Use advanced OneNote options to customize editing and pen options, printout preferences, and more. You can access these options from File > Options > Advanced.
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Show Paste Options button when content is pasted: Select this option to display the Paste Options button when you paste content. You can use the Paste Options button to choose if you want to keep the source formatting, merge formatting, or keep text only for the content you're pasting in OneNote. This allows you to quickly access these options to override the default and change the paste formatting in the moment.
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Include link to source when pasting from the Web: Select this option if you want OneNote to always include a link to the source when you paste in content from the Web. This option can be helpful if you want to remember where the Web content you pasted into OneNote came from at a later time.
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Apply numbering to lists automatically: Select this option if you want OneNote to automatically number list items for you. For example, if you type the number 1 or the letter A, then a period, and then press the Spacebar, OneNote indents the text and creates a list. When you add more information and press Enter, OneNote numbers the next list item for you.
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Apply bullets to lists automatically: Select this option if you want OneNote to automatically apply bullets to list items for you. For example, if you type an asterisk (*) or a dash (-) and then press the Spacebar, OneNote indents the text and creates a bulleted list. When you add more information and press Enter, OneNote adds a bullet to the next list item for you.
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Calculate mathematical expressions automatically: Select this option to have OneNote automatically perform simple calculations directly on your pages. For example, typing 1+1= and then pressing Enter or the Spacebar causes OneNote to display the answer.
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Enable link creation by typing [[ ]] around a phrase: Select this option to create bookmark links around your text by typing brackets [[…]]. If you assign a bookmark to an item, the bookmarked item appears as a link in your page. You can use this to create a link to an existing page or section in your notebook by including the name of the page or section inside the brackets and the link will be automatically created for you. If you put text inside the brackets that cannot be matched to an existing page or section in that notebook, the link will be added and marked with a dashed underline. Then, when you click on it, a new page with that title will be created for you.
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Show text suggestions while typing: Select this option to enable text prediction as you type in OneNote. If a prediction to complete a word or a sentence you're typing is available, you'll see it suggested as greyed out text. You can confirm the suggestion by pressing the Tab key.
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Disable text recognition in pictures: Select this option if you don't want OneNote to automatically attempt to recognize any text in pictures in your pages. OneNote supports Optical Character Recognition (OCR), a tool that lets you copy text from a picture or file printout and paste it in your notes so you can make changes to the words. It's a great way to do things like copy info from a business card you've scanned into OneNote. If you disable this option, you won't be able to find text in new images you include.
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When images move, also move ink written on them: Select this option to make it easier to move images or pdfs around along with the ink that you put on top of them. With this option enabled when you try to move an image or pdf, the ink written on them will be selected too so you can move everything together.
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Enable the scratch-out gesture while inking: Select this option to delete drawn or handwritten ink by using the scratch-out gesture. When enabled, you can draw a scribble over the ink you want to erase with a pen tool selected and the ink covered by the scribble will be removed. This allows you to quickly remove ink without having to switch pen tools.
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Enable the draw and hold ink-to-shape gesture while inking: Select this option to allow OneNoteto enhance shapes when you hold your pen in place after you draw it. This allows you to create straight lines, and neat shapes easily. You can draw arrows, circles, ellipses, hexagons, pentagons, rectangles, rhombuses, squares, trapezoids and triangles.
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Enable multi-tap to select ink: Select this option to progressively expand the ink selection as you tap. This allows you to easily change your selection of ink with just a tap with touch, a digital pen, or a mouse, to expand the selection, from a word to a line to a paragraph to the entire page. No need to draw lassos around your ink.
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Use pen pressure sensitivity: Select this option to have OneNote use variable pen pressure sensitivity for drawings and handwritten notes, giving a more natural appearance.
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Show Tablet PC Input Panel on OneNote pages: Select this option to have OneNote display the Tablet PC Input Panel when working in your notebooks. The Tablet PC Input Panel allows you to use writing tools such as a Tablet PC pen to add handwritten text or freehand drawings to your notes.
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Automatically switch between inking, selecting, typing, and panning: When you're using a PC with a pen or stylus input, selecting this option tells OneNote to automatically activate the pen when you're using the pen or stylus. And to automatically switch to the selection tool if you're using the mouse, or to typing if you start using the keyboard. If you disable this option, you have to explicitly switch tools to use ink with your pen or stylus.
