How to Manage Many Notes at Once with a Grid
When you keep a lot of small notes open, the real cost is not writing them but finding them. A grid keeps every note in view so you can scan, compare and edit without switching windows. Here is a workflow that works well in AllInNote.
Start with a board that fits the job
Pick a grid size by dragging over the 10 × 10 board in the Grid menu. A 3 × 2 board (six notes) suits a daily planning page. A 5 × 2 board (ten notes) works for a small project. Larger boards of 20 or more notes are better as a reference wall that you rarely edit. Because every note starts at the same size, you can see at a glance how much room you have; if one note needs more space, drag the border between notes to give it more, and press Reset size to return to equal sizes.
Use colors as categories, not decoration
Each note can use one of ten pastel colors. Decide on a small set of meanings and stick to them: for example yellow for to-do, green for finished, blue for reference, pink for ideas to revisit. Colors are processed by your eyes much faster than words, so a colored board lets you spot what needs attention in a second. New notes keep the neutral default until you choose a color, so only notes you deliberately classify stand out.
Treat the file name as your index
The name at the top of a note is also the file name in your folder. A consistent naming habit pays off in both places. Short prefixes such as 01 Inbox, 02 Today and 03 Waiting keep files sorted the way you think. Dates in the form 2026-10-29 sort correctly and are unambiguous. Avoid characters that file systems do not allow; AllInNote removes them for you.
Pin what must not change
Checklists, templates and reference snippets should not be altered by accident. Click the pin button on such notes. A pinned note cannot be edited or renamed, and it is skipped by Replace all. Unpin it when you intentionally update it.
Enlarge when writing, shrink when scanning
For long passages, enlarge a note with the square button or by double-clicking its header. It grows to about 80% of the workspace and returns when you click outside it or press Esc. This keeps the board intact while giving you a comfortable writing area.
Close finished notes, keep the files
Closing a note never deletes its file. At the end of the week, close notes you no longer need and open them again later with Open. A board of the notes that matter this week is easier to think with than a board of everything you have ever written.
A sample 3 × 2 board
- Inbox — anything you capture quickly.
- Today — the three things you will finish today.
- This week — commitments with dates.
- Waiting — things you are waiting on from others.
- Ideas — unfiltered thoughts to review on Friday.
- Reference — pinned notes with links, numbers and checklists.
Related reading: Find and replace across many notes and Keyboard shortcuts and tips.