Sticky with an internet link Click to see a larger image

Stickies is an underused application in my opinion, especially since Mac screens have gotten larger and larger. I have sticky notes all over my work desk so why not all over my computer screen?

Just like regular sticky notes, Stickies (on the Mac) are great for saving tidbits of information that you want or need in the near term. Of course you can type text on them, but you can also save internet links (URLs) to Stickies and they are clickable. In other words, if you save a URL to a Sticky, you can click on the link later and it will open in Safari.

Moving URLs to a Sticky note is a simple process.

1. Open Stickies. It is located in your Applications folder (or use Spotlight to open it.
2. Create a new Sticky. (Command-N)
3. If your screen is large enough, move the new Sticky to the side of the Safari window you are looking at.
4. Choose the link you want to add to the Sticky. It can be an individual link on a web page or even the entire page URL from the address bar.
5. Drag the link from the Safari page over to the Sticky note.

You will be able to tell that the text on the Sticky is a URL rather than plain text because it will be in underlined blue text.

You can add multiple URLs to a Sticky but to aid readability, hit Return once or twice after each copied URL.

What if you have a MacBook Air or a 13" MacBook Pro and the screen isn't big enough to put your Sticky off to the side? Here's the trick:

1. Open Stickies and create a new one as above. Your new Sticky note will sit on top of the web page you are looking at in Safari.
2. Make sure the Sticky is positioned away from the link you are going to copy to it.
3. Click on the web page in Safari. Your Sticky will disappear.
4. Start your drag of the link and then do a quick Command-Tab. Your Sticky will reappear. Continue the drag until you are over your Sticky and let go.

This technique make take a couple of tries to get it down, but once you have it, it is easy.

Why not just save the link as a Bookmark? You certainly can, but I tend to think of Bookmarks for permanent things. Using Stickies give you a quick place to store a link you just need for a little while.

Related Items: Safari | Stickies