Folder Views (List & Cards)

Requirements: macOS 13+ / iOS 16+
Release notes: v3.15.2, v3.16, v3.17, v3.18

Folder Views let you see every note inside a folder (and its sub-folders) in a flexible view you can filter, group, and sort. Switch between a List or Cards (Kanban) layout, choose which fields to show, and save multiple views per folder.

🍿 Watch the overview video (a deeper dive).

Table of contents

Quick start

  1. Select a folder in the sidebar (macOS or iOS). All notes in that folder and its sub-folders appear in the view. 
  2. Choose Level: Notes for top-level notes, or Tasks to list tasks found in those notes (checklists are excluded).
  3. Pick a layout: List to scan fields quickly, or Cards (Kanban) to drag notes between columns. 
  4. Show fields: Use Properties to toggle fields like Date, Folder, Tags, or custom Frontmatter keys.
  5. Filter / Group / Sort: Narrow down by field values, group into sections or columns, and sort however you like.

Global views from the sidebar

You can also see all notes of a type across your workspace:

  • Notes: all regular notes from every folder
  • Calendar Notes: all dated notes
  • Teamspaces: all notes in Teamspaces

Click Notes, Calendar Notes, or Teamspaces in the sidebar to open a global Folder View you can filter, group, sort, and save like any other.

Toolbar (view controls)

Use the toolbar at the top to change layout and configure the view.

  • Layout: List or Cards. In Cards, use Group to create columns by a field (e.g., status).
  • Level: Notes (top-level notes) or Tasks (tasks inside those notes; checklists excluded).
  • Properties: Toggle which fields appear (Date, Folder, Tags, or custom Frontmatter like priority, assignee, status).
  • Group: Group notes by Folder, Tag, Date, or any Frontmatter field. In Cards, this defines your board columns.
  • Filter: Choose one or more fields to filter by and select their values (e.g., Type = Book Note). Combine multiple filters as needed.
  • Sort (+ Asc/Desc): Sort by default fields or a custom Frontmatter field. When you drag cards in a grouped Cards view, an order field is added automatically to preserve your manual order.

Where is the toolbar on iOS? It’s a compact menu button at the top-right, next to search.

Named Views (saved presets)

Create multiple saved views for the same folder — for example, a Kanban grouped by status, another grouped by assignee, and a filtered list for just tasks.

Open a folder and click the View icon in the top-left to rename the current view or create a new one. Changes are saved automatically and sync to all devices.

Saved views are stored at Filters/folder.views (YAML). You can edit that file directly if needed.

🎥 Watch the intro to Named Views

Cards: customizing columns


When viewing Cards and using Group, you can fully control the columns from the column header menu (the button to the right of a column title):

  • Insert Column Before/After to add new columns anywhere
  • Move Left/Right to rearrange columns—no need to prefix column names with numbers
  • Rename columns inline

Empty columns stay visible even after you move all items out, and you can create brand-new columns without needing existing notes or tasks to “seed” them first. Build your ideal board structure, then add content as needed.

Changing properties inline

You can change a note’s properties directly in the list or on a card. Click a value to switch it. If only one option appears, add more values to other notes first — the view learns available values from the notes it shows.

Inline editing of fields
Inline editing in the list

Tasks: Attributed tags

Add attributes to tags to surface task metadata in views. For example: #todo(state: backlog) or #todo(state: doing, assigned: Eduard). These attributes appear as fields you can group, filter, and sort by — especially useful in Cards/Kanban.

🎥 See examples at this timestamp.

Overwrite task icons

You can set icon, icon-color, and icon-style (same names/values as note properties) so tasks display with custom icons in List and Cards.

Example: #todo(icon: lightbulb) or #todo(icon: lightbulb, icon-style: solid, icon-color: green-600). To browse icon names, use the note properties panel at the top of a note.

Use cases & examples

  • Reading & research: Tag notes with type: book or type: article; use Group by type; filter by author or topic.
  • Project management: Use status (Backlog → Doing → Done) and switch to Cards for a Kanban board.
  • Planning by week: Add a week value like W01-2025 and group by it to get a simple timeline.
  • Teamspaces: Group by assignee or filter by priority to review shared work at a glance.

More examples in this video.

Tips & FAQ

  • iOS folder tap: Tapping a folder opens its view. To expand the folder tree, tap the chevron â–¸ on the right.
  • Checklists vs tasks: The Tasks level shows tasks; checklists aren’t included.
  • Manual card order: Dragging cards in a grouped Cards view writes an order field so your custom order is preserved.
  • Frontmatter: Add custom fields in your notes’ Frontmatter to unlock powerful filtering, grouping, and sorting. See Note Properties.