How to Switch to the Single Classic Pad
Use the Menu Bar
Click the Peel & Stick icon in the menu bar and choose “Show the Classic Pad”.
Or Press ⌥⌘B
While Peel & Stick is the active app, choose View ▸ “Show the Classic Pad”, or press ⌥⌘B. If you turned off “Show in the Dock”, use the Peel & Stick icon in the menu bar instead.
Or Use the Board Itself
Click the “…” button at the right end of the Board’s top strip and choose “Show the Classic Pad”. The button just to its left does the same in one click.
Or Turn the Board Off in Settings
Click the Peel & Stick icon in the menu bar, choose “Settings…” (⌘,) and turn off “Keep three pads on a board”.
Write on the Single Pad
The Classic pad comes forward with its tools across the top. Pinned notes stay where they are, and every note you haven’t pinned rests on this pad.
Go Back to Three Pads
Click the first button on the Classic pad’s tool rail (its tooltip reads “Show the Board (⌥⌘B)”), or choose “Show the Board” from the Peel & Stick icon in the menu bar or from the View menu.
A Simple Notes App for Mac That Works Like a Paper Pad
For simple sticky notes on a Mac, Peel & Stick keeps pads of paper on your screen. Write on the top sheet, peel it off from its bottom edge and let go of it on your desktop, where it stays. There’s no sign-in screen and no notebook to name.
The first line of a note becomes its title, in bold at the top; a note that starts with a list or a checklist has no title. In the body you get bold, italic, lists, checklists, spell-check and undo, all in the Mac’s rounded system font, with no font or size picker.
A pinned note stays on your desktop, on every Space. You can tick its checkboxes and drag it, but not type on it; double-click it to send it back to the pad. A blank sheet you peel off is thrown away. Without Peel & Stick Pro, up to 3 notes can be pinned at once: see what you can do without Pro.
A Notes App With No Account, No Ads and No Server
The app’s privacy policy puts it plainly: “Peel & Stick has no account, no server, no analytics, no advertising and no tracking.” It is built only on Apple’s frameworks, with no third-party code.
Your notes are stored on your Mac. Peel & Stick has no server and doesn’t send your notes anywhere, so it is an offline notes app for Mac: every note feature works without an internet connection. Only buying or restoring Peel & Stick Pro needs the App Store.
There is no Save step either:
- Your words are saved 400 ms after you stop typing.
- Pins, ticks and locks are saved right away.
- “Quit Peel & Stick” (⌘Q) writes any pending edit before the app closes.
- Pinned notes reopen where you left them.
Minimal and Distraction-Free: The Classic Pad
By default, Peel & Stick shows the “Board”: the “Tall pad”, the “Vellum pad” and the “Cloud pad” on one frosted tray. The Cloud pad is a pad of clouds you write on, not cloud storage, and without Peel & Stick Pro it shows as a preview. For less on your desk, switch to the “Classic pad”: the single yellow pad on its own. Your notes stay where they are.
The Classic pad’s tool rail runs across the top and keeps seven essentials in view, such as “Bold”, “Draw” and “Choose Ink”; the rest fold into “Lists & More Tools”. On the Board, the tools fold into a small pill until your pointer reaches them.
On the Classic pad, each new sheet uses the paper you last chose; on the Board, each pad moves on to its next color. The papers page shows the Classic pad and its paper beside the Board’s three pads.
There are two more ways to keep things simple. Press ⌥⌘N (“Quick Stick”) in any app and a fresh sheet comes forward on the pad, as the sticky note keyboard shortcut for Mac guide explains. Or turn off “Show in the Dock” in Settings, and Peel & Stick lives only in the menu bar as a menu bar notes app for Mac. Your notes stay pinned either way.
No Folders, No Tags: Where Your Notes Live
A note is in one of two places: pinned on your desktop, or resting on a pad. There are no folders, tags or notebooks to sort notes into, and no trash. “Unstick and Throw Away” throws a pinned note away for good, with no confirmation step; its hint says “This cannot be undone.”
To find an older note, choose “Open Vault” in the menu bar or in the Board’s “…” menu. The Vault is a window that shows the notes on your desk, pinned or on a pad; press ⌘F to search them. Capitals and accents don’t matter; locked notes and drawings aren’t searched.
Want your notes as files too? Pick one folder and every unlocked note is also kept there as a readable file, while locked notes stay in Peel & Stick’s own storage: see how to back up sticky notes on Mac.
Questions
Do I need an account to use Peel & Stick?
No. There is no sign-up and no sign-in, because Peel & Stick has no account and no server.
Does Peel & Stick work without an internet connection?
Yes. Every note feature works offline: writing, peeling, pinning, locking and searching all happen on your Mac. Buying or restoring Peel & Stick Pro needs the App Store.
Is there a simpler single-pad mode?
Yes, the Classic pad: one yellow pad instead of the Board’s three. Choose “Show the Classic Pad” from the Peel & Stick icon in the menu bar, or press ⌥⌘B while Peel & Stick is the active app. Your notes stay where they are, and “Show the Board” brings the three pads back.
Do I have to save my notes?
No. Peel & Stick saves a note on its own 400 ms after you stop typing, and saves pins, ticks and locks at once.
Are there folders or tags?
No. Each note is either pinned on your desktop or resting on a pad. “Open Vault” in the menu bar lets you search their typed words; locked notes and drawings are left out.
Does Peel & Stick show ads?
No. There are no ads, no analytics and no tracking, and Peel & Stick contains no third-party code.
