OneNote 2016 Quick Start

OneNote is a digital notebook that automatically saves and syncs your notes.

Create or insert information in your notebook.
Collaborate with others in shared notebooks.
Take handwritten notes and convert them to text.
Use highlighting and tags.
Access up to date info from almost any device.

Create a notebook

The first time you start OneNote, it creates a notebook for you. You can create additional notebooks for whatever you want.

Open OneNote.
Select File > New.
Select a cloud storage location such as OneDrive or SharePoint.
Type a name for the notebook in the Notebook Name box.
Select Create Notebook.

Open a notebook

Select File > Open.
Do one of the following:
- Select the notebook in the Open from OneDrive pane.
- Select the notebook in the Recent list.
- Select the notebook storage location in the Open from other locations list, and then navigate to and select the notebook.

Create a section

Select Create a New Section to the right of the existing section tabs.
Right-click an existing section tab and select New Section.

Rename a section

Double-click the section tab, type the new name, and then press Enter.
Right-click the section tab, select Rename, type the new name, and then press Enter.

Change the section color

Right-click the section tab, select Section Color, and then select the color you want.

Add a page

Select Add Page at the top of the right pane.
Point to the left margin of the pages in the right pane and select the location where you want to insert a new page.

Create a page from a template

Select Insert > Page Templates.
(Select the button, not the arrow.)
Expand the categories in the Templates task pane.
Select a template name from the list to create a page. Press Ctrl+Z if you don’t want the page you created. Repeat until you find one you prefer.

Tip: You can't apply a template to an existing note page. Instead, add a template page and then copy your notes to it.

Rename a page

Select the page title at the top of the page and replace it with the page title you want.
Right-click the page title in the right pane and select Rename. Then replace the page title.

Type notes

Click anywhere on the page, and then start typing words of wisdom.
A note container appears around text as you type, and is a way to move notes on a page.
Keep typing within the note container, or click elsewhere on the page to create a new note.

Switch between open notebooks

Select the current notebook at the left end of the section tab area.
Select the notebook you want to switch to, from the list of open notebooks.

Share your notebook

Select File > Share.
Select Share with People.
Type the names or email addresses of people you'd like to share your notebook with.
Select Can edit to assign read/write permissions, or Can view to assign read-only permissions.
Add a personal note, if you'd like, and then select Share to email a sharing invitation to the specified recipients.

View recent edits

Select History > Recent Edits.
Select the date range you want to see edits for.
The Search Results pane lists each page changed in the specified timeframe. Changes are highlighted on the active page, and each changed page in the current section is highlighted in the page list.
Select a page title in the Search Results pane to move to that page.

Note: To see who made specific changes, you can show authors in a shared notebook.

Get OneNote on your mobile device

Choose your mobile device:

Get help with OneNote

Press F1 to open the Help pane.
Do either of the following:
- Select a topic from the Top help topics list.
- Select Search help at the top of the Help pane, type the task or feature you want help with, and then select Search .

Additional Resources

Microsoft Video Tutorial Library

Short video tutorials embedded in brief learning modules

Get started with OneNote 2016

More ways to take notes in OneNote 2016

eBook: OneNote 2016 Tips & Tricks

Video: Introducing OneNote for Mac

Lynda.com OneNote Training & Tutorials

A library of in-depth tutorials - they offer free 30 days trials, but your department might have a license as well. These are a good place to start:

Office365: OneNote Essential Training

Level: Beginner

Time: 3h 46m

OneNote Tips and Tricks

Level: Intermediate

Time: 2h 3m

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