iPhone 3.0: Notes Sync (Finally!)
When Steve Jobs first showed off the iPhone at Macworld 2007, and told the world that it would sync data via iTunes, Notes Sync was one of the items listed on his Keynote slide. Meanwhile, over on the Mac side, Apple shipped OS X 10.5 Leopard, and the desktop Mail app popped up a warning about syncing Notes to the iPhone.
This probably led you -- as it did us -- to believe the original iPhone on OS 1.x would sync notes.
Ha! As if! When iPhone 1.0 arrived in June 2007, Note Sync was MIA, as it was when iPhone 3G dropped in July 2008. Fast forward to iPhone 3.0 Preview in March 2009, however, and -- finally -- Notes Sync is in the house.
Note: It's our understanding Notes Sync currently only works with Apple's Mail.app Notes under OS X Leopard. It would be all kinds of awesome if Apple expanded this not only to Windows Outlook, but to Exchange ActiveSync and MobileMe for a more robust, cloud-based solution. Right?
That, and Tasks and Task Sync. Ahem.
Editor-in-Chief of iMore, Executive Producer at Mobile Nations, co-host of Iterate and ZEN and TECH, cook, grappler, photon wrangler.
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How large can the notes be? I'd like entire documents synched....barring that I'm curious how much text a note will hold so as to possibly provide close to the desired functionality. Thanks for any answers.
First, off: Hell ya! I was really excited to hear about notes syncing. Evernote is nice, but it's not quite like I want. Plus privacy will be nice. Second: Where did you get that screen shot? Photoshoped?
For me, on Windows Vista, iTunes reports that "No supported notes application can be found."
Does anyone know what notes applications ARE supported?
Screenshot is real, not photoshopped (although the name of the individual's iPhone was removed).
It's an actual screen cap of what it looks like on a Mac when you sync a note from the iPhone running 3.0 beta 1.
I actualy requested this. I'm happy they finally added it.
This app just seemed to have been left out on it's own with no computer support. I know notes can most likely sync in Mail on the Mac but what about PC ?
Mail.app on the Mac is the only supported desktop client we're aware of, but that could just be the first beta version.
Post updated.
What we all really want, I think, is OTA cloud sync via Exchange ActiveSync and/or MobileMe
Wow, that's just silly. Notes should be .txt files that are transferred to the client and openable/editable with any .txt-supporting app. Why on earth would they tie it into Mail.app?!?
Would be useful if MobileMe support was added.
Forget this, I need TASKS SYNC. Toodledo web account plus the Toodledo app works okay, but the UI isn't Apple-nice, and I don't get my repeating task alerts pushed - though hopefully that'll change with push notifications, even if I don't get offical Apple Tasks sync.
All this news is great. What happened to Palm in the end, did they go bankrupt?
what ever may happen to Palm, they can show a long history of syncing notes ... and unbelievable, notes popped up in a notes application instead of a mail app over the last 15 years.
Big LOL to Apples NoteSync!
Two weeks ago my iPhone stopped working. I took it to the Genius Bar where it was replaced by a new unit. After I synced my new phone, I opened the Notes app and found that all of my notes had been synced.
I hope they expand the page themes, fonts, etc. All set with the yellow note pad and default font. It would be fresh if they tossed in options like a simple outliner. d{~_~}b
In presenting the iPhone OS 3.0 Scott Forstall said notes would sync with iTunes. Why are others saying notes syncs with the ail app?
Curt, did they accidentally give you 3.0??? Or maybe there's an incremental firmware upgrade like 2.3 that Apple hasn't talked about that you accidentally got early.
The omission of task-iCal sync needs more than just an Ahem. Between notes-sync and task-sync, I want task sync. I hardly use notes. Tasks, todo's, are the most common needs of this crazy, busy society, and Apple's refusal -- yes, after version 3, it's a bloody-minded refusal -- to include task-sync is mindblowing in their arrogance. Continually, Apple fixes its opinion that they're right, and from there on no amount of feedback changes things, e.g. matte screens.
@Curt, @Grant
This is not the same synching of notes. When your 2.2 iPhone backs up, it backs up the notes as well. This is so that when you restore your data on a new iPhone, like you did, it will make everything go back to normal, including notes.