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Enable automatic handwriting recognition: Select this option to have OneNote automatically recognize your handwritten notes using a pen and convert those notes into text.
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Switch to focused inking mode when the pen is undocked: Select this option to have OneNoteenter the pen focused mode when it detects that your pen is undocked. This option only works with certain devices.
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Smooth ink when drawing with a pen: Select this option to have OneNote make your handwriting and drawings slightly more neat while still keeping your handwriting and style.
Note: This option is only available in OneNote 2021
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Make OneNote 2021 (desktop) the default OneNote application for OneNote links, notes, and clips: Select this option to have OneNote 2021 be your default application to use whenever you are working with links, notes, and clips.
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Attach a copy of the original notes as a OneNote file: Select this option to have OneNote attach a copy of the original notes from your page whenever you send the page to others by using the Email Page command on the Home tab or the Email Copy of Page option under Share.
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Attach embedded files to the email message as separate files: Select this option if you want OneNote to attach any embedded files in a page as separate file attachments whenever you send the page to others by using the Email Page command on the Home tab or the Email Copy of Page option under Share.
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Add the following signature to emails and Web pages created in OneNote: Use this option if you want to always include a specific text at the bottom of emails when you send a page to others through email. Enter in this box any specific text you want to use for your custom signature.
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Optimize for the following battery life: OneNote regularly runs several background activities, such as search indexing, audio indexing, recognition of text in pictures, handwritten recognition, and notebook synchronization. When your computer or device is running on battery power, OneNote can improve battery life by reducing the frequency of those activities. You can choose between Maximum performance, Short, Medium, Long, and Maximum battery life. Maximum performance will give priority to running those activities but may impact battery life the most.
You can search for tagged notes in your OneNote pages in the Tags Summary task pane by selecting Home > Find Tags and from there you can choose to create a summary page. The two options below impact what happens when you create a summary page:
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Show original tagged notes as dimmed: Select this option to have your original tagged notes dimmed in the summary page. This will not apply to read-only sections.
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Leave original tagged notes unchanged: Select this option to have your original tagged notes unchanged in the summary page.
Show dimmed tagged notes in the Tags Summary task pane: Select this option to have OneNote dim any of your tagged notes in the Tags Summary task pane.
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Lock password protected sections after I have not worked in them for the following amount of time: Once you unlock password protection sections, they stay unlocked for a while. Select this option to lock all of your password protected sections after not working in them for a time frame listed in this drop-down list. From the list, you can choose time periods of 1 Minute, 5 Minutes, 10 Minutes, 15 Minutes, 30 Minutes, 1 Hour, 2 Hours, 4 Hours, 8 Hours, 12 Hours, or 1 Day.
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Lock password protected sections as soon as I navigate away from them: Select this option if you want OneNote to lock your password protected sections as soon as you navigate away from them instead of using a defined time period.
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Enable add-in programs to access password protected sections when they are unlocked: Select this option to allow add-ins to access unlocked password protected sections in your pages. If the section is not unlocked, add-ins can't access the content.
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Allow creation of new linked notes: Select this option to have OneNote automatically link notes you take in a docked window with what you're looking at, such as a Web page, a Word document, a PowerPoint presentation, or another OneNote page. This will add a link to that page, document, or presentation to those notes automatically.
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Save document snippets and page thumbnail for better linking to the right place in the document: Select this option to have OneNote automatically save document snippets and page thumbnails which helps you link to the appropriate places in your documents for linked notes.
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Remove Links from Linked Notes: Select this button to have OneNote remove all links in your notebook from Linked Notes.
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Insert long printouts on multiple pages: This option determines how OneNote should handle inserting long printouts. Selecting this option tells OneNote to break up a long printout onto multiple new pages. If you want OneNote to insert long printouts into one page, clear this option.
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Automatically set inserted file printouts in the background: Select this option to have every printout inserted into OneNote automatically set in the background. This locks the printout, allowing for easier drawing and annotating over diagrams, exercises, lessons, and more.
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Measurement units: Select your choice of measurement units in the drop-down list for OneNote to use in your notebooks. You can select Inches, Centimeters, Millimeters, Points or Picas.
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Show add-in user interface errors: Select this option to display error messages from programs that customize the user interface. This option is especially useful for authors of software solutions, because it provides information for debugging customizations to the user interface.