Attach images and files

Add images and files to a note, crop or rotate images, and turn a table in an image into an editable table.

Applies to Web · Mac · iPhone app · notes you can edit · up to 50MB per file

Images show up right in the text; other files are inserted as a 📎 file name link. You can resize, crop and rotate images and pin comments to them. Reading a table out of an image runs on the device you’re using, not on the server.

Attach something

  • Button or shortcut: click Attach file/image in the Tools row, or press ⇧⌘O, and choose one or more files.
  • Paste: press ⌘V to paste a copied image or screenshot at the cursor. If the clipboard mixes text and images, the text is kept.
  • Drag: drop files onto the spot in the note where you want them.
  • Phone: on narrow screens the Tools row starts with an Attach photo button that opens your photo library or camera directly.

You can keep typing elsewhere while a file uploads; it still lands where you first put it.

Limits and storage

ItemValue
One fileUp to 50MB. Larger files show “(file name) is too large to upload (max 50MB)”.
Whose storage it usesThe note owner’s. Files you add to someone else’s note count against their storage.
When storage is fullOnly uploads are blocked; you can keep writing.

An image you delete from the text still counts toward storage while an older version of the note uses it. Files confirmed unused for 30 days can be cleaned up from the profile menu → Account security → Manage attachment storage. For storage per plan, see Plans and storage.

The image menu

Right-click an image (on a touch screen, press and hold for half a second) to open this menu.

ItemWhat it does
Copy imageCopies it to the clipboard
Download originalDownloads the file you uploaded (in a browser; the Mac and iPhone apps can’t download it and tell you to use a browser)
Add line before image · Add line after imageAdds an empty line right above or below
Crop · rotateOpens the image editor (below)
Figure frame (labels & numbering)Wraps the image in a frame with labels, a caption and automatic numbering; inside a frame this becomes Remove frame. See Build figures with figure frames
Pin a commentClick a spot on the image to attach a comment there (Esc cancels)
Original sizeResets the display size
Delete imageRemoves the image from the note
Convert to editable tableAppears at the bottom only when a table is detected (see “Turn a table image into a table” below)

To change the display size, drag the handles on the image’s edges and corners. With an image selected, Tab/⇧Tab nudge it 40px right or left.

Crop and rotate

  1. Right-click the image and choose Crop · rotate.
  2. Rotate with −90° and +90°, and straighten it with the Fine angle slider or number field.
  3. Drag over the image to choose the area to keep. Reset rotation and Clear crop undo those steps.
  4. Under Output quality and size, choose the File format (PNG: lossless, transparent background; JPEG: smaller file, white background), the Output dimensions (keep original resolution, or longest side up to 4000, 2200, 1600 or 1000px) and, for JPEG, the JPEG quality (50–100%).
  5. Click Apply.
Edits are saved as a new attachment. The original is retained and also counts toward storage.

Turn a table image into a table

Convert a picture of a ruled table (from a paper, an instrument screen or a spreadsheet screenshot) into a table you can edit. Images are recognized on this device, and only the table you confirm goes into the note.

  1. For an image already in the note, click Convert to editable table at the bottom of its right-click menu; the original image stays. For a new image, type /ocr and choose Image table, or click Create table from image in the Insert table panel, then use Choose image or paste one.
  2. If there are several tables or a busy background, click Select region and drag over just the table.
  3. Pick a Language (Korean + English or English) and click Recognize table.
  4. Click any cell in the result to fix it. Cells the recognizer was unsure about are flagged; if there are any, you have to tick the box confirming you compared them with the original before inserting. Set the number of header rows with Header rows.
  5. Click Insert reviewed table.
Accepted formats are PNG, JPG and WebP, up to 12MB and 12 megapixels. Tables without borders are hard to detect. Always check text, numbers and symbols against the original. The recognition tool loads from CommonNote, so you need a connection, but the image you’re recognizing isn’t sent to the server.