The 3.0 synching of notes also adds the Notes that you create on your iPhone to the Mail.app, and visa versa.
Yes the notes function does in fact truly sync with iPhone OS 3.0. Truly meaning that it goes both ways, so you create a note in Apple Mail, and viola it appears on your iPhone and if you create a note on the iPhone its synced to the Mail program. I've installed and tested, it doesn't at this point sync with Entourage, but that is a limit of Entourage. I've added some fairly lengthy notes and it hasn't crashed or told me that their too big. Just wondering when I'll be able to get an iPhone that's surgically attached to my arm???
Tasks sync is desperately needed -- much more so than notes. I can't believe it has been left out for so long. But then again, who thought cut/copy/paste would take over 2 years.
I think it's such a shame for Apple to not fully integrate task and not synching on the PC for Outlook (or any other app). Palm did this centuries ago.
Does anyone know if we are finally "allowed" to sync our bookmarks with Firefox in 3.0? Thanks.
I just switched from a WindowsMobile device to an iPhone 3G. I love the iPhone, but miss TASK synching to my MS-Exchange account. Does anyone know for sure whether TASK syncing to MSX will be included in iPhone 3.0? If not, can anyone suggest any reliable 3rd party alternatives (without going back to the WindowsMobile or Blackberry). Thanks very much! Joe
The best part of the notes sync is that you can change the font to be something better than marker felt.
I'm making a bunch of empty notes set up with helvetica so i just use those when I need to write something.
It's also worth noting that notes can be long. Unlike the old iPod notes, iPhone-synced notes can be 175000 words (although the app starts going slow). You can write a book on it!
Hi danny,
I was wondering did you check off notes? and use outlook ? My notes are not syncing... so I was wondering if I didnt do something correct.
thank you, A
Go to your iPhone in iTunes - go to "Info" which is the second tab. Scroll down to Notes and check the box to Sync and select Outlook as seen here: http://www.screen-shot.net/ss/14435336412148276611.png
Alan.
I, too, was not able to sync notes initially. However, it worked once I quit/re-opened iTunes and shut down/restarted my iPod Touch. And of course you need to check "Sync notes" under the "Info" tab of iTunes.
After I did this, it copied my iPod Touch notes to my Mail notes folder and copied my Mail notes to my iPod Touch (as expected, with same set of notes in both locations). It even syncs all sub-folders under "Notes" in the Mail account, so this allows me to keep my notes in an IMAP account (such as Gmail) versus just local on the computer. However, notes generated on the iPod/iPhone will need to be copied from the local "On My Mac" Notes folder to any IMAP Notes folder manually after sync.
I hope this helps and works for you.
Andrew
You need outlook to sync notes in Windows? I do not use outlook? Can it sync with something else?
So let me get this straight. For iPhone & macbook owners who choose not to use mail.app (entourage is my mail client), notes syncing is useless? Is this correct? We have no way to access them on the macbook?
Isn't that a little myopic of Apple? Seems they're becoming more like Microsoft every day...
I think the notes sync function is very disappointing. First, I would rather be able to sync Stickies. Second, I think we should be able to sync through MobileMe. The whole process is a mess.
I use OS X Leopard, but still my iPhone won't sync my notes. iTunes removes the checkmark after clicking on 'Apply'. Anyone else with that problem?
I use outlook 2003 and sync it via itunes to my phone. After the 3.0 upgrade everything works - but not the sync of outlook-notes to iphone-notes, allthough i checked it in the info-tab. rebooting the phone didn´t make a change. What´s wrong?
Josh, I have same problem. The Notes checkmark is removed after clicking apply. An option down below does become enabled to replace all notes on iphone with notes stored on computer. I haven't tried this since option since I don't want to lose the notes I have already stored on the phone.
Follow up to my earlier post: I emailed my notes to myself for backup purposes. I then tried the option to replace the notes on phone with notes on computer. Even that option was cleared once I clicked Apply. All notes remained on phone.
I had the same problem. I even deleted the notes on my phone to try and see if it would help (the master set is on my imac).
Same problem here: the Notes checkmark is removed once sync begins. Glad it's not just me...sort of.
HOWEVER: disconnected iPhone. Shut down iTunes. Reconnected iPhone (iTunes launches automatically). Sync began automatically. Checked: Notes checkmark was in place. Sync proceeded. Notes synced between the devices correctly.
