Agenda is more than just a basic note taking app. It has powerful features for organizing notes, task management, and cross referencing. In this section, we introduce these features.
Tags
Tags are labels which can be directly inserted into the text of a note. They are useful for imparting extra information into content, but also for search purposes, and creating saved searches.
The tags in Agenda may contain parameters, and even dates.
Creating a Tag
To start entering a tag, on macOS you can use the menu Insert > Tag, and then type the tag. On iOS and iPadOS you can create one by tapping the hash (#) icon in the popup menu that shows after tapping the plus button in the bar above the keyboard:
The tag can contain letters, digits, and symbols, but no spaces, commas or periods. To complete the tag, simply enter a character that doesn’t belong in a tag, such as a space, or move the cursor elsewhere.
There is also support for creating tags with a textual shortcut: you can type the hash symbol (#) followed by the tag, e.g. #important.
Tip: While currently tags cannot contain spaces, a simple work around is to either camel-case multiple words together (e.g. for Current Beta Release you would use
#CurrentBetaRelease), or use dashes or underscores (e.g.#Current-Beta-Release).
Editing an Existing Tag
To edit an existing tag, simply click or tap inside of the tag to trigger a popover that allows you to edit the tag.
Tag Parameters
Most tags are simple labels, but it is possible to use parameters within tags. For example, you could use the tag importance with different parameters for each level of importance. So one piece of text might contain the tag #importance(low), and another #importance(high).
You can mix and match as well: a tag can be just the tag ( #priority , #important , etc), or can have a value associated with it in brackets following the tag, these values can be:
- text, e.g.
#priority(high),#priority(low) - numbers, e.g.
#priority(1),#priority(2) - dates, e.g.
#priority(today),#priority(2 days)
The advantage of using these values is that you can then search both for all notes with a #priority tag in them, or specifically for notes of say high priority by searching for #priority(high) . In the future we aim at extending this functionality such that you could do a search for medium priority and higher for example.
Due Tag
You may want to give list items or other paragraphs a due date; you can do this with the due tag. If you use the tag label ‘due’, and give it a date as parameter, you can later search for notes that have due items. For example, you could enter a tag like #due(3/3/2018) in a list item, indicating it is due on the 3rd of March, 2018.
To search for notes with due items, enter a due tag with date into the search field. For example, if you want to see all notes containing items due on or before today, enter #due(today) in the search field. You can even save this search as an overview in the sidebar (requires premium purchase).
As you may have noted, you can enter dates in a variety of forms, including informal variants like today, tomorrow, 2 days and so forth.
Note that the due tag is just an example of a type of tag you can create with dates as values. The keyword is up to you, can also be say deadline(2 days) .
Note: Searches currently show whole notes, not only the matching item or paragraph. In future, we hope to allow a summarized form where only the items that match are included in the results.
Symbolic Tags (e.g. star)
There are a few tags reserved for special uses. For example, if you enter #star, the current paragraph will get starred status. On Mac you can also apply a star using menus or the paragraph styling popover, which appears when you click the small button to the left of a paragraph. While on iOS you can insert a star via the plus button in bar above the keyboard.
Saving a Tag Search as Overview
Searching for tags is as easy as entering the tag, and then clicking Search for Tags in the menu that appears. But even more powerful is to save your most common searches as saved searches.
If you find yourself repeating a search often, to save it as an overview in the sidebar, click Search in All Projects, and then Save Search as Overview. You can give your search a name, and it will appear in the left column.
If your search includes a date or range of dates, you will get the option to indicate whether that date should be fixed, or if it should be relative to the current date, moving with time. As an example, imagine it is the 1st of January, and you have selected the 3rd of January in the search. When you save the search, you can choose to have it always search for the 3rd of January, or to search for 2 days from whatever the current date is.
Premium: This feature is only available after you purchase the premium feature pack.
Learn more on how to search and filtering your notes in Searching and Filtering
Choosing between prominent or subdued tags
You can choose whether you would like to have tags stand out with a bright background color (the default) or have a more subdued look, which you might prefer if your notes contain a lot of tags for example. You can change the look of tags in the Agenda Preferences.
Premium: This feature is only available after you purchase the premium feature pack.
People
Because the people you deal with are so important in your notes, Agenda includes a special type of tag just for them. The rules for entering person tags are very similar to standard tags.
Creating a Person Tag
To start entering a person tag, on macOS you can use the menu Insert > Person, and then type the name or initial of the person. On iOS and iPadOS you can use the bar above the on screen keyboard:
The name you use can contain letters, digits, and symbols, but no spaces, commas or periods. To complete the person tag, simply enter a character that doesn’t belong in a tag, such as a space, or move the cursor elsewhere.
There is also support for creating tags with a textual shortcut: you can type the ‘at’ symbol (@) followed by the name, e.g. @Tom.
Tip: While currently person tags cannot contain spaces, a simple work around is to either camel-case first and last name together (e.g. for Tom Groothuis you would use
#TomGroothuis), or use dashes or underscores (e.g.#Tom_Groothuis).
