Use Collapsible Sections to Conquer Clutter in Text-Heavy Notes on Your iPhone, iPad, or Mac

Apple Notes keeps on getting better and better on the iPhone and iPad. Since last year's big update, we have been able to add hyperlinks to text, link notes together, and add block quotes, and this year, we have another excellent way to customize notes even more — collapsible sections.

To add collapsible and expandable sections to your notes, your iPhone or iPad must be running the iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 software update. On your Mac, you'll need macOS Sequoia 15. These were all released on Sept. 16 for supported models.

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How Collapsible Sections Function

Collapsible sections are perfect for text-heavy notes where it's difficult to scan and find the information you want when you need it. All section headers — titles, headings, and subheadings — are collapsible, and sections are organized in a hierarchical structure system.

With a nested structure, collapsing a title will hide everything underneath it until the following title, including body text, lists, block quotes, images, videos, attachments, tables, links, and drawings. Collapsing a heading will hide everything under it until the next title or heading. And collapsing a subheading will hide everything below it until the following title, heading, or subheading.

Collapse and Expand Sections on iOS and iPadOS

To create sections in your iOS and iPadOS 18 notes, tap the Format button in the Notes toolbar, then add a title, heading, or subheading. With section headers in place, tap the title, heading, or subheading until the down chevron appears on its left. Tap the down chevron to collapse the section. To expand the section, tap the right chevron.

Collapse and Expand Sections on macOS

To create sections in your macOS 15 notes, click the Format button in the Notes toolbar, then add a title, heading, or subheading. Alternatively, you can select a section header via the "Format" option in the menu bar, or you can use keyboard shortcuts:

Title       Shift-Command-T
Heading     Shift-Command-H
Subheading  Shift-Command-J

With sections in place, hover your cursor over the title, heading, or subheading until the down chevron appears on its left. Click the down chevron to collapse the section. To expand the section, click the right chevron. You can also use keyboard shortcuts or visit the "View" option in the menu bar to expand or collapse a section or all sections:

Expand Section          Option-Command-▶︎
Expand All Sections     Option-Shift-Command-▶︎
Collapse Section        Option-Command-◀︎
Collapse All Sections   Option-Shift-Command-◀︎

It's all much easier on a Mac, but it's still easy to do on an iPhone and iPad.

Cover photo, screenshots, and GIFs by Justin Meyers/Gadget Hacks