The fact that we STILL can't sync something as simple as notes over the air to the iphone using MobileMe is completely baffling.
My checkmark in iTunes does not disappear...I don't have that problem. I just spoke with Apple tech support and he told me that notes will only sync from the iPhone to Mail via an iTunes hardwired sync, not MobileMe. Seems like an oversight to me. I don't know why there is a sync option for notes in MboileMe. I am going to see if a note created in Mail will sync via MobileMe to my iPhone. Mail just froze...so I have to re-boot...I'm a Mac...I'm a PC!
is Apple misleading users? Or can you really sync "notes you write on your iPhone back to your ... PC" (emphasis on "PC") http://is.gd/15FUY
Similar to Kelly's experience, I shut everything down (also installed the Safari update) and tried again. It seems to have worked this time. Wish I knew where to look to confirm it.
I synced iPhone this morning - and later this afternoon I noticed that the last note I was writing whole day yesterday is all of the sudden half empty - most of the typing I did yesterday got erased. Its now in the state it was before I did most of the typing. What happened? Isnt it supposed to take the last updated version and replace the older version of the same note with it?
Let's face it they blew the opportunity to fix Notes. I did a note this morning on my Mac synced it to my iPhone (hardwire sync), only to have it magically disappear later on. I don't think Apple really cares about Notes.
I use notes a lot - I actually track my bills/transactions with them. I had to restore my phone from backup to get my disappeared note back.
Eric Herberholz asks incredulously,"Is Apple misleading consumers?" Only with their printed and spoken words, Eric. And who can blame them. They are making a fist full of money everyday by abusing the trust and intelligence of their customers and like the lemmings we are we keep coming back for more. The 3.0 update was the "ah ha" moment for me. I have been using smart phones that really are smart, for many years now. Syncing notes and the bedrock tool of any busy person, to-do lists, is not only child's play for the likes of Palm, Blackberry and others, it is an assumed functionality of a convergence device aimed at anyone other than teenage girls who want to giggle on Facebook or trade photos and play "gee isn't cool to download a song and listen to it on ear buds." Fun is fun but shame on Apple for telling folks the iPhone syncs with Outlook. Fact is it syncs 50 of Outlook data, notes and tasks get left behind. Shame on me too becasue I purchased a Macbook Pro unibody with all the upgrades at the urging of an Apple Store rep who told me notes syncing with 3.0 was a sure thing. I too am sitting here now wondering how much bigger a fool I can be. The notes syncing function of the 3.0 iPhone is barely tentative at best. Nothing about this function could be characterized as reliable. Notes are not a small consideration for a busy person. I, for example, use them for many important function i.e. cutting and pasting e-ticket information for all airlines but particularly overseas on Easyjet and other paperless carriers. I have struggled with the deficiencies of the iPhone since adopting the project it poses 6 months ago. Nothing has aggravated me as much as this decision and nothing will bath me in relief more than acting on the obvious and jettisoning this ball and chain masquerading as a smart phone/convergence device. Give me a product designed by and intended for people who have lives and frames of reference beyond childish play.
I think that the problem is Mail. It's really a simplistic email system, not suitable for anyone who works.
Steve Jobs must have to change his underwear three times a day from laughing so hard he pisses himself.
It does seem like Apple has decided to focus a lot more on the toy side of the phone. What bothers me is the constant attempt to monetize everything. Most of the features on Mobileme are free from Google and others. So why are we paying $100 per year for a service that wouldn't even be needed if the phone did a good job keeping things synced? I had the opportunity to play with a Palm Pre and it syncs everything over the net and does it well and they charge nothing for that ability (and the Pre is WAY faster loading apps and pages than the iPhone).
So its not me. iphone 3.0 will not sync notes from Mail. WTF.
Check Apple site/iphone support. See: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1386 no mention on notes syncing.
Cal, thanks for the link. Actually it does mention Notes syncing (see bullet 3: Notes (sync with Mac OS X Mail or Microsoft Outlook)*) and confirms that the only way to sync is hardwired via iTunes.
Crocker, I will be looking at the Pre when my iPhone contract is up in 2010.
