Capture a note and find it again
Write a note with Markdown shortcuts, then pin it or file it in a folder so you can find it again.
✦ Tutorial · Beginner
Capture and link notes in the Notes editor
Write notes on the desktop with Markdown shortcuts, pin and file them, turn follow-ups into checklists, link notes, find and replace, record audio and export.
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By the end you will have a set of pinned, tagged and linked notes with checklists and an audio recording, and an export you can share.
Capture, pin and find notes Turn follow-ups into checklists Replace safely and export
6 min
Turn follow-ups into checklists
Add checklist items by hand, or let ◆ Extract todos and chat add them for you.
Link notes with tags and backlinks
Group notes with #tags and connect them with [[links]] that show up in each note's Backlinks panel.
Find and replace, then roll back
Change a word through a whole note from the bar above it, and take it back with Ctrl+Z or an earlier snapshot.
Record an audio note and export it
Attach a voice recording to a note, then send the note out in the format the reader needs.
What each lesson covers
The tutorial, lesson by lesson.
Capture a note and find it again
Write a note with Markdown shortcuts, then pin it or file it in a folder so you can find it again.
This tutorial covers the desktop Notes editor. Notes can't be opened on the phone. Press + on the dock and choose Notes, or + New in the Notes list. A new note opens with a grey hint and isn't saved until you type in it or give it a title. The body takes Markdown as you type. # and a space starts a heading, - and a space a bullet, and --- alone on a line then Enter a divider. Typing **parking** and a space makes it bold, and one asterisk, backticks or [text](https://example.com) give italics, code or a link. Ctrl+Z turns a shortcut back into what you typed. The note saves two seconds after you stop, and the footer then reads Saved. The Notes list search matches titles, #tags and folder names. Pin note, under Organise in the More menu, keeps a note at the top. Move to folder files it in Work or a folder you name, and No folder takes it out. Both show under the title.
Practice. Create two notes, one for an interview and one for a plan, with a ## heading, a - list and one **bold** word in each. Wait for Saved, pin the interview and move it to the Work folder, then type work in the list's search box. Pin the plan too, then choose Pin note again to unpin it.
Press + New, title the note Interview 3 - Dylan, weekend visitor, then type: ## What we heard - Visits on Saturdays with two kids - Finds the **parking map** hard to read on a phone Then choose Pin note, then Move to folder and Work.
Turn follow-ups into checklists
Add checklist items by hand, or let ◆ Extract todos and chat add them for you.
Press Checklist on the toolbar, or Ctrl+Shift+7 (⌘+Shift+7 on a Mac), for each follow-up. Clicking an item's box ticks it, and the footer counts what is still open. A box typed as [ ] loses its tick when you reopen the note, so use Checklist. ◆ Extract todos, at the right end of a wide toolbar, has the AI pick out the tasks in the note and adds them as checklist items under an Extracted todos heading at the end. In a narrower pane, find Extract todos with AI in the More menu under From toolbar, or right-click the note and choose Extract todos (AI). Read what it adds. One Ctrl+Z takes out the whole block, and if it finds nothing, it says so. While a note is open, the composer carries an editing chip with its title, and chat can add headings, lists and checklists to it. If a change fails, the reply gives the reason. With no note open, asking chat to take a note doesn't save one.
Practice. Add three follow-ups with Checklist and tick one. Run Extract todos, read what it added, and press Ctrl+Z if you would rather keep the note as it was. Then, with the editing chip showing, ask chat to add a checklist of two more follow-ups at the end.
Open Interview 3, open the More menu and choose Extract todos with AI under From toolbar.
Link notes with tags and backlinks
Group notes with #tags and connect them with [[links]] that show up in each note's Backlinks panel.
Type # and a word, such as #parking, and it becomes a tag. Click a tag in the text to filter the Notes list to notes that carry it. @ and a name, such as @Grace, marks a person as a label only, and nobody is notified. To link two notes, type two square brackets, a note's title and two closing brackets, such as [[Research plan]]. The link turns orange, and clicking it opens that note. If no note has that title yet, a message says so. Create it with + New using the same title. The Backlinks panel under each note lists the notes that link to it, but it only knows about notes you have opened or saved since you last opened Oppermind. Renaming a note doesn't update the links that use its old title, so settle on titles early, or open each linking note and fix the link by hand.
Practice. Tag two interviews with #parking and click the tag to see which notes stay in the list. Link three interview notes to one plan note with [[ ]], open each interview once, then open the plan note and read its Backlinks panel.
In Interview 3, type [[Research plan]] at the end of What we heard, wait for Saved, then click the link.
Find and replace, then roll back
Change a word through a whole note from the bar above it, and take it back with Ctrl+Z or an earlier snapshot.
With the caret in the note, press Ctrl+F to find or Ctrl+H to replace (⌘ on a Mac). A bar opens above the note with Find, Replace with, Next, Replace and Replace all. Type a word and press Enter for the next match or Shift+Enter for the previous one. The counter shows where you are, such as 2 of 3, or No matches. Replace changes the highlighted match and moves on, and Replace all changes every match and counts them. If Replace with is empty, Replace all asks before it deletes anything. Each Replace or Replace all comes back with one Ctrl+Z in the note, or Undo on the toolbar. Esc or × closes the bar. Version history in the More menu's Review group lists up to 30 snapshots, taken when a note opens or saves, and Snapshot now adds one. The list covers every note opened in the pane, so check a row's title before Restore, which asks first. Snapshots stay on this computer until you close the pane.
Practice. Press Ctrl+H, find a word that appears more than once and step through it with Enter and Shift+Enter. Replace one match, then press Ctrl+Z in the note to bring it back. Before a bigger rewrite, open Version history and choose Snapshot now.
In Interview 3, press Ctrl+H, type Saturdays in Find and weekends in Replace with, press Enter, then Replace.
Record an audio note and export it
Attach a voice recording to a note, then send the note out in the format the reader needs.
Choose Audio note in the Insert group of the More menu and allow the microphone when your browser asks. Ask people before you record them. A Stop recording button appears in the pane, and a recording that reaches 8 MB stops by itself. While it uploads, the pane shows Uploading recording..., then a player lands in the note. If the upload fails, use Retry upload or Download recording before you close the note, because the recording isn't kept anywhere else. Export Doc in the More menu, or Export / Download on the toolbar, opens Export note with eight formats. Markdown (.md) keeps headings, #tags and [[links]], and puts each checklist item on its own - [ ] or - [x] line. The older Word format (.doc) and Rich text (.rtf) are converted on Oppermind's servers, so you need to be signed in. Exports don't include your recordings, and no file can be imported back into Notes. Share doesn't work for notes, so send an export instead.
Practice. Record a ten-second audio note and stop it. Export the note as Markdown (.md) and open the file in a text editor to check the checklist lines. Then choose Save to memory, in the File group, to add the note to your memory.
Open Interview 3, choose Export Doc in the More menu, then Markdown (.md).
Keep going
Make the learning stick
Start with one real piece of work.
Open Oppermind beside the lesson, apply each step, and leave with something you can use.