Why don't my sticky notes follow my windows?
You write a note about a spreadsheet. You move the spreadsheet. The note stays behind — stranded next to whatever you were doing an hour ago. This happens with every major notes app. Here's why, and the one product that actually solves it.
Why this happens
Every major notes app — Microsoft Sticky Notes, Apple Notes, Notezilla, Zhorn Stickies, UpNote, Notion, Obsidian — treats your note as a free-floating window. The note has a position on your screen, and that's it. It doesn't know which other window you care about, and it has no reason to move when that window moves.
This isn't a bug. It's a design choice that goes back to the original 1990s sticky-note metaphor: a physical Post-it doesn't follow your monitor around, so why should the digital one? Most apps ended the conversation there.
But a digital note can do better. The operating system already knows where every window is, when it moves, and when it hides. The capability is there — almost nobody uses it for notes.
Why the built-in options don't work
Microsoft Sticky Notes has "Dock to Desktop." It pins the note relative to your screen, not the application. Move the app you're working in and the note stays where you docked it.
macOS Notes has "Keep on Top." Same story — the note floats above other windows but doesn't follow any specific one.
UpNote has a per-note "Keep Window on Top." Better than nothing, but it follows your screen, not a specific app.
None of these are broken. They just don't do the thing you actually want.
What "following" actually means
There are three different behaviors people mean by "my notes should follow my window":
- Pin on top of everything. The note stays visible regardless of which app is in front. (Microsoft Dock to Desktop, UpNote Keep on Top.)
- Show and hide with a window. The note appears when a specific window opens and hides when it closes — but doesn't track it while it moves. (Zhorn Stickies, Notezilla.)
- Follow in real time. The note moves with the window as you drag, resize, switch monitors, and toggle visibility. The note and the window read as one unit. (Anchored.)
Only option 3 actually solves the problem most people mean. Options 1 and 2 are workarounds.
How Anchored does it
Anchored is built around option 3. When you anchor a note to a window, it:
- Identifies that specific window — not just a spot on your screen.
- Tracks the window's position, size, and state in real time, and keeps the note matched to it.
- Hides the note when the window is minimized or closed.
- Brings the note back and re-anchors it when the window returns.
- Follows the window across monitors when you drag it to another screen.
- Remembers the relationship across restarts — close the app, reopen the window next week, the note is there.
You can attach up to six notes to a single window, docked to any edge. And every note carries Atlas, a private AI that reads the actual content of the window your note is on. If the note is on a quarterly report, Atlas reads the quarterly report — summarize it, draft a reply, pull a number, no copy-paste. It runs on your machine by default.
The honest answer to "how do I make my notes follow"
- Live with the workarounds. Dock to Desktop, or pin a notes app on top with a utility, and reposition manually every time you switch apps. Free, but you'll keep being annoyed.
- Use Zhorn Stickies or Notezilla. Notes show and hide with a target window, but don't follow it live. Free (Zhorn) or $20 one-time plus a sync subscription (Notezilla).
- Use Anchored. Notes that follow a specific window in real time, with an optional AI that reads the window. Free during early access. Windows 10/11, no account.
For a full breakdown of every sticky-notes app that handles windows, see the comparison table.