Type Desktop notes | ||
Included with Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, Windows Vista, Windows 7 (Home Premium and higher editions), Windows 8 and Windows 10 | ||
Sticky Notes is an application included in Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10. It was present in Windows Vista as a gadget for the Windows Sidebar, and originated in Windows XP Tablet Edition in 2002. The program allows users to take notes using Post-it note–like windows on their desktop. According to a Microsoft employee, there were eight million monthly Sticky Notes users as of April 2016.
Development
The original Sticky Notes gadget was one of many included with Vista. Although gadgets were continued in Windows 7, Sticky Notes was removed from the list and was made a standalone app, built on the Win32 platform, that could still open at startup. This version does 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, a new version built on the Universal Windows Platform was introduced. It can be launched as a standalone app or part of the Windows Ink 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. The new Sticky Notes provides stock information when a ticker is typed or written, and it provides flight info when a flight number 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.