Making desktop onenote default for windows 10

I've found a way to hijack the notifications panel Note button, without having to uninstall the default onenote modern app, which is integrated with Edge.

• Open registry editor and go to this key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ActionCenter\Quick Actions\All\SystemSettings_Launcher_QuickNote

• Rename "Uri" to Uri-backup". Because we are about to replace "Uri".

• Save the following block-of-code as a .reg file.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\OneNote-sidenote]

@="URL:onenote-sidenote Protocol"

"URL Protocol"=""

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\OneNote-sidenote\shell]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\OneNote-sidenote\shell\Open]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\OneNote-sidenote\shell\Open\command]

;!!!make sure this matches OneNote path in your system,

;   and double each backslash () in path

@=""C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office15\ONENOTE.EXE" /sidenote /paste /nologo"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ActionCenter\Quick Actions\All\SystemSettings_Launcher_QuickNote]

;back up default value, as found in my system

;"Uri-backup"="onenote-cmd://quicknote?onOpen=typing"

"Uri"="onenote-sidenote://"

• Merge that reg file with the registry (right-click the reg file).

• Now restart Windows Explorer via task manager (ctrl+shift+escape).

• If all goes well, tapping that "Note" tile in the notification pane will now open a Onenote dekstop sidenote (with current clipboard contents pasted in) .

• This is backwards-compatible with at least OneNote 2007, and both click-to-run and regular install.

edit: fixed a typo.

I found a work around to get screenshots with surface pen to go into OneNote desktop.  Touch/press and hold the OneNote desktop icon in the taskbar until a menu comes up above it. Under Tasks, choose "Take Screen Clipping", and when the white overlay appears, select the area you want to screenshot with the pen.  The screenshot will appear in the most recent note you were working on in OneNote desktop version. Hope this helps

Dear Mr. Jacob K Win 8,

Sometimes I need to take a screenshot of something, and having the screenshot open in the non desktop OneNote is annoying because then I have to switch between two different versions of OneNote, which also don't always sync right away.  Personally, I like the desktop OneNote so much better, and find it much easier to use and much more organized.

yes, uninstalling seems to have done the trick, thanks

But if I press the pen button when the screen is locked on my SP3, the Metro Onenote magically installs itself and pops up asking me to sign in. The desktop version indeed works when the screen is unlocked.

Do you have the same problem?

please try it before you comment... it does not work