2:27 AM in response to DougThrower

Notes are usually associated with an email account, and are stored in an "mbox" in that mail account.


To see them in Finder, you open up your Library folder (hold the Option key down and select Library from the Go menu). Then navigate to the Mail subfolder, where you will see a sub-folder for each of your mail accounts. Within that subfolder will be the "mbox" directories, which will include Notes for any account that you have created Notes in.

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User profile for user: DougThrower
DougThrower Author
User level: Level 1
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Jan 9, 2013 3:17 AM in response to RodneyW

I couldnt find anything where you have put, but I did find the notes stored locally here


Users/XXX/Library/Containers/com.apple.notes/Data/Library/CoreData/ExternalRecor ds


- XXX being the local user name.


Seems they are stored there but can't find the note I'm looking for, surely when creating the note and writing in it, ut must update somewhere, or does it just dissapear?? Seems unlike apple.

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User profile for user: RodneyW
RodneyW
User level: Level 4
3,035 points

Jan 9, 2013 4:14 AM in response to RodneyW

I just had an idea.... do you know when you wrote the note? If you are using a portable Mac, it has Time Machine enabled on the local drive - which means that you can open Notes, and then enter Time Machine. You might be able to go back to a point in time just after you wrote the note, and then find the Note in the filesystem to restore it....

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User profile for user: imtxsmoke
imtxsmoke
User level: Level 1
14 points

Aug 31, 2013 2:43 PM in response to RodneyW

Rodney,

Thanks for the great advice. I do have another question related to losing my notes. I have discovered that my most recent Notes, from around May of this year to present are no longer on my phone. I located them on my macBook air per your instructions (thanks again!). For some reason, unbeknownst to me, the last 3 months of notes are gone from my phone and are now on my Yahoo email account. Do you know "why" that happened? It bothers me that the most recent notes just migrated without any input by me. I thought my data was lost. It's not lost, but just not where I expected it to be. Thanks in advance,


Jeff

Aiea Hawaii

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Notes app storing notes locally?

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