Hey, thanks MICHAEL DENNEY for pointing me to the INFO tab on my iPhone iTunes sync program... I FOUND NOTES options and checked it and my OUTLOOK NOTES "did" sync. YEAH!!! I'm going to bookmark this website. Thanks!~
Other than the iPhone, Apples SUCKS!
Yeah Mark, NOW the link mentions notes syncing after being updated 6/20/09. The previously displayed link had a February "last update" date stamp, in keeping with the "whole process is a mess" (assuming you are the same Mark) and confirming Apple puts a very low priority on the notes syncing process. Which is consistent with their overall approach to the Outlook syncing misrepresentations. Syncing with contacts and calendar and ignoring tasks and notes in not what I call syncing. Hell, Apple can't even get tasks to sync with their own Mail program task functionality. HARDLY a device intended for anyone with responsibilities beyond deciding what game to download next. Like 'Thoughtful Consumer' above I am enjoying a Blackberry Bold effective 6/20 and feeling much better for it. I need a working tool that helps me accomplish goals, not a toy that keeps me busy trying to come up with work-arounds and excuses.
Install Evernote for Mac, iPhone and PC and you'll notes everywhere- even on a website for access from other computers.
Read the comments on this blog and had shared similar experiences in Notes Syncing... Having noted some users mentioning the restarting of the iPhone, I suddenly remember that after I've upgraded to iPhone v3.0, the phone have not been restarted since... and I did a restart of my iphone and WALLA!, the notes are sync-ed between my iPhone and Outlook. Apparently, you need to restart your iphone after the update and checking the "Note Sync with Outlook" option for it to be working properly...
With no netbook in the offing and my birthday around the corner I thought, ok lets take the plunge and get an iPodTouch bought it just a few days ago and then found indignantly that I had to pay to upgrade it to 3.0 to get notes sync. What a fool I was and what cheek of Apple to expect us to pay for an upgrade on a brand new machine! Bluetooth what's it for? How do I get notes to sync without tethering via a cable to the Mac? I have used Palm devices for years, all the apps sync without problems and have done for a long time and Apple can't even get a simple thing like notes to sync with an app called notes, where do they go? Mail which has not been updated in years and is beginning to show it's age. I'm so glad I didn't bother to waste money on a 16Gb or worse 32 Gb IpodTouch cos I'd be kicking myself. So glad too that I took the trouble to Hackintosh an Acer Aspire One which does everything that the iPod doesn't do! Wake up Apple and stop ripping us off! No wonder some folks are going the Hackintosh way!
ps has anyone figured how to do a sync via bluetooth or is it just a misleading statement on Apple's behalf?
PPS, My old Palm Tungsten T5 still runs circles around the iPodTouch. SD slot for extra memory; synchs effortlessly with with all my apps including my calender which is miles better than iCal despite being years older. Apple better watch out for that new Palm phone, they might get a thrashing. I had intended chucking the old T5 but it does so many things so much better than the iPT that I'll be hanging on to it for a while yet. Just goes to prove, new is not always better!
Four years ago my P900 Sony Erickson had Bluetooth sync, documents sinc, MMS, touch screen handwriting recognition, and a bunch of others. Did I mention 4 yrs ago.
OK, so sync now pulls down the Notes field along with the other Contacts info. But does anyone know how I can I get the iPhone to search this area, too, when I ask it to search for a given text?
You can search notes by the search tool or scroll down and then back up in notes and it opens a search box. Also after many tries and a search of the Iphone web site I found that the sync of note put a new listing in my outlook next to the normal notes listing called Handheld Synchronization. It had the notes from my Iphone listed so I copied all the note from my normal notes in outlook to the handheld area and the sync put all the notes on the Iphone.
Wow... glad I stumbled on this stream of posts. I started putting some good content into Notes on the original palm pilot many years ago, upgraded to a Palm Treo when they first came out (and still had easy syncing and access to my many many great notes), and switched to outlook and a blackberry a few years ago, which easily synced everything from my palm calendar/tasks/notes. I've recently been seriously considering migrating to an iphone, largely because of it's many useful apps and web capabilities, but this lack of being able to easily sync my valuable repository of notes and ongoing tasks may well be a show stopper. Crazy. What can be so hard about making this possible and fluid.
