# 3 Major Improvements to the IOS App **URL:** \ **Category:** Feature Request\ **Tags:** features\ **Created:** [December 8, 2024, 3:06pm UTC](https://community.bear.app/t/3-major-improvements-to-the-ios-app/14396 "2024-12-08T15:06:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JacobP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a587f6/32.png) [@JacobP](https://community.bear.app/u/JacobP)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 3:06pm UTC](https://community.bear.app/t/3-major-improvements-to-the-ios-app/14396/1 "2024-12-08T15:06:08Z")
I am someone who makes most notes from my iPhone rather than my laptop. There are some things Bear could do to make the note taking on iPhone slicker and more convenient: **1. Type [] to create a checkbox** At the moment you have to click the B/U button and find the checkbox button among a grid of many different options. Simply typing would make this easier. Or do what Apple notes does and have the checkbox option instantly available for when needed. I feel like this is probably one of the most used buttons for people using Bear on the iPhone (e.g. creating mini checklists, shopping lists etc). **2. Swipe right to create sub-bullet points** On Apple notes, I love how you can swipe bullet points right or left to convert them between bullet point and sub bullet point. On Bear, you have to hit the B/U button and hit the tab buttons. A simple swipe can add a lot of convinience for iPhone users. **3. Highlighted Word Toolkit** When a user double taps a word to highlight it, a quick options menu could appear with the basic things that the user is trying to do, such as: Bold, Italics, Underline, Highlight etc. This saves the user having to click the B/U button to find the option they need. This is a really great feature the Notion mobile app uses. It’s like they’re predicting what you’re going to do next when you highlight a word or phrase! **Additional point:** I wish typing —- on the mobile app created a divider line too. Overall, the Bear iPhone app is great but it could definitely be made quicker and easier to use. Currently, it feels like a lot of quick access features are stored away in the B/U button. When this button is clicked, you’re presented with a lot of options and you then need to find the thing that you should have really had quicker access to. I know this is something that you can push past and get used to… but an app should aim to be as simple to use as possible - no need to get used to things! Hope these suggestions help! ---
**Author:** ![Alvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5a626/32.png) [@Alvin](https://community.bear.app/u/Alvin)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 8:33pm UTC](https://community.bear.app/t/3-major-improvements-to-the-ios-app/14396/2 "2024-12-08T20:33:25Z")
For the first point, you can type - for checkbox. May not be perfect but works. ---
**Author:** ![hqlmmst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/da6949/32.png) [@hqlmmst](https://community.bear.app/u/hqlmmst)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 1:44am UTC](https://community.bear.app/t/3-major-improvements-to-the-ios-app/14396/3 "2024-12-09T01:44:35Z")
Typing three dash (-) definitely does create a divider line, but you have to type it carefully as typing 2 dash (-) in iOS creates an em dash (—) which is preventing Bear from reading it as 3 dashes. ---
**Author:** ![yurivish](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/community.bear.app/yurivish/32/5383_2.png) [@yurivish](https://community.bear.app/u/yurivish)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 2:18am UTC](https://community.bear.app/t/3-major-improvements-to-the-ios-app/14396/4 "2024-12-09T02:18:12Z")
I would also appreciate quick access to a checkbox button since making one is it’s a relatively frequent task for me on my phone. ---
**Author:** ![Prometheus](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/community.bear.app/prometheus/32/6621_2.png) [@Prometheus](https://community.bear.app/u/Prometheus)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 1:43am UTC](https://community.bear.app/t/3-major-improvements-to-the-ios-app/14396/5 "2024-12-11T01:43:02Z")
You can also type `* * *` and get the divider. It’s not ideal, but I can’t give up the em-dash `--` shortcut. ---
**Author:** ![xierox](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/community.bear.app/xierox/32/2444_2.png) [@xierox](https://community.bear.app/u/xierox)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 4:47am UTC](https://community.bear.app/t/3-major-improvements-to-the-ios-app/14396/6 "2024-12-11T04:47:03Z")
My thoughts… > **1. Type [] to create a checkbox** You can type `- []` to do this. Adding convenience functions like `[]` would break the “type Markdown to do Markdown-y things” paradigm and make it “sometimes type non-Markdown to do Mardown-y things”. I think this would be a mistake. > **2. Swipe right to create sub-bullet points** This would break the “swipe right to go back” flow of the app in some situations (i.e., when you’re editing a list.) I think this would be a mistake. > **3. Highlighted Word Toolkit** There _is_ a **Format** menu which appears when you highlight a word, but it (strangely) only contains “Underline”. It would be nice if they added Bold, Italic, and maybe Highlight as well. (Not convinced about Highlight, though, as it would make the menu require even more scrolling.) I agree that adding one or two more items here would make sense. > I wish typing —- on the mobile app created a divider line too. This actually _does_ work, except that the iPhone (by default) replaces `--` with an emdash (or an endash). If you disable “Smart Punctuation” (I think it’s in Settings → General → Keyboards), then I think this will work like you expect. ---
**Author:** ![mlw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8edcca/32.png) [@mlw](https://community.bear.app/u/mlw)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 11:57am UTC](https://community.bear.app/t/3-major-improvements-to-the-ios-app/14396/7 "2024-12-11T11:57:04Z")
RÉ swipe most app deal with it by distinguishing a swipe from the edge (goes back) and from the rest of the screen. ---
**Author:** ![crumbletop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@crumbletop](https://community.bear.app/u/crumbletop)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 11:34am UTC](https://community.bear.app/t/3-major-improvements-to-the-ios-app/14396/9 "2024-12-12T11:34:45Z")
I agree with @xierox. Also, typing 3 underscores `___` gives you a line. I think it is part of standard markdown. Simple. ---
**Author:** ![xierox](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/community.bear.app/xierox/32/2444_2.png) [@xierox](https://community.bear.app/u/xierox)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2024, 12:35am UTC](https://community.bear.app/t/3-major-improvements-to-the-ios-app/14396/10 "2024-12-13T00:35:21Z")
@crumbletop I didn’t know about the `___` (three underscores). But you’re right, that works, too. It turns out that it _is_ in the spec. But it’s called “thematic break” now instead of “horizontal rule”: [CommonMark Spec](https://spec.commonmark.org/0.31.2/#thematic-breaks) > A line consisting of optionally up to three spaces of indentation, followed by a sequence of three or more matching `-`, `_`, or `*` characters, each followed optionally by any number of spaces or tabs, forms a [thematic break](https://spec.commonmark.org/0.31.2/#thematic-break).