Write on a Sticky Note by Hand

How to Write on a Sticky Note by Hand on Your Mac

1. Pick Up The “Pen”

   On the “Board”, the tray of three pads, click the “Pen” to the right of the pads. On the “Classic pad”, the single-pad layout, click “Draw” in the tools to pick up the Pen, or the last tool you chose there.

2. Write on the Top Sheet

   Drag across the top sheet with your mouse or trackpad. Quick strokes come out thinner, slow ones wider.

3. Change Color With “Choose Ink”

   Open the tools (on the “Board”, point at the pill with three dots), click the color bead, “Choose Ink”, and pick an ink or mix your own.

4. Erase a Mark With The “Eraser”

   Pick up the “Eraser” and drag it over a mark. It takes off ink only; your typed words stay as they are.

5. Click “Put the Pen Down” to Type

   With a pen in hand, the sheet takes ink, not typing. Click “Put the Pen Down” in the tools, or the pen you’re holding, to type again.

6. Peel It Off and Pin It

   Peel the sheet off the pad as usual; the drawing goes with it. A sheet with only a drawing is pinned, not thrown away like a blank one. Without Pro, you can keep 3 notes pinned at once.

Handwritten Sticky Notes on Your Mac

In Peel & Stick, the top sheet of a pad takes ink as well as typing, so handwritten sticky notes on your Mac work like a pen on paper: circle a word, underline a deadline or sketch an arrow.

On the “Board”, the pens and the eraser lie in this order: “Pen”, “Fountain Pen”, “Marker”, “Highlighter”, “Eraser”. On the “Classic pad”, the pens are under ☰ “Lists & More Tools”, next to “Draw” on the tools rail.

A pinned note takes no ink: double-click it to send it back to its pad, then draw. Its checkboxes still tick while pinned; see to-do list sticky note on your Mac desktop.

Sticky Notes With a Pen: What Each One Does

Without Pro, the “Marker”, “Highlighter” and “Fountain Pen” show a small padlock, on the tray or in the ☰ menu; click one to open the “Peel & Stick Pro” screen. See what you can do without Pro.

• “Pen”, every plan: a fine line that thins as you speed up.
• “Eraser”, every plan: takes ink off, leaves typed words alone.
• “Marker”, with Pro: a broader line that changes less with speed.
• “Highlighter”, with Pro: a wide stroke, the same width at any speed, that blends into the paper.
• “Fountain Pen”, with Pro: a line that changes with speed more than the Pen’s, with a little extra ink where each stroke begins.

Draw on Sticky Notes With a Mouse or Trackpad

Peel & Stick reads how fast you move your mouse or trackpad, not how hard you press.

Ink keeps its place next to your words: a mark drawn over a line of text moves down with that line when you type above it. A mark in the margin stays put.

A highlighter on sticky notes should leave your words readable. The “Highlighter” blends into the paper instead of covering it, so a date or formula you typed still shows through. See also sticky notes for studying.

Nine Inks for Your Pen and Your Words

“Choose Ink” opens a picker with the nine inks: “Graphite”, “Vermilion”, “Tangerine”, “Amber”, “Meadow”, “Teal”, “Cobalt”, “Violet” and “Magenta”, plus color controls and a hex field to mix your own. One choice loads the pen in your hand and colors the words you have selected, or those you type next.

A readout shows the color’s contrast with the paper; below 3:1 it adds “Hard to read on this paper” but never stops you. On dark papers, each ink turns paler under the same name. The inks are free on every plan; see the nine inks on every paper.

Before You Write by Hand on Your Mac

Peel & Stick is a sticky-notes app with pens, not a handwriting notes app that turns writing into text. Know the limits:

• Search in the “Vault” window (“Open Vault” in the menu bar menu) finds typed text only, so an ink-only note won’t turn up in a search.
• Type a word or two on the first line: a plain first line becomes the note’s bold title, which search finds.
• Deleting a line of text keeps the ink drawn over it; the mark sits where you first drew it, and only the “Eraser” takes it off.

Questions