# Desktop notes

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Post-it note-like computer application

Screenshot of Knotes, a desktop note application for [KDE](/source/KDE)

**Desktop notes** are [computer applications](/source/Computer_applications) that allow putting [Post-it note](/source/Post-it_note)-like windows on the screen, with reminders, short notes and other clippings. They are typically rectangular and yellow, like their physical counterpart, but most applications support other colours and more elaborate designs.

The earliest-known desktop note application is "Note pad" made for the [GEOS](/source/GEOS_(8-bit_operating_system)) system for the [Commodore 64](/source/Commodore_64) in 1985. For the [Macintosh](/source/Apple_Macintosh), the [Stickies](/source/Stickies_(Apple)) application was developed by Jens Alfke and included in [System 7.5](/source/System_7.5), released in 1994.[1] A number of applications have duplicated the functionality of Stickies on other platforms.

[macOS](/source/MacOS) has its own built-in desktop note functionality with the [Stickies](/source/Stickies_(Apple)) application and, from [Mac OS X Tiger](/source/Mac_OS_X_Tiger) through [macOS Mojave](/source/MacOS_Mojave), with [Dashboard](/source/Dashboard_(macOS)), an application that has notes and other [desktop widgets](/source/Desktop_widgets).

On [Microsoft Windows](/source/Microsoft_Windows), desktop note applications have been included by default since [Windows Vista](/source/Windows_Vista), which has the Notes "gadget".[2] It is used as part of [Windows Sidebar](/source/Windows_Sidebar). As Microsoft states in its description, "Notes" can be used to "Capture ideas, notes and remainders in a quick and easy way." On [Windows 7](/source/Windows_7), the successor to Vista, this functionality is replaced by a stand-alone application called [Sticky Notes](/source/Sticky_Notes), in which the notes can be freely repositioned on the screen.

On [Linux](/source/Linux), desktop notes have existed for a long period of time. The [GNOME](/source/GNOME) desktop environment had a built in "sticky notes" feature available, whereas [KDE](/source/KDE) (K Desktop Environment) has a desktop notes application called Knote.

## See also

- [Sticky Notes](/source/Sticky_Notes)

- [Desk Accessory](/source/Desk_Accessory)

- [Desktop widget](/source/Desktop_widget)

- [Web annotation](/source/Web_annotation)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Jens Alfke (April 13, 1997). ["They Made Me An Offer I Couldn't Refuse"](https://snej.github.com/1997/04/13/They-Made-Me-An-Offer-I-Couldn%E2%80%99t-Refuse/). *Thought Palace*. Retrieved February 21, 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [""Windows Vista Sidebar""](https://web.archive.org/web/20080303152904/http://vista.gallery.microsoft.com/vista/SideBar.aspx?mkt=en-us). Archived from [the original](http://vista.gallery.microsoft.com/vista/SideBar.aspx?mkt=en-us) on 2008-03-03. Retrieved 2008-03-22.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Desktop notes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desktop_notes) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desktop_notes?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.