Sticky Notes is a desktop notes 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

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.[6] It has Cortana integration and can create reminders from notes that include a date.[7] 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.

Examples of how the Sticky Notes app appears:


How to Backup Sticky Notes in Windows 10

This option is only available from Windows 10 build 1607 and above.

1. Log in to the user account that you want to backup the Sticky Notes for. You don’t need to sync it with your account.

2. Close any sticky notes that you might currently have open. You may need to open the Task Manager to finish closing all instances of the sticky notes.

3. View Task Manager in its More details view and click on the Processes tab to end any Sticky Notes tasks. (click to enlarge screenshot below)

4. Click on the Details tab, select the Microsoft.Notes.exe if you see it there and then click on End task. (click to enlarge screenshot below)

5. Open File Explorer by pressing the Windows logo + E keys on your keyboard and then using the File Explorer address bar, copy and paste the following location:

%LocalAppData%\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftStickyNotes_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState

6. From the LocalSlate folder, copy the plum.sqlite file to the location that you would like to backup the Sticky Notes to. (click to enlarge screenshot below)

You can now close the File Explorer window and continue using your computer if you like.

How to Restore Sticky Notes in Windows 10

Note: If you do restore the sticky notes, it will replace any of the current sticky notes that you might have in use.

1. Log into the user account that you are planning on restoring the sticky notes for.

2. Close any Sticky Notes related tasks from the Task Manager. You may need to check the processes and details tabs. (refer to the screenshots shown in the backup Sticky Notes section above.)

3. View Task Manager in its More details view and click on the Processes tab to end any Sticky Notes tasks. (click to enlarge screenshot below)

4. Click on the Details tab, select the Microsoft.Notes.exe if you see it there and then click on End task. (click to enlarge screenshot below)

5. Open File Explorer by pressing the Windows logo + E keys on your keyboard.

6. Using File Explorer’s address bar, copy and paste the following location:

%LocalAppData%\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftStickyNotes_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState

7. Copy the plum.sqlite file that you backed up in the method above and then paste it into this location (LocalSlate folder). (click to enlarge screenshot below)

8. You may get a message from Windows letting you know that this folder already contains the plum.sqlite file and if you would like to replace it. If so, click on the Yes button.

You can now close the File Explorer window and continue using your computer if you like.

That’s all.