Feb 20, 2019 - Windows 10's Sticky Notes app is a powerful note-taking solution, but it doesn't let you restore deleted notes—or does it? Although this feature.
Sticky Notes is an application that has been around for many years, but it became a modern app with Windows 10, and it's a software approach to the physical paper sticky notes you usually post around your monitor.
The only caveat to using Sticky Notes is that your notes don't sync to the cloud (although the app integrates with Cortana), and there's no way to save them outside your device. As a result, when you reinstall Windows 10, or if your machine breaks, your notes are gone for good.
However, using the right set of instructions, you can make a copy of the database, which you can then restore on any device to get your notes back.
In this Windows 10 guide, we show you the steps to create a backup of your notes and the process to restore them.
How to create a backup of your Sticky Notes
To backup your Sticky Notes on Windows 10, do the following:
- Open the Run command using the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut.
- Type the following path and click the OK button:
%LocalAppData%PackagesMicrosoft.MicrosoftStickyNotes_8wekyb3d8bbweLocalState
- Right-click the plum.sqlite file, and select Copy.
- Using File Explorer (Windows key + E), open a folder location that you want to use to export the backup.
- For example, you can use a USB flash drive, or you can save the file in your OneDrive folder, which makes it easier to move your Sticky Notes to other devices or to restore them after reinstalling Windows 10.
- Right-click in the folder location, and select Paste (Ctrl + V).
Once you complete these steps, you can restore your notes on the same computer, or you can move them to another device.
How to restore a backup of your Sticky Notes
To restore your Sticky Notes to the same or different Windows 10 machine, do the following:
- Open File Explorer (Windows key + E).
- Navigate to the folder location with the backup file.
- Right-click the plum.sqlite file, and select Copy (Ctrl + C).
- Open the Run command using the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut.
- Type the following path and click the OK button:
%LocalAppData%PackagesMicrosoft.MicrosoftStickyNotes_8wekyb3d8bbweLocalState
- Right-click the folder, and select Paste (Ctrl + V).Important: You can replace an existing plum.sqlite, but if you do you'll delete any previous notes already stored on the device.
After completing these steps, open Sticky Notes, and all your notes should now appear on your desktop exactly in the same location where you left them.
More Windows 10 resources
For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10, visit the following resources:
RECOMMENDED: Click here to fix Windows errors and improve PC performance
Windows operating system has had a built-in Sticky Notes program ever since the time of Windows XP Tablet Edition. The Sticky Notes is helpful to quickly write down notes and can be used as a to do list app as well.
Although Sticky Notes has been part of Windows OS for a long time, many users often delete Sticky Notes while attempting to close Sticky Notes as there is no close button on the program/app. However, you can easily close and minimize Sticky Notes using Alt + F4 and clicking on the Sticky Notes icon on the taskbar.
Sticky Notes in Windows 10
Prior to Anniversary Update for Windows 10, recovering deleted Sticky Notes was easy in Windows 10 as it was a desktop program back then. With Anniversary Update for Windows 10, Microsoft retired the classic Sticky Notes desktop application and introduced a modern Sticky Notes app.
The classic Sticky Notes program would store all notes under %AppData%MicrosoftSticky Notes folder. But the new Sticky Notes app in Windows 10 Anniversary Update (version 1607) and later builds doesn’t save notes in that location as it’s a modern app. So, the old method of backing up and restoring Sticky Notes doesn’t work if you are on 1607 or later versions of Windows 10.
While there is no software out there to help you backup and restore Sticky Notes in Windows 10, the manual method is quite easy and straight-forward.
Users on 1607 and later versions of Windows 10 can follow the given below directions to backup and restore Sticky Notes in Windows 10.
IMPORTANT: This method is applicable to only Windows 10 Anniversary Update and later versions. Please make sure that you’re running version 1607 or later version of Windows 10 by typing Winver.exe in Start or taskbar search box and then pressing Enter key. For earlier versions, please go through our how to recover deleted Sticky Notes guide.
Backup Sticky Notes in Windows 10
1: Close the Sticky Notes app, if it’s running.
2: Open up File Explorer. Click the View tab, and then check Hidden items option to see all hidden files and folders.
3: Navigate to the following location:
C:UsersUserNameAppDataLocal PackagesMicrosoft.MicrosoftStickyNotes_8wekyb3d8bbwe
In the above path, “C” is the drive letter where Windows 10 is installed, and UserName is your account name.
4: To backup Sticky Notes, copy all files and folders under Microsoft.MicrosoftStickyNotes_8wekyb3d8bbwe folder and save them in a folder where you want to. We recommend you create a folder called Sticky Notes Backup under Documents folder so that you can easily find your Sticky Notes backup.
Restore Sticky Notes in Windows 10
1: Terminate Sticky Notes, if running.
2: Launch File Explorer, click View, and then make sure that Hidden items option is checked.
3: Navigate to Sticky Notes folder by using the following path:
C:UsersUserNameAppDataLocal PackagesMicrosoft.MicrosoftStickyNotes_8wekyb3d8bbwe
Where “C” is the drive letter of the drive where Windows 10 is installed, and UserName is your Windows 10 account name.
4: Open up Microsoft.MicrosoftStickyNotes_8wekyb3d8bbwe folder.
5: Navigate to the folder where you have saved all backed up files and folders of Sticky Notes. Copy all files and folders from the backup location and paste it in Microsoft.MicrosoftStickyNotes_8wekyb3d8bbwe folder.
When you see the following prompt, click Replace the files in the destination option.
6: You may launch Sticky Notes app now. Good luck!
If you have any issues with Sticky Notes, you can reset or reinstall the Sticky Notes app in Windows 10.