Updates

Version 1.16.3

Improved Claude setup, faster Active Notes and greater reliability

• Anthropic (Claude): Fixed model discovery so Test & Load models correctly retrieves available Claude models. Provider connection errors are also clearer.
• Active Notes: Large notes with complex formatting now open much faster in Read mode, without changing their content or formatting.
• API keys: Improved the reliability of saving provider credentials, helping protect existing keys if a save is interrupted.
• Includes additional stability, compatibility and maintenance improvements.

Version 1.16.2

Connect to OpenRouter in your browser, with a simpler first-time setup

• Quick Setup now starts with Connect with OpenRouter. Sign in and approve the connection in your browser instead of copying an API key, and SideNote Pro stores the key OpenRouter creates, protected on your PC, and sets up GPT-6 Luna.
• OpenRouter needs its own account, and paid AI models need credits there. Using an OpenAI API key instead, and full manual provider setup, are still available.
• OpenRouter is also a provider you can add by hand. Test & Load models now checks its key, and the composer's model picker always shows the model your profile is set to. Quick Setup from Settings adds a profile without changing your existing ones, unless you choose to make it your default.
• AI provider settings have quieter hints in empty fields and an optional profile name.

How to connect with OpenRouter

Version 1.16.1

Formatted answers as they arrive, guided setup and easier-to-read notes

Version 1.16.1 was completed but not published separately. These improvements first reached Microsoft Store users in version 1.16.2.

• Answers display headings, lists, tables and code formatting while they are being written, including in Selection actions. The view keeps your scroll position and your selection as the response grows.
• Continue extends the same answer, and Copy and Copy as Markdown include everything received so far.
• Manual first-run setup guides you through the API key, the connection test and Save, while local providers keep their key-free setup.
• Active Notes have a formatted Read view and an Edit switch, including in floating notes. The text you wrote is unchanged.
• New OpenAI profiles start on GPT-6 Luna with reasoning set to None. Profiles you already have keep their model and settings.

Version 1.16

Active Notes, answers you can return to your apps, and more ways to work with documents

• Active Notes: write, search and float notes of your own on your PC, and attach the ones you choose when you want AI help.
• Selection actions: press Ctrl+Shift+Q on text in any app for one searchable menu of every action, a compact answer, and Replace selection or Insert after in supported editors. Ctrl+Shift+X attaches a region of the screen from any app.
• Documents: attach Excel, PowerPoint and saved email files, and send chosen pages of a scanned PDF as images to a model that accepts them.
• Takeaways at every window size and searchable across conversations, Copy with formatting, a system prompt for each conversation, and Quick Setup from Settings.
• Move your settings to another PC, export all conversations, and improvements to saving, document handling, licensing recovery and compact layouts.

How Active Notes work

Version 1.15.1

Update notifications and clearer Takeaways

• Added a discreet update notice with links to the Microsoft Store and release notes.
• Improved Takeaways formatting for clearer, more consistent reading.
• Includes performance and reliability refinements.

Version 1.15

Takeaways are here

• Keep conclusions, decisions, next steps and references beside a conversation, with private notes. Save a Takeaway without an extra AI request, or turn on Automatic Takeaways for suggestions from your provider.
• More reliable conversation switching and draft handling, visible folder indexing progress, and large-folder searches that no longer block the window.
• Clearer provider timeout and empty-reply messages. Saving Settings no longer undoes changes made elsewhere in SideNote Pro.
• Improved licence refresh and usage tracking, plus stability fixes.

How Takeaways work

Version 1.14

Inline commands, and a wide layout for longer conversations

• Added inline commands: in a text field in another Windows app, type a command such as /fix, /en, /short or /formal followed by your text, press Tab, and SideNote Pro replaces it in place with the AI's result. Inline commands are off until you switch them on in Settings.
• Create your own inline commands with a trigger and an instruction, and add an optional writing context, such as your audience, tone or preferred spelling, that applies to every command.
• Nothing is sent until you press Tab. Results are typed in place without using the clipboard, inline commands never become conversations, and password fields and SideNote Pro's own windows are ignored.
• Added a wide layout: widen or maximize the window and your conversation history stays open in a sidebar, while the conversation and composer keep a comfortable reading width.
• Added Maximize and Restore Down to the title bar. The right-edge drawer keeps its existing hide and retract behaviour.
• Refined message actions, provider details, the composer and the empty state.
• Switching conversations while a request is being prepared now keeps messages, drafts and attachments in the conversation they belong to.

