Download the postit notes gadget for Windows 7 desktop
Unlike Windows Vista, Windows 7 no longer comes with the post-it notes desktop gadget for some reason. In this tutorial, we'll look at two of the best replacement gadgets we found, and briefly explain their settings: one of them is the same as the regular note gadget, but expands to a larger postit when you drag it outside the Windows 7 Sidebar gadget, or away from the edge and towards the center of the screen. The other postit note gadget is less sophisticated, but offers an advantage: it is a longer (higher) postit, which lets you type nearly twice the number of to-do's on your note (and spares you from having two or three note gadgets stacked above one another!) There are quite a few alternatives, but we picked the pair that we thought would be most suitable replacements for basic to-do lists.
Warning: many users have learned the hard way that Windows Vista and Windows 7 gadgets do not save their data. This means that if you close the postit note gadget, all your notes are gone, even if you re-install or drag it back to the desktop or Sidebar. Don't close the postit note!!
Tip: before you go on, know that Windows 7 comes with an arguably better alternative (which will save your todo notes even if you accidentally close the postit!) This is a tiny application called "Sticky Notes", which we'll discuss in a later tutorial. For now, just try it out by typing "notes" in the start menu's search field, and click on the first result. When it is running, right-click on its button in the taskbar, and choose "Pin this program to taskbar", and your postits will remain a single click away at all times; how to unpin and pin programs to the Windows 7 taskbar.
Get the "Longer Notes" desktop gadget
Let's first look at a basic replacement, the longer notes postit gadget for Windows 7: it is pictured in the screenshot below, and you can tell that it will accommodate quite a few more notes. Not only that, you can also resize it to make it even wider and higher, for yet even more to-do's! (just click on the expanding arrow button to toggle large and small size, as shown below).
The small size is ideal when docked into the Sidebar, and the large size works best when you want your notes to float around the Windows 7 desktop. Click on the "gear" icon, and you will be able to change font family for your notes, and increase or decrease the text size on the postit. (The download links for both note gadgets are listed at the end of the next section.)
Consider the "Large Notes" postit gadget
Another free replacement to the notes gadget that shipped with Vista is called "Large Notes", and lets you use the postit note in a regular size, or in an "extra large square" format - this desktop gadget is free, and available for both Vista and Windows 7 users. It is quite similar to both the Windows Vista notes gadget, and the large postit reviewed above, even in appearance:
As you can tell from the screenshot, Large Notes, like Longer Notes, support "pagination" - or the ability to have multiple postit notes through which you can flip using navigational arrows at the bottom. These buttons, in both cases, appear when you hover above the note with your mouse.
Here are the links to get these free postit alternatives on your desktop: never download programs from the internet unless you have an up-to-date antivirus software protecting your PC.
• Download free Longer Notes desktop gadget from here! (Windows Vista or Windows 7)
• Download (also free) Large Notes postit gadget from here! (Windows 7 / Windows Vista)