Customize notes

What do you want to do?

Change the default color, font, and size of new notes you create

Change the color of individual notes

Change the size of notes

Show or hide the time and date on new and existing notes

Assign color categories to notes

Change the default color, font, and size of new notes you create

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.

2. Click Note Options.

3. Select the options that you want.

Change the color of individual notes

To change the color of individual notes, you need to assign a color category to each note. The notes will acquire the color that is associated with the assigned color category, which overrides the default color of the note.

Change the size of notes

You can change the size of individual notes or change the default size to affect all new notes.

• Change the size of an individual note

  Do one of the following:

  • Drag the lower-right corner of the note to the size that you want.

  • Double-click the bar across the top of the note.

  • In the upper-left corner of the note, right-click the note icon , and then click Minimize or Maximize.

• Change the default size of notes

  1. On the Tools menu, click Options.

  2. On the Preferences tab, click Note Options.

  3. In the Size list, click Small, Medium, or Large.

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Show or hide the time and date on new and existing notes

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.

2. On the Other tab, click Advanced Options.

3. Under Appearance options, select or clear the When viewing Notes, show time and date check box.

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Assign color categories to notes

By assigning color categories to notes, you can quickly identify them and associate them with related items such as e-mail messages or contacts. A note acquires the color of its assigned color category, and the color also appears in the Categories column in table views. You can assign multiple color categories to a single note.

Click one of the following:

Assign a color category to an open note

Assign a color category to a note in a table view or Icons view

Assign a color category to an open note

1. In the open note, click the note icon .

2. Point to Categorize, and then do one of the following:

   • Click a color category.

     When you assign an existing color category to a note for the first time, you are prompted to rename the color category. You can also change the color that is associated with the color category at that time and choose a keyboard shortcut.

   • To see more color categories or to create a new category, click All Categories to open the Color Categories dialog box.

     To assign a color category from the Color Categories dialog box, select the check box next to the color category.

     Notes: 

     • You can also open the Categorize menu and the Color Categories dialog box by clicking Categorize on the toolbar.

     • If you assign a color category to a note, the note acquires the color that is associated with the assigned color category, which overrides the default color of the note.

Assign a color category to a note in a table view or Icons view

1. Select the note to which you want to assign a color category.

2. Right-click the selection, point to Categorize, and then do one of the following:

   • Click a color category.

     When you assign an existing color category to a note for the first time, you are prompted to rename the color category. You can also change the color that is associated with the color category at that time and choose a keyboard shortcut.

   • To see more color categories or to create a new category, click All Categories to open the Color Categories dialog box.

     To assign a color category from the Color Categories dialog box, select the check box next to the color category.

     Notes: 

     • You can also open the Categorize menu and the Color Categories dialog box by clicking Categorize on the toolbar.

     • If you assign a color category to a note, the note acquires the color that is associated with the assigned color category, which overrides the default color of the note.

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