Buzz
Apple Notes is my preferred note-taking app across all Apple devices. While I adore using Notes on my iPhone, the Mac version could benefit from additional functionalities, such as Markdown support and enhanced desktop search capabilities. That's where ProNotes comes in—a Mac application that acts as an extension for Apple Notes. ProNotes doesn’t function independently but instead enhances Notes with advanced features tailored for power users. These upgrades are so impressive that they effectively elevate Notes to the level of a robust word processor.
A Spotlight-inspired shortcut for searching within Notes
Similar to how you use Spotlight search (or superior alternatives) to find items on your Mac, ProNotes allows you to configure a keyboard shortcut for searching through your notes without needing to open the app.
ProNotes displays all your search results in a floating window, allowing you to copy notes or note links directly from your desktop. This innovative feature revolutionizes the way you locate specific notes, making the process far more efficient. To set up the keyboard shortcut, navigate to ProNotes' settings and select the Global Shortcut option.
Markdown functionality is now available in Apple Notes
Markdown is a lightweight markup language that simplifies text formatting. It enables you to effortlessly add HTML headers, such as # for h1, ## for h2, and more. The Markdown Guide offers an excellent introduction to this language, and I highly recommend exploring it to deepen your understanding.
My preferred Mac writing app, Ulysses, already supports Markdown. With ProNotes, I can now use Markdown in Apple Notes too. Once ProNotes is installed, Markdown functionality is activated automatically, enabling you to incorporate headers, checklists, block quotes, and bulleted or numbered lists right away. A complete list of supported Markdown syntax can be found on the ProNotes website.
Enhanced deeplinking capabilities
Apple Notes enables you to create links between notes, a feature known as deeplinking. ProNotes enhances this by allowing you to swiftly identify all instances where a specific note has been linked. For example, if you want to find every note referencing your top coffee recipe, simply click the Backlinks button. This button, accessible by opening any note and selecting the small arrow icon in the bottom-right corner, reveals a popover listing all notes linked to the current one.
Utilize slash commands to activate specific functions
For those who prefer keyboard shortcuts, slash commands offer a quick way to access common formatting tools. With ProNotes installed, typing / in Apple Notes on Mac brings up a menu of formatting options, such as adding links, adjusting alignment, or creating tables. These commands streamline your workflow—just press the forward slash key and use the arrow keys to choose the desired feature.
An enhanced popover menu
ProNotes introduces a popover menu when you highlight text in Apple Notes, providing quick access to essential tools like formatting and linking options. This menu is more convenient than relying on the toolbar at the top of the window.
AI functionalities and pricing details
ProNotes includes AI-powered features leveraging to generate text, summarize articles, and perform other tasks. Personally, I find this aspect unnecessary and somewhat out of place in an otherwise excellent extension. The idea of AI inserting potentially irrelevant text into my Notes app doesn’t appeal to me. Thankfully, the AI features are the only part of ProNotes that come with a cost—$8/month—while the rest of the app remains completely free. ProNotes seems to utilize its own API key for processing AI requests.
AI features inevitably raise privacy concerns. Ideally, I wouldn’t want any content from Apple Notes to be sent to third-party servers. That said, ProNotes provides a transparent privacy policy, clearly outlining when the app connects to servers and what data is shared. While nothing appears alarming, the app would hardly suffer if the AI features were removed.