Thanks to Jerry for mentioning the Handheld Synchronization section of Notes on Outlook. My iPhone would NOT sync with notes and it was killing me (yes I restarted, checked all available boxes, searched other threads, etc.). I've got tons of info stored in there (from back in my Palm Pilot days) which I access frequently. I copied my Outlook 2007 Notes from Notes to Handheld Synchronization and when I did an iTunes sync the information FINALLY showed up. I'll just have to use that folder from now on.
Syncing notes from Outlook works fine EXCEPT there are no tab characters in the iPhone (!!!) AND there are no categories (!!) AND notes are only sorted by date (!!). As is the case for business and personal productivity, the iPhone is a beautiful race horse, but with only 3 legs.
I agree with New iPhone User. The use of the Outlook Handheld Synchronization scheme to sync Outlook Notes to the iPhone seems very inconvenient and it looses the category information. I'm a Palm TX user with a lot of notes. I'm trying to move to a smart phone. I need a PDA that happens to have a phone; not the other way around. I've spent over 8 hours considering many alternatives, but smart phones don't seem ready for prime time as PDAs. I had hoped that iPhone3 would be it, but I guess not because of its several notes deficiencies.
Notes on the iPhone is a joke. I use Windows and I don't use Outlook. PLEASE just sync text files! How much is that to ask, Apple? I am giving up waiting and getting my Palm back out.
IMPORTANT word of warning to anyone trying out the Notes sync feature: iTunes isn't very intelligent about which Outlook folder it decides to sync with.
It ought to chose your default notes folder, but based on my very limited testing, this isn't what happens. I believe that the first time you sync with Outlook it simply goes through your list of folders (in alphabetical order) and grabs the first Notes-type folder that it finds. It records the folder ID somewhere, and all future syncing will now be done against this folder (even if you later change its name).
This initial alphabetical-order kludge creates a problem for users who have extra notes folders in their profile. For example, if you previously had Chapura KeySuite installed, it created a notes-type folder called KeySuite, which occurs before Outlook's default Notes folder in the folder list. iTunes will choose to sync with this folder instead of the one you want.
To be safe, if you're like me and have 100's of notes in Outlook that you truly care about, then I would turn on the feature as follows:
1) Clear all existing notes out of your iPhone (you can manually enter them into Outlook at this point if desired)
2) Export your Notes folder to a PST file in case something goes awry
3) Temporarily prefix all other notes folders (i.e. folders that have a note icon beside them) that start with the letters A-N, except your main Notes folder, with the letter "z". This way the Notes folder you're interested in is the first top-level, notes-type folder in the list.
4) Plug in your phone and cancel the sync
5) In iTunes, click on the device, go to Info, and turn on the "Sync notes with: Outlook" feature
6) Put a checkmark next to "Replace information on this iPhone: Notes" under the Advanced section in the same page
7) Click Apply to initiate a sync. It'll take a while.
9) Undo step 3
10) Do a bit of testing by making changes on both the phone and on your computer and then syncing.
No guarantees but this is what I did and so far it looks like everything went smoothly. If things don't go well, you can clear out all your Outlook notes and restore them from the PST backup you made in step 2.
Good luck!
Useful topic...as my Palm pilot approaches it's end of life, I'm shocked to learn that Apple does not provide for a good sync strategy yet. Any third party Palm application could sync data both ways! No special sync steps needed. I REALLY want to replace my Palm Pilot with an iPod Touch. I'm still trying to find a great list/DB application like ListPro for Palm OS.
I didn't read all posts but notes MUST sync thru MobileMe. How illlogical is it to have auto sync but then also have to sync thru iTunes just for the Notes. And I have 5 devices to sync with on staff computers. I agree that if Palm could do it, why can't Apple. And agree that ToDo items should be w/n iCal. Palm Desktop should be the model. PLEASE!!!
"Palm Desktop should be the model. PLEASE!!!"
Yes, it should sync. No, it should not use Palm Desktop as a model -- a syncing, conflicting, third-party software breakdown mess.
Any idea why notes sync to regular mail account and not to the notes folder in Mail? I set up my iMac duo and it works great with my iPhone notes but when I tried it with my Macbook, the notes appear in one of my mail accounts and I can transfer them to the notes folder but if I delete them from the original mail account the are also deleted from my Notes folder. After this happens, sync tries to delete them from my iMac when it syncs!?
