quicknote_ahk

Frictionless note taking with a global shortcut

QuickNote

QuickNote is a frictionless note-taking tool designed for Windows users who want to capture thoughts instantly without any organizational overhead.

Features

• Zero Friction: Press Alt+Shift+V anywhere, type your note, click away. That's it.
• Instant Access: Window appears right at your cursor position
• Persistent: Your notes are automatically saved and persist between restarts
• Distraction-Free: No folders, no categories, no tags - just pure note-taking
• Global Shortcut: Access from anywhere in Windows
• Memory Safe: Automatically saves your content as you type

Installation

1. Download AutoHotkey if you don't have it installed
2. Download quicknote.ahk from this repository
3. Double-click the script to run it
4. (Optional) Put the script in your startup folder to run it automatically
   • Press Win + R
   • Type shell:startup
   • Copy or create a shortcut to quicknote.ahk in this folder

Usage

1. Press Alt + Shift + V anywhere to open the note window
2. Type your notes
3. Click anywhere outside the window or press Alt + Shift + V again to close it
4. Your notes are automatically saved

That's it! No menus, no configuration, no complexity.

Technical Details

QuickNote uses AutoHotkey to create a simple, persistent notepad that appears at your cursor position. Notes are automatically saved to %AppData%\QuickNote\saved_note.txt.

Here's the core script:

#SingleInstance Force
#Persistent

global saveFile := A_AppData . "\QuickNote\saved_note.txt"
global savedText := ""
global isVisible := false

; Create save directory if it doesn't exist
FileCreateDir, %A_AppData%\QuickNote

; Load saved content on startup
FileRead, savedText, %saveFile%

!+v::
    if (isVisible) {
        Gui, QuickNote:Submit
        savedText := NoteEdit
        Gui, QuickNote:Hide
        isVisible := false
        FileDelete, %saveFile%
        FileAppend, %savedText%, %saveFile%
    } else {
        MouseGetPos, mouseX, mouseY
        Gui, QuickNote:New
        Gui, +AlwaysOnTop +ToolWindow
        Gui, Color, FFFFFF
        Gui, Margin, 5, 5
        Gui, Add, Edit, w400 h300 vNoteEdit, %savedText%
        Gui, Font, s10, Segoe UI
        Gui, Show, x%mouseX% y%mouseY%, QuickNote
        isVisible := true
        SetTimer, CheckFocus, 100
    }
    return

Customization

You can easily customize QuickNote by modifying the script:

• Change the shortcut: Replace !+v:: with your preferred AutoHotkey key combination
• Adjust window size: Modify w400 h300 in the GUI Add line
• Change font: Modify s10, Segoe UI in the Font line
• Change background color: Modify FFFFFF in the Color line

Why QuickNote?

Most note-taking apps focus on organization, tags, and structure. QuickNote takes the opposite approach: it's a simple scratchpad that's always one keystroke away. Perfect for:

• Quick thoughts you don't want to forget
• Temporary clipboard content
• Draft messages
• Code snippets
• Todo items
• Any text you need to jot down quickly

Contributing

Feel free to fork, submit PRs, or create issues if you have ideas for improvements!

License

MIT License - feel free to use and modify as you like!