Backing up your notes

Before you start

These instructions require StickyPad 2.3. To see what version of StickyPad you have, open the StickyPad menu by clicking its icon next to the clock, and then click (?). If you have an older version of StickyPad, click Check for Updates to get the latest version.

Where to find the files

StickyPad saves your notes every few minutes.  If you'd like to back up your notes, make sure that this folder is included in your backup:

Very old computers:  Your My Documents folder
Windows 2000, XP:  C:\Documents and Settings\your name\Local Settings\Application Data\Green Eclipse\Notes
Windows Vista, 7:  C:\Users\your name\AppData\Local\Green Eclipse\Notes

It's safe to back these files up while StickyPad is running.  You shouldn't make changes to this folder while StickyPad is running, though.  If you add notes to this folder while StickyPad is running, StickyPad will not open them until the next time you log in.  If you change notes in this folder while StickyPad is running, StickyPad will overwrite your changes.

Moving to a new computer

When you get a new computer and want to move your sticky notes from the old one to the new one, you can just move the note files.

  1. If you've already installed StickyPad on the new computer, close it down: click on the StickyPad icon next to the clock, and then right-click on the (X).
  2. Find the note files on your old computer at the location specified above.  (If you can't find this location, double-check, and then see the section "Computers with an old version of StickyPad" below.)
  3. You may also have notes that you've closed and filed away—you might want to check for those, too.
  4. Copy those files to your new computer using a USB thumb drive, an email to yourself, a network shared folder, or some other method.  Put them in the location specified above.  Note that if you're upgrading to a newer version of Windows, the notes may need to go in a different folder on your new computer.
  5. Start (or install) StickyPad on the new computer.

StickyPad will see the new note files and automatically open them.

Recovering from a backup

Recovering from a backup of your notes is essentially the same process as moving to a new computer—follow the instructions above, and in step 2, find the note files in your backup, instead of your "old computer."

Computers with an old version of StickyPad

In older versions of StickyPad, open notes were not stored in files; only closed notes were.  To move notes from a computer using an old version of StickyPad, close the notes first by clicking on their (X) button.  They'll be saved as files on your desktop, which you can move to your new computer.

If that's not possible, such as if you only have a backup or a hard drive from the old computer, it may still be possible to recover data from it in an emergency.  See Recovering lost notes.