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Add color-coded category tabs to your Google Keep notes

A Chrome plug-in gives Google's note manager a much-needed shot in the organizational arm.

Rick Broida Senior Editor
Rick Broida is the author of numerous books and thousands of reviews, features and blog posts. He writes CNET's popular Cheapskate blog and co-hosts Protocol 1: A Travelers Podcast (about the TV show Travelers). He lives in Michigan, where he previously owned two escape rooms (chronicled in the ebook "I Was a Middle-Aged Zombie").
Rick Broida

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If you're a Chrome user, now you can categorize your Keep notes. Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET

Are you a Google Keep user? The service is Google's answer to Evernote, offering solid note-management skills for Android users.

Of course, there's a Web-based component as well. And if you routinely access Keep in your desktop browser, here's good news: Category Tabs for Google Chrome adds color-coded categories to Keep. Here's how to get started:

Step 1: Head to the Chrome Web Store and install the Category Tabs plug-in.

Step 2: Open a new tab and head to Google Keep.

Step 3: Click the menu bar on the left and choose Customize Categories. Now you can rename any or all of the available colors. With that done, refresh your Keep tab.

Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET

Step 4: Now, just click one of the categories at the top of your notes page, and you'll see just the notes assigned to that category.

And that's it! Note that the Category Tabs plug-in isn't compatible with Android or the Chrome Packaged version of Keep (i.e., it won't work on Chromebooks).

If you're new to the service, here's how to get started with Google Keep on your Android device.