Fix: Sticky Notes Icon on Taskbar is not Combined

The Sticky Notes icons may not combine on the system’s taskbar as a result of a design change of the Sticky Notes application by Microsoft.

The issue is that, after the recent design change, each note in the Sticky Notes has its window (which fills out the user taskbar with the Sticky Notes entries) and every note must be managed individually, whereas, in the previous version of the application, all notes were combined in a single window and a user can easily show/hide the notes with a single click.

You can try the undermentioned solutions to group the Sticky Notes.

Solution 1: Combine the Taskbar Buttons and Hide Labels

The issue at hand can be solved by combining the taskbar buttons which will stop the Sticky Notes from covering all of your Taskbar space.

1. Right-click on the Taskbar of your system and choose Taskbar Settings.

   

2. Now, expand the dropdown of Combine Taskbar Buttons and select Always, Hide Labels.

   

3. Now check if your Taskbar is clear of the many Windows of the Sticky Notes.

Solution 2: Use the Notes List Feature

The new feature of Notes List in the Sticky Notes gives you the option of combining all the notes in one window and the same can solve the issue at hand.

1. Right-click on the Taskbar icon of any of the Sticky Notes windows and choose Notes List.

   

2. Now close all other notes and manage all the notes through the Notes list (you can double-click a note to open it) to check it satisfies your requirement.

   

3. If so, then pin the Sticky Notes to the Taskbar as it will ease out the Notes List operation.

Solution 3: Show/Hide All Notes Through the Taskbar

Many users tend to place different sticky notes on different places on their desktops and they want to close and open these notes with one click on their required place. The Notes List feature (discussed in solution 2) does not cover that aspect. In this case, using the new Show All Notes or Hide All Notes may solve the problem.

1. Right-click on any of the Sticky Notes windows on the Taskbar of your system and select Hide All Notes (You can also try CTRL + O keyboard shortcut).

   

2. Again, right-click on any of the Sticky Notes windows on the Taskbar of your system and select Show All Notes to check if it fulfills your requirements.

   

3. You can also get the same functionality by right-clicking on any of the Sticky Notes windows while holding the Shift key and then choose to Minimize All Windows or Restore All Windows (as per your requirement). You can also click, hold, and shake a note to minimize all other windows.

   

4. You can also try the keyboard shortcuts of Windows + M (to minimize all the windows, not just Sticky Notes windows), Windows + D (to show the desktop of your system), or Alt + F4 to completely close the application.

Solution 4: Use Sticky Notes on Another Virtual Desktop

The above method may satisfy the requirements of a common PC user but for an advanced user, who has 10 or 20 notes windows open (although combined on the desktop), that is not practical because such users have to use Alt + Tab keys to switch between the applications and navigating between the 10 or 20 notes windows may badly impact the user performance. In this context, using the Sticky Notes on a virtual desktop may solve the issue.

1. Right-click on any of the Sticky Notes window on the Taskbar of your system and choose Close All Windows.

   

2. Then click on the Task View button (if the button is not there, right-click on the Taskbar of your system and select the Show Task View button) on the Taskbar of your system and click the New Desktop (near the top left of the window).

   

3. Then navigate to the newly created desktop by clicking its icon on the top of the screen.

   

4. Now hit the Windows key and type Sticky Notes. Then, select Sticky Notes (in the list of results).

   

5. Then switch to another desktop by pressing Windows + Ctrl + Arrow (left or right) keys and then switch back to the desktop where Sticky Notes are open to check if it fulfills your requirements. Make sure that the option of “Pressing Alt+Tab Shows Windows That Are on” is set to Only the Desktop I’m Using.

   

Solution 5: Install an Older Version of the Sticky Notes Application

If trying the above solutions did not fulfill your requirements, then you may have to revert to the older version of the application. Before moving on, it will be a good idea to create a system restore point, just in case, things do not work.

1. Take ownership of the WindowsApps folder. Usually, located at (you may have to enable viewing of hidden and protecting system files):

   C:\Program Files\WindowsApps

2. Then right-click on the Windows button and in the context menu (called Quick Access menu), select Windows PowerShell (Admin).

   

3. Now execute the following to remove the current Sticky Notes application:

   Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.MicrosoftStickyNotes | Remove-AppxPackage

4. Then execute the following to install the older version of the application (you may have to find the path to your version of the app or you can use any 3rd party hosted version of the application but be very careful as such acquired applications may cause security issues and everlasting damage to your system/data):

   Add-AppxPackage -register "C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.MicrosoftStickyNotes_3.1.54.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\AppxManifest.xml" -DisableDevelopmentMode

   If that command does not work for you, you may have to replace the app version (_3.1.54.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe) with your version.

5. Now execute the following to disable the application updates:

   Get-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online | Where-Object {$_.PackageName -like "*StickyNotes*"} | Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online

6. After installing the older application, hopefully, the Sticky Notes issue is resolved.

If the issue persists, then you can manage different Sticky Notes settings by using applications like TrayIt (which will stop sticky notes from appearing on the Taskbar but will minimize them to the system’s tray) and 7 + Taskbar Tweaker (to edit the Sticky Notes settings bothering you). If these application does not solve the problem or you do not want to try them, then you may have to try any of the alternative applications (like Stickies, Action Note, etc.) of Sticky Notes.