"Insert link to file"- where did this go?

Anonymous
2013-02-06T22:04:23+00:00

I'm an attorney, and I created a great litigation and trial-management system using only OneNote.  We put it to use in a large "mass action" case with over fifty plaintiffs and tens of thousands of exhibits.  The system allowed us to completely outmaneuver the plaintiffs at trial, and we were able to line up exhibits, deposition citations, and both direct and cross examination questions from a single program.   We all credit a great deal of our defense verdict to the system.

The key feature that let us build the various pages for trial quickly was the ability to drag and drop exhibit pdfs into the onenote pages as links to files.  Due to the sheer volume of exhibits, as well as the ease of using tables, links were far more effective than inserting the files directly, and certainly more effective than inserting printouts. 

With OneNote 2013, this mission-critical feature appears to be missing.  I can only insert the file, or insert a printout.  I don't want to do either- I want to insert a link.  I know that I can insert links using the manual "insert link" function, but that is slower and more error prone than the simplicity of the previous versions.  Am I missing a key option to trigger?  Or is this a missing feature from OneNote 2013?  If the latter, I suspect we will stick with 2010....

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  1. Anonymous
    2017-12-01T10:59:46+00:00

    Hi BenJCarman,

    I too have been somewhat frustrated by the omission of the "Insert link to file" feature, so much so that I have recently decided to do something about it. I have developed the "Convert Copied Paths to File Hyperlinks" macro using the Onetastic Onenote addin.

    When run, the macro converts selected pasted "Copied Paths" into file hyperlinks. See a demonstration of the macro in action here.

    The Onetastic Onenote addin required to run this macro can be downloaded from GetOnetastic. The  "Convert Copied Paths to File Hyperlinks" macro can be downloaded from within the addin by clicking on "Download Macros" from the Onetastic ribbon and selecting the Hyperlink category.

    If you find this macro useful please donate to encourage the development of more useful timesavers.

    Regards,

    Simon.

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-11-10T16:05:18+00:00

    The loss of this feature drives many OneNote-users crazy and forced me to go back to OneNote2010. It is incredible that Microsoft REMOVES a feature many users rely on. Professional Product Management looks completely different. And even more incredible is that the feature isn't even back in OneNote2016 ...  If I was the owner of the company, I would remove the responsible managers. Causing severe anger and frustration to the customers is the least thing a reasonable company should allows.

    Here is the best workaround I found (works at least for OneNote2016):

    1. You drag the file to OneNote and embed it.
    2. You right click on the embedded file and choose Copy link to original
    3. You paste this link in OneNote
    4. You delete the embedded file

    4 steps instead of one... But it is still faster than all the other workarounds I saw.

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-11-10T02:12:57+00:00

    Thank you. I have been looking everywhere for a way to copy as path. This <shift right click> is a work around I can use ----

    HOWEVER, I have a related question. When I go through the long process of inserting a link using the "Insert Link" function why does it always send me out to One Drive??

    Can I turn off this feature? I despise the online office programs and PDFs and Music files won't play at all.

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-09-11T17:54:19+00:00

    This is not nearly as convenient as dragging and dropping to create a link.

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  5. Anonymous
    2017-09-07T20:55:12+00:00

    Agree with practically all previous comments, in my case using OneNote quite happily, but then found that I needed Home Office, so paid real money to get a retarded version of OneNote forced in by the installation process. Which by the way uninstalled Chrome, without my consent. Not very impressed. Will be seeking alternates.

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