(I used Jim Dunleavy‘s article in my January User Group Newsletter because this is a seldom-used and free OS X goodie that most of us overlook.) … When you were little did your mother ever pin a note on you so the teacher could read what you were supposed to remember? Mom knew you wouldn’t remember!
Well, I’ve come full circle but I feel fortunate to be growing old in the Post-It-Note era.I have those little yeller notes stuck everywhere…even have notes to remind me to check my notes. I was even using ‘To Do’s’ before APPLE introduced them but my wife calls them “Still Not Done” slips. And, until my retention improves it looks like I need to learn another brain assist, called Stickies (since 1994). Stickies is APPLE’S answer to POST-IT-NOTES.
1) If you are reading text in a TextEdit document and want to make a note about a particular paragraph, highlight the paragraph and press +Shift+Y. Instantly, you have a note. If you have a blank Stickies open you can click-n-drag files (pictures, PDF, etc.) into the note area. After you type a Stickies, go to Stickies in the menu bar and click, Quit Stickies or just click Quit from the Stickies icon (in the dock). This will save the content of your note and you will be able to view it whenever you click the Stickies icon. If you want to type a new Stickies, click File > New Note. You can click-n-drag the lower right hand corner of the note to alter its size. If you double-click the title bar (top of note) it will minimize to what is called a ‘Strip’ with a title containing a portion of the first sentence in your original note. The Strip can also be sized. If you prefer a different title, make sure the first sentence you type is suitable for a title. You can click-n-drag the Strip to wherever you want it to appear on the Stickies screen and you will see it there the next time you open the application. Double clicking a Strip will open and enlarge it.
If your Stickies is opaque and you want to make it translucent, press +Option+T. Repeat the key combination to make it opaque again. A translucent note will enable you to see through the note and view other notes or information underneath. Now is a good time to mention that Keyboard Shortcuts mean different things in different applications. In the Stickies application, +Option+T makes a Stickies note translucent. But in word processing application like TextEdit, +Option+T will bring up the Special Characters pop-up window.
Pressing +Option+F (Floating Window) will cause the Stickies to appear in front of all other windows no matter which application you are in. This works great when you use Exposé & Spaces while writing or referring to a single Stickies. Or maybe the Stickies contains instructions for performing something in another application. Example: If you make a Stickies from a paragraph in a TextEdit document that explains how to select a photo in iPhoto and transfer it to a new TextEdit document for later e-mailing. When the Stickies note is moved to the open iPhoto window you will be able to read the note (being translucent) and following the instructions for moving the photo.
2) Another way to save Stickies would be to place them in a folder on the desk top (easily retrievable). First, create a new folder by right-clicking on the desk top or pressing +Shift+N and give it a title (i.e., Stickies Folder).
3) When typing a new Stickies if you don’t like the background color that pops up, click Color and select one of six colors. When you have completed your note, go to the top left corner and click the small circle. This will give you an alert questioning if you want to Save the note. If you decide to save it, give it a title, designate the location to be saved and select the type format (three choices) you want to use. You will soon discover that the background color is just for looks while typing. When saved, whether it be in Plain Text, RTF or RTFD, the background color will be lost. If your text is in color, the color will also be lost if the note is saved in Plain Text. If saved in RTF or RTFD you will be able to see the color of the text. What about saving a Stickies as a PDF? Yes, you can but it still will not be in color; however, you can annotate a PDF which is discuss in a separate section.
4) When creating a new Stickies (before typing anything) if you change your mind, just click the top left corner of the note and it will disappear. Placing the cursor anywhere on the note will reveal the day, date, and time it was created and/or modified. You can arrange (organize) your Stickies by Color, Content, Date and/or Location on Screen. To accomplish this, go to Stickies > Window > Arrange By and select your choice.
The ‘Color’ arrangement choice is somewhat confounding. You would think color arrangement would be similar to the colors itemized when you click ‘Color’ in the menu bar (i.e., Yellow, Blue, Green, etc.). But, NO! Some intellectual thought it would be logical to reverse the order so we get Gray, Purple, Pink, etc.
The ‘Content’ arrangement appears more logical, even for the normal person. Whichever Stickies contains the most stuff gets top billing (most always).
I prefer the ‘Date’ approach. If I arrange by date I know the top Stickies will be there because it was created first. At least I know which one is the oldest.
Arranging by ‘Location on Screen’ leaves the Stickies where you last put them.
5) Lets see how we can use Stickies in Address Book. If you have a ‘Note’ in the lower portion of one of your Address Cards whether or not your in ‘Edit’ mode, you can highlight the note and drag it into a Stickies. To eliminate the highlighting (in the Address Card) go back and click anywhere within the highlighted area. Once you have copied the Note to a Stickies, if you decide you want to delete it, highlight it and press Delete. Want to bring it back? Press +Z immediately.
Typing Special Characters is possible, but for some reason or other the shortcut approach (+Option+T) does not work in Stickies. You can obtain Special Characters but you have to take the long way around (Stickies > Edit > Special Characters). Luckily, typing the symbol still works so I use the symbol in lieu of the ⌘ (one and the same).
I mentioned using Stickies in ‘Address Book’. Well, they can also be useful in ‘Mail’. If you are typing a Stickies note and want to reference a recent e-mail you received just click-n-drag the e-mail into your Stickies note. If the e-mail has a click-able link, it too will transfer. This will also work if you have an e-mail that was previously listed in your Inbox but you’ve copied it to a folder in the On My Mac section of Mail’s sidebar. (Rob Griffiths)
Stickies is also capable of accepting a URL. Just drag the URL icon (left end of URL address) to the Stickies note. The link will remain click-able.
When you are finished typing a Stickies, press +M to collapse (minimize) the note transforming it to a ’Strip’. Repeat +M to open (expand) it.
6) If you use Stickies frequently, think about backing them up in case anything goes wrong. Currently, all your Stickies are stored in one file (Stickies Database) located in User Folder > Library. Just create a copy (or an alias) of this file somewhere else to make a backup.
7) Before finishing our discussion on Stickies it would be remiss not to mention Kern, Ligature and Baseline. These three terms can be found by going to the menu bar: Stickies > Font and looking at the middle of the drop-down window. In all three instances, APPLE elected not to give a definition. Try going to Help and make a search. Better yet, click on Stickies Help. No topics found but good old Webster knows.
‘Kerning’ is adjusting the spacing between letters or characters to a piece of text. You can see how this works by typing a three or four syllable word in a Stickies, highlight it and go to Stickies > Font > Kern > Tighten. You will see that the space in-between the letters is reduced or tightened.
From a writing and printing standpoint, a ‘ligature’ is a stroke that joins adjacent letters.
The term ‘baseline’ (in typography) is the line upon which most letters ’sit’ and below which descenders extend. Now you know why APPLE decided not to discuss this area but Webster does have a great explanation. Look it up! Hint: Descenders go below the line, like j, g, y, p, q.
Although now knowing more about the above three terms, I prefer to seldom use them. The ‘Use Default’ approach is good enough for me.
P.S. Thanks to Worth1000.com for the Elephant, a great site for ideas.
