How to attach a sticky note to a document or program on Windows

The right way to attach a sticky note to a document on Windows depends on who should see the note. If everyone who opens the document should see it, put it inside the file: a comment in Word, a note on a cell in Excel, or a comment in your PDF reader. If the note is only for you and should appear whenever that document or program is open, use a sticky notes app that follows windows.

TackNote for Windows is a sticky notes app whose notes attach to a window, document, browser tab or folder and show only when that is in front. It is one of the options below, and for some of the jobs in this post it is not the right one, so we say which fits whom.

The question that decides it: should the note travel with the file? A note inside the document goes wherever the document goes, including to the person you email it to. A note in a sticky notes app stays on your computer and never touches the file. Answer three quick questions to see which fits you, or read on for every option.

All five ways, side by side

Option 1: put the note inside the file

If a colleague, client or teacher needs to read the note, it belongs in the document itself. Every major document format has its own version of a sticky note, and it travels with the file.

A comment in Word

Select the text the note is about, or click where it should go. On the Review tab, choose New Comment, type your note, and post it with the Post comment button or Ctrl + Enter. Microsoft notes that people on older versions of Word can see your comments too.

A note on a cell in Excel

Excel now has two kinds of annotation. A comment is a threaded conversation with replies. A note is the classic one-way sticky note on a cell. Right-click the cell and choose New Note (or press Shift + F2), type, and click outside the cell. Microsoft's own advice: if you do not need a discussion about the data, use a note.

A comment on a PDF

PDF readers have a sticky note tool of their own. In Adobe Acrobat, choose Add a comment, click the spot on the page the note is about, type in the pop-up note, and select Post. Other PDF readers have a similar comment tool, though the menu names differ.

The trade-off with all three: the note is part of the file. Anyone you share it with sees it, and it is one more thing to delete before you send the final version. That is perfect for feedback, and awkward for a private reminder like "ask Dana about the March figures before sending."

Option 2: a private note that shows up when the document opens

Most people searching for this want something else: a note on the screen, next to the document, that only they see. A reminder of what is left to do in a report, the password hint for a client's portal, the order number that goes with an invoice. For that, the note has to live outside the file, in an app that knows which window is in front.

Microsoft Sticky Notes in OneNote

Microsoft now has a newer Sticky Notes built into OneNote for Windows, which opens with Win + Alt + S. It records where a note came from: if you took a note or a screenshot from a website, you can return to the original source by clicking the link it captured. Microsoft also says that when you revisit the same document or website, it brings up the relevant notes for you. If you sign in to a Microsoft 365 account, your notes sync across your devices.

That makes it a good fit if you already live in OneNote and want your notes on your phone as well. The notes appear in the Sticky Notes window, not on the document itself.

Notezilla

Notezilla, a sticky notes app for Windows, can stick a note to any document, website, program or window. You right-click the note's title and choose Stick To Window, or press Ctrl + W and pick an open window. Its help pages say it uses the window's title to show or hide each note, and you can add a wildcard to the title so one note covers several windows of the same kind. If you like that kind of fine control over title matching, it is worth a look.

TackNote for Windows

TackNote sits in the system tray and puts the note on the window itself. Click into the document or program and press Ctrl + Alt + N. A note appears on that window, ready to type in. Switch away and it steps aside. Switch back and it returns where you left it. There is nothing to save: notes are written to disk, encrypted, as you type.

What it can attach a note to, from our Windows guide:

• A document. In apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Notepad and Acrobat, TackNote asks whether the note belongs to this document only or to every window of the app. A note on Q4 budget.xlsx shows only there, and Client brief.docx keeps its own.
• A program. Any app window can have a note. In the note's menu, Tack to Whole App shows it on every window of that app instead.
• A folder. Stick a note to a File Explorer window and it belongs to that folder.
• A web page or a conversation. In Chrome, Edge, Firefox and other popular browsers a note follows the page's web address. In Slack and Teams it stays with one channel or chat.

Two things make it easier to live with day to day. When a note steps aside, its window keeps a small "1 note" tag on its top edge, so you can see where notes are waiting. And when the document is closed, Jump to Note on TackBoard (Ctrl + Alt + B) reopens the page, document or folder when it can. If you delete a file that had a note, the note is not lost: it waits under Needs a Home until you stick it somewhere new.

Where an app note falls short

Being honest about the trade-offs, which apply to TackNote and any other app that keeps notes outside the file:

• The note does not travel with the file. Email the document and the note stays with you. If the recipient needs it, use a comment inside the file instead.
• It lives on your computers, not your phone. TackNote can sync your notes between your own Macs and PCs through a folder you already sync, such as OneDrive or Dropbox, but TackNote for Windows does not put them on a phone. Microsoft's Sticky Notes is the better pick if that matters.
• It is not free. TackNote is $24.99 once after a 7-day free trial, and one license covers up to 3 computers, Mac or PC. If a free note is enough, our guide to free sticky notes apps for Windows covers the options.

Which one should you use?

• Someone else needs to read it: a comment inside the file (Word comment, Excel note, PDF comment).
• You want it on your phone too: Microsoft Sticky Notes in OneNote.
• Only you, right on the document or program, every time it is in front: TackNote for Windows.

If you are still choosing a sticky notes app in general, our comparison of the best sticky notes apps for Windows covers five of them, and how to keep a note on top of a window explains the difference between always on top and a note tied to one window. Switching from Microsoft's app? See when a Microsoft Sticky Notes alternative makes sense.

Questions

Can you attach a sticky note to a file in Windows?

Yes, in two ways. For a note everyone sees, use the document's own tools: comments in Word, notes in Excel, or a comment in a PDF reader such as Adobe Acrobat. For a private note that shows up when you open the file, use a sticky notes app that follows windows, such as TackNote for Windows or Notezilla.

Does a sticky note travel with the document when you email it?

Only if the note is inside the file. Word comments, Excel notes and PDF comments are saved in the document, so the person you send it to sees them. Notes from a sticky notes app, including TackNote, stay in that app on your computer.

Can Microsoft Sticky Notes attach to a document?

The newer Sticky Notes in OneNote for Windows records where a note came from. Microsoft says that when you revisit the same document or website, it brings up the relevant notes. It opens with Win + Alt + S.

How do you attach a sticky note to a program on Windows?

In TackNote for Windows, click into the program and press Ctrl + Alt + N. The note shows whenever that window is in front. In Word, Excel and similar apps you can choose this document only or every window of the app.