Basic tasks in Microsoft OneNote

Microsoft OneNote is a digital notebook app for your iPhone and iPad. It gives you a single place for all of your notes and information — everything you need to remember and manage in your life at home, at work, and at school. With OneNote, notes are easy to organize and share, and you can search for information quickly.

This article covers some of the basic steps to help get you started with Microsoft OneNote.

Note: This documentation applies to Microsoft OneNote for iPhone and iPad. It is recommend that you keep your devices updated with the newest version of Apple iOS. For more information, see Update the iOS software on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

Take notes

• To take notes on a page in OneNote, tap wherever you want them to appear, and then start typing.

• Whenever you want to begin a note elsewhere on the page, just tap and start typing there.

• To add a page title, tap the page header area at the top of the page and type the title. Meaningful page titles make it easier to find information whenever you search your notebooks.

Add links

Whenever you type text that looks like a link, OneNote automatically formats it as one. For example, if you type www.onenote.com into your notes, OneNote turns that into a link. Tapping links in your notes lets you open them in your browser.

You can also manually insert links into your notes by doing the following:

1. Select the text you want to format as a link.

2. Tap Insert > Link.

3. Type the link's destination URL into the Address field.

Insert pictures

You can insert saved photos and any other kind of image into your notes.

1. On any page, tap the cursor where you want to insert the picture.

2. Tap Insert > Pictures, select the source of the picture (for example, your Camera Roll), tap the picture you want, and then tap Done.

3. Crop the picture as needed, and then tap the check mark to insert the picture.

   Note: You can also insert a picture directly from your camera by tapping Insert > Camera.

Insert a table

Tables are a great way to organize information in your notes. Start by inserting a simple grid that you can expand as needed.

1. Tap Insert > Table. OneNote starts with a simple 2 x 2 grid.

2. Tap inside any of the table cells to display the Table tab on the ribbon, from which additional commands are now available.

Add files to your notes

OneNote can keep all of your information about any subject or project together in one place — including copies of related files and documents.

1. In your notes, go to the page where you want to insert a file or document.

2. Tap Insert > File.

3. In the iCloud Drive popup, search for and then select the file you want to import.

   Note: Remember, inserted files are just copies. OneNote doesn't automatically update the copies if the original files change.

Add more pages

For more room in your notebook, you can add as many pages as you want to the current section.

1. Do the following:

   • iPhone: In the page list, tap the (+) icon in the lower left corner. If you're currently editing a page, first tap the arrow in the upper left corner to display the page list.

   • iPad: In the page list on the left, tap the (+) Page icon near the lower left corner.

2. When you're ready to use one of the new pages, type a page title into its page header area. Meaningful page titles make it easier to find information whenever you search your notebooks.

Search notes

The best part about keeping everything in OneNote is that you can instantly find everything again. Search your notes by doing the following:

• iPhone: In the upper left corner, tap the magnifying glass icon , enter a keyword or phrase in the Search field, and then tap Search. If you're currently viewing or editing a page, first tap the arrow in the upper left corner to display the page list.

• iPad: Near the upper left corner, tap the magnifying glass icon , tap the Search All Notebooks field and enter a keyword or phrase to search for, and then tap Search. To change the scope of your search, tap the current notebook name under the search field, and then select the notebook or section from which you want to search.

Save your notes

Microsoft OneNote doesn't have a Save button. That's because you never have to save your work in OneNote like you do in some other apps.

As you work in your notebooks, OneNote automatically saves everything for you — no matter how small or large the changes you've made. This lets you think about your projects, thoughts, and ideas.