Stop Apple Notes (for iOS) from Auto-formatting Lists (NOT checklists)
My question is a response and continuation of a problem raised by another person. Here is the original post: How do I turn off list formatting in Note… - Apple Community. It concerns how to stop auto-formatting bullets or hyphens in Apple Notes for iOS. (The same problem likely exists in Apple Notes for macOS but I can not confirm the same problem since I am using an iPad right now running iOS 15.)(I also noticed the same problem in Apple Notes running iOS 16).
The problem I and others are having is when you begin a line in Apple Notes for iOS by typing an asterisk (*) or a hyphen (-) followed by a space, Apple Notes will automatically replace those symbols with a respective bullet (•) or a long dash (--) based on the automatic assumption the user wants a bulleted or hyphenated list. I was unsuccessful searching the Apple Community Forum and other sites to find a solution that works. I also spent a lot of time in Apple Notes (iOS version, not macOS) trying to find a solution, but I was unsuccessful. In my search for answers, I found some that either misunderstood the original question or simply do not work. Read on.
One person responded to this same problem a while back but they seemed to miss the point. They thought the person was asking how to convert Apple's checklist formatting (the symbol is an empty circle that fills in with yellow and a checkmark when complete) to normal body text. Even that process of converting a checklist to normal body text is exhausting! There are so many steps!
And another person responded with a "solution" that involves using a keyboard shortcut that uses a space plus a period to "fool" Apple Notes. That hack does not work for several reasons. First, the current version of iOS for iPhone (iOS 16) or iPad (iOS 15) does not allow a keyboard shortcut or phrase to contain a space. The bottom line is their hack does not work (and it is very confusing as noted by another person who tried to follow the directions). Furthermore, one should not have to fool or use a hack like this to get Apple Notes to stop auto-formatting a list if someone simply begins a sentence by typing an asterisk or a hyphen.
If you have a solution that is tested and works then please post. (Please read that last sentence again.)
Again, I am not talking about Apple Notes for macOS but rather Apple Notes for iOS. If you are part of the Apple Development team then please make sure you understand the question and consider a fix ASAP because it is my opinion this problem is a major flaw in the design of Apple Notes.
And lastly, please do not respond to this question with a scripted technical response like, "I am sorry to hear you are having this problem.... If I understand correctly [insert problem here].... blah, blah, blah. That type of response is not helpful to anyone. It only adds clutter and an unnecessary layer one needs to get through to find a solution that is often not on point or works.
Hoping someone can help :)
