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
    2021-07-25T12:34:35+00:00

    I hate the tabs on the left as well. I reverted back to the 2016 version. I’ve also heard the top tabs are in a 2019 version but haven’t wanted to mess with it.

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  2. Anonymous
    2021-07-25T06:38:16+00:00

    Hi, Judith:

    Think of the left tabs as the left labels on a spreadsheet - the horizontal labels where you list budget line items, or names of participants. Across the top are the horizontal axis labels - the year or the activity, etc. This thread hold the objections of those who suddenly found that there was no vertical axis labels - they had all been moved to the RIGHT, which was a total cluster for regular users. I just reverted to my former version on OneNote (2013) and then found the fix had been applied to the 2019 version, so I only went through the initial outrage before reverting backwards, which was a perfectly excellent solution. I use for notes for my American Government classes.... so I have the modules on the left, and different elements across the top. So, for Legislative Branch or Executive Branch (in a left tab) I then have section tabs at the top which are for videos, lecture notes, recommended books, articles, etc.

    Image

    If you really aren't able to wrap your head around the "spreadsheet" metaphor, you'll probably happier with something else.

    It can certainly be frustrating, I know!!

    Warm regards,

    Susan

    Thanks Susan, unfortunately I’m on Office 365 for Mac and don’t have the option to revert back to the older version. I’ve found some other software which is great but it’s costing me another £38 a year. If you upload it to one drive, it gets scrambled, so not the best solution but at least I can get my notes done now without stressing. Warm regards. Judy

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