How to move onenote sections back to top of notebook?

Anonymous
2017-05-26T06:50:42+00:00

I have found that the default onenote view is to have sections run along the top of the notebook instead of on the right (vertical view). I prefer to have my sections run along the top in the default view, but somehow, my view changed where all my sections are in a left aligned vertical view. I cannot figure out how to revert back to where all the section tabs are back along the top of each notebook. Please show me how. I cannot find this info anywhere in Microsoft support. Please note, this screenshot was taken while Office Theme = Colorful and while the "Enable Experimental Features" box was checked.

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneNote | For home | Windows

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2017-05-27T19:38:21+00:00

Hi Nick. I'm glad to hear you're an actual MicroSoft engineer. I hope it is an engineer specifically for the OneNote product. I want to call B.S. on your "user testing". Switching over without the option of giving your end users a choice of layout was plain stupid and short-sighted on the part of MicroSoft. I've been using OneNote for just over a year despite being an avid Apple products user. I did this on the advice of two colleagues who use Onenote regularly, and who actually work for Microsoft (as employees, not vendors). Both of them state that they use tabs across the top and they believe it is only the Apple version that was changed permanently. They stated they would revert to version 15.33 if the engineering team forced this changed upon the software! Also, why don't you take a moment to read the feedback that you've been receiving about this forced change? Not just within the VOTE page (which has risen to 370), but throughout all the tickets that have been submitted asking how to restore this, as well as posts and comments made within the Microsoft online community. The 370 votes posted are only a small percentage of dissent that's out there. Nick, take your head out of the sand. Really. You can add this as an option for those who prefer tabs on the left... But why force it? Stupid. Plain stupid. 

I have reverted back to version 15.33 using Apple's time machine. If anyone reading this wants to know how to fix this issue, the answer is revert back to version 15.33. If you don' have Time Machine, and you need an alternative means to do so, please post a message here and I will help you with this.

Was this answer helpful?

400+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2017-05-27T05:41:55+00:00

Hey Santiago! I'm an engineer on the OneNote team.

To bring consistency across the OneNote platforms we've moved the section selection to the left side of the screen. Through user testing we've determined that (while the migration can be confusing) users find the updated experience to be more intuitive given our hierarchy structure (Notebook => Section => Page).

You're welcome to leave feedback for this change on UserVoice :)

Was this answer helpful?

10+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments

434 additional answers

Sort by: Oldest
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2022-11-08T20:43:52+00:00

    I had a look at my own version, then online, and here's what I found. Ridiculously, you can't just set it in preferences. However, it appears that in OneNote for Windows 10, the tab sections are vertical on the left side, vs. OneNote 2016 (and subsequently) places the tab sections horizontally across the top. Honestly - for all the joys of MS software, this is just goofy, but at least explains the disparate experiences of so many people. Hope this helps - Susan

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2022-11-08T21:19:08+00:00

    The way to correct this is (unfortunately) to DUMP Office 365 (uninstall it) and download an ISO of Office 2019. Getting Microsoft to fix their goof up in O365 won't be easy and the stress of moving them would be similar to moving Philadelphia one foot west. Microsoft doesn't care what we think.

    I reverted to Office 2019 and have everything I want and more ...

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2022-11-23T14:09:02+00:00

    To bring consistency across the OneNote platforms we've moved the section selection to the left side of the screen. Through user testing we've determined that (while the migration can be confusing) users find the updated experience to be more intuitive given our hierarchy structure (Notebook => Section => Page).

    Whilst I can agree with the idea of consistency, it is a bit of a cop out to prevent users from changing from the default.

    Accessibility rules would suggest that users of differeing abilities, and therefore differeing screen layouts, should be able to organise the layout in such a way as suits their needs.

    For me, although I have no specific accessibility requirements, I do have a small screen laptop and therefore the left hand side arrangement oif everything prevents me from seeing the name of pages within a section, wihtout making the content pane too narrow to fit the amount of content I wish to see.

    I am a software engineer and from my perspective, the lack of a method to change the layout seems more like effort prevention rather than a UX decision.

    Was this answer helpful?

    2 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments