Windows Tools, Help & Guides

In this guide, we show you a bunch of tips and tricks for Sticky Notes, which has received an update for Windows 7. Specifically, we’ll What versions?cover the following:

• What versions of Windows 7 have Sticky Notes?
• How do I open Sticky Notes?
• How do I create a new note?
• How do I change the color of notes?
• How do I resize notes?
• How do I delete a note?
• How do I change the fonts of a note?
• How can I backup my notes?
• How do I format text within my notes?
• How do I save my notes for later?

If you know of a trick that we missed, please let us know in the comments.

What Versions of Windows 7 have Sticky Notes?

Sticky Notes is available only in the Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise editions of Windows 7.

Source

So, if you have Windows 7 Starter edition, you wont have access to Sticky Notes — sorry.

How Do I Open Sticky Notes?

To open Sticky Notes, click the Start button, type notes and click Sticky Notes.

How Do I Create a New Note?

Either: click the plus sign on a previously-existing note:

Or: Right click the notes icon in the taskbar and click New Note.

How Do I Change the Color of Notes?

Right click a note and choose a new color:

How Do I Resize Notes?

Notes will resize as you add content to them:

Alternatively, you can grab the bottom right corner of a note to resize it. You can also overlay notes if you like that kind of thing :)

How Do I Delete a Note?

On a note you’d like to delete, click the X in the top tight corner.

You’ll be asked to confirm deletion and can check a box (Don’t display this message again) to remove the confirmation dialog.

Advanced tip: If you want to be prompted again (I closed a note with the fonts examples after taking about five minutes preparing it):

Not sure how to use the Registry to make edits? Learn here: Working with the Windows Registry.

1. Open the registry and navigate the following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\StickyNotes

2. Change the value of PROMPT_ON_DELETE to 1.

How do I Format Text Within my Notes?

You can format text in your notes with the following shortcuts:

More shortcuts:

Alan Wade shares the following shortcuts–thanks Alan:

How do I Change the Fonts of a Note?

The only way I could find to change the fonts in a note is to first format the font in a program like Microsoft Word and then copy and paste the formatted text:

How Can I Backup My Notes?

To backup your notes, you’ll first need to show hidden files and folders.

Now open My Computer and enter %appdata%\Microsoft\Sticky Notes\ in the address bar:

Copy StickyNotes.snt to a backup location of your choice. You can also copy this file to another PC running Windows 7 to view your notes there.

How do I Save My Notes for Later?

If you’d like to close Sticky Notes but not lose your current notes (i.e. avoid clicking the X to delete a note), you’ll need to do the following:

Right click the Sticky Notes icon in the taskbar and click Close. This will save your notes for next time.

What Did We Miss?

If you know of a trick that we missed, please let us know in the comments.

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