Formatting options greyed out for certain account folders in Notes app

Hello, I have been using notes app for several years, and have several accounts also - Yahoo and Google as well as my main apple account. I noticed recently that formatting options are greyed out for notes that are in folders associated with these accounts. When I move a note over to iCloud folder, they formatting options are ungreyed. Is the formatting feature restricted when using accounts not on iCloud, or is there some other limitation? Is there some setting I can change for these accounts to enable formatting, or is it just inherent in use of these account folders? I am using an M1 MacBook Pro with Sequoia 15.4.1.

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 15.4

Posted on May 16, 2025 4:51 AM

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Posted on May 17, 2025 5:23 AM

I must amend my reply. I just did a test with a Google note (on an iPad and Mac) and I had limited formatting options. For instance : lists, bold, italic or underline.


On the Mac, the toolbar is indeed grayed out but you can access some formatting options in the Format menu or use the keyboard shortcuts.


I had based my original reply on using an iPhone. On that device, several formatting options like scanning are only available on iCloud accounts. Sorry for the confusion.

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May 17, 2025 5:23 AM in response to Tjhernan

I must amend my reply. I just did a test with a Google note (on an iPad and Mac) and I had limited formatting options. For instance : lists, bold, italic or underline.


On the Mac, the toolbar is indeed grayed out but you can access some formatting options in the Format menu or use the keyboard shortcuts.


I had based my original reply on using an iPhone. On that device, several formatting options like scanning are only available on iCloud accounts. Sorry for the confusion.

May 17, 2025 4:46 AM in response to 6x6

Thanks for the reply. So that matches what I am seeing. The only other question I would have is, why? But more specifically, if this documented as a feature limitation by Apple somewhere - and to me it is indeed a significant limitation. I would adhere to this (and what choice would I have, really), but it would be nice to see affirmation from Apple as well as some rationale. I started down this path years ago because it seemed like I had unrestricted notes flexibility, and now have accumulated a significant number of notes in my personal accounts. I guess I can peruse their documentation for more info as needed - unless someone can point such documentation out for me?

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Formatting options greyed out for certain account folders in Notes app

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