Change preferences in Notes on Mac

Sort notes by

Choose the default sort order for your notes.

New notes start with

Choose the default paragraph style used at the beginning of new notes. See Write and format notes.

Default account

Choose the account used when you ask Siri to create a new note. Usually, this is your iCloud account. See Add or remove accounts in Notes.

Automatically sort checked items

Select to automatically move checklist items to the bottom of the list as they’re checked (and subsequently move unchecked items to the top of the list). See Add or change a checklist.

Enable the On My Mac account

Select to store notes on your computer using the On My Mac account.

Default text size

Use the slider to set the preferred text size in notes.

Use dark backgrounds for note content

Select to keep the background of notes dark when you’re using Dark Mode. (Appears only when you’ve selected the dark appearance in the General pane of System Preferences.) See Use a light or dark appearance on your Mac.

Locked notes

Select the account (if you have more than one), then click Set Password to create a password to lock or unlock any note. If you already set a password, click Change Password or Reset Password. See Lock your notes.

Use Touch ID

If your Mac or Magic Keyboard has Touch ID, select the account (if you have more than one), then select this option to be able to use your fingerprint to unlock your notes.