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

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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.

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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 :)

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  1. Anonymous
    2020-08-03T21:25:10+00:00

    Hi Paul,

    Very helpful, thank you!!  I'll download the 2016 here shortly and re-org my sections; like you I'll have lots of structural changes and organization to work with but that's ok as I have a lot of collateral.

    Many thanks Paul,

    Cheers - Dane

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  2. Anonymous
    2020-08-03T18:27:56+00:00

    I've been using OneNote since it's creation as a notebook replacement because someone kept forgetting their notebook in just about every conference room besides being unable to search for notes taken on projects - you know who you are.

    While I've watched, sometimes in good faith for progress and times in complete disbelief at whoever thinks they know more than the users ("usability folks", sorry Kim, that sit in a room all day?), the inability to configure either layout is just down to someone's ego and not the consensus of the actual user community.

    I've got at least 10 different OneNote sessions stranded on various computers (and backups) since the beginning without the ability, besides generating 50+ tabs or sections, to merge notebooks, so I know the pain of each time someone in 'Usability' thinks they know what the user community wants or needs.  Oh, and the "cloud" was not the cloud back then and Azure wasn't even a thought in anyone's mind

    I vote to bring back the tabs layout across the top like the older versions, and with the ability to configure for the left or right side views; otherwise you will continue to alienate your user base and satisfy the PM's ego on OneNote which will continue to diminish it's value that we've all loved, or really liked, at one point.

    Bring back the ability self-configure the tabs/section view!

    Soapbox session done, thank you.

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-07-09T13:50:05+00:00

    yes.  Everyone here agrees.  Just letting you know that you did not need to stay on 2013 :-)  I have heard that Microsoft is actually extending support of 2016 because of this.  Now if they will actually FIX it!

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