Onenote for mac 2016 move section pane to top as tabs, and pages pane to right (like on Windows)

Anonymous
2016-12-19T18:03:55+00:00

So this is what my one note looks like:

But I would like to get it to look like this layout instead:

This is how its advertised for mac and I have not been able to find anyone else with the same issue that I'm having. I just want the sections pane to be at the top and look like tabs, and the pages view to be on the right. 

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Microsoft 365 and Office | OneNote | For home | MacOS

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Anonymous
2017-11-13T08:07:41+00:00

I'd recommend to get used to the new layout (and hope for some improvement on that in coming versions) rather than sticking with an outdated app version. The Updates between 15.33 and now (16.7 for me on insider fast) have removed a lot of bugs and incorporated some new features. Also I do not know how that outdated app will behave under High Sierra in the long term.

I did find some advantages in the new layout (although I also preferred the tabs on top as I mostly use OneNote 2016 for Windows which is the only version left that has it): Especially with more than 6 or 7 sections in a notebook I'd have to scroll horizontally to see more sections and/or use very short names for them.

Yes, you are right about the cloud only storage. This is the case for ALL OneNote versions except for OneNote 2016 which comes with MS Office 2016 for Windows (only!). That is more of a leftover from older OneNote versions (2003, 2007) on Windows, when there was not cloud storage. OneNote is declared "cloud software" now by Microsoft so this "restriction" will most likely not change. 

If you are looking for a similar powerful note taking sotftware that can synchronize across multiple systems/platforms/devices AND gives you the option to locally save your notes (without syncing to other devices in that case), your only choice would be Evernote with a paid subscription. But that one has it's weaknesses as well (IMO a lot of them in the latest versions) and a much more cluttered interface.

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Anonymous
2017-11-12T13:14:59+00:00

The new UI layout isn't an experimental feature anymore since version 15.34. So there is no way to go back to the old look except for installing an outdated version (prior to 15.34) from this link and prevent your Office updater from installing automatic OneNote updates in the future -- which I don't recommend very strongly.

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Anonymous
2017-05-19T16:34:25+00:00

Hello--

This is Denise from the OneNote Team.  The left-side navigation is the default OneNote navigation.

We'd love to get more information on what we can do to improve it.

As you’ve noticed, we have made some design updates and based on feedback from existing customers, we focused on 3 key areas:  1) consistency across platforms, (2) usability for those who use assistive technologies such as screen readers, and (3) improving organization and navigation of notes**.** Regardless of what device someone is using, the experience will be the same, so people can capture thoughts, add files and get things done more quickly with no time required to learn new design patterns. We also focused on making OneNote more usable for those with disabilities such as vision and mobility impairments. We interviewed hundreds of people and analyzed product telemetry to understand how to best improve OneNote for use with screen readers and keyboard shortcuts. This design update makes OneNote easier to use for everyone. We also worked with users to learn how we could improve the navigation layout, especially for larger notebooks with more sections. Now, the navigation controls are all in one area on the left-hand side of the app. which allows people to easily switch between their notes and maintain focus on their work rather than the clicks in the app. 

We encourage you to try the new navigation and let us know what you like, what you don't like, and where we might improve.

Please try out the following:

  • Resize the navigation panes by dragging from their borders with your mouse.
  • Hide the navigation panes, or toggle previews of page content, by opening the View menu and choosing Navigation Panes.
  • Change the position in the page list where new pages are created via Settings (on Windows and iOS) or Preferences (on Mac).

For more information, please go to the link below --

Get started with the new OneNote 

http://support.office.com/article/ab84fcc2-f845-41ac-9c29-89b0720c8eb3

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  1. Anonymous
    2018-01-13T09:49:25+00:00

    Hi Denise,  

    I would like to first start off by saying that I created an account on here simply to discuss this issue with OneNote.  

    I use OneNote at work on a windows computer and loved it so much that I decided to download it here on my Mac to keep up with more personalized organizations.  

    I spent hours trying to figure out how to make the layout similar to the one we use at work.  It was disappointing to say the least to find out that the layout is not only different, but we are unable to utilize options.  

    I read your explanations, and I understand that you found people who enjoyed this way of navigating through OneNote.  I don't discount their views, but given that many of us have a very different point-of-view it is hard to understand why options were not given and are not being considered for this tool, especially since many users are expressing their frustrations.  

    Using OneNote at work was such a great way of navigating through information that needed to be saved and shared across spaces.  I also checked it at work, and found out that the Windows version does include the options.  I reached out to my colleagues and asked them if they would prefer a navigation similar to the new way that has been designed, or the one we utilize at work with the tabs at the top.  They unanimously agreed that they would find it extremely challenging to work and streamline our processes with a navigation tool set solely on the left side of the view.  

    I appreciate your hard-work on this, and being open to our experiences with OneNote, even if they are negative.  It would greatly benefit many of us to have the option to utilize OneNote the way we used to, or are able to on other computers.  Please consider our frustrations with the tool, and understand that it is because we greatly benefited from the previous design that we feel so strongly we should have options.  

    Please consider discussing this with your team, any improvements that can be made to provide us with options would be greatly appreciated by many of us.

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