Actions
Agenda supports a powerful system of text actions that allow you do things like inserting dates, tags, tables, etc, but also format text, and perform note-level actions by simply typing \date, \table, \heading, split, or \done. These will be expanded to the respective current date and/or time, insert a table, change the formatting to a heading, split a note in two or mark it as done, respectively. You can further tweak the behaviour of these actions using parameters, similar as when typing tags with parameters. For instance like this \date(short), \time(full), etc. You can even add timezones or locale parameters.
Learn more on how to use text actions in your notes in Autocompletion and Actions
Links
Agenda notes can include links to web sites, other Agenda notes, and even files in the Finder. Anything that can be represented with a link can be included.
Adding a Link
To add a link, on macOS you can use the menu Insert > Link To… > Add Link… This allows you to enter the URL for the link. On iOS and iPadOS you can use the plus button in the bar above the on screen keyboard.
But there are more ways. For example, just entering a link URL like http://agenda.com will be recognized as a link and converted for you. On macOS you can control this behavior in Edit > Substitutions.
Another way to link is using markdown syntax. Type the link anchor — the text that will be readable — in square brackets, followed by the URL address of the link in parentheses. For example, to link to the agenda web site, you might enter [Agenda Web Site](http://agenda.com), and Agenda will convert this to a link with the text “Agenda Web Site”. Clicking the link would take you to the web site.
Tip: This Talk Article shows a number of handy examples where you can use this technique.
Learn more on how to use markdown syntax in your notes in Markdown Cheatsheet
Linking to Files in Finder
You can create links to external files in Finder – as opposed to adding a copy as an attachment – by simply dragging the file into your Agenda notes and dropping it while holding the Control (⌃) key. When you click the link, Finder will open at the file.
Note: Due to security restrictions, Agenda cannot open the file for you — it can only bring you to the file so that you can open it yourself.
Learn more on how to add attachments to your notes in Attachments, Images and Drawings
Linking to Other Notes and Projects
Agenda supports special links for notes and projects in the app. You can use agenda links to reference other items in your Agenda notes, or you can insert them in other apps to open Agenda notes when clicked.
To insert a link to another note at the cursor, on macOS you can use Insert > Link To…, and choose a note or project.
On iPadOS you’ll find the same option under the cog wheel menu in the lower right corner of the selected note, and on both iOS and iPadOS you will find the option as if you tap the orange dot next to the title and select Other Actions.
Linking from Other Apps to Agenda Notes and Projects
Links for notes and projects can be copied, and pasted into other apps, so that when you click them, Agenda is activated and the note or project in question is shown.
To copy the link of a note or project to the clipboard, select the note or project, and on Mac choose Edit > Copy As > Agenda Link. On iOS you find this option when you tap the three dots next to the selected project in the sidebar. Paste the copied link anywhere you like, and Agenda should open and show the item when you click it.
Creating Links in Other Apps using Share Menu
The Share menu allows you to share your Agenda notes and projects in many different formats, with any app that supports sharing extensions. On macOS this menu is in the main menu at the top of the screen.
One of the options supported by many apps is sharing of an Agenda Link. The advantage of using this option is that you can easily find your way back to a particular or note or project from another app. You could, for example, add an Agenda Link to a task management app or to-do program, and have it link back to a particular note with more detail.
Another way to create such a link is to copy the selected note or project as an Agenda Link. On macOS you’ll find this option under the Edit > Copy As menu.
On iPadOS you will find the Copy As menu if you tap the cog wheel button at the bottom of a note.
On both iOS and iPadOS you will find it if you tap the orange dot next to the title of a note and select Other Actions from the menu.
Lists
With Agenda, you can mix hierarchical lists in with your other notes. The app supports number lists, bullet lists, and check lists.
Creating a Dashed or Bullet List
You can create a bullet list on Mac using the menu item Format > Lists > Bullet List. The list options can also be triggered by clicking the dot in the gutter to show the formatting popover and picking the first list option:
On iOS you find the list options by tapping the ¶ button in the bar above the on screen keyboard:
Once active you should see a dash (or bullet) appear at the beginning of the item. Pressing enter creates a new item. Here’s an example:
Alternatively, you can use markdown syntax to start a list. Just begin the line with a hyphen (-) followed by a space, and start typing your first list item. The paragraph will automatically turn into a bullet list item.
To exit the list, you can choose a different paragraph style from the Format menu (eg Body) or keyboard bar, or you can go to a new line, and press backspace to delete the dash or bullet.
Choosing between a dashed or bullet list
You can choose whether you would like to have unordered lists to begin with a dash (-) or bullet (•) by in the Agenda Preferences. This changes is reflected everywhere in the app, e.g. when printing, sharing, etc.
Premium: This feature is only available after you purchase the premium feature pack.
Creating a Numbered List
In a number list, items are numbered in order. Here’s an example:
Numbering applies to a single level of indentation; if you indent to create a nested list, it will have a separate set of numbers to the original list.
