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How do I turn off list formatting in Notes app?

I want the Notes app to function as a plain text editor.


But I was experimenting with formatting & selected "Insert Numbered List" from the "Format" menu. Now I can't turn it off!


E.g. any time I enter "1) " as the begining of a line, Notes indents & converts it to a non-editable list item ("1."). But I'm writing to paste into a forum that only accepts plain text, so this is useless. Plus, I want the parenthesis. If I copy & paste, the numbers don't even come over!


"Jane, stop this crazy thing!"


User uploaded file

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)

Posted on Apr 14, 2013 1:05 PM

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Posted on Nov 21, 2013 7:38 AM

After your text is auto-formatted, you can undo the action.


Example:

  • Type "1)" then type [space]
  • Auto-formatting is applied
  • Type Z (for undo)
  • Text is reverted to original format
19 replies

Feb 11, 2017 7:46 AM in response to Kim Hill1

Notes is quite confused when it come to formatting.


Sorry to be blunt but this is yet another example of the incomplete and confusing software development that plagues many Apple products. For example Pages and Numbers were presented initially as high quality apps that would be fully and transparently integrated in iCloud. Come to find out that Pages is quite limited and all but useless for purposes as basic and multi-level outlining. iCloud was presented as simple and secure but weeks of my work was lost and no one at Apple could recover it. They initially insisted that iCloud's backup feature was sufficient and that no additional backup of material saved to iCloud was necessary.


I'm a very long term Apple user and I have to say unfortunately that my frustration with them has grown more and more over the years. At this point if Windows provided an effective migration tool I would convert.

Sep 22, 2017 6:17 AM in response to Tim Carlson

I would have said "stupidly" instead of "interestingly", but that's just me.


Anyway, in my case it doesn't work. It still applies numbering after each enter, which is quite annoying, because I want to do the numbering myself and write as my rows as I want to without it adding a new number.

One partial solution to that, I've found out, is to press shift+enter. Although the next row is going to be subordinate to the previous one.

Apr 15, 2013 11:56 AM in response to Kim Hill1

To make your user library visible, hold down the option key while using the Finder "Go To Folder" command. Enter ~/Library.

If you prefer to make your user library permanently visible, use the Terminal command found below.

http://osxdaily.com/2011/07/04/show-library-directory-in-mac-os-x-lion/

You might want to bookmark the command. I had to use it again after I installed 10.8.2. I have also been informed that if you drag the user library to Finder it will remain visible.

Jan 14, 2014 8:36 PM in response to Tim Carlson

Tim Carlson wrote:


After looking into it a bit more, the best way is to go to Edit > Substitutions and uncheck Smart Lists.


Interestingly, in the contextual (right-click) menu, under Substitutions, the only item that does not appear is Smart Lists. That's why this took me so long to figure out.


Even better. (Weird that those options aren't considered "preferences." In fact Notes.app doesn't even have a preferences page.)


Thanks!

Jul 28, 2014 1:54 PM in response to Tim Carlson

Tim Carlson wrote:


After looking into it a bit more, the best way is to go to Edit > Substitutions and uncheck Smart Lists.


Interestingly, in the contextual (right-click) menu, under Substitutions, the only item that does not appear is Smart Lists. That's why this took me so long to figure out.


Thank God for your post! I have been trying to figure this out for 2 years. I'm not an expert Mac user and the auto-dash in Notes drives me crazy! I love Notes, but want to use my own list formatting. Thank you again and I wish Apple would have a preference section for Notes or put it in the Help pages. THANK YOU!!!


Funny how the little things can cause such frustration and stress. 🙂🙂

How do I turn off list formatting in Notes app?

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