4.1.1 Exporting to a ZIP File

If you have chosen to export your notes to a ZIP file (i.e. the file name ends in ‘.zip’), then you have several additional options.

First, you can choose whether to export notes in all categories or just those from a single category of notes. Categories other than “Unfiled” are written to the ZIP file as directories, with the notes being written into the directory for their category. “Unfiled” notes are written to the root level of the ZIP file. The name of each note file will be its internal ID number followed by “‘ - ’”, the first line of the note (or as much as will fit), and the extension “‘.txt’”.

Second, if you have selected to “Include Private” notes in the export, you can choose whether and how private notes are encrypted in the ZIP file. If you have set a password in the app, you can choose to export the encrypted notes as-is without decrypting and re-encrypting them; the file will be protected with the same password as the Note Pad app, and you do not need to unlock the encrypted notes first. However, these notes can only be read by the Note Pad app. If you choose “No encryption”, “ZipCrypto”, or “AES”, then encrypted notes must be unlocked first, but these options are also available if you have not set a password for the app. When using “ZipCrypto” or “AES” you must provide a ZIP password to encrypt your private notes with, which does not need to be the same as the password for the Note Pad app. ZIP notes encrypted with “ZipCrypto” should be compatible with most ZIP file readers and operating systems, but this is a very weak encryption method and should not be used when security is a concern; it is only provided for the widest compatibility with older software. ZIP notes encrypted with “AES” should be compatible with many modern ZIP file readers, but generally requires installing 3rd-party software to read them.

• On Linux or MacOS, you may need to install a 7-Zip port (e.g. ‘p7zip’). The standard unzip command does not support AES decryption. ZipCrypto has been natively supported on MacOS since version 10.3 “Panther”; on earlier versions you will need to install a 3rd-party program like “Stuffit Expander”.
• On Windows, the file explorer cannot natively decrypt ZIP files encrypted with AES. You will need to install a 3rd-party program such as 7-Zip or WinZip. Files encrypted with ZipCrypto are supported by Windows XP or higher, and also Windows 98 with the “Plus! 98” pack.

This document was generated on July 17, 2026 using texi2html 5.0.