Many users find that using an external keyboard with keyboard shortcuts for OneNote helps them work more efficiently. For users with mobility or vision disabilities, keyboard shortcuts can be easier than using the touchscreen and are an essential alternative to using a mouse.
Note
- The shortcuts in this topic refer to the US keyboard layout. Keys for other layouts might not correspond exactly to the keys on a US keyboard.
- A plus sign (+) in a shortcut means that you need to press multiple keys at the same time.
- A comma sign (,) in a shortcut means that you need to press multiple keys in order.
This article lists the keyboard shortcuts for OneNote for Windows desktop.
Note
- For information on the differences between the app versions, go to What's the difference between the OneNote versions?
- To quickly find a shortcut in this article, you can use Search. Press Ctrl+F, and then type your search words.
In this topic
- Frequently used shortcuts
- Format notes
- Insert items on a page
- Work with tables
- Select text and objects
- Tag notes
- Use outlines
- Specify language settings
- Work with pages
- Work with notebooks and sections
- Search through notes
- Share notes
- Protect notes
Frequently used shortcuts
| To do this | Press |
|---|---|
| Open a new OneNote window. | Ctrl+M |
| Create a Quick Note. | Ctrl+Shift+M or Alt+Windows
key+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 |
| Paste text only (Paste without formatting) | Ctrl+Shift+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 |
| 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 or Windows Menu key |
| Perform the action suggested on the Information Bar when it appears at the top of a page. | Ctrl+Shift+W |
| 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 |
Format notes
| To do this | Press |
|---|---|
| Highlight the selected text. | Ctrl+Alt+H |
| Insert a hyperlink. | Ctrl+K |
| Copy the formatting of the selected text (Format Painter). | Ctrl+Alt+C |
| Paste the formatting to the selected text (Format Painter). | Ctrl+Alt+V |
| Open a hyperlink. | Enter when on the hyperlink text |
| Apply or remove bold formatting. | Ctrl+B |
| Apply or remove italics formatting. | Ctrl+I |
| Apply or remove underline formatting. | Ctrl+U |
| Apply or remove strikethrough formatting. | Alt+Hyphen (-) |
| Apply or remove superscript formatting. | Ctrl+Shift+Plus(+) |
| Apply or remove subscript formatting. | Ctrl+Shift+Minus(-) |
| Apply or remove bulleted list formatting. | Ctrl+Period (.) |
| Apply or remove numbered list formatting. | Ctrl+Forward slash (/) |
| Apply a Heading 1 style to the current note. | Ctrl+Alt+1 |
| Apply a Heading 2 style to the current note. | Ctrl+Alt+2 |
| Apply a Heading 3 style to the current note. | Ctrl+Alt+3 |
| Apply a Heading 4 style to the current note. | Ctrl+Alt+4 |
| Apply a Heading 5 style to the current note. | Ctrl+Alt+5 |
| Apply a Heading 6 style to the current note. | Ctrl+Alt+6 |
| Clear all formatting applied to the selected text. (Apply the Normal style.) | Ctrl+Shift+N |
| Increase the paragraph indent. | Alt+Shift+Right arrow key or the Tab key when at the beginning of a line |
| Decrease the paragraph indent. | Alt+Shift+Left arrow key or Shift+Tab when at the beginning of a line |
| Align the paragraph to the left. | Ctrl+L |
| Align the paragraph to the right. | Ctrl+R |
| Increase the font size of the selected text. | Ctrl+Shift+Right angle bracket (>) |
| Decrease the font size of the selected text. | Ctrl+Shift+Left angle bracket (<) |
| Show or hide the rule lines on the current page. | Ctrl+Shift+R |
Insert items on a page
| To do this | Press |
|---|---|
| Insert a document or file on the current page. | Alt+N, F |
| Insert a document or file as a printout on the current page. | Alt+N, O |
| Show or hide document printouts on the current page when the high contrast mode on Windows 10 or one of the contrast themes on Windows 11 is activated. | Alt+Shift+P |
| Insert a picture from a file. | Alt+N, P |
| Insert a sticker. | Alt+N, S |
| Insert a screen clipping. Note: The OneNote icon must be active in the Windows taskbar notification area. |
Windows
key+Shift+S, and then Ctrl+V |
| Insert the current date. | Alt+Shift+D |
| Insert the current date and time. | Alt+Shift+F |
| Insert the current time. | Alt+Shift+T |
| Insert a line break. | Shift+Enter |
| Start a math equation or convert selected text to a math equation. | Alt+Equal sign ( = ) |
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 row. | Tab key |
| Create another row when at the end cell of a table. | Enter Note: Press Enter again to finish creating 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 table. | Alt+Enter |
