1---
2title: "Organize, search, and customize in Bear"
3bear_id: "1"
4identifier: SFNote2Intro1
5created: 2026-04-25T16:02:48.549Z
6modified: 2026-04-25T16:02:48.551Z
7tags:
8 - bear
9 - bear/welcome
10version: 3
11last_editing_device: "Anton’s MacBook Pro (2)"
12has_images: true
13source: "bear://x-callback-url/open-note?id=SFNote2Intro1"
14---
15
16Next on your [[Get started with Bear|Get started with Bear]] journey, let’s explore how to make our notes more useful with organization, search, and customizing Bear to fit our needs.
17
18---
19
20## Flexible organization with tags
21Instead of rigid folders, Bear uses tags to organize notes. Just like social media, a tag is a simple pound sign and a word, like #bear, and they can go anywhere in your notes. Bear's Sidebar will collect your tags, and you can click a tag to instantly see all notes that contain it.
22
23One of the many benefits of tags is that a note can exist in multiple tags at once. For example, a note with a todo list for shopping and groceries could have the tags **\#errands**, **\#groceries**, and **\#shopping**, then appear when you click any of those tags.
24
25### 👉 Get granular with multiple words
26Bear supports multi-word tags like **\#welcome notes\#** and **\#my next novel\#** and **\#world domination\#**. They allow for more specific organization and are just plain easier to read. As you can see, to create a multi-word tag, simply wrap the first and final words in pound signs.
27
28### 👉 Add depth with nested tags
29Like folders, you can also create sub-tags which we call **nested tags**. These are great for organizing multiple projects under a main *work* or *school* tag, or multiple days under multiple months of your journaling notes.
30
31To nest one tag under another, use a forward slash between words, like: #bear/welcome. In the Sidebar, a folding button appears next to the top-level tag which reveals its nested tags.
32
33---
34
35## Find that needle in a haystack
36Bear has fast, powerful search that can even find text in photos and PDFs (Bear Pro required). Simply click the magnifier at the top of the Note List (or use ⌘ + ⇧ + F) and start typing.
37
38But there’s so much more to search in Bear.
39
40### 👉 Smart Search
41Like most search engines, Bear supports a variety of **search operators** to filter your results. For example, you can search for a specific phrase by [“surrounding it in quotes”](bear://x-callback-url/search?term=%E2%80%9Csurrounding%20it%20in%20quotes%E2%80%9D), exclude keywords by adding a minus symbol (-) before them, and more. [Learn about Bear search operators](https://bear.app/faq/).
42
43### 👉 Special Search
44These are search triggers that look for specific *types* of data in your notes. For example, **@todo** finds notes containing unfinished tasks, and **@images** finds notes that have photos. [Learn about Special Search in Bear's online documentation](https://bear.app/faq/).
45
46### 👉 In-note search
47Bear can search all text in a note, including text in photos and PDFs (Bear Pro required). While editing a note, use the three dots (⋮) menu and select Search, then start typing.
48
49Bear will highlight all results in the note. Use the arrows to navigate results, and click the magnifying glass for a **Find & Replace** tool.
50
51---
52
53## Bear Your Way
54We do our best work in the right environment, and we recognize that space is different for everyone. Bear has some useful options to make it your own.
55
56### 👉 Themes
57The right theme for your notes and writing can turn a slog of a project into a breeze. Check out Bear’s theme collection in settings, including even more options unlocked with Bear Pro.
58
59### 👉 Editor formatting
60Prefer to write double-spaced? Are your paragraphs too narrow or close together? Check out the **Typography** section in settings to dial in your typography just right, including choosing a different font.
61
62### 👉 Note List view options
63The Note List offers a useful preview of your notes—their contents, photos, and attachments. But if you don’t want attachments to be previewed, or you’d rather see smaller previews and more notes at once, click the Note List heading for options to control these and other features.
64
65---
66## Learn more about Bear 📚
67* [[Get started with Bear ]]
68* [[Work faster and easier with Bear]]
69
70#bear/welcome