Settings#
FoldNotes settings are organised into sections. Most settings are shared across platforms, with a few platform-specific options noted below.
On macOS, open settings via FoldNotes → Settings (Cmd+,). On iOS, tap the gear icon in the Library.
Editor#
| Setting | macOS | iOS | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Body Font | Font for body text. Default: the system sans (San Francisco). See the note below for how the pickers differ per platform | ||
| Heading Font | Separate font for headings. Default follows the body's system sans. macOS keeps headings bold and sized off the body; only the family changes | ||
| Font Size | Body text size (8–36 pt on macOS, 8–72 pt on iOS) | ||
| Code Font | Separate font for code blocks and tables | ||
| Code Font Size | 0 = same as body text | ||
| Comment Font | Choose a separate font for <!--comments--> |
||
| Comment Font Size | 0 = same as body text | ||
| Line Spacing | Extra space between lines | ||
| Paragraph Spacing | Extra space between paragraphs | ||
| Document Width | Full, Wide, Medium, or Narrow | ||
| Animate fold and unfold | Animate the expand/collapse of folded sections |
Choosing fonts#
The default body and heading font is the system sans (San Francisco). Prefer a serif? Choose New York — Apple's system serif — from the Body (or Heading) font picker.
- iOS offers a curated list for Body, Heading, and Code, each row previewing itself: the system faces (San Francisco, New York, SF Rounded) plus a range of reading-friendly serif and sans-serif fonts (Charter, Georgia, Iowan Old Style, Palatino, Avenir Next, Helvetica Neue, Gill Sans, and more). The Code picker lists monospaced fonts.
- macOS uses the standard system font panel ("Select Font…"), so you can pick any installed font — plus a small Other dropdown for the system faces the panel can't show (New York, SF Rounded). Both controls set the same value; the most recent choice wins.
The Code font applies to both code blocks and tables. On macOS, the editor tab includes a live preview of your font and spacing choices.
Appearance#
Both platforms support automatic light/dark theme switching:
- Follow system light/dark mode — when enabled, choose separate themes for light and dark appearance. The app switches automatically when the system appearance changes.
- When disabled, a single theme is used regardless of system appearance.
See Themes for the full list of available themes.
Behaviour#
| Setting | macOS | iOS | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strikethrough completed tasks | Draw a line through done and cancelled tasks | ||
| Return to last edited position | Reopen each note at the position where you last edited it — browsing the note list, the gallery, and Back/Forward all land where you left off. Off: notes always open at the top. On by default. Trash and Archived always open at the top regardless. | ||
| Highlight restored position | Nested under the setting above. When a note opens scrolled to your last position while you're browsing (keyboard focus still in the list, so no blinking cursor is shown), the last‑edited line is briefly highlighted so it's clear where you are. Silent when a note opens at the top or the editor has focus. On by default. | ||
| Show indent guides | Vertical lines tracking indentation in nested content | ||
| Colour headings by level | Each heading level gets a distinct colour | ||
| Start Queries and Database Views collapsed | Keep the sidebar's Queries and Database Views sections closed at launch so tags stay in view. On by default. In-session expand/collapse is remembered until quit. | ||
| Show paragraph drag buttons | Drag handles for reordering paragraphs | ||
| Default to gallery view | Open the Notes List in gallery view by default | ||
| Create backlinked notes without confirming | Skip the confirmation dialog when opening a wikilink to a note that doesn't exist yet | ||
| Auto-tag new notes with the current tag | When a note is created while the list is filtered to a tag, seed the new note with that tag. On by default. | ||
| Hide toolbar with hardware keyboard | Dismiss the keyboard toolbar when an external keyboard is connected | ||
| Keyboard suggestion bar | Show the predictive/suggestion bar above the software keyboard | ||
| Check spelling | Red-underline misspelled words (on macOS, use the system Edit → Spelling menu) | ||
| Reveal drag handles when pointer available | iPad: show paragraph drag handles only when a pointer (trackpad/mouse) is connected | ||
| Tags first in Library | Show tags above other items in the Library sidebar |
Project Terminology#
macOS only — iOS shows the current terms read-only.
The Projects settings tab renames the project system vocabulary for the collection:
- Singular (task keyword) — the inline keyword that assigns a note to a project (default
project, used asproject:Name). - Plural (tag prefix) — the tag prefix that groups projects (default
projects, used as#projects/Name). - Apply and Rewrite Collection… — rewrites every note in the collection to the renamed terms.
External Files#
- Enable External Files — the master switch for the External Files feature (browsing and editing Markdown and Bike files outside your collections, in place). On by default. Turning it off hides External Files from the sidebar and from search — it's non-destructive: your registered folders are remembered and everything comes back when you turn it on again. Your files on disk are never touched either way.
Notifications#
Both platforms support task due date notifications.
- Notify me about task due dates — enable to receive a notification for each task with a
due:date. - Remind me — choose when the notification fires:
- Morning of due date (9 AM)
- Afternoon of due date (2 PM)
- Evening of due date (5 PM)
- Day before (9 AM)
Completed and cancelled tasks are excluded.
Every reminder carries action buttons — Mark Done (completes the task directly, no window needed), Snooze 1 Hour, and Snooze Until Tomorrow (9 AM). Right‑click the notification on the Mac (or act on it later from Notification Center); press and hold it on iOS. See Notifications for details.
Keep reminders on screen (macOS)
macOS banners slide away after a few seconds by design. To make FoldNotes reminders stay on screen until you act, set FoldNotes to the Alerts style in System Settings → Notifications → FoldNotes.
Sharing#
These settings control what is included when you share or export a note from the preview screen. The preview itself always shows the full note.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Strip Tags | Removes #tags from the output |
| Flatten Backlinks to Plain Text | Converts [[Note Title]] wikilinks to plain text |
| Tasks | Keep all, strip metadata only (due dates, priority), or strip entire task lines |
Privacy#
| Setting | macOS | iOS | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keep Comments Private | Strip <!--comments--> from exports, shared output, and Spotlight indexing. The editor and preview always show comments. On by default. |
See Comments for the full comment syntax.
Collection Export#
Export your collection as a portable ZIP archive of clean Markdown files. Front matter is stripped for compatibility with other apps. This is a one-way export for migrating to another app or safekeeping — it is not intended for re-import.
macOS: File → Export Collection… (Cmd+Shift+E) exports the active collection. File → Export All Collections… exports every registered collection into a single archive.
iOS: Available in Settings → Export Collection.
Scheduled Export#
macOS only.
The macOS Export settings tab includes scheduled automatic exports:
- Enable scheduled export — turn on to export automatically
- Destination — choose a folder to save exports to
- Frequency:
- Daily (once per day)
- Weekly (once per week)
- When Quitting (every time you quit the app)
- Include all collections — export every collection, not just the active one (shown when multiple collections are registered)
- Keep recent exports — retain the last 3, 5, 10, or 20 exports. Older exports are automatically deleted.
The app must be running for scheduled exports to occur. If a scheduled export is missed (e.g. your Mac was off or the app wasn't open), it runs automatically the next time FoldNotes launches.
Maintenance#
| Action | macOS | iOS | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rebuild Note Index | Re-reads all notes and rebuilds the search index. Notes are not affected. | ||
| Reindex Spotlight | Use if notes appear missing from the list or search results are stale |
On macOS, both maintenance actions live in the File menu (File → Rebuild Note Index… and File → Reindex Spotlight).