Mac OS X: How to back up contents of Stickies notes

Resolution

I. For Mac OS X 10.2 or later

The text and other characteristics of notes in the Stickies application are stored in a file named "StickiesDatabase" in the Library folder inside a user's Home directory. To back up your Stickies, quit the Stickies application to be sure all current notes are saved. Then copy the StickiesDatabase to another location.

To restore your backed-up Stickies, first be sure the Stickies application is not open. Then copy the backed-up file to the same location. Be sure it is names "StickiesDatabase".

Note: you can also export individual notes as described below for earlier Mac OS X versions.


II. For Mac OS X 10.0 to 10.1.5

The text and other characteristics of notes in the Stickies application are stored in a file named ".StickiesDatabase". It is in the Library folder inside a user's Home directory. This file is not visible in the Mac OS X Finder under normal circumstances. However, you may save a Stickies note as a file that is visible in the Finder.

To save a note

1. Open Stickies.
2. Choose Export Text from the File menu.
3. To preserve the font and style of the note's text, choose RTF or RTFD from the Format pop-up menu in the Export dialog.
4. Click Save.

Important:

You must export the contents of each note individually.

To restore a note from a saved copy

1. Open Stickies.
2. Choose Import Text from the File menu.
3. In the Open dialog, select a file that was previously exported.
4. Click Open.