The Capture view

The Capture view is a full-screen writing surface with nothing else on it.

Why you'd care#

The capture bar sits underneath whatever you were looking at, which is right for quick additions and wrong for a brain dump. The Capture view removes the list, so there is nothing to read and nothing to react to. It is the difference between adding an item and emptying your head.

The 60-second version#

Open Capture from the nav bar. Type. Everything you write lands on Today unless you have set a default list.

Step by step#

What it can show#

The view is deliberately sparse, but a few things are optional: a wallpaper, a writing prompt, and the week bar. Each is a setting, so you can strip it back to a blank page or give it some context.

Clearing#

By default the view clears itself when you leave and come back, so it is always a fresh page. If you would rather your draft survive, turn off Settings → Appearance & Accessibility → Auto clear capture view.

The keyboard#

Settings → Appearance & Accessibility → Launch with keyboard up raises the keyboard the moment the view opens, which removes a tap. Worth turning on if this is your main way in.

Settings that change this#

• Settings → Appearance & Accessibility → Auto clear capture view decides whether the view resets when you return to it.
• Settings → Appearance & Accessibility → Show welcome message shows a writing prompt.
• Settings → Appearance & Accessibility → Show week bar on Capture adds the week bar.
• Settings → Appearance & Accessibility → Launch with keyboard up opens with the keyboard already up.
• Settings → Appearance & Accessibility → Capture bar changes how the capture input behaves.

Tips#

• If you journal, this is the view to put first in your nav bar.
• Turn the prompt on here and off on Today. One place to be asked a question is enough.

Related#

• The capture bar, the quicker inline version
• Where new things go