| Create a column to the right of the current column in a table. | Ctrl+Alt+R |
| Create a column to the left of the current column in a table. | Ctrl+Alt+E |
| 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 or row. | 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 |
Select text and objects
| To do this | Press |
|---|---|
| Select all items on the current page. | Ctrl+A To expand the selection, press Ctrl+A again. |
| Select to the end of the line from the current cursor location. | Shift+End |
| Select the whole line. | Shift+Down arrow key when the cursor is at the beginning of the line |
| Jump to the title of the page and select it. | Ctrl+Shift+T |
| Cancel selecting the outline or page. | Esc |
| Move the selected paragraphs upward. | Alt+Shift+Up arrow key |
| Move the selected paragraphs downward. | Alt+Shift+Down arrow key |
| Increase the paragraph indent. | Alt+Shift+Left arrow key |
| Decrease the paragraph indent. | Alt+Shift+Right arrow key |
| Select the current paragraph and its subordinate paragraphs. | Ctrl+Shift+Hyphen (-) |
| Delete the selected note or object. | Delete |
| Move to the beginning of the line. | Home |
| Move to the end of the line. | End |
| Go back to the last page visited. | Alt+Left arrow key |
| Go forward to the next page visited. | Alt+Right arrow key |
Tag notes
| To do this | Press |
|---|---|
| Apply, select, or clear the To Do tag. | Ctrl+1 |
| Apply or clear the Important tag. | Ctrl+2 |
| Apply or clear the Question tag. | Ctrl+3 |
| Apply or clear the Remember for later tag. | Ctrl+4 |
| Apply or clear the Definition tag. | Ctrl+5 |
| Apply or clear the Highlight tag. | Ctrl+6 |
| Apply or clear the Contact tag. | Ctrl+7 |
| Apply or clear the Address tag. | Ctrl+8 |
| Apply or clear the Phone number tag. | Ctrl+9 |
| Remove all selected note tags. | Ctrl+0 |
Use outlines
| To do this | Press |
|---|---|
| Collapse the selected outline to Level 1. | Alt+Shift+1 |
| Expand an outline to Level 2. | Alt+Shift+2 |
| Expand an outline to Level 3. | Alt+Shift+3 |
| Expand an outline to Level 4. | Alt+Shift+4 |
| Expand an outline to Level 5. | Alt+Shift+5 |
| Expand an outline to Level 6. | Alt+Shift+6 |
| Expand an outline to Level 7. | Alt+Shift+7 |
| Expand an outline to Level 8. | Alt+Shift+8 |
| Expand an outline to Level 9. | Alt+Shift+9 |
| Expand all levels of an outline. | Alt+Shift+0 |
| Expand the selected heading. | Alt+Shift+Equal sign ( = ) |
| Collapse the selected heading. | Alt+Shift+Hyphen (-) |
| Increase the indent by one level. | Tab key |
| Decrease the indent by one level. | Shift+Tab |
| Expand a selected, collapsed outline. | Alt+Shift+Plus sign (+) |
| Collapse a selected, expanded outline. | Alt+Shift+Minus sign (-) |
Specify language settings
Note
To change the writing direction for your notes, you must first enable one or more right-to-left languages in Set the Office Language Preferences. For instructions, go to Add an editing or authoring language or set language preferences in Office.
| To do this | Press |
|---|---|
| Set writing direction left to right. | Ctrl+Left Shift key |
| Set writing direction right to left. | Ctrl+Right Shift key |
| Increase indent by one level in right-to-left text. | Tab key |
| Decrease indent by one level in right-to-left text. | Shift+Tab |
Work with pages
| To do this | Press |
|---|---|
| Enable or disable the full-page view. | F11 |
| Open a new OneNote window. | Ctrl+M |
| Create a Quick Note. | Ctrl+Shift+M |
| Expand or collapse a page group in the page navigation pane. | Ctrl+Shift+Asterisk (*) |
| Print the current page. | Ctrl+P |
| Add a new page at the end of the selected section. | Ctrl+N |
| Increase the width of the page navigation pane. | Ctrl+Shift+Left bracket ([) |
| Decrease the width of the page navigation pane. | Ctrl+Shift+Right bracket (]) |
| Decrease indent level of the current page in the page navigation pane. | Ctrl+Alt+Left bracket ([) |
| Increase indent level of the current page in the page navigation pane. | Ctrl+Alt+Right bracket (]) |
| Create a new subpage below the current page. | Ctrl+Shift+Alt+N |
| Select all items. | Ctrl+A To expand the selection, press Ctrl+A again. |
| Select the current page. | Ctrl+Shift+A If the selected page is part of a group, press Ctrl+A to select all of the pages in the group. |
| Move the selected page up in the page navigation pane. | Alt+Shift+Up arrow key |
| Move the selected page down in the page navigation pane. | Alt+Shift+Down arrow key |
| Move to the page title. | Ctrl+Shift+T |
| Go to the first page in the currently visible set of pages in the page navigation pane. | Alt+Page up |
| Go to the last page in the currently visible set of pages in the page navigation pane. | Alt+Page down |
