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 for iPone and iPad.
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
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To take notes on a page in OneNote, tap wherever you want them to appear, and then start typing.
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Whenever you want to begin a note elsewhere on the page, just tap and start typing there.
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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:
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Select the text you want to format as a link.
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iPhone: Tap the Hyperlink icon on the right of the toolbar that appears. You might need to slide the toolbar from the right to see the icon.
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iPad: Tap Insert > Link.
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Type the link’s destination URL into the Address field.
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To change the text that is display for the link, type the new text in the Display field.
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Insert the link:
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iPhone: Tap Done.
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iPad: Tap the page to insert the link.
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Tip: To edit or remove a link, tap the link. In the hyperlink box that appears, tap Edit. To remove the link and retain the link text, click or tap Remove.
Learn more about how to insert a link to a web site.
Insert pictures
You can insert saved photos and any other kind of image into your notes.
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On any page, tap the cursor where you want to insert the picture.
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iPhone: Tap the Camera icon on the left of the toolbar that appears, select the source of the picture (for example, From Library), tap the picture you want, and tap Done.
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iPad: Tap Insert > Pictures, select the source of the picture (for example, your Camera Roll), tap the picture you want, and then tap Done.
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Crop the picture as needed, and then tap Done again to insert the picture.
Note: You can also insert a picture directly from your camera by tapping Insert > Camera.
Learn more about how to insert pictures on your iPhone or iPad.
Insert a table
Tables are a great way to organize information in your notes using rows and columns. Start by inserting a simple grid that you can expand as needed.
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Tap Insert > Table. OneNote starts with a simple 2 x 2 grid.
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Tap inside any of the table cells to display the Table tab on the ribbon, from which additional commands are now available.
Note: You cannot currently insert a table using OneNote for iPhone.
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.
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In your notes, go to the page where you want to insert a file or document.
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iPhone: Tap the Paperclip icon on the right of the toolbar that appears, search for or select the source of the file on the left, and then tap the file to insert it. If you don't see your file, tap Browse to search other locations.
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iPad: Tap Insert > File, search for or select the source of the file on the left, and then tap the file to import it. If you don't see your file, tap Browse to search other locations.
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Note: Remember, inserted files are just copies. OneNote doesn’t automatically update the copies if the original files change.
Learn more about how to add files into your notebook.
Add more pages
You can add as many pages as you want to the current section.
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Do the following:
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iPhone: In the page list, tap the + Page 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.
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iPad: In the page list on the left, tap the + Page icon near the lower left corner.
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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.
Learn more about how to add pages and sections in OneNote.
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:
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iPhone: In the bottom center, tap the magnifying glass icon
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iPad: Near the upper left corner, tap the magnifying glass icon
Learn more about how to search your notes.
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.
