How to Customize Notes App Viewing Options on iPhone 13 (iOS 15.4.1)

Want to organize and view your notes exactly the way you like? On your iPhone 13 running iOS 15, the Notes app lets you tweak sorting, formatting, and layout options so your notes are easier to read and manage. Here’s how to access and adjust these settings.

How to Access Notes Viewing Options

Open Settings
Tap the Settings app on your Home screen.
Scroll Down and Tap Notes
This will open the Notes settings panel.
Go to the Viewing Section
Under this section, you’ll see four key options you can customize:
- Sort Notes By
- New Notes Start With
- Sort Checked Items
- Lines & Grids

Viewing Options You Can Change

Sort Notes By

Tap Sort Notes By to choose how your notes are ordered:
- Date Edited (default)
- Date Created
- Title

New Notes Start With

Tap New Notes Start With to choose the default format for new notes:
- Title (default)
- Heading
- Subheading
- Body

Sort Checked Items

Tap Sort Checked Items to control checklist behavior:
- Manually – you move checked items yourself (default)
- Automatically – checked items move to the bottom of the list

Lines & Grids

Tap Lines & Grids to choose the background style for handwritten notes:
- Options include blank, lined, and grid styles

Additional Tips

These changes will apply to all existing and new notes.
To use all features, make sure your Notes are synced with iCloud.
Some options might not work if you’re syncing Notes with non-iCloud accounts like Gmail or Yahoo.
Always keep your iPhone updated to the latest version of iOS for the newest Notes features.