"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....

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneNote | For home | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2015-04-29T16:25:50+00:00

    Two years later and nothing. No wonder people love Microsoft so much.

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-03-26T16:41:33+00:00

    Good document management practice specifies NOT having multiple versions of files in multiple locations so linking to a single source file is the correct and safe way to work.  In other words, store the original in one place and use links/short cuts to access it for viewing and/or editing.

    I agree

    Bernd

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  3. Anonymous
    2015-03-26T11:11:42+00:00

    Good document management practice specifies NOT having multiple versions of files in multiple locations so linking to a single source file is the correct and safe way to work.  In other words, store the original in one place and use links/short cuts to access it for viewing and/or editing.

    In any event, OneNote is not a good place to keep originals since it is not really a file or document manager.  

    Easiest solution I have found is to use CTRL-K to bring up the link dialog, navigate to the required file, select it and click OK.  The file location and its name are then inserted for you.  However, this is not anywhere near as good as dragging files into OneNote and being given the option of inserting the original OR a link - please bring this back soon.

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  4. Anonymous
    2015-02-24T19:04:47+00:00

    I love OneNote... but wish it were more like Notebook for the Mac (by Circus Ponies)

    I use it similar to that described above, but for storing, assimilating and creating information related to medical devices and how they are used - using all kinds of media.  Notebook lets you create real sections that can be expanded and contracted as the need arises. 

    I have too many OneNote notebooks with tabs and pages - would have far few with the feature I described from Notebook.

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  5. Anonymous
    2015-02-18T15:02:18+00:00

    2 years went by, and this popular feature which worked so well in older versions didn't come back.

    Even worse. It doesn't work in 365 either.

    I think that dragging and dropping elements or links to an application that is supposed to store all kinds of information one can think of, is one of the most basic features.

    Wasn't OLE one of the new features of Windows 3.1? Object linking and embedding? And now, more than 20 years later, Microsoft takes some of these features away from their newest products!

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