View attachments in Notes on Mac
After you add an attachment to a note, you can view it on your Mac in the Notes app or in its default app. You can also change how attachments appear in your notes.
Note: All Notes features described in this guide are available when using iCloud notes. Some features aren’t available when using accounts from other providers.
View attachments from all your notes
With iCloud notes or notes stored on your Mac, you can view attachments from all your notes in a single window using the Attachments Browser, making it easy to find the one you want quickly.
Go to the Notes app
on your Mac.Choose View > Show Attachments Browser.
Tip: You can add the Attachments Browser button
to the toolbar for quick access. See Customise toolbars.Do any of the following:
View attachments: Click a category button (such as Photos & Videos, Scans or Maps) to view different kinds of attachments. To return to the list of notes, choose View > Hide Attachments Browser.
Note: This view doesn’t show attachments in locked notes, even if you have entered your password to unlock your notes. It also doesn’t show drawings.
Preview an attachment: Select the attachment and press the Space bar.
View the note that an attachment is in: Control-click the attachment, then choose Show in Note (or use the Touch Bar).
Save an attachment: Control-click the attachment, then choose Save Attachment.
You can’t use this method to save some attachments, such as maps and webpage previews.
Rename an attachment: Control-click the attachment, choose Rename Attachment, then type a new name.
Share the attachment with another app: Control-click the attachment, choose Share, then choose an app.
View attachments in a note
Go to the Notes app
on your Mac.Open a note that contains an attachment such as a photo, map or PDF.
You can also search for the attachment by name, or for content in the attachment.
Do any of the following:
Preview a map or image: Hold the pointer over the attachment, then press the Space bar.
Change how large all attachments appear: Choose View > Attachment View, then choose Set All to Small or Set All to Large.
Change how large an attachment appears: Control-click the attachment, click View As, then choose a size.
Note: You can’t change how large drawings appear in a note, but resizing the Notes window can make them larger or smaller.
View a PDF or scanned document
Go to the Notes app
on your Mac.Open a note that contains a PDF or scanned document.
You can also search for the attachment by name, or for content within the attachment.
Do any of the following:
Preview a PDF or scanned document: Click
next to the document name, then choose Quick Look Attachment.Open a PDF or scanned document: Click
next to the document title, then choose Open Attachment. It opens in Preview (or your default PDF editor).Change how large a PDF or scanned document appears: Click
, choose View As, then choose a size.Tip: While viewing a scanned document or PDF at medium or large size, you can swipe right or left to go to the next or previous page. To jump to a specific page, click Show Thumbnails, then click the page you want to view. You can also drag thumbnails to reorder pages.
Open an attachment in its default app
Go to the Notes app
on your Mac.Open a note that contains an attachment such as a photo, map or audio file. Or find an attachment in the Attachments Browser.
Double-click the attachment.
The attachment appears in its default app.