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Image Attachments

FoldNotes stores images alongside your notes in a protected folder. You can drag images into the editor, import them from the image browser, or pick from your existing library — all without leaving the app.

Adding Images to a Note

Drag and Drop

Drag an image file from Finder (macOS) or Files (iOS) directly into the editor. FoldNotes copies the file to the protected folder and inserts a Markdown image reference at the drop location:

![photo.png](photo.png)

If a file with the same name already exists, FoldNotes adds a short unique prefix to avoid collisions (e.g. a3f1b2c4_photo.png).

Image Browser

The image browser gives you a visual overview of every image in your collection. Open it from:

  • macOS: Click the image button in the editor status bar (bottom toolbar), or use Window > Image Browser
  • iOS: Tap the image button in the keyboard toolbar (next to the wikilink and tag buttons)

From the browser, you can:

  • Insert an image — Right-click (macOS) or long-press (iOS) an image and choose Insert into Note. On macOS, select an image and click the insert button in the browser toolbar. The Markdown reference is inserted at your cursor position in the active note.
  • Import new images — Click the + button to open a file picker. On macOS, you can also drag image files directly onto the browser window.
  • Preview — Select an image to see a larger preview (iOS uses Quick Look).

Supported Formats

FoldNotes accepts these image formats:

PNG, JPEG, GIF, HEIC, HEIF, WebP, TIFF, and SVG.

The maximum file size is 20 MB per image.

Managing Images

Renaming

Right-click (macOS) or long-press (iOS) an image the browser and choose Rename. The rename dialog shows the base filename — the extension is preserved automatically and cannot be changed.

When you rename an image, FoldNotes updates every note that references it. Markdown image links, whether written as ![name](photo.png) Notes List thumbnails also update immediately.

Deleting

Select one or more images and choose Delete from the context menu. FoldNotes shows how many notes reference each file before you confirm. If the image is still referenced, the confirmation warns you — deleting will leave broken image links in those notes. Use the Orphaned filter to safely delete images that are no longer in use.

Reference Counting

The image browser scans all your notes and shows how many times each image is referenced. Use the Orphaned filter to find images that are no longer used by any note — useful for cleaning up unused assets.

Filename Rules

Image filenames are sanitised on import. Spaces become underscores, and characters that break Markdown syntax or are illegal in filenames (: / \ ( )) are stripped. You can use periods in filenames — the file extension is always preserved separately.

How Storage Works

Images are stored in a protected directory within your collection and sync via iCloud alongside your notes, so images are available on all your devices.

Tip

The .attachments/ folder is hidden by default in Finder and Files. This is intentional — editing files directly can break references in your notes. Use the image browser to manage your images.