Need a sub-item, and reaching for the toolbar feels just a little sub-optimal? Whether you’re organizing categories or adding subtasks to a to-do list, you can change indentation without slowing down. Find out here how to swipe to indent or outdent lists in Apple Notes on iPhone ⤓.
First, on a Scroll
Typing and typing for just shy of three weeks, stopping to change neither paper nor ribbon and barely for sleep, Jack Kerouac famously hammered out On the Road on one continuous roll of paper as “spontaneous prose.”
Naturally, Kerouac didn’t pause to add indentations — and you barely have to either, whether you’re typing the next great road novel or a note on the road.
How to Swipe to Indent Lists in Apple Notes for iPhone
Time needed: 1 minute
To change the indentation level of an item in a list in Apple Notes on an iPhone and iPad:
- Format text as a list in a note.
Here’s how: You can start a list with typing
-or1.at the beginning of a line, for example.
Which lists: Swiping to indent works in all lists in Notes, dashed lists, bulleted lists, ordered lists and to-do lists. - Swipe over the item to the right to increase the level of indentation.
Swipe left: Swipe left, of course, to decrease the indentation level.
Indentity crisis averted?
Tips help fuel these email and tech how-tos.
Change iPhone List Item Indentation with Menu Taps
To change the indentation level of a list item:
- Position the text cursor in the item you want to intent or outdent.
Multiple items: You can highlight more than one list item to change the invitation level for the lot in one go. - Tap the “increase indentation” button in the formatting toolbar to indent.
Outdent: Tap the decrease indentation button to decrease indentation by one level.
Context menu: You can also select > in the context menu that has appeared, then choose Format | Indentation | Increase (or Decrease).
More structure: How to Structure Text Hierarchically in Apple Notes
How to Swipe to Indent Lists in Apple Notes for iPhone: FAQ
Do I have to select an item to change its indentation?
No.
You can swipe over any visible item to change its indentation.
Can I outdent to the top level using swiping?
No.
You cannot move an item out of a list by reducing its indentation level to zero with swiping.
Can I indent more than one item at once by swiping?
No.
Swiping always indents or outdents only the item over which you are swiping.
To change more then one item at a time, you can use the formatting toolbar; see above.
(Tested with Apple Notes for iOS 26; first published April 2026)