How to Put Sticky Notes on the Desktop in Windows 11

To put a sticky note on the Windows 11 desktop, select Start, type Sticky Notes, and open the app. Select the plus icon (+) or press Ctrl+N to start a new note, type what you want to remember, then drag the note by its top edge to the spot where you want it. Sticky Notes remembers where you put each note and opens them there next time.

Applies to: Microsoft Sticky Notes on Windows 11. Checked against Microsoft Support on October 7, 2026.

What you need before you start

• The Sticky Notes app. If it does not show up when you search from Start, Microsoft says to open the Microsoft Store app and install Microsoft Sticky Notes.
• A Microsoft account, only if you want syncing. You can write notes without signing in. Signing in lets the same notes appear on other devices and on the web.
• Patience with new features. Microsoft releases Sticky Notes updates gradually, so a feature you read about may not be on your PC yet.

One thing to know up front: a sticky note is a small app window that sits on your desktop. It is not part of the wallpaper, and it is not a desktop icon. That matters for how notes behave when other windows are open, which is covered below.

Put a sticky note on the desktop

1. Open Sticky Notes. Select Start and type Sticky Notes, then open the app from the results. The app opens with your notes where you left them. The first time, you see the list of notes or a single empty note.
2. Start a new note. From the list of notes or from an existing note, select the plus icon (+) in the upper left, or press Ctrl+N. A new blank note appears on the desktop.
3. Add your content. Type with the keyboard. On a touch-enabled device you can also write with your finger or a pen, and you can add a picture. There is no Save button; the note is saved automatically.
4. Move the note into place. Grab the top of the note and drag it to where you want it on the desktop. Sticky Notes remembers the position.
5. Resize it if needed. Grab an edge of the note and drag to change its width and height.
6. Repeat for more notes. Each press of Ctrl+N or the + icon adds another note that you can place separately.

Keep Sticky Notes one click away on the taskbar

Pinning the app to the taskbar gives you the fastest way back to your notes and a quick way to start a new one.

1. Open Sticky Notes so that its icon appears on the taskbar.
2. Right-click the Sticky Notes icon on the taskbar, and then select Pin to taskbar. The icon now stays on the taskbar after you close the app.
3. To start a note at any time, right-click (or tap and hold) the pinned icon and select New note.

A desktop shortcut is not the documented route for this app. Microsoft’s instructions for adding shortcuts to the desktop state that you can’t create shortcuts for Microsoft Store apps that way, and Sticky Notes is installed from the Store. The taskbar pin does the same job.

See your notes when other windows are in the way

Microsoft’s documentation is direct about this limit: you cannot currently make Sticky Notes stay on top of other applications. A note on the desktop is hidden whenever another window covers it. Two documented habits make that easy to live with:

• Press Windows logo key + D to display the desktop, and press it again to bring your windows back.
• Select the pinned Sticky Notes icon on the taskbar to see your list of notes instantly.

Microsoft announced a newer Sticky Notes experience from OneNote in 2024 that it describes as able to dock notes to the desktop and pin notes on top. It has been rolling out gradually, and this article covers the Sticky Notes app described in Microsoft Support’s current Sticky Notes pages. If your app looks different from the steps here, you may already have the newer experience.

Open, close, and find notes

The notes list is the main window that shows every note you have, including the ones that are not open on the desktop.

• Open a note: in the list of notes, double-click (or tap) the note. It appears on the desktop.
• Close a note: select the close icon (X) on the note, or press Ctrl+W. Closing takes the note off the desktop but keeps it in the notes list.
• Get back to the list: if only a single note is showing, select the ellipsis icon (…) in the upper right of the note and then select Notes list. From the keyboard, Ctrl+H moves to the notes list.
• Search: type in the search box at the top of the notes list, or press Ctrl+F. The list is filtered to notes that contain your search term. Select the X in the search box to clear it.
• Move between open notes: press Ctrl+Tab to go forward and Ctrl+Shift+Tab to go back.

Notes in the list are shown from newest to oldest. Microsoft says this order can’t be changed, so use search or colors to find older notes quickly.

Change how a note looks

Note color

From any note, select the ellipsis icon (…) in the upper right corner, and then select a color. Giving each kind of note its own color, such as one for work and one for errands, makes a crowded desktop easier to scan.

Light or dark mode

From the notes list, select Settings, and then under Color choose light, dark, or the option that matches your current Windows mode. This changes the background and text colors of the notes and the list.

Text formatting

Select the text you want to change, then use the formatting buttons at the bottom of the note, or these shortcuts from Microsoft’s Sticky Notes shortcut list:

To do this	Press
Bold	Ctrl+B
Italic	Ctrl+I
Underline	Ctrl+U
Strikethrough	Ctrl+T
Bulleted list	Ctrl+Shift+L
New note	Ctrl+N
Close the current note	Ctrl+W
Delete the current note	Ctrl+D

Strikethrough is handy for a to-do note: cross items off as you finish them instead of deleting the line.

Pictures

Open a note, select the camera icon, choose a picture, and select Open. To take a picture out again, right-click it and select Delete image.

See the same notes on other devices

Signing in backs your notes up to your Microsoft account and makes them available elsewhere.

