OneNote 2016 Quick Start

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

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 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

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

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

Short video tutorials embedded in brief learning modules

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:

Level: Beginner

Time: 3h 46m

Level: Intermediate

Time: 2h 3m