Canto
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subtankImport and export
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Your notes aren't locked in. Canto reads the common formats in, writes plain Markdown, HTML and PDF out, and has two file formats of its own for moving notes between copies of Canto, with or without a password. Exporting to Markdown is free on every plan, and none of this sends anything off your Mac.
Bring notes in#
| From | Where | What comes in |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Notes | Settings › Connections › Import › Apple Notes, or ⌘K's Connect Apple Notes… | The folders you choose, with formatting, links, attachments, folders and dates |
| Markdown files | File › Import › Markdown Files… | .md, .markdown, .mdown, .mkd and .txt files, from Obsidian, Bear, iA Writer or any folder |
| Evernote | File › Import › Evernote Export (.enex)… | An .enex export |
| A Canto file | File › Import › Canto File (.canto)… (⇧⌘I) | One note with its tags and attachments |
| A Canto workspace | File › Import › Workspace (.cwsp)… | Everything in an exported vault |
| A Canto 0.x notebook | File › Import › Notebook Backup (.cnb)… | One notebook, as one note |
The same imports are in Settings › Connections › Import, and setup's step 5 offers Apple Notes, a Markdown folder, Evernote or a Canto file.
Markdown. Checklists, tags and note links come along, and figures and charts in the files become figures right away. Importing a whole folder from setup brings its subfolders too, up to 5,000 files of up to 10 MB each.
Canto files with a password ask for it: "This file has a password". Without it, the file can't be opened.
Notebooks. Canto 1.0 turned 0.x notebooks into notes and saved each one as a .cnb file and as Markdown in your Backups folder, under "Notebooks (before 1.0)". Import a .cnb file to bring one back as a note. See Upgrading from Canto 0.10.
Apple Notes#
Apple Notes import is a connection you can refresh, not a one-time copy.
- Connect… Canto asks macOS for permission to control Notes, and only when you press it. It uses that permission to list the accounts and folders you choose and to read the notes you select. It never changes or deletes anything in Apple Notes, and it doesn't sync in the background.
- Choose folders… Nothing is selected at first. Choose Include common attachments and Include shared notes (read-only copies) if you want them. Locked notes are counted but never opened, and Recently Deleted is left out.
- Preview, then import. You see how many notes are new, already here, locked or shared before anything is written. You can close the window while it imports.
Locked notes, pins and Smart Folders stay in Apple Notes. Imported notes are ordinary Canto notes.
Once connected:
- Refresh reads your chosen folders again and brings changes in. If you also changed a note in Canto, it goes to Needs review instead of being overwritten, where you choose Keep Canto and stop pulling this change, Replace Canto with Apple Notes, or Keep both as separate Canto notes.
- Formatting › Repair… reads imported notes again with Canto's newest converter, saving each note's history first. Notes you changed in Canto go to review.
- Disconnect… stops refreshing. The notes Canto brought over stay as ordinary notes.
If macOS doesn't let Canto use Notes, turn it on in System Settings › Privacy & Security › Automation, then Check again. People upgrading from 0.10 see this prompt once more, because 1.0 is a new app to macOS.
Send notes out#
| As | Where | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Markdown | File › Export › Markdown… (⇧⌘E), or Share › Export as Markdown | A .md file of the note |
| HTML | File › Export › HTML…, or Share › Export as HTML | A web page of the note |
| File › Export › PDF…, or Share › Export as PDF | A PDF, with a preview first | |
| A Canto file | File › Export › Canto File (.canto)… | One note with its tags and attachments, to open in Canto on any Mac |
| A Canto workspace | File › Export › Workspace (.cwsp)… | Everything in your vault, in one file |
Exports start with the note's title as a heading. Figures, charts and smart tables are drawn in HTML and PDF; in Markdown, charts are kept as ```chart blocks and figures as their fences, so they come back as figures when you import them. A research note's hidden copy of the original chat answer is left out.
PDF opens Export as PDF: a preview with Paper size (A4 or US Letter), Scale, and Preview zoom.
A chat's answers can be exported too: under an answer, ⋯ › Export as Markdown saves that answer or the entire chat.
Canto files and passwords#
Export as Canto file and Export workspace open one sheet with two choices under Encryption:
- Not encrypted: anyone with Canto can open the file.
- Encrypted with a password: only someone with the password can open it. Use at least 8 characters; the sheet says how strong it is. Canto can't recover a forgotten password: without it, the file can't be opened. Keep it somewhere safe.
A workspace holds notes, canvases, folders, tags, templates, chats, actions and styles, version history, attachments and the text Canto read from them, and says how many notes it has, including those in the Trash. It leaves out API keys and your license, sync state, downloaded models and search indexes (Canto rebuilds them). Files in linked folders stay where they are.
Workspaces are a good way to move to a new Mac without iCloud sync, or to keep a copy somewhere of your own. For copies Canto makes on a schedule, see Backups, history and the Trash.
Sharing on the web#
To give someone a link instead of a file, publish the note: see Publishing a page.