If a Notes folder holds hundreds of entries, use the Tags section in the sidebar to filter for the tag you need instead of scanning the note list. Select one tag for a focused result, or select several and choose whether Notes should show notes with all selected tags or any selected tag. For a collection you revisit, save the tag condition as a Smart Folder. These steps apply to Notes on Mac; Apple notes that some Notes features vary by account provider. (Use tags in Notes on Mac — Apple Support; Use Smart Folders in Notes on Mac — Apple Support)

Use the Tags sidebar for a quick lookup

Open Notes and make sure the folder sidebar is visible. Apple’s Mac guide says to choose View > Show Folders if it is hidden. In the sidebar, scroll to the Tags section near the bottom, then click the tag you want. Notes filters the list to notes associated with that tag, letting you pick from the matches rather than inspect every item in the folder. (View your notes in Notes on Mac — Apple Support; Use tags in Notes on Mac — Apple Support)

A tag is a structured label in a note, written with a hash sign and a single word, such as #travel or #meeting-notes. Hyphens and underscores are allowed, but a tag cannot contain spaces. It can appear anywhere in the note. Clicking a recognized tag in the sidebar is the documented tag-filter workflow; typing a word into the general search field is a text search and may find matching text without filtering by tag. (Use tags in Notes on Mac — Apple Support; Search your notes on Mac — Apple Support)

If you do not see the tag, first confirm the note actually contains it as a tag, rather than just the same word without the # marker. The Tags section lists tags used in Notes. For a shared note, Apple says a tag added by another participant may appear dimmed for you; Control-click it and choose Add to Tags to add it to your own tags. (Use tags in Notes on Mac — Apple Support)

Combine tags with the right matching rule

To narrow results further, click additional tags in the Tags section. With multiple tags selected, use the pop-up menu next to Tags and choose All Selected when every selected label must be present, or Any Selected when any one of them is enough. For example, selecting #trip and #receipt with All Selected looks for notes carrying both labels; Any Selected also includes notes carrying just one. This gives a useful second-stage filter when a broad tag still returns many notes. (Use tags in Notes on Mac — Apple Support)

Clicking a selected tag again changes the filter: Apple describes deselecting that tag as excluding notes that include it. So if the result suddenly looks unexpectedly small, inspect which tags remain selected and the matching rule in the pop-up menu. Clear the selections you no longer want before starting a different lookup. (Use tags in Notes on Mac — Apple Support)

Restrict the search to the intended account

If you keep Notes in more than one account, such as iCloud and On My Mac, decide whether the task is to search one account or all of them. Click the folder for the account you want, show the search field, then use the arrow beside the magnifying glass to choose Current Account or All Accounts. This setting applies to text searches, and it can help avoid mistaking a note from another account for one in the folder you are working in. Apple says this account choice is needed only when you have multiple accounts. (Search your notes on Mac — Apple Support)

Text search is a useful companion when the tag results are still broad: search a distinctive title word, phrase, or attachment detail. Notes search can find text in note bodies, attachment filenames, attached PDFs, drawings and handwriting, image content, and text in scanned documents. A text match does not prove a note has a particular tag, however; use the Tags section when the tag itself is the condition. (Search your notes on Mac — Apple Support)

Save a recurring tag search as a Smart Folder

If you return to the same tag combination regularly, create a Smart Folder instead of repeating the sidebar setup. In Notes, choose File > New Smart Folder, give it a clear name, and set a Tags rule using the available menus. Add further rules if useful, then set whether a note must match all or any rules. Click OK to save it. A Smart Folder is a view of matching notes, not a container that moves notes out of their original folders. (Use Smart Folders in Notes on Mac — Apple Support)

A Smart Folder is useful when the same tagged collection is part of a repeated task, such as reviewing notes tagged for a trip or a project. It must have at least one filter. If you only need to find an item once, selecting its tag in the sidebar is simpler. And if your goal is to gather notes physically into a different folder, a Smart Folder does not do that; it references matching notes where they already live. (Use Smart Folders in Notes on Mac — Apple Support)

If the note you expect is missing

Check these items in order:

  1. Confirm you are viewing the right account and that the tag appears in the Tags sidebar.

  2. Open a likely note and verify the label is an actual tag, formatted with #, rather than ordinary text.

  3. Review every selected tag and whether the multi-tag rule is All Selected or Any Selected.

  4. If the tag filter is correct but the list is still long, use a distinctive text search or create a Smart Folder with the tag rule and a relevant additional condition.

If you identify an inconsistent tag name, Apple documents renaming a tag through Control-click > Rename Tag. Renaming updates its use in notes and Smart Folders. Use that only when you intend to standardize the tag; it is a broader change than refining a search. (Use tags in Notes on Mac — Apple Support)

Where Wallo fits

Wallo is relevant only after you find the note and want to keep its open window with other windows and to-dos for a goal. Its documented workflow groups existing open Mac windows under a goal and supports keyboard navigation to select a goal and open one of its windows. It does not replace Notes’ tag filter or search. (Wallo — Wallo)

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