How to attach, view, edit, collaborate in iOS 18’s Notes

In iOS 18’s updated Notes app, you can attach, view, edit and work together on PDFs. Let’s look at how to do this.

How to attach a PDF to a note:

• Drag the file into a note.
• Touch and hold the file, tap Share, tap Notes, then choose a note.

View and edit a PDF in a note

1. Go to the Notes app on your iPhone.
2. In the note with the PDF, tap , then do any of the following:
   • Change the preview size: Tap View As, then choose Small, Medium, or Large.
   • View in full screen: Tap Quick Look.
   • Copy, share, rename, or delete the PDF: Choose an action.
3. When using the Medium or Large preview size, you can also do any of the following:

1. Show or hide thumbnails: Tap .
2. Zoom in and see more: Pinch the screen or swipe right to see more pages.
3. Edit a page: Tap the thumbnail for the page, tap , then choose an action such as Rotate Left, Rotate Right, Filters, Crop Page, or Insert Blank Page. (Filters and Crop Page are supported only in scanned documents.)

How to annotate a PDF in a note

• Small preview size: Tap the PDF to open it, then tap .
• Medium and large preview sizes: Tap .

How to Collaborate with others

To collaborate with others, you can share a note or a folder of notes in iCloud. You can set permissions for the participants (such as allowing them to edit notes, add attachments, and create subfolders), and all the participants can see everyone’s changes in real time. The participants must be signed in to their Apple Account and have Notes turned on in iCloud settings.

Note: You can’t collaborate on a locked note or on a folder with locked notes.

1. Go to the Notes app on your iPhone.
2. Do one of the following:
   • In the notes list, swipe left on the note you want to share, then tap .
   • Open the note you want to share, then tap .
   • In the folder list, swipe left on the folder you want to share, then tap .
   • Open the folder you want to share, tap , then tap Share Folder.

3. Choose Collaborate.
4. To change the access and permissions, tap the share options below Collaborate. You can set any of the following:

1. Allow access only to people you invite or to anyone with the link.
2. Give participants permission to make changes or view only.
3. Allow participants to invite new people (available only when they have permission to make changes).
4. Choose Messages or Mail to send your invitation. (AirDrop isn’t supported for collaboration.)
   If you send the invitation in Messages, you get activity updates in the Messages conversation when someone makes changes in the shared note. Tap the updates to go to the shared note.

View activity in a note

In the notes list, an orange dot to the left of a note title indicates the note has changed since you last looked at it.

1. Go to the Notes app on your iPhone.
2. Open the note, then swipe right on the note or swipe up on the Activity card to see who made changes and when.
3. To adjust how the activity is shown, tap , then choose any of the following:
   • Show Updates: Shows changes made since you last opened the note.
   • Show All Activity: Shows all activity in the note.
   • Show Highlights: Shows names, dates, and changes made by each participant.

Tip: To mention a participant and notify them of important updates, type an @ sign followed by their name.

View activity in a folder

1. Go to the Notes app on your iPhone.
2. Touch and hold the folder, then tap Show Folder Activity.

Change sharing settings

1. Go to the Notes app on your iPhone.
2. The owner of a shared note or folder can change the sharing settings by doing one of the following:
   • Manage a shared note: Tap , then tap Manage Shared Note.
   • Manage a shared folder: Tap , then tap Manage Shared Folder.
3. Do any of the following:

1. Remove participants: Tap the participant you want to remove, then tap Remove Access.
2. Change access and permission settings: To change the settings for all participants, tap Share Options. To change the settings for one person, tap their name.
3. Stop sharing: When you choose this option, the shared note or folder is deleted from the devices of the other participants.