Microsoft OneNote Basics
What is OneNote?
An electronic version of a 3-ring binder.
First introduced with Office 2003.
Latest client version is 2016.
OneNote for Windows 10 comes preinstalled with Windows 10.
Download OneNote for free at: [Link]
There are Two OneNote Apps: Client and Browser
To launch OneNote from your computer, tap the Windows key
and type “OneNote” in the search box.
• Choose OneNote app to launch the OneNote 2016 client.
• Choose OneNote for Windows 10 the browser-based version of OneNote.
Both have slightly different layouts so it’s
really a matter of preference which one you
choose to use. Microsoft also makes the
OneNote Class Notebook, a browser-
based version which can be used with
Blackboard. You can install an add-in
program to the OneNote 2016 client to
include Class Notebook capabilities. You
can also download a mobile version.
Change the Default App for File
Types
1. Tap the windows key and type
“Apps”
2. Select Apps & Features
3. Choose Default Apps
4. Click Set Defaults by App
5. Look for OneNote. You should see
two apps listed. If you click the top
app (client) a manage button will
appear.
6. The Manage button tells you which
application will launch depending
on file type clicked:
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Navigate the OneNote 2016 Environment
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3
3 Key Areas to Know
1. Left panel lists all your notebooks
2. Tabs across the top: sections (divider tabs) within the selected notebook
3. Right panel: pages within the selected section
When you first start using OneNote, a default notebook with tips and tricks is provided for you.
Navigate the OneNote for Windows 10 App
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Create a New Notebook
OneNote notebooks can be stored on your computer, OneDrive, a Teams site, or an Office 365 Group site. To
create a class notebook, you create the notebook in the Learning Management system such as Blackboard. A
class notebook is stored in OneDrive by default because it is automatically shared with students.
1. In OneNote, choose File, New
2. Select one of the following locations for your notebook (see
right)
3. Give your notebook a name
Notebooks stored on a hard drive or network drive appear as a folder.
For example:
Inside the folder you’ll see files that represent each section of the
notebook. A recycle bin icon may also appear. You can double-click
any section to open the notebook:
In OneDrive, Teams, and O365 Groups the link is stored on the web and it will also appear in a folder as a
shortcut. Double-click the shortcut to open the notebook:
Opening Notebooks - If you’re using the OneNote 2016 client, you can simply open that and all your notebooks
will be open and ready for you. Notebooks you no longer use can be closed using
the File, Close command.
Saving Your Work - OneNote does not have a File, Save or Save as option. Your
work is automatically saved.
Export - You can export pages, sections or even your entire notebook as a PDF
file by choosing File, Export.
Bold – Notebooks, sections, and pages with bold lettering indicate those pages
have not read. The letters will become unbolded after clicking on it or you can
right click to mark as read.
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Common Uses of OneNote
Shared notebooks can be more effective in organizing meetings:
Pull meeting
information
from Outlook
See who
makes edits
You can send email messages to OneNote to stay better organized:
Attachments
are included
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Find information faster across all your notebooks:
Use the Quick Notes feature (Sticky note) to take notes while attending a webinar:
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Make video and audio recordings for more personalized interactions:
You can draw. Quickly
convert inked
words to text
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Email OneNote Pages:
Create Tables by typing information.
Use the tab and enter keys to create columns and rows. The Layout contextual tab appears when a table is selected:
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Attach files, spreadsheets, and Visio diagrams to a page:
Use the History tab to mark a page as read, locate recent edits, find an author, hide author information, examine
page versions, and open the recycle bin.
Use the Review tab for grammatical, accessibility and language assistance. Passwords can be applied to sections
within a notebook. Linked Notes let you dock OneNote to the side of your computer screen so you can look at
websites or other applications and take notes in OneNote. When you take notes this way, they're automatically
linked to whatever you're researching.
The View menu lets you hide many areas of OneNote to work more efficiently. You can add page color, rule lines,
and you can hide the page title. There are new window and zoom control options as well as docking options.
In the Help menu you can find training options:
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Copy and paste information from the web and a link to the website is included:
To turn this option off, choose:
• File
• Options
• Advanced
• Uncheck “Include link to source when pasting from the Web”
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Add hyperlinks to other areas within the notebook:
Use Ctrl+K to insert a
hyperlink, or right click
for additional choices
Add a link to a Stream video channel (users must have access):
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Appendix A: Microsoft OneNote 2016 Common Keyboard Shortcuts
Source: [Link] Visit this
link for a master list of keyboard shortcuts.
To do this Press
Open a new OneNote window. Ctrl+M
Create a Quick Note. Ctrl+Shift+M
Windows logo key+Alt+N
Dock the OneNote window. Ctrl+Alt+D
Undo the previous action. Ctrl+Z
Redo the previous action, if possible. Ctrl+Y
Select all items on the current page. Ctrl+A
To expand the selection, press
Ctrl+A again.
Cut the selected text or item. Ctrl+X
Copy the selected text or item to the Clipboard. Ctrl+C
Paste the contents of the Clipboard. Ctrl+V
Move to the beginning of the line. Home
Move to the end of the line. End
Move one word to the left. Ctrl+Left arrow key
Move one word to the right. Ctrl+Right arrow key
Delete one character to the left. Backspace
Delete one character to the right. Delete
Delete one word to the left. Ctrl+Backspace
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To do this Press
Delete one word to the right. Ctrl+Delete
Insert a line break without starting a new paragraph. Shift+Enter
Check spelling. F7
Open the thesaurus for the currently selected word. Shift+F7
Display the context menu for the currently focused object. Shift+F10
Perform the action suggested on the Information Bar when Ctrl+Shift+W
it appears at the top of a page.
Play the selected audio recording. Ctrl+Alt+P
Stop audio recording playback. Ctrl+Alt+S
Skip the current audio recording backward by 10 seconds. Ctrl+Alt+Y
Skip the current audio recording forward by 10 seconds. Ctrl+Alt+U
Work with tables
To do this Press
Create a table. Tab key, after typing a new line of text
Create another column in a table with a single Tab key
row.
Create another row when at the end cell of a Enter
table. Note: Press Enter again to finish the table.
Insert a row below the current row. Ctrl+Enter, when in a table cell
Create another paragraph in the same cell in a Alt+Enter
table.
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To do this Press
Create a column to the right of the current Ctrl+Alt+R
column in a table.
Create a column to the left of the current In OneNote 2010, Ctrl+Alt+E
column in a table.
Create a row above the current one in a table. Enter, when the cursor is at the beginning of any
row, except for the first row
Create a new cell. Tab key, when in the last cell of the table
Delete the current empty row in a table. Delete, then Delete again, when the cursor is at
the beginning of the row
Additional Resources
What’s new in OneNote for Windows 10
[Link]
ff17091161ea
Microsoft 365 Blog – OneNote
[Link]
What’s the Difference Between OneNote Versions?
[Link]
b78b-4c09-b07f-46181958118f
OneNote Class Notebook
[Link]
Target areas for development (Microsoft Ignite conference November, 2019):
[Link]
features-ignite-2019
• Modern sync services to sync notebooks faster
• @mentions for OneNote inside of Microsoft Teams
• Microsoft Search integration to find the information in your notes
• New meeting notes features
• Tasks and To Do integration
• Accessibility improvements
• Next-generation canvas
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