Things
The three bars
Three bars do different jobs, and they are easy to confuse because they occupy similar space.
Why you'd care
Almost every "how do I do X on my phone" question is answered by one of these three, and knowing which one you are looking at is most of the battle.
The three
| Bar | When it appears | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Capture bar | Always | Writes a new thing. See the capture bar |
| Edit bar | While editing a thing, on iPhone, iPad and Android | Acts on the thing your cursor is in |
| Selection bar | When things are selected | Acts on the whole selection. See select many things |
Web, Mac, Windows, and Linux
There is no edit bar on the web or desktop. While you are editing a thing, the same actions are on keyboard shortcuts, and highlighting text brings up a formatting bar.
Going further
Put your most-used actions first. The edit bar and selection bar each hold as many actions as you add, scroll sideways, and keep the rest one tap away in a More (⋯) sheet. How many fit before scrolling depends on your screen, so the front of the bar is what you see without scrolling.
The edit bar and selection bar are rearrangeable. See customize the edit bar and selection bar.
Swipes are separate. Swiping a thing runs an action without opening any bar. See swipe actions.
Settings that change this
- Settings Appearance & accessibility Capture bar chooses how the capture bar shows up: Default, where the bar turns into a floating button as you scroll, Always show bar, or Button only.
- Settings Appearance & accessibility Customize selection actions chooses which actions sit on the selection bar and in what order. Plus
- In the phone app, Settings → Appearance & accessibility → Customize edit bar actions chooses which actions sit on the edit bar and in what order. Plus
- Settings Appearance & accessibility Left-handed mode moves the primary controls to the other side.
Tips
- Put Tag and Move near the front of the selection bar. They are the two most-used actions for most people.
- If you keep opening the More sheet for the same action, add it to the bar.