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I want to synchronize the Windows 7 Sticky Notes file, notwithstanding Martha's excellent points in: How do I move Sticky Notes content to another computer.

On different machines %appdata% will point to different physical locations, so I want to move the location to a common one that I use to synchronize other stuff.

I had a quick look in the registry but couldn't see any pointers there.

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PaoloFCantoni
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2 Answers2

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You can use the power of NTFS Symbolic Links!

These are filesystem-level shortcuts, in effect.

Use the mklink tool in a cmd window to try it.

mklink /H "%AppData%\Microsoft\Sticky Notes\StickyNotes.snt" "C:\ommon\location\StickeyNotes.snt"

Notes: dont use hardlink to make symlink to another drive (remove /H) its still worked

gNerb
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Phoshi
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  • Hi Phoshi, Just to make sure I understand what you're saying... I move the file to the common location then, by using the symbolic link, I make the OS think that the file is located in %AppData%. So long as I DON'T synch the %AppData% folders between the two machines, I'll be OK, the file will move between the machines and each OS will think the file is STILL in its %AppData%. Have I got it right? – PaoloFCantoni Mar 07 '10 at 01:26
  • No, SymLinks are one way - move the file to the syncable place, symlink it to where it should be, and everything should work just fine :) – Phoshi Mar 07 '10 at 10:16
  • Thanks Phoshi, I understand the links are one way, but I thought if I synced "where it should be", then the OS would retrieve the file from where it was actually located and pass it along to the other machine. In other words, create an instance out of a reference. This would invalidate what I'm trying to do. So long as I DON'T since "where it should be", I should be OK. Have I misunderstood something? – PaoloFCantoni Mar 08 '10 at 02:53
  • @Paolo; No, I think you've got it. Don't take my word for it, right now, though - I'm only here because I'm ill! :P – Phoshi Mar 08 '10 at 14:36
  • @Phoshi Thanks! All Good! Working fine now... (Just have to make sure that sticky notes s not active as it blocks the transfer.) Many thanks! Paolo – PaoloFCantoni Mar 08 '10 at 18:47
  • What you create is not really a symbolic link. /H modifier creates a Hardlink. –  Jun 14 '11 at 06:41
  • I didn't get this to work, cmd says either filename, dir name or volume label syntax is incorrect. I'm pretty shure it's correct. What is incorrect? C:\>mklink /H "[%Appdata%\Roaming\Microsoft\Sticky Notes\stickyNotes.snt]" "[c:\Users\eivind\My Dropboks\Notes\StickyNotes.snt]" –  Apr 08 '10 at 01:35
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    Remove the (square) brackets: `C:\>mklink /H "%Appdata%\Roaming\Microsoft\Sticky Notes\stickyNotes.snt" "c:\Users\eivind\My Dropboks\Notes\StickyNotes.snt"` That should work. – PaoloFCantoni Apr 09 '10 at 00:42
  • for Windows 7 remove `...\Roaming...` from the first path. ie use: `mklink /H "%Appdata%\Microsoft\Sticky Notes\stickyNotes.snt" "c:\Users\XYZ\Notes\StickyNotes.snt"` Move the Original file to the new location beforehand. – Ujjwal Singh Nov 22 '10 at 17:12
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I learned that using the Steam Mover application, the process of changing the location of Sticky Notes is much simpler and less error prone. If you do not like using the Command Prompt, then this application is so much better.

Also, you can read this guide showing how to use this app to move the location of Sticky Notes and also sync them with other users or computers. How to Sync Sticky Notes Across Users and Computers in 7 Steps.

Corporate Geek
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