OneNote is organized like a digital binder. Notebooks contain sections, and sections contain pages. Once that structure makes sense, the app becomes much easier to use.
Does this affect you?
Use this for the current OneNote app for Microsoft 365 on Windows or Mac and OneNote on the web. The old OneNote for Windows 10 app became read-only in October 2025, so use the Microsoft 365 OneNote app for ongoing work.
Understand notebooks, sections, and pages
This is the main OneNote structure.
- Open OneNote and look for the notebook list. Each notebook is a major area, such as Work or Personal.
- Open a notebook to see its sections, which work like tabbed dividers.
- Click a section to see its pages.
- Click a page, then click anywhere on the canvas and start typing.
- Create a new notebook from the notebook list, a new section from the section area, or a new page from Add Page.
Pages are flexible and can grow as needed. They are not limited like a printed sheet of paper.
Type or write anywhere
OneNote is free-form, unlike Word.
- Open a page.
- Click anywhere on the blank area.
- Start typing and OneNote creates a text container there.
- Click somewhere else to create another independent container.
- Drag the gray handle at the top of a container to move it.
This layout is useful for meeting notes, diagrams, research fragments, screenshots, and lists that do not need to flow from top to bottom.
Find notes with search
Search is essential once notebooks grow.
- Press Ctrl+E on Windows or Command+Option+F on Mac, or click the search box.
- Type a word or phrase.
- Review results showing notebook, section, and page locations.
- Click a result to jump there.
- Use the scope dropdown to search one section or all notebooks.
More control
Sync through OneDrive
OneNote saves continuously when notebooks are stored in OneDrive and the device is online. The same notebook can stay current across computer, phone, and web.
Use tags
Select a line and apply tags such as To Do, Important, or Question from the Home tab. Find Tags can gather tagged notes from different pages.
OneNote versus Word
Word is for linear documents that will be formatted and finished. OneNote is for ongoing notes, research, quick captures, and pages that keep growing.
Share a notebook
Right-click the notebook or use File > Share, enter another person email address, and give access so both of you can edit the same notebook.
Sources
- Microsoft Support – OneNote basic tasks (2025)
- Microsoft Support – Create, open, or convert notebooks in OneNote (2025)
- Microsoft Support – Search for text and other content in OneNote (2025)