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Microsoft OneNote Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows

Keyboard shortcuts for Microsoft OneNote on Windows. Create and format notes, tag them, work with tables, organize notebooks, and search your pages.
Key label style

Frequently used shortcuts

Open a new OneNote window
Ctrl+M
Create a Quick Note
Ctrl+Shift+M
or
Win+Alt+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
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
Move one word to the right
Ctrl+Right
Delete one character to the left
Bksp
Delete one character to the right
Del
Delete one word to the left
Ctrl+Bksp
Delete one word to the right
Ctrl+Del
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
Context Menu
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

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
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+-
Apply or remove superscript formatting
Ctrl+Shift+=
Apply or remove subscript formatting
Ctrl+Shift+-
Apply or remove bulleted list formatting
Ctrl+.
Apply or remove numbered list formatting
Ctrl+/
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
or
Tab
Decrease the paragraph indent
Alt+Shift+Left
or
Shift+Tab
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+.
Decrease the font size of the selected text
Ctrl+Shift+,
Show or hide the rule lines on the current page
Ctrl+Shift+R

Insert items on a page

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
Alt+Shift+P
with high contrast mode or a contrast theme turned on
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
Win+Shift+S,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+=

Work with tables

Create a table
Tab
Create another column in a table with a single row
Tab
Create another row when at the end cell of a table
Enter
Insert a row below the current row
Ctrl+Enter
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
Create a new cell or row
Tab
Delete the current empty row in a table
Del

Select text and objects

Select all items on the current page
Ctrl+A
Select to the end of the line from the current cursor location
Shift+End
Select the whole line
Shift+Down
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
Move the selected paragraphs downward
Alt+Shift+Down
Increase the paragraph indent
Alt+Shift+Left
Decrease the paragraph indent
Alt+Shift+Right
Select the current paragraph and its subordinate paragraphs
Ctrl+Shift+-
Delete the selected note or object
Del
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
Go forward to the next page visited
Alt+Right

Tag notes

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

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+=
Collapse the selected heading
Alt+Shift+-
Increase the indent by one level
Tab
Decrease the indent by one level
Shift+Tab
Expand a selected, collapsed outline
Alt+Shift+=
Collapse a selected, expanded outline
Alt+Shift+-

Specify language settings

Set writing direction left to right (use Left Shift key)
Ctrl+Shift
Set writing direction right to left (use Right Shift key)
Ctrl+Shift
Increase indent by one level in right-to-left text
Tab
Decrease indent by one level in right-to-left text
Shift+Tab

Work with pages

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+8
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+[
Decrease the width of the page navigation pane
Ctrl+Shift+]
Decrease indent level of the current page in the page navigation pane
Ctrl+Alt+[
Increase indent level of the current page in the page navigation pane
Ctrl+Alt+]
Create a new subpage below the current page
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+N
Select all items
Ctrl+A
Select the current page
Ctrl+Shift+A
or
Ctrl+A
Move the selected page up in the page navigation pane
Alt+Shift+Up
Move the selected page down in the page navigation pane
Alt+Shift+Down
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+Pg Up
Go to the last page in the currently visible set of pages in the page navigation pane
Alt+Pg Dn
Scroll up in the current page
Pg Up
Scroll down in the current page
Pg Dn
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
Go to the previous paragraph
Ctrl+Up
Move the cursor up on the current page, or expand the page up
Ctrl+Alt+Up
Move the cursor down on the current page, or expand the page down
Ctrl+Alt+Down
Move the cursor left on the current page, or expand the page to the left
Ctrl+Alt+Left
Move the cursor right on the current page, or expand the page to the right
Ctrl+Alt+Right
Go to the next note container
Alt+Down
Go to the beginning of the line
Home
Go to the end of the line
End
Go to the previous page visited
Alt+Left
Go to the next page visited, if possible
Alt+Right
Zoom in
Ctrl+=
Zoom out
Ctrl+-
Synchronize the notebookOneNote saves your notes automatically as you change them, so saving by hand is not necessary.
Ctrl+S

Work with notebooks and sections

Open OneNote
Win+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+Pg Dn
Go to the previous page in the section
Ctrl+Pg 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+Pg Up
Go to the last page of the currently visible set of page tabs
Alt+Pg Dn
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
Ctrl+Shift+G,LeftRight,Shift+F10
Switch to a different notebook on the Navigation bar
Ctrl+G,UpDownTab,Enter

Search through notes

Move to the Search box to search all notebooks
Ctrl+E
While searching all notebooks, preview the next result
Down
While searching all notebooks, go to the selected result and dismiss the search
Enter
Change the search scope
Ctrl+E,Tab,Space
Open the Search Results pane
Alt+O
Search the current page
Ctrl+F
While searching the current page, move to the next result
Enter
or
F3
While searching the current page, move to the previous result
Shift+F3
Dismiss the search and return to the page
Esc

Share notes

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

Lock all password-protected sections
Ctrl+Alt+L

Intro

OneNote on Windows has the most complete shortcut set of any OneNote platform. The Windows version includes shortcuts for the tag system, applying To-Do checkboxes, importance markers, and other labels by keyboard, as well as quick note capture from the desktop without switching to the OneNote window first.

Windows-specific shortcut notes

Tag shortcuts. OneNote's tagging system is one of its most useful organizational features, and on Windows it's fully keyboard-accessible. Applying tags while writing doesn't require touching the mouse:

  • Ctrl+1: To-Do tag (checkbox)
  • Ctrl+2: Important (star)
  • Ctrl+3: Question
  • Ctrl+4: Remember for later
  • Ctrl+5: Definition
  • Ctrl+9: Find tags (opens the Tags Summary panel)

Using Ctrl+1 to add a checkbox while writing a note is one of the most-used shortcuts in OneNote for anyone who captures action items inline with their notes.

Quick note capture. OneNote on Windows has a system-level shortcut (Windows+N in some configurations, or Win+Alt+N in others) that opens a new quick note window from anywhere on the desktop, before OneNote's full window is even visible. This is covered on the table above. It's particularly useful during meetings when you need to capture something immediately.

Page and section management. Creating a new page (Ctrl+N in the page list), a new section, and navigating between them all have Ctrl-based shortcuts. Moving pages within the notebook structure is also keyboard-accessible.

Search across notebooks. Ctrl+E opens the search field, which searches across all open notebooks. This is one of the most-used navigation shortcuts for people with large OneNote setups.

Text formatting. Standard formatting shortcuts (Ctrl+B, Ctrl+I, Ctrl+U) and heading styles (Ctrl+Alt+1/2/3, consistent with Word on Windows) all work in OneNote.

Printable PDF

The OneNote Windows shortcut list is available as a printable PDF. The tag shortcuts (Ctrl+1 through Ctrl+9) are the section most unique to OneNote, worth printing for users who use tags actively.

FAQ

Need more than shortcuts?
Visit the Microsoft OneNote app page for an overview and helpful links.

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