Your notes folder
Every note is a markdown file in a folder you choose. How the folder is laid out, and how to keep it in iCloud Drive.
VB Notes doesn’t keep your notes in a database of its own. Each note is a plain .md file in a folder, so any other app can open it, and any app can add notes that VB Notes then shows.
What is in the folder
| In the folder | What it is |
|---|---|
Trip to Ladakh.md |
A note. The file is named after the note’s first line. |
attachments/ |
Photos and voice notes added to notes. |
Archive/ |
Archived notes. |
Trash/ |
Notes moved to Trash. |
.vbnotes/meta.json |
Which notes are pinned, the icons picked for tags, and the tags hidden from the main list. |
Folders inside the notes folder are fine too: VB Notes lists every note in them. Organise with tags rather than folders, though; a note can carry many tags but sit in only one folder.
Keeping notes on all your devices
On iPhone, open Settings › Notes folder and pick a folder in iCloud Drive. VB Notes asks whether to copy the notes you already have into it, or to open the folder as it is. Nothing is ever overwritten.
Then, on your computer, open the same folder in the desktop app. Both apps read and write the same files, and iCloud Drive keeps them in step.
Notes that iCloud hasn’t downloaded to the phone yet keep their place in the list and open once they arrive.
Folders that can’t be picked
On iPhone, some storage apps don’t allow their folders to be picked by other apps. Google Drive, Dropbox and OpenCloud are among them, so VB Notes can’t keep notes there for now. iCloud Drive and the folders on your phone always work.
Going back to the phone’s own folder
Settings › Notes folder › Use the folder on this device switches back. Again you can copy your notes across, or leave them where they are.