Your guide to using, customizing sticky notes on your computer: Video

There’s a reason sticky notes are a staple in offices, dorm rooms, books and so many other places. They’re incredibly convenient when you need to quickly jot something down and stick it somewhere you’ll notice it.

Let me introduce you to their modern-day cousin: digital sticky notes. The same notes you know, love and use often are also available in a highly customizable digital format. Like physical sticky notes, they can come in different colors and stay where you put them—but without the need for a pen or the waste.

Best of all, they’re built in on Mac and Windows computers.Watch this video to see how to create a digital sticky note on your Mac or PC. 

How to get a sticky note on Mac

Sticky notes on a Mac live in the Stickies app. To create a new note, select File > New Note from the toolbar or press Command + N on your keyboard.

The text you enter in a note is saved automatically and will remain until you delete it. Closing the Stickies app will not erase your text or notes, and everything will reappear where you left it the next time you open the app.

Here are some quick and easy tips for using Stickies:

• Change the color: To change the color of your note, select Color on the toolbar and make your pick.
• Change the size: Drag the edge or corner of the note to make it bigger or smaller. Double-click the top bar of the note to collapse it into a single line. In this view, it displays the first line of text.
• Format the text: Many of the standard keyboard shortcuts for formatting your font apply in the sticky note, for instance: Command + B to bold, Command + I to italicize and Command + U for underline. Command + + (plus) or Command + - (minus) makes the font larger or smaller, respectively. Command + T opens a window with fonts, sizes and characteristics. You can also make adjustments by selecting Font in the toolbar.
• Keep it on top: Instead of constantly searching for the note, you can have it appear on top of any other window or app you are using by going to Window in the toolbar and clicking Float on Top.
• Make it translucent: You can make the note translucent by going to Window > Translucent. This is especially useful when it’s floating on top and you need to see the screen behind it. 
• Add an image or PDF: Add a picture of PDF to your note by dragging and dropping it into any open note. 
• Delete it: To delete a note, click the small square in the top left corner of the box, then confirm your decision by selecting Delete Note.  

Here’s a bonus tip: instead of creating a new note and pasting text into it, highlight the text and press Command + Shift + Y on your keyboard. This creates a brand new note with the highlighted text inside. 

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Sticky note app for Windows

On Windows computers, digital notepads live in the Sticky Notes app. If they’re not already installed, you may need to download the app from the Microsoft Store. The notes can be filled with information entered using a keyboard, your finger or a stylus. They’re sorted from newest to oldest, with the most recent at the top of the list, and will reopen in the same spot they were in when you closed them.Here are some easy tips for Sticky Notes: 

• Change the color: To change the color of a note, click the three dots in the upper right-hand corner and select a color. You can also choose between light and dark color modes.
• Change the size: Drag the edge or corner of the note to make it larger or smaller.
• Format the text: You can’t change the font or text size, but you can format text to make it bold, italic, underlined or bulleted using the formatting buttons.
• Find it easily: Pin a note to the taskbar by right-clicking the Sticky Notes icon and selecting Pin to taskbar.
• Interact with the note: Phone numbers, dates, times, and addresses are interactive, making it easier to add events to your Outlook calendar or open locations in a map. This feature may need to be turned on first. To do so, click the gear icon and set Enable insights to on.
• Add an image: Import an image into your note by clicking the camera icon and selecting the image you want.
• Delete it: To get rid of the note, click the three dots and select Delete note.