To create a number list on macOS, use the menu item Format > Lists > Numbered List, or use the markdown syntax by beginning your first item with “1.”, followed by a space and the item text. On iOS you find the list options under the ¶ button in the bar above the on screen keyboard.
To exit the list, choose a different paragraph style, or press enter to create a new empty item, and then backspace to delete the number marker.
Tip: When you enter a return in between two items you will notice that the list starts again at 1. One way to prevent this is by using a so-called non-breaking (soft) return, which will bring you to the next line without starting a new paragraph. You can read more about soft returns here: Taking Notes
Creating a Checklist
Checklists are useful for tracking tasks or items you need to handle. Creating a checklist is as simple as selecting the menu item Format > Lists > Checklist on macOS, or using the ¶ button bar above the on screen keyboard on iOS and iPadOS. Here’s an example:
You can use markdown in various ways to create a new checklist. You can enter [] or -[] at the start of a line. To create an item that is already checked, use [x].
Checking Off in a Checklist
The advantage of a checklist is that you can check off items as they are completed. As you would expect, this is as simple as clicking on the circle to the left of the item. You can toggle a checked off item to be unchecked again by clicking the circle once more. On Mac there is also the option under the Format > Lists menu.
Choosing the look of checked off items
You can choose the way checked off items should appear in your note in the Agenda Preferences. By default the checked off item shows a greyed out checkmark icon with standard black text. If you like checked off items to stand out more you can opt for the options to have the text be stricken through, while if you like them to be more subdued you can choose to have the text be greyed out.
Premium: This feature is only available after you purchase the premium feature pack.
Indentation
All lists and other paragraph styles can be indented. Hitting tab is the easiest way to indent (and Shift-Tab to deindent), but you can also use the Format > Indentation menu on macOS, and the bar above the on screen keyboard on iOS and iPadOS:
You can mix indented lists. For example, you could have a check list, where one item has a nested numbered list. Perhaps that item has a number of steps that you need to remember, so you enter those as a sublist to ensure you don’t forget.
Tables
Tables in Agenda are a great way to display multi-column or tabular data in your notes. You can choose the number of rows and columns as you see fit and can also style the text inside using inline styles as bold and italic.
Creating a Table
To add a table to your notes, on macOS you can use the menu Insert > Table, this will insert a new 2x2 table. You can also use the popover that shows when you click the small circle in the gutter of the note text area:
On iOS and iPadOS you can create one by tapping the hash table icon in the popup menu that shows after tapping the plus button in the bar above the keyboard:
There is also support for creating tags with a textual shortcut: you can type three pipe symbols (|) in a row to insert a table, i.e. |||.
Selecting table cells
You can select one or more table cells by starting to drag-select text in the cell and moving the cursor while dragging to the end of the table cell, or into a neighbouring cell. This can be useful to for example copy the contents of one or more cells for use in other apps, to cut and paste cells, rows, or columns to a different location within the same table, or move them into a separate new table.
Editing a table
Text in individual table cells can be entered and edited in the same way as text outside a table, Agenda even supports adding inline styles like bold, italic, etc. You will notice that three dots will show next to row and column the selection is currently in. These can be clicked to reveal a number of options to edit the table.
Adding a table row
To add a table row:
- Place the cursor in a cell in the table where you want the new row to be inserted.
- Click or tap the three dots at the right of the table row.
- From the menu choose either Add Row Above or Add Row Below, which will insert a new row either above or below the row of the selected table cell, respectively.
On macOS you can also use the menu option Edit > Table > Add Row Above or Add Row Below.
Tip: If you hit the ⇥ (tab) key with the cursor in the last cell of a row, Agenda automatically adds a new row to the table for you. In general you can use the tab key to jump to the next cell of the table, but as a convenience doing so in the last cell will add a row for you.
Deleting a table row
To delete a table row:
- Place the cursor in a cell of the row to be deleted.
- Click or tap the three dots at the right of the table row.
- From the menu choose Delete Row.
On macOS you can also use the menu option Edit > Table > Delete Row.
Adding a table column
To add a table column:
- Place the cursor in a cell in the table next to where you want the new column to be inserted.
- Click or tap the three dots at the bottom of the table column.
- From the menu choose either Add Column Before or Add Column After, which will insert a new column either left or right of the selected table cell, respectively.
On macOS you can also use the menu option Edit > Table > Add Column Before or Add Column After.
Deleting a table column
To delete a table column:
- Place the cursor in a cell of the column to be deleted.
- Click or tap the three dots at the bottom of the table column.
- From the menu choose Delete Column.
On macOS you can also use the menu option Edit > Table > Delete Column.
Changing the text-alignment of a column
For certain kinds of data you might prefer a different text alignment than the default left-alignment, for instance numbers or currency looks better right-aligned. To change the text alignment of a column:
- Place the cursor in a cell in the table of the column you’d like to change the alignment for.
- Click or tap the three dots at the bottom of the table column.
- From the menu choose one of the alignment options.
Premium: This feature is only available after you purchase the premium feature pack.