1. Open Sticky Notes and go to the notes list.
2. Select the settings icon in the upper right of the notes list.
3. Select Sign in and enter your Microsoft account details.
4. Select Continue. Your notes begin syncing.

After that, Microsoft lists these places where the notes appear: Sticky Notes on other Windows PCs signed in with the same account, the Sticky Notes area of the OneNote app on iPhone, iPad, and Android, and the web at onenote.com/stickynotes. See Microsoft’s page on seeing your sticky notes on other devices and the web for the steps on each device. For an offline copy, see our guide on how to back up and restore Sticky Notes.

Remove a note from the desktop, or delete it for good

These are two different actions, and only one can be reversed.

• Take it off the desktop: select the X on the note. The note is closed, not deleted. Open it again from the notes list whenever you want.
• Delete it: on the open note, select the ellipsis icon (…) and then Delete note. In the notes list you can also right-click a note and select Delete note.

Warning: Microsoft states that note deletion is permanent and cannot be undone. To protect yourself from a slip, open Settings from the notes list and turn on Confirm before deleting. If a note seems to have vanished, our guide on recovering deleted Sticky Notes in Windows 11 walks through where to look.

Have Sticky Notes ready after you sign in to Windows

Sticky Notes reopens your notes in their saved positions once the app is running, but Microsoft’s troubleshooting page acknowledges that the app does not always launch by itself at startup and says to open it from Start when that happens. Windows 11 has two documented ways to start an app automatically:

• Select Start > Settings > Apps > Startup. If Sticky Notes appears in the list, turn its switch On.
• If it is not listed, right-click Start, select Run, type shell:appsfolder, and press Enter. Then right-click Start, select Run again, type shell:startup, and press Enter. Drag Sticky Notes from the first window into the second. To undo this later, delete the shortcut from the startup folder.

Microsoft’s startup apps instructions for Windows describe both methods in full.

Troubleshooting

Sticky Notes does not appear in Start search

The app may have been uninstalled. Open the Microsoft Store app and install Microsoft Sticky Notes. Microsoft notes that if you were signed in to Sticky Notes before it was uninstalled, your notes reappear after you sign in again.

Only one note is showing and the rest are gone

This usually means the app was closed while a single note was open, so the notes list is not on screen. Select the ellipsis icon (…) on the note and then Notes list, and double-click the notes you want back on the desktop. Microsoft also says open notes sometimes close unexpectedly; reopening them from the list fixes that.

A note keeps hiding behind other windows

That is expected. Sticky Notes cannot currently stay on top of other applications. Use Windows logo key + D or the pinned taskbar icon to see your notes.

A note fills the whole screen

Double-click the top bar of the note, or drag the top bar downward. Once it is back to a normal window, drag the borders to the size you want.

The text is too small

Microsoft says you cannot currently change the font or the size of note text inside Sticky Notes. You can make text larger across Windows instead: select Start > Settings > Accessibility > Text size and move the Text size slider. This affects other apps too.

Notes are not syncing

Open the notes list, select the settings icon, and select Sync now. Check under About in Settings that the app is up to date; Microsoft’s troubleshooting page says syncing needs a version above 3.7.106, and the latest version comes from the Microsoft Store. Also confirm you are signed in with the same Microsoft account on every device.

Sign-in fails with a work or school account

Microsoft says work and school accounts need an Exchange Online mailbox to store and sync notes, and that an organization can turn syncing off. If you see “Sorry, there’s an issue signing you in right now,” check for Windows updates, restart the PC, and then contact your IT administrator. A personal Microsoft account is the alternative Microsoft suggests.

For anything not covered here, Microsoft’s Troubleshoot Sticky Notes page lists further fixes.

Frequently asked questions

Does Windows 11 come with Sticky Notes?

Search for Sticky Notes from Start to check. If it is not on your PC, you can install Microsoft Sticky Notes from the Microsoft Store.

Can I make a sticky note always stay on top?

Not in the Sticky Notes app covered here. Microsoft’s support pages say notes cannot currently stay on top of other applications and recommend pinning the app to the taskbar instead.

Do I have to save my notes?

No. Notes are saved automatically, and closing a note with the X keeps it in the notes list.

Will my notes still be on the desktop after I restart?

Your notes and their positions are kept. Once Sticky Notes is open, the notes appear where you left them. If the app does not start by itself, open it from Start or the taskbar, or add it to your startup apps as described above.

Can I change the order of notes in the list?

No. Microsoft says notes are shown newest to oldest and the order cannot be changed.

Can a sticky note remind me at a set time?

Sticky Notes has an optional feature called insights that recognizes things like dates, times, phone numbers, and addresses in a note; you turn it on in Settings with Enable insights. For an alert that pops up at a chosen time, follow our guide on how to set reminders on Windows 11.

What should I use for longer text?

Sticky Notes is built for short reminders. For longer writing, a text editor is easier; see how to open Notepad in Windows 11.

Next step: once your first note is in place, pin Sticky Notes to the taskbar and sign in so your notes are backed up. Microsoft’s Get started with Sticky Notes page is the reference for everything above.