Documentation reviewed October 5, 2026. Menu labels can vary with your macOS version.
Stickies is the small note app included with macOS. It is useful for short information you want beside another window: a reference number, a call outline or a temporary checklist. For a long document or notes that need organised folders, Apple Notes is usually easier to manage.
Create and format a sticky note
Open Stickies from Applications or search for it with Spotlight. Choose File → New Note, or press Command–N, and type your text. Stickies saves notes automatically. Use the Font and Color menus to make a small number of notes easier to distinguish.
Keep the note focused on one task. For example, a delivery call note could contain an order number, the question you need to ask and the confirmed delivery date. Keeping several unrelated projects in one sticky makes later searching harder.
Keep a note above other windows
Select the note and choose Window → Float on Top. The Translucent option makes the note less opaque. Use these deliberately: a floating note can cover buttons or text in the app underneath.
To collapse a note, double-click its title bar; double-click again to expand it. Collapsing a note is different from storing it as a Dock window. Stickies notes appear while the app is open, so they are not a replacement for a notification that needs to arrive at a particular time.
Find something in your notes
Use Edit → Find → Find. Apple’s search options let you look in the current note or across notes. A consistent label such as a project name or order number is more useful than relying on colour alone.
If notes become a large archive, move the information into a system with folders and clearer organisation. See our Apple Notes guide for a project-based approach.
Export before reorganising
For an individual note, use File → Export Text. To move your collection into Notes, use File → Export All to Notes and follow the prompts. Apple notes that the original Stickies remain after this export.
Check the exported result before deleting or rewriting anything. Exporting to a file on the same Mac is useful for transferring text, but it is not an independent backup of that Mac.
Choose the right app for the job
- Stickies: short reference text visible while you work.
- Notes: information you want to keep and organise.
- Reminders: actions with dates, times or completion tracking.
If you keep writing “call tomorrow” on a sticky and forgetting it, create a dated task in Reminders. A visible note helps only when you are looking at the screen.