Just solved my problem. In Mail Preferences there is a box in each email account that you can deselect to NOT show Notes in the In box so they are just in the Notes folder.
I'm having a syncing problem with notes and my new iPhone 3GS. When I sync the phone, everything looks fine until the very end when a box pops up that says, "iTunes could not sync notes to the iPhone because the iPhone disconnected." Anyone know what that's about?
I'm still a user of Palm Desktop having used it since Claris Organiser days . . and love it, especially the way it handles notes in particular the way you can link notes to individual single or multiple contacts, events and other notes. Is there a way to import these notes????
I have an iPhone 3GS using the OS 3.1 which was released on 9-9-09. In iTunes, under the phone sync "info" tab, selecting to sync notes to Outlook was easy, but I didn't know where they went in Outlook. A quick fix for me was to go to the top bar in Outlook and select "Go" and then hit "Notes" or you can hit Ctrl + 5 Finally, I can find the notes which were synched. I can make the notes viewing window larger and copy them to Word. I realize that what Richard K said on August 20th may apply to some people and that the "notes" folder which the iPhone or Touch synched to could be harder to find when one has done this with other devices in the past. I think this easy notes finding shortcut Ctrl + 5 will help many people using the iPod Touch or iPhone who haven't had to locate "Notes" in Outlook before and who don't have a quick link currently visible.
To give a better answer than my prior post #73 provides:
By default, my Outlook 2007 did not show a quick jump to Notes. You can bypass my prior suggestion of using the top bar to hit "go" and then "notes" or hitting Ctrl + 5 by merely locating on the lower left side of Outlook 2007 a small bar directly above mail, calendars, contacts, etc. and dragging upward on the small bar. You will now see the elusive "Notes" link which was hidden below tasks. Perhaps, your computer monitor will display it by default but it didn't on my widescreen laptop with Outlook 2007 running multiple, space-devouring toolbars on the top.
in case anyone else was looking, the notes (on mac) sync in the mail application. i didn't see an explicit reference to this in any of the posts i saw. it would be nice if Notes could be more like stickies, as a separate app, but oh well. no idea on size limitation
Hi.. Just got iPhone G3S, after deciding to leave Palm.. I've created 300+ notes on Palm over the last 10 years of use. All imported beautifully from Outlook to the iPhone. But there's a huge problem.. instead of all being neatly organized and separated into dozens of folders and sub folders, they're all in one single giant folder! Help.. How can I get the iPhone to recognized the notes folders as they are on outlook?
Ok can anyone clear this up, I have a iPhone and use Notes, Im upgrading to a new iPhone 3GS so Im in the process of syncing and copying stuff across. I have a macbook pro on leopard, I use entourage as my mail client. I want to copy my Notes, if I tick the Sync Notes box when iphone/info were will these be saved on my computer and how will I be able to get them onto my new iPhone 3GS?
I will be very interested in hearing the answer to Framedink's question. I switched from a Treo to a iPhone 3GS 32G version 3.1.2 and ran into the same Note sync problem discussed here. After following the directions in the 77 previous entries of this misleading labeled blog "Notes sync (Finally!)" I was able to get iTunes 9 (version 9.0.2) to display a message that it had successfully synced Notes. Unfortunately I am unable to find the Notes files on my computer (MacBook Pro, MAC OS X 10.5.8) either in iTunes, my email application (Entourage 12.1.9), or in any folders. Any idea where they might be?
I had fun reading this post. I need to see more on this topic.. Thank you for sharing this nice post.. Anyway, Im going to subscribe to your rss and I wish you post again soon.
my iphone is already jailbroken but i want to put new music on to it which requires me to sync it, which in turn will cause me to lose the jailbreak. how do i sync my iphone without losing jailbreak
I have the same problem as Taylor in post #71: "# Taylor Says: September 5th, 2009 at 11:36 am
I’m having a syncing problem with notes and my new iPhone 3GS. When I sync the phone, everything looks fine until the very end when a box pops up that says, “iTunes could not sync notes to the iPhone because the iPhone disconnected.” Anyone know what that’s about?"
