How to Save and Find Passages in Apple Books

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In Apple Books, select text to highlight a passage or attach a note; use the Highlights list to find saved annotations. On iPhone and iPad, select text with a touch and hold. On Mac, select text and Control-click. To carry annotations between devices, enable Books and iCloud Drive with the same Apple Account on each device. Some book types may not support highlights or notes.

Highlight text on iPhone or iPad

1. Open the book and touch and hold a word in the passage.

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2. Drag the selection handles to include the text you want.

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3. Tap Highlight. To change the color or use an underline instead, tap the highlighted text, tap Highlight again, and choose an available option.

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Apple’s iPhone and iPad instructions describe the same basic selection and annotation flow. Button labels can vary between operating-system versions, so follow the options shown on your device. Apple’s iPhone guide and iPad guide explain the respective workflows.

Add a note to a passage on iPhone or iPad

1. Select the passage using touch and hold, then adjust the handles.

2. Tap Add Note, enter your note, and tap Done.

Highlight text and add notes on Mac

1. Open the book in Books and select the text you want to mark.

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2. Control-click the selection.

3. Choose a highlight color, Underline, or Add Note from the menu.

To edit an existing note, select its annotated text, Control-click, and choose Edit Note. Make your changes and confirm. Apple’s Mac Books guide documents these menu actions.

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Find saved highlights and notes

On iPhone or iPad

1. Tap the page to show the controls.

2. Open Menu, then choose Bookmarks & Highlights and Highlights.

3. Tap an annotation in the list to jump to that location in the book.

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On Mac

1. Move the pointer to the top of the page to show the toolbar.

2. Click the Highlights toolbar button.

3. Select an entry to return to its location in the book.

Remove highlights or notes

On iPhone

Tap the note or highlight and choose Remove Note to remove only the note, or Remove Highlight & Note to remove both when that option is shown.

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On iPad

Apple’s iPad instructions include Remove Highlight for deleting a highlight. For a note, use the removal option shown after tapping the highlighted text; available wording can differ by system version.

On Mac

Control-click the annotated text and choose Remove. Apple says Books presents a prompt to choose whether to remove just the note or the highlight and note together.

Share annotations from iPhone or iPad

Share one annotation

1. Tap the highlight or note.

2. Tap the Forward control, then tap Share.

Share multiple annotations

Open Bookmarks & Highlights, use its checklist to select the annotations, and then choose Share. Apple’s cited Mac guide covers viewing, editing, and removal, but does not establish a current Mac sharing workflow.

Sync highlights and notes between iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Sign in to the same Apple Account on each device. Enable iCloud Drive and Books, then check the Books-specific sync controls. Settings names depend on the operating-system generation. Apple’s iCloud setup guide gives the following paths:

If annotations do not appear on another device

Apple’s Books sync troubleshooting guide recommends checking these basics:

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• Both devices are updated and signed in to the same Apple Account.

• There is enough available iCloud storage.

• iCloud Drive, Books, and the Books-specific sync options are enabled on each device.

• The book or file is downloaded and has not been hidden.

Book compatibility matters

Apple cautions that “Highlighting and notes might not be available for all book types.” Its general warning does not provide a format-by-format or title-by-title compatibility list, so availability must be checked for the particular book.

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