StickyBoard Help Documentation

A complete guide to the kanban board, from the first board to the backup file.

Last Updated: October 7, 2026

1. Getting Started

1.1 What you need

• A modern browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari or Opera) with JavaScript enabled, on a computer, tablet or phone
• Site data allowed for zerodataupload.com, so your boards are kept between visits
• A mouse or trackpad for dragging; on a touch screen notes are moved from their edit window

1.2 The layout

The tool is one page. The toolbar shows a status pill with the open board's name and counts on the left and, on the right, the board list, New board and the rename and delete buttons for the open board. The row under it holds the search box, Add column, Export board, Export all and Import. Below that sits the board: its columns side by side, scrolling sideways when there are more than fit, with a dashed Add column at the end. The Archived Notes card appears under the board once it has an archived note. On a phone the columns scroll one at a time.

2. Boards

• Create: New board (or the button in the empty state, or the key B), a name of up to 60 characters, Create board. The board opens with To Do, In Progress and Done.
• Switch: pick a board in the list. The last open board is remembered and opens next time. Switching clears the search.
• Rename: the pencil beside the list.
• Delete: the bin beside the list; the window says how many columns, notes and archived notes go with it, and asks you to confirm. Export first if in doubt.

3. Columns

• Add: Add column in the toolbar, the dashed button at the right end of the board, or the key C; a name of up to 40 characters. The new column goes to the end and the board scrolls to it.
• Rename: the pencil in the column header.
• Delete: the bin in the column header; the window says how many notes go with it and asks you to confirm. Archive notes you may want back first.
• Reorder: drag the column header left or right; a bar on the neighbouring column shows which side it will land on.
• Count: the chip in each header is the number of notes in that column; the status pill totals them.

4. Sticky Notes

• Add: "+ Add note" at the foot of a column, or the key N for the first column. The window takes a title (up to 120 characters, required), a description (up to 2,000, line breaks kept, with a counter), an optional due date and a colour. Enter in the title field saves.
• Edit: the pencil on the note opens the same window, plus a Column list to move the note (section 5).
• Duplicate: the clipboard button makes a copy right under the note with "(copy)" added to the title.
• Archive: the drawer button moves the note to the archive under the board (section 8).
• Delete: the bin asks for confirmation and removes the note for good.

The card shows the title, up to six lines of the description, the due date with its mark, and the word count. On a mouse the buttons fade until you point at the note; on a touch screen they are always shown.

5. Moving and Reordering

• With the mouse: press on the note's body and drag. A dashed slot in the column under the pointer shows where the note will land; release to drop it there, in the same column or another.
• On a touch screen or with the keyboard: open the note with Edit and pick the destination in the Column list; Save changes moves it to the end of that column.
• Columns: drag the header (section 3).

6. Colours and Due Dates

• Eight colours: yellow, pink, blue, green, purple, orange, red and cyan, picked from the round swatches in the note window. They mean whatever you decide; a common scheme is yellow for ordinary tasks, red for urgent, green for approved, purple for ideas, cyan for meetings. Both themes keep the colours readable.
• Due dates: a note with a date shows it in a pill. The pill turns amber ("Due soon") when the date is today or within the next two days and red ("Overdue") once it has passed. Dates are judged in your own time zone.

7. Search

Type in the search box (or press /) and every note on the open board whose title or description does not contain the text is hidden, across all columns; a line under the board says when nothing matches. Clear the box, or switch boards, to see every note again. Archived notes are not searched.

8. The Archive

Archived notes keep their title, description, colour and date, plus the column they came from. The Archived Notes card under the board shows the count; Show opens the list, newest first. Restore puts a note back at the end of the first column; the bin deletes it for good after a confirmation. Archiving is the safe alternative to deleting.

9. Export and Import

• Export board (or the key E) writes the open board, its columns, notes and archive, to one file named after the board.
• Export all writes every board to one file. This is the backup to keep.
• Import reads either kind of file, or a file from the earlier version of StickyBoard, checks every value, gives the boards new internal ids and adds them to this browser without touching the boards already there. A board whose name already exists gets "(imported)" added. The first imported board opens.

10. Keyboard Shortcuts

• N: new note in the first column
• B: new board
• C: new column
• /: jump to the search box
• E: export the open board
• Enter: in a window's name or title field, save
• Esc: close a window

The letter shortcuts work only when no field has the focus and no window is open. The theme follows the site: the moon button at the top right of every page switches it.

11. What Is Remembered

One entry in the browser's storage under the tool's own name holds every board with its columns, notes (title, description, colour, due date, when it was made) and archived notes (with the column they came from and when), and which board was open last. It is written after every change and every value is checked when it is read. If the earlier version of StickyBoard left its boards in this browser under its old names, they are read once on the first visit, checked, carried over and the old copies removed.

12. Troubleshooting

• Dragging does nothing: dragging needs a mouse or trackpad; on a touch screen use Edit and the Column list. Press on the note's body, not on a button.
• A column will not take the note: drop it inside the column, where the dashed slot appears, not on the header.
• Notes do not save: site data is blocked or full, or this is a private window. Allow site data, free some space, and export your boards meanwhile.
• The boards vanished: site data was cleared, or this is another browser or profile. Only an exported file brings them back.
• A file will not import: it must be a StickyBoard export (this version's or the earlier one's). A file with no board in it is refused.
• Notes seem missing: check the search box is empty and the right board is open.