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
    2020-05-10T17:45:53+00:00

    I've been using OneNote since some distant date prior to 2009. I've used it for work, teaching part time at universities, and many other tasks. When we had the option of putting the sections at the left, I used it occasionally, but found that leaving it at the top was the handiest in most circumstances (unless I had too many sections and didn't want to scroll over). I'm not an engineer, and I appreciate your "desire" for consistency, but since there were optional locations in the past, it's obvious it is very doable now with the newest version. I also like having the pages at the right, when my sections are at the top.  Depending on how many windows we have open on one or more of our monitors (I've used two wide screens at a time since before most PCs had video cards/inputs that would accept 2 or more), and ALWAYS have from 2 to 6 (or more) windows open at the same time. So, engineers, please (re)imagine the luxury of sizing windows from each open program any way you want, with the freedom to use OneNote in any type of layout that suits our use of different/multiple screens, etc. 

    For so many years, I've talked so many of my staff, students and others into trying out OneNote. I loved it, but the sudden shift I discovered this morning when I clicked on an upgraded version has sent me back to the Help key, limited training videos (I can always learn more, but not this time), and I left feeling pretty darn helpless. Remember when you first installed OneNote and there was a prepopulated section that had a lot of training and examples?  Oh yeah, even back over ten years ago. That was a great starting point for new users, and a good refresher for the rest of us. This morning, frustrated and thinking I was just being stupid, I even took a break and went outside to get my blood pressure down.  Luckily (I guess you can call it that) I found this MS OneNote forum and saw that I'm not the only one.

    Please, engineers, give us the option on the fly (as was possible for so many years) to move our stuff around the screen where it suits us best.  Thanks in advance for your help (I'm obviously being very hopeful and optimistic here because I KNOW you have the technology and ability).

    Thank you

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  2. Anonymous
    2020-05-01T10:12:40+00:00

    Kalab ~ I doubt Nick will see your comment as I suspect notifications to the many participants of this thread were suspended a long time ago. (I had to resubscribe in order to receive new notifications.) ...Anyway, consider voting and commenting here:

    Leaving (or option to leave) the section tabs at the top on the page

    õ¿õ¬

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-04-11T11:21:46+00:00

    JohnAynejian ~ I doubt Nick will see your comment as I suspect notifications to the many participants of this thread were suspended a long time ago. (I had to resubscribe in order to receive new notifications.) ...Anyway, consider voting and commenting here:

    Leaving (or option to leave) the section tabs at the top on the page

    õ¿õ¬

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