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Keep sticky notes visible over fullscreen apps on Mac

You go fullscreen to focus, and your notes vanish. That’s how macOS treats fullscreen apps, and there are two ways round it.

Why notes disappear in fullscreen

When an app goes fullscreen, macOS gives it its own Space. Ordinary floating windows, including Apple’s Stickies with Float on Top, stay on the desktop Space and don’t follow you in. Users have long asked for Stickies to float over fullscreen apps, and it still doesn’t.

Workaround 1: don’t use fullscreen

Instead of the green fullscreen button, resize the app window to fill the screen, or create a new desktop and maximise the window there. Your Stickies stay visible. The cost is a menu bar and Dock that don’t hide, and no fullscreen gestures.

Workaround 2: use notes made for it

Hoverpad notes are built to stay on top of fullscreen apps and every Space. They sit above Keynote while you present, above Xcode while you code, above Final Cut while you edit, above a browser in fullscreen, and above a video call. You don’t change how you work.

Tips for notes over fullscreen apps

• Dock to the edge. Tuck a note against the side of the screen as a slim tab and hover to slide it out.
• Let it fade. Notes turn see-through when your pointer moves away, so they don’t cover your work.
• Collapse it. Fold a note to a thin bar that shows only its title.
• Tie it to one app. Link a note to Keynote or Zoom and it only appears while that app is in front.
• Hide everything quickly. ⌃⌥H shows or hides all notes from any app.

Presenting over a call? Read how to keep notes off your screen share.

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