Warning during "sync" -- I was only half paying attention and when the pop up came up and asked "which version" of my notes that I wanted, I pressed "ok" thinking that I was accepting the iPhone version, but instead I accepted the older iMac version. Apple has not seen fit to give us an 'undo' option. All the new notes I made yesterday are lost for good.
I think the central problem is that although there is OTA Notes syncing to iPhone from the Mac - it DOESN"T work the other way and the Notes that are synced DO NOT show up in the Notes app. They rather show up, in all their yellow pad and felt ink splendor, in the Notes folder in the mail program of the me.com mail on the phone. That is just so stupid. Why not have them simply turn up in the dedicated Notes app? And why not let us sync notes back to the mac. Arrrggghhh!
I finally managed to sync my notes (offline) without evernote, which was not what I was looking for. I had to install the outlook to get itunes to 'offer' me the option to sync my notes.
Am wondering, why ipod offers so many languages for user to type their notes and when synced (a note typed in more than 1 language), all is left is the title and when clicked, nothing is inside!!!
And another thing, why in the world does itunes from APPLE only sync notes to ONLY outlook from MICROSOFT???? Why can't they offer more options like thunderbird or eudora or whatever?!?! As long as it is not Microsoft!!!!!!!
Not that it's any excuse for Apple leaving out over the air sync of Notes and any kind of sync for Tasks/To Dos, even a Windows Mobile Phone using ActiveSync has never offered over the air sync for Notes. So, for what it's worth, Apple is no worse than MS on that front.
Windows Mobile devices also do not support multiple Exchange calendars or Contacts lists, which the iPhone does support, in addition to multiple CalDAV calendars and iCal local calendars and Address Book groups.
No device has ever supported syncing of e-mail, calendars, contacts, Tasks, and Notes extremely well. I loved my Palm, too, with Palm Desktop, but could never understand why the Palm Desktop (on Mac or Windows) didn't perfectly mirror the way I could enter data into the device.
I suppose it must be crazy difficult because in 15 years, nobody has done it out of the box. On the upside, it provides lots of space for third party developers...
Bottom line? Decide what's most important to you and find the device that implements those tools the best. There ain't no perfect device, even with third party solutions, so compromise is going to happen somewhere.
Adding this for future people searching for a solution.
I got tired of waiting for Apple to allow me to sync my Stickies to iPhone or iPad so I have built one. Email us if you have any questions.
http://syncstickies.com
Thanks syncstickies! I had lots of notes that I made on my iPod touch, but didn't know where to find them on my computer after syncing with iTunes. Using my stickies is a great idea!!
I spoke too soon. It won't stay open.
Notes syncs with the iPhone to Mail on the Mac. Do it there. It's free and works perfectly well with it.
Try the Evernote app. It syncs all you notes and also displays them in a smaller font so you can see more on the iphone.
Copy from Word and paste a text into any contact you have on Contact´s notes section - Huge character limit - Than sync iPhone ical with your Mac - That contact lets you copy its (notes text) text and paste into iPhone notes - TA-CHANNNNNNNN
The first paste is on your Mac contacts list of course but than it will show on your iPhone contacts after a simple ical sync, is a bit of work but not that dificult
Set up MS-Exchange email collection on your iPhone. And then ensure that Notes are being sync'd as part of the email sync. Then watch as your Notes sync over-the-air. Not via iTunes on the PC.
I just found funny joke - Calling you an idiot would be an insult to all the stupid people. #sarcasm
If your iPhone 4 won't sync Notes, then check that none of your notes begins with a blank character or a blank line. Then try again and it should work.
Miles is right. I removed a blank line from one of the notes on my PC and the sync started working again. Thanks!
Many,many thanks. I have wasted hours trying to sync notes with my iphone3 with the latest software update to no avail. I found two entries which started with a blank space, removed them, and voila! Now syncing just fine. Thanks again!
wait, i sync the notes everytime i sync my iphone on my macbook but where all the notes go??? how can i open it in my mac?
Any answer to Elise's question, please?
Some notes in Outlook 2007 contacts sync to my Ipod nano 5th, and some do not. The one contact note that I am working with has no blank lines, or web addresses, only text. Tried copying to a new contact form to no avail. Most of my contact notes can be read on my Ipod. Any suggestions as to what my problem might be?