User Guide & How to Use — StickyShell

1. Getting Started

Installing StickyShell takes just one click through the official Microsoft Store. There are no registration forms, no logins, and no activation codes required.

Your First Note in Seconds

Open StickyShell from your Windows Start Menu or taskbar.
A warm Canary Yellow notepad floats immediately on your desktop.
Click anywhere on the note to begin typing thoughts, tasks, or phone numbers.
Press Win + Alt + N at any time to create another note instantly.

2. Pinning & StickySnap™ Snapping

The biggest superpower of StickyShell is staying visible whenever you need it most.

The Pin Control: In the top-left of every note header, click the pin button. When highlighted, the note remains floating above all other open windows, full-screen browsers, and video calls.
StickySnap™ Magnetic Edges: Drag any note near the edge of your screen or next to another sticky note. It smoothly snaps into place for clean, tile-like organization without tedious manual alignment.
Global Show/Hide (Win + Alt + S): When you need a clear desktop for a screen share or presentation, press Win + Alt + S. All notes hide cleanly. Press it again, and they all return to their exact positions!

3. Formatting & Checklists

StickyShell makes writing beautiful without complicated menus. Just right-click inside any note to open the quick formatting palette:

Checklists

Press Ctrl + Shift + C or right-click to insert to-do checkboxes. Click any box to check it off with an elegant strikethrough.

Lists & Outlines

Press Ctrl + Shift + L for bullets or Ctrl + Shift + N for numbered lists. Press Tab to indent, Backspace to exit.

Headings & Styling

Press Ctrl + 1 or Ctrl + 2 for section headings, Ctrl + B for bold, and Ctrl + Space to reset back to normal text.

4. Interactive Tables

Need to compare numbers, track schedules, or build a mini-matrix right on your desktop?

Press Ctrl + Shift + T or right-click anywhere to insert a clean grid.
Hover your mouse near any row or column boundary to see the one-click + button to add new rows or columns.
Right-click inside any cell or press Ctrl + Alt + Backspace to easily remove a row.

5. Photos & Word Documents

StickyShell supports effortless drag-and-drop:

Images: Drag any screenshot or picture file (.png, .jpg) directly onto a note. It displays responsively with rounded borders.
Word Documents (.docx): Drag a Word file into your note. StickyShell extracts headings, lists, tables, and images cleanly without strange formatting boxes.
Pasting into Word (Keep Source Formatting): When copying notes into Microsoft Word, press Ctrl + V, then press Ctrl and K (Keep Source Formatting) to preserve all heading colors, checklists, and tables on Word pages!
Single-Stroke Undo: If you drop something by accident, simply press Ctrl + Z to immediately undo.

6. Colors & Transparency

Every note can have its own personality:

Click the 3-dot menu on the right of any note header.
Theme Swatches: Select from Canary Yellow, Deep Obsidian Black, Crimson Red, Forest Green, or Pure Paper White.
Opacity Slider: Drag the slider from 20% to 100% to make the note semi-transparent so you can read websites or documents beneath it while keeping your notes visible!

7. Windows System Tray & Restoring Deleted Notes

StickyShell runs quietly in the Windows notification area (near the clock) and protects your work with an automatic safety net:

Accidentally closed a note? Click the small StickyShell notepad icon near your Windows clock and select "Active Notes" to bring it back immediately.
Accidentally deleted a note? Choose "Undo Last Delete" from the tray flyout. The note is resurrected with its exact formatting and checkboxes intact!
Full Privacy: Closing the note or exiting StickyShell never loses your data. Everything is persisted locally to your computer.

8. Keyboard Shortcuts Cheat Sheet

Hold down the Alt key at any time while editing a note to show the on-screen Shortcuts HUD! Here are the essential shortcuts:

Shortcut	Action	When to Use
Win + Alt + S	Show / Hide All Notes	Instantly tuck notes away or bring them back to screen.
Win + Alt + N	New Sticky Note	Jot down a quick thought from any desktop window.
Hold Alt	Shortcuts HUD Overlay	View floating on-screen keyboard guide inside the note.
Ctrl + B / I / U	Bold / Italic / Underline	Format important text, headlines, and terms.
Ctrl + Shift + C	Checkbox Task	Insert an interactive to-do item with checkmark.
Ctrl + Shift + L	Bullet List	Create a clean bullet point list.
Ctrl + Shift + T	Insert Table	Insert a responsive 3x2 grid table.
Ctrl + Shift + E	Monospace / Code Badge	Format IDs, codes, or formulas with clean monospace style.
Ctrl + 1 / 2 / 3	Headings 1, 2, 3	Format clean visual hierarchy for long notes.
Ctrl + Space	Reset Formatting	Clear custom styles and return to regular paragraph text.
Ctrl + Z / Ctrl + Y	Undo / Redo	Revert or redo any typing, insertion, or formatting edit.

9. Safe Local Storage on Your PC

Unlike web apps that store your private thoughts on remote cloud servers, StickyShell keeps everything 100% on your own computer.

Your notes are saved in your personal Windows user directory:


                  %APPDATA%\com.stickyshell\stickyshell_data.json

You can back this file up, copy it to another PC, or delete it whenever you want. Complete ownership and complete privacy.

How to Use StickyShell