Key Points
- Microsoft has launched a new sticky Notes application, which is available from the OneNote app on Microsoft 365 Insider Current Channel on Windows Build 2402 or above.
- The new app includes a screenshot ability that also saves the URL, the ability to dock on the desktop and appear on top of other apps, and synchronizes with OneNote.
Microsoft has silently launched a new Sticky Notes application for Windows 11. While the application has been around since Windows XP and came as an inboxed app in the Windows operating system, its design has not been updated in the last 4 years. Finally, Microsoft has completely revamped, where its user interface (UI) has been significantly changed, and new functionality has been added.
Microsoft has been incorporating a lot of AI-powred features into Windows lately. Surprisingly, the new updates to the Sticky Notes app are not AI-focused. Instead, they are only included to enhance the user experience, making the use of the application more convenient.
That said, the new Sticky Notes application is currently only available to Microsoft 365 Insiders in the Current Channel (Preview) through the OneNote application. However, Microsoft has plans to roll out the update to all Windows 11 users gradually.
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Try out the new Windows 11 Sticky Notes app
If you want to test out the new Sticky Notes application from Microsoft, you must be subscribed to the Microsoft 365 Insiders Program using your Microsoft account. Since the new app is only available on the Current Channel (preview), make sure that you are on the same channel.
Once subscribed, install any pending OS updates and upgrade the OS version to 2402 (Build 17328.20000) or later.
You can check your OS version by running the “WinVer” code in the Run Command box.
Once done, you should then have the new Sticky Notes inside the OneNote app. Open the OneNote application and click on “Sticky Notes” in the top-right corner of the title bar to launch it.
Alternatively, you can also open the Sticky Notes app directly using the Windows Key + Alt + S keyboard shortcuts.
What’s new in the Sticky Notes app for Windows 11
As mentioned earlier, the new Sticky Notes application is available from the OneNote application. Once launched, you can then dock Sticky Notes to your desktop. It will then be available on the side of the desktop, not disrupting the rest of your work. However, when docked, the Sticky Notes app will remain on top of the rest of the applications.
One caveat of the new Sticky Notes app is that if the computer is restarted, the notes are lost, and you’ll need to restart the Sticky Notes app again and dock it again as well. In contrast, the older Sticky Notes app didn’t allow docking, but upon rebooting, the notes were kept and appeared on the desktop immediately.
Hopefully, this issue will be addressed in a future update.
Moreover, with the new Sticky Notes, you cannot only write notes but also capture screenshots. The nicest aspect is that it also saves the image’s source URL. For example, if you capture a screenshot of a web browser, it will also store the URL of the web page. Later on, you may click the link to get all the information.
A bonus for the Sticky Notes app is that it automatically synchronizes with the OneNote app. Therefore, you can use the same notes and screenshots across multiple devices where you are signed in with the same Microsoft account.
Ending thoughts
The Sticky Notes application had not been upgraded in quite some time. Microsoft finally saw the missing elements in it and decided to improve it as well. This revamp was well overdue, because the Sticky Notes app had remained the same since the launch of the original Windows 11 OS. Thus, it needed to match the theme of the OS as well.
You can try out the new Sticky Notes application from the Microsoft 365 Insiders Program on Windows Build 2402 or above.
