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!"

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)

Posted on Apr 14, 2013 1:05 PM

Top-ranking reply

Tim Carlson

Level 2

270 points

Posted on Jan 8, 2014 6:39 AM

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.

View in context

19 replies

Eric Root

Level 10

687,757 points

Apr 14, 2013 2:36 PM in response to Kim Hill1

Based on my tests, try selecting "Insert Numbered List" again.

If there is nothing in the note you need, delete the note and start a new one.

Lexiepex

Level 6

14,158 points

Apr 15, 2013 12:09 PM in response to Eric Root

The Terminal command is

chflags nohidden ~/Library

You have to redo it after an update of the OS.

iOpa

Level 1

0 points

Dec 11, 2014 5:10 AM in response to yosemiteg

Thanks, this solved my problem 🙂

Feb 4, 2016 8:00 AM in response to Kim Hill1

Here it is Feb 4, 2016 and I have the same experience. Love notes...the formatting features suck.

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

How do I turn off list formatting in Notes app?