If you're having trouble with the Immersive Reader feature in OneNote, with text recognition from images or ink, or are experiencing incomplete OneNote search results, please see below for a list of symptoms and their recommended resolution steps.
If you're still having trouble after trying these suggestions, please consider leaving detailed feedback directly in the OneNote app, or submit your feedback here by clicking the "Was this information helpful?" prompt below. Thank you!
Immersive Reader is not recognizing the text in my images and virtual printouts
Do the following:
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On your PC, open the OneNote desktop app.
(The desktop app may be called "OneNote" or "OneNote 2016," depending on your current version. For more information, please see What's the difference between the OneNote versions?) -
Navigate to the page you want, and then click Insert > Pictures to insert an image.
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On the View tab of the ribbon, click Immersive Reader.
You can also use Office Lens to use Immersive Reader:
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If necessary, download the Microsoft Office Lens app to your iPhone or Android phone, and then open it.
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With your phone camera, take a picture of the file you want to use, or import the file into Office Lens.
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Export the file from Office Lens to OneNote.
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In the "OneNote" or "OneNote 2016" desktop app on your PC, go to the page where the file was imported, and then, on the View tab of the ribbon, click Immersive Reader.
Note: Immersive Reader is also available in other versions of OneNote, including OneNote for Windows 10. However, using this feature anywhere but in the desktop client will require approximately 24-48 hours of processing time until your content is available in Immersive Reader.
I'm a teacher who uses Immersive Reader when distributing sections and pages. How can I make sure Immersive Reader is ready for all my students?
If you can plan ahead and your notebook sections and pages have already been distributed to your students, make a quick edit to each page. Each page edit will reactivate the Immersive Reader service. Within 24-48 hours, the sync will be complete and Immersive Reader will be ready.
If your notebook sections and pages have not yet been distributed to your students, be sure to start content distribution at least 48 hours before it will be used in class. This will ensure that your content will be ready to use with Immersive Reader.
My ink notes are not showing up in OneNote search results
Ink notes will typically show up in your OneNote search results within 24-48 hours. Writing ink notes in advance of when they need to be found in search results is highly recommended.
Note: For previously saved ink notes that still aren't showing up in your search results, make a quick edit to the page containing the notes. Each page edit will reactivate the Immersive Reader service. Within 24-48 hours, the sync will be complete and the notes will appear in your search results.
The text in my images is not showing up in OneNote search results.
Text from images will typically show up in your OneNote search results within 24-48 hours. It is recommended that you upload the images containing the text ink in advance of when you'll need them to appear in your search results.
Note: For previously uploaded images that still aren't showing don't show up in your search results, make a quick edit to the pages containing the images. Each page edit will reactivate the Immersive Reader service. Within 24-48 hours, the sync will be complete and the notes will appear in your search results.