| Scroll up in the current page. | Page up |
| Scroll down in the current page. | Page down |
| Scroll to the top of the current page. | Ctrl+Home |
| Scroll to the bottom of the current page. | Ctrl+End |
| Go to the next paragraph. | Ctrl+Down arrow key |
| Go to the previous paragraph. | Ctrl+Up arrow key |
| Move the cursor up on the current page, or expand the page up. | Ctrl+Alt+Up arrow key |
| Move the cursor down on the current page, or expand the page down. | Ctrl+Alt+Down arrow key |
| Move the cursor left on the current page, or expand the page to the left. | Ctrl+Alt+Left arrow key |
| Move the cursor right on the current page, or expand the page to the right. | Ctrl+Alt+Right arrow key |
| Go to the next note container. | Alt+Down arrow key |
| Go to the beginning of the line. | Home |
| Go to the end of the line. | End |
| Go to the previous page visited. | Alt+Left arrow key |
| Go to the next page visited, if possible. | Alt+Right arrow key |
| Zoom in. | Ctrl+Plus sign (+) |
| Zoom out. | Ctrl+Minus sign (-) |
| Synchronize the notebook. Note: While OneNote is running, your notes are automatically saved whenever you change them. It is not necessary to manually save notes. |
Ctrl+S |
Work with notebooks and sections
| To do this | Press |
|---|---|
| Open OneNote. | Windows
key+Shift+N |
| Open a notebook. | Ctrl+O |
| Open a section. | Ctrl+Alt+Shift+O |
| Create a new section. | Ctrl+T |
| Go to the next section. | Ctrl+Tab |
| Go to the previous section. | Ctrl+Shift+Tab |
| Go to the next page in the section. | Ctrl+Page down |
| Go to the previous page in the section. | Ctrl+Page up |
| Go to the first page in the section. | Alt+Home |
| Go to the last page in the section. | Alt+End |
| Go to the first page in the currently visible set of page tabs. | Alt+Page up |
| Go to the last page of the currently visible set of page tabs. | Alt+Page down |
| Move or copy the current page. | Ctrl+Alt+M |
| Put focus on the current page tab. | Ctrl+Alt+G |
| Select the current page tab. | Ctrl+Shift+A |
| Put focus on the current section tab. | Ctrl+Shift+G |
| Move the current section. | (Horizontal Tab) Ctrl+Shift+G, and left/right arrow then Shift+F10 (Vertical Tab) Ctrl+Shift+G, then up/down arrow then Shift+F10 |
| Switch to a different notebook on the Navigation bar. | Ctrl+G, use the Down or Up arrow key to navigate the sections or use the Tab key to pick a different notebook, then press Enter |
Search through notes
| To do this | Press |
|---|---|
| Move to the Search box to search all notebooks. | Ctrl+E |
| While searching all notebooks, preview the next result. | Down arrow key |
| While searching all notebooks, go to the selected result and dismiss the search. | Enter |
| Change the search scope. | Ctrl+E, Tab key, Spacebar |
| Open the Search Results pane. | Alt+O after searching |
| Search the current page. | Ctrl+F |
| While searching the current page, move to the next result. | Enter F3 |
| While searching the current page, move to the previous result. | Shift+F3 |
| Dismiss the search and return to the page. | Esc |
Share notes
| To do this | Press |
|---|---|
| Send the selected pages in an email message. | Ctrl+Shift+E |
| Create a Today Outlook task from the selected note. | Ctrl+Shift+1 |
| Create a Tomorrow Outlook task from the selected note. | Ctrl+Shift+2 |
| Create a This Week Outlook task from the selected note. | Ctrl+Shift+3 |
| Create a Next Week Outlook task from the selected note. | Ctrl+Shift+4 |
| Create a No Date Outlook task from the selected note. | Ctrl+Shift+5 |
| Open the selected Outlook task. | Ctrl+Shift+K |
| Mark the selected Outlook task as complete. | Ctrl+Shift+9 |
| Delete the selected Outlook task. | Ctrl+Shift+0 |
| Synchronize changes in the current shared notebook. | Shift+F9 |
| Synchronize changes in all shared notebooks. | F9 |
| Mark the current page as Unread. | Ctrl+Q |
Protect notes
| To do this | Press |
|---|---|
| Lock all password-protected sections. | Ctrl+Alt+L |
See also
Use a screen reader to explore and navigate OneNote
Technical support for customers with disabilities
Microsoft wants to provide the best possible experience for all our customers. If you have a disability or questions related to accessibility, please contact the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk for technical assistance. The Disability Answer Desk support team is trained in using many popular assistive technologies and can offer assistance in English, Spanish, French, and American Sign Language. Please go to the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk site to find out the contact details for your region.
If you are a government, commercial, or enterprise user, please contact the enterprise Disability Answer Desk.