Looking for specific workflows? Check out our role-based guides for Strategy Consultants, Enterprise Innovators, and other professionals to see how they organize their notes.

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Search and Views

Find any note quickly using powerful search capabilities. Cleft offers different ways to view and filter your notes collection.
Want to be more efficient? Learn about keyboard shortcuts for quick searching.

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On macOS

  • Press ⌘ + S to activate the search bar, or
  • Click on the search bar at the top of the notes list
  • Begin typing your search query

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On iOS and iPadOS

  • Tap the search bar at the top of the notes list
  • Start typing your search query

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Tagging Notes

Pro Tip: Tags work great with Apple Shortcuts and Zapier for automated workflows!

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Adding Tags

1

Add tags to a note

Open a note and look for the tag input field near the top.
2

Create or select tags

Start typing a tag name - Cleft will suggest existing tags. Select one or create a new tag by typing the full name and pressing Enter.
3

Manage your tags

Add up to three tags per note. Remove tags by clicking the “x” next to them.

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Finding Notes with Tags

1

Open filters

Click the filter icon near the top of the notes list
2

Select tags

Under “Your Tags”, choose one or more tags to filter by
3

View filtered results

Your notes list will update to show only notes with the selected tags

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Available Filters

You can combine multiple tags to narrow down your results further.

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Best Practices for Tagging

  • Use consistent tag names
  • Avoid creating too many tags
  • Focus on broad categories that facilitate easy transfer to your main system
  • Consider using tags like #to-process, #for-project-x, or #add-to-database
  • Regular tag maintenance to keep your system efficient

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Workflow Integration

Cleft limits you to three tags per note to encourage focused, actionable categorization. Unlike traditional note-taking apps, Cleft’s three-tag limit focuses on efficient capture and easy exporting to your preferred “second brain” system:
  • Use tags to categorize notes for easy export to other tools like Notion
  • Create tags that align with projects or categories in your main productivity system
  • Utilize tags as triggers for automation with Zapier

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Managing Note Content

Need workflow ideas? Check out our Workflow Recipes for inspiration!

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Regenerating Notes

Regenerating notes allows you to update and refine the content of your existing notes. Learn more about custom instructions to make regeneration even more powerful.

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How to Regenerate a Note

  1. Open the note you want to regenerate and move to the transcribe tab.
  2. Look for the regenerate button or option, usually represented by a refresh icon or located in the note’s menu.
  3. Click or tap the regenerate option.
  4. Cleft will process your note and generate an updated version based on the original content and your custom instructions.

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When to Use Regenerate

  • After adding new information to a note
  • When you want to refine the language or tone
  • To reorganize the structure of a long or complex note
  • If you’ve updated your custom instructions and want to apply them to existing notes

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Tips for Effective Regeneration

  • Ensure your custom instructions are up-to-date before regenerating
  • Review the regenerated note to make sure important details haven’t been lost
  • Use regeneration as a tool for improvement, not as a replacement for your original thoughts
  • Experiment with regenerating the same note multiple times to see different outcomes

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Duplicating Notes

Duplicating notes creates an exact copy of an existing note, useful when you want to preserve the original while making modifications.

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How to Duplicate a Note

  1. Open the note you want to duplicate
  2. Look for the “More options” or ”…” menu in the top-right corner
  3. Select the “Duplicate” option
  4. A new copy will be created with all content, tags, and attachments

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When to Use Duplicate

  • Create a template from an existing note structure
  • Experiment with different versions of the same idea
  • Preserve original content while making significant changes
  • Create a series of similar notes with slight variations

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Merging Notes

Merging allows you to combine multiple notes into a single comprehensive note.

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How to Merge Notes

  1. Select the notes to merge:
    • On iOS/iPadOS: Press and hold, then tap additional notes
    • On macOS: Hold Command (⌘) and click notes
  2. Access the merge option:
    • Mobile: Tap ”…” menu and select “Merge”
    • macOS: Right-click and choose “Merge”
  3. Review and adjust the merged content

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Things to Keep in Mind

  • You can merge up to 2 notes at a time
  • Tags from original notes combine (up to three tags maximum)
  • Original notes remain unchanged after merging
  • Audio recordings are not merged; only text content combines

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Tips for Effective Merging

  • Consider the logical order before merging
  • Use merging to create summary notes
  • Review and refine the combined note for clarity
  • Delete original notes if no longer needed

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