How inline commands work

Version 1.13

More room for conversations, easier retries, and clearer errors

• Auto context now uses a 128K default. If your provider reports a smaller limit for the selected model, that limit is used instead.
• The separate Fallback context window setting has been removed. Choose Custom in a provider profile when you want a different context size.
• Failed requests can now be retried directly with Retry, even after switching conversations or restarting SideNote Pro.
• Unsent text and attachments are kept when you start or switch conversations, and Regenerate, Retry, and Edit & resend no longer overwrite the composer.
• Improved streaming reliability: stalled responses end cleanly and offer Retry, provider errors sent partway through an answer are shown, and Continue keeps lists, table rows, and code intact.
• Provider and billing errors are explained more clearly, including when your provider account is out of credit.
• Large PDF and DOCX attachments are now read in the background, so the window stays responsive.
• Folder indexing now skips online-only OneDrive files, and code or script sources open safely as text instead of being run.
• Model pickers for OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, and DeepSeek now focus on conversational models. Show all models lists everything the provider returned.
• Usage & cost can now reset all recorded usage at once.
• Includes safer recovery of unreadable history and settings files, a separate window for each signed-in Windows user, clearer action shortcut guidance, and other reliability improvements.

Version 1.12.1

Better text selection and more reliable copying

• Improved text selection across paragraphs, headings, lists, and quotes.
• Added Copy table for clean pasting into Excel and other spreadsheet apps.
• Table copying now preserves structure, quotes, spacing, and text values more reliably.
• Copy code now preserves code exactly as displayed, including spacing and blank lines.
• Improved clipboard feedback and handling when Windows temporarily blocks a copy action.
• Includes additional rendering, accessibility, and reliability improvements.

Version 1.12

Compatibility, reliability, and under-the-hood improvements

• Improved compatibility across SideNote Pro components.
• Added reliability improvements for background application services.
• Refined internal handling to keep SideNote Pro running smoothly.
• Includes minor stability and maintenance improvements.

Version 1.11

Smoother streaming, better image pasting, and small UI fixes

• You can now scroll through long AI responses while they are still being generated without being pulled back to the bottom.
• Pasted screenshots are now converted locally to PNG so image paste works reliably with AI providers.
• Right-click Paste in the composer now supports both text and images.
• Fixed horizontal scrollbars covering the last line of wide code blocks.
• Includes minor reliability and usability improvements.

Version 1.10

Faster, simpler first-time AI setup

• Added a guided OpenAI quick setup for new users, so SideNote Pro can be ready with just an API key
• Automatically configures the official OpenAI endpoint, GPT-5.6 Luna, reasoning off, and automatic context-window detection
• Validates the connection and model availability before saving the setup
• Keeps the full manual AI Provider setup available for users who prefer another model, provider, or custom endpoint
• Improved setup error handling with clearer, actionable messages

Version 1.9

Reusable system prompt profiles and safer Settings editing

• Added reusable system prompt profiles you can create, duplicate, rename, edit, and delete for different types of work
• Choose a default profile to automatically apply its instructions to normal AI conversations
• Added clearer guidance and examples for shaping response length, tone, technical depth, step-by-step guidance, and other preferences
• The default system prompt now gives the AI context that you are working on Windows
• Closing Settings with unsaved changes now offers Save, Don't save, or Keep editing
• Settings reverted to their original values are treated as unchanged
• Discarding Settings changes now restores your previous Appearance after live previews

Version 1.8

More flexible AI provider setup

• Added presets for popular AI providers to make setup faster
• Made custom provider endpoints easier to configure
• Added more control over the context window used for conversations
• Improved provider settings and model selection
• Continued reliability and interface refinements

Version 1.7

A more comfortable everyday experience

• Improved readability across light and dark themes
• Added adjustable text sizing
• Refined the appearance and behavior of the SideNote drawer
• Improved window behavior and visual consistency
• Fixed a number of smaller usability issues

Version 1.6

More control over how SideNote Pro feels

• Added additional appearance and display controls
• Improved keyboard-driven workflows
• Refined window positioning and persistence
• Improved handling of screenshots and multiple images
• Continued general polish across Settings and the assistant

Version 1.5

More ways to work with your own content

• Added support for documents
• Added selected-text actions such as Summarize, Rewrite, Explain and Translate
• Added multiple AI provider profiles
• Added local folder context
• Added conversation usage and cost estimates
• Added PDF export for individual responses
• Expanded conversation and history controls

Initial release

SideNote Pro arrives on Windows

The first release brought the core SideNote Pro experience:

• A native Windows AI assistant that stays beside your work
• Bring-your-own-key support
• OpenAI-compatible AI providers
• Always-on-top and docked drawer modes
• Global keyboard shortcut
• Screenshots and image input
• Local conversation history
• Custom system prompts and model selection
• A 30-day free trial and lifetime licensing