Sticky Notes is a

desktop notes Desktop notes are computer applications that allow putting Post-it note-like windows on the screen, with reminders, short notes and other clippings. They are typically rectangular and yellow, like their physical counterpart, but most applications ...

application included in

Windows 7 Windows 7 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was Software release life cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM), released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and became generally available on October 22, ...

Windows 8 Windows 8 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was Software release life cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM), released to manufacturing on August 1, 2012, made available for download via Microsoft ...

, Windows 8.1,

Windows 10 Windows 10 is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. The successor to Windows 8.1, it was Software release cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM), released to manufacturing on July 15, 2015, and later to retail on July 2 ...

and

Windows 11 Windows 11 is a version of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system, released on October 5, 2021, as the successor to Windows 10 (2015). It is available as a free upgrade for devices running Windows 10 that meet the #System requirements, Windo ...

. The app loads quickly and enables users to quickly take notes using

post-it note A Post-it note (or sticky note) is a small piece of paper with a re-adherable strip of glue on its back, made for temporarily attaching notes to documents and other surfaces. A low-adhesion, tack pressure-sensitive adhesive allows the notes to ...

–like windows on their desktop. Sticky Notes originated in Windows XP Tablet Edition in 2002 and was included with

Windows Vista Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, released five years earlier, which was then the longest time span between successive releases of Microsoft W ...

as a gadget for the

Windows Sidebar Windows Desktop Gadgets (called Windows Sidebar in Windows Vista) is a discontinued widget engine for Microsoft Gadgets. Desktop Gadgets have been replaced by Windows 10 Taskbar Widgets. It was introduced with Windows Vista, in which it features ...

. According to Microsoft, there were eight million monthly Sticky Notes users as of April 2016. It is built in on Outlook.com and

Microsoft Teams Microsoft Teams is a team collaboration platform developed by Microsoft as part of the Microsoft 365 suite. It offers features such as workspace chat, video conferencing, file storage, and integration with both Microsoft and third-party applicat ...

Development

The original Sticky Notes was a gadget included with Windows Vista. Gadgets were continued in

, though Sticky Notes itself became a standalone app built on the Win32 platform, that could still open at startup. This version did not directly support pen input. The default color is yellow, but five other colors are offered. Sticky Notes have jumplists and a taskbar preview, which shows the notes in a stack. Sticky Notes are automatically saved. This version was reused in Windows 8 and the initial releases of Windows 10. In the

Windows 10 Anniversary Update Windows 10 Anniversary Update (also known as version 1607 and codenamed "Redstone 1") is the second major update to Windows 10 Windows 10 is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. The successor to Windows 8.1, it wa ...

, released in 2016, a new version of Sticky Notes built on the

Universal Windows Platform Universal Windows Platform (UWP) is a computing platform created by Microsoft and introduced in Windows 10. The purpose of this platform is to help develop universal apps that run on Windows 10, Windows 10 Mobile (discontinued), Windows 11, Xbox ...

was introduced. It can be launched as a standalone app or part of the

Windows Ink Windows Ink is a software suite in Windows 10 that contains applications and features oriented towards pen computing, and was introduced in Windows 10 Anniversary Update . The suite includes Sticky Notes, Sketchpad, and Screen sketch application ...

workspace. The latter method causes the space behind the notes to become blurred. The new version directly accepts pen input and can recognize words and letters in handwritten text, basic text formatting, pictures. It is designed to be stick to the desktop or move around. The new Sticky Notes provides

stock Stocks (also capital stock, or sometimes interchangeably, shares) consist of all the Share (finance), shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporatio ...

information when a ticker is typed or written, and it provides

flight Flight or flying is the motion (physics), motion of an Physical object, object through an atmosphere, or through the vacuum of Outer space, space, without contacting any planetary surface. This can be achieved by generating aerodynamic lift ass ...

info when a

flight number In the aviation industry, a flight number or flight designator is a code for an airline service consisting of two-character airline designator and a 1 to 4 digit number. For example, QF9 is a Qantas Airways service from Perth, Australia to Londo ...

is typed or written. It has Cortana integration and can create reminders from notes that include a date. Unlike the Windows 7 version, this version's taskbar preview shows a stock image rather than the notes a user has created. It originally did not have a jump list, but that was added back in version 1.6.2 on February 6, 2017.

System Requirements (UWP app)

Cross-platform

Sticky Notes can sync notes across multiple devices, not just to Windows 10 devices, but also to

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

and Android devices running

Microsoft OneNote Microsoft OneNote is a note-taking software developed by Microsoft. It is available as part of the Microsoft 365 suite and since 2014 has been Freeware, free on all platforms outside the suite. OneNote is designed for free-form information gat ...

and Outlook for Windows. A

web client On the Web, a user agent is a software agent responsible for retrieving and facilitating end-user interaction with Web content. This includes all web browsers, such as Google Chrome and Safari, some email clients, standalone download managers li ...

to edit sticky notes is also available on the OneNote website, at the obscure onenote.com/stickynotes (may not exist anymore) or is located at https://outlook.office.com/mail/notes location. On Android devices, Microsoft Launcher can show sticky notes synced with a local instance of the OneNote app.

References

External links

Microsoft Sticky Notes on Windows Store
{{Windows Components Universal Windows Platform apps Windows 7 Windows 10 Windows components