How do I control automatic link and phone number detection in the Notes field?
The Notes field in both BusyCal and BusyContacts uses macOS text detection to automatically recognize patterns such as phone numbers, web addresses, email addresses, and dates, and turn them into clickable links. This is the same system — called data detectors — that macOS uses in apps like TextEdit and Mail.
While this is convenient for quickly dialing a number or opening a URL, it can sometimes misidentify text as a link. For example, a bank reference number like 01681180-24 may be detected as a phone number, or a product code may be highlighted as a web link even though it isn't one.
Turning detection on or off
You can control these options per-app through the Edit > Substitutions submenu:
- Click in the Notes field of any event, task, or contact so it has focus.
- From the menu bar, choose Edit > Substitutions.
- Toggle the options you want:
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Data Detectors | Automatically detects phone numbers, addresses, dates, and similar patterns and turns them into clickable action links. Turn this off if text like reference numbers or codes is being incorrectly recognized as phone numbers. |
| Smart Links | Automatically detects URLs and email addresses and turns them into clickable web links. Turn this off if you don't want URLs in your notes to become hyperlinks. |
| Smart Quotes | Replaces straight quotes (" ') with typographic curly quotes. |
| Smart Dashes | Replaces double hyphens (--) with an em dash and triple hyphens (---) with an en dash. |
| Text Replacement | Applies any text replacements you've configured in System Settings > Keyboard > Text Replacements (e.g., expanding "omw" to "On my way!"). |
A checkmark next to an option means it is currently enabled. Click the option to toggle it.
These settings are remembered separately for BusyCal and BusyContacts — changing them in one app does not affect the other. The settings apply to the Notes field across all events, tasks, or contacts in that app.
Common scenarios
"A reference number keeps turning into a phone link"
Turn off Data Detectors. This stops macOS from scanning the Notes field for phone-number-like patterns. After toggling it off, the text remains plain and you can no longer accidentally tap-to-call a non-phone number.
"I want clickable URLs but not phone number detection"
Unfortunately, Data Detectors is a single toggle — it covers phone numbers, addresses, and dates together. You cannot turn off phone detection while keeping address detection. However, you can:
- Turn off Data Detectors (stops phone numbers and addresses)
- Keep Smart Links on (URLs and email addresses remain clickable)
This gives you clickable web links without the phone-number false positives.
"I removed a link but it keeps coming back"
If you right-click a detected link and choose Remove Link, the detection system may re-apply it the next time the text is edited or the field regains focus. The permanent fix is to turn off the relevant detection option in Edit > Substitutions as described above.
"I don't see any links in my Notes at all"
Make sure Data Detectors and/or Smart Links are enabled in Edit > Substitutions. You need to click in the Notes field first for the Substitutions submenu to become available.
Applies to
- BusyCal (macOS) — Notes field in the Info Panel for events, tasks, and journals
- BusyContacts (macOS) — Notes field in the contact Info Panel
On iOS, link detection in the Notes field is handled by the system and is always on. These Edit > Substitutions options are specific to the macOS versions of BusyCal and BusyContacts.