Windows 10 OneNote app sucks.

Anonymous
2018-10-05T06:25:13+00:00

I don't understand why we are being steered toward this app and away from the desktop version which had so many more features.  You can't slap a more vivid shade of purple on a stripped down app and call it OneNote. There's so many note-taking apps out there and none of them comes close to OneNote 2016.  The OneNote app is definitely creating alot of space for those apps to grab a larger share of the market.   

Scrolling through several pages of Word printouts is painful on my computer; slow and choppy.  Not to mention, I can't just drop a Word file onto the OneNote page and have it printout.  I now must convert it to a PDF, insert it, then make it printout from there.  

How about the Outlook functions which are now gone?

I'm not going to go on and on about what's wrong with the app since so many before have done that already.  I'm just adding my voice to those who know that the OneNote app is an inferior product and it's important for Microsoft to hear it.    

The OneNote app should offer everything that the desktop version offered, and I would assume even more. Microsoft, you are slowly taking away the things that keep me from buying a Mac.  This isn't an upgradewhen you give us something with less features than its predecessor.

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

52 answers

Sort by: Newest
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2019-08-13T20:57:10+00:00

    Seriously - the requirement that OneNote files MUST be int he cloud is just awful. Let ME be the one that decides that. And while you're at it, why don't you let me just move my data files to the folders I want them in. I made the mistake of "sharing" my old notebook with my corporate account on my work laptop, and now I can't move it back to my personal PC. Nightmare!!!

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2019-08-10T16:32:03+00:00

    "stripped this great tool, slapped the sappy 2019 look and then tried to pan this off as the future improved."

    Nicely done! Indeed, it is an abomination in software design -- and there is no measure for my disgust in Microsoft's stupidity on this matter. Have you ever seen this -- this guy was a OneNote product manager and wrote this about Windows 10 OneNote. It's just absolute BS and has no bearing on reality in any dimension.

    https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Office-365-Blog/The-best-version-of-OneNote-on-Windows/ba-p/183974

    I too have been a long time OneNote user since it's inception. The tool got better and better with each version release and then, BOOM...MS stripped this great tool, slapped the sappy 2019 look and then tried to pan this off as the future improved.

    The search function sucks. You do a search, click back into the search field and the text won't clear when I type my next word. I have to do a special workaround...a WORKAROUND FOR THE SEARCH BOX TO WORK LIKE IT DOES IN ONENOTE 2016!

    Please fix this issue Microsoft. This release of OneNote does not suffice.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2019-08-10T16:20:24+00:00

    I feel your pain -- and that's awesome that you've been on board with OneNote since the start.

    But don't give up hope. For one thing, you can still download OneNote 2016 for free on Microsoft's site (they are purposely not advertising this so that they can steer people into this nightmare on Windows 10). Here's the link:

    https://support.office.com/en-us/article/install-or-reinstall-onenote-2016-for-windows-c08068d8-b517-4464-9ff2-132cb9c45c08

    I've been hammering Microsoft on this for quite a while and I'm gonna keep at it. Anyway, you can download it from the link above and keep on doing things exactly as you like. Lemme know if you have any questions.

    Agree 100 %.  I have been using One Note since its inception.  There is a lot of personal content I NEVER want to store in the cloud.  When I recently updated to Office 365 Personal it installed the Windows 10 version of One Note.  I could no longer open or use my stored One Note folders without uploading them to One Note.  NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!  When will Microsoft understand people do not trust putting personal information in the cloud.  

    MICROSOFT please listen to me.  Keep the desktop One Note alive and updated for those of us who do not store anything personal in the cloud and never will.  I have a personal server where I store all my content.  I do not need One Drive nor will I ever use it.  Millennials may flock to your new way of managing content but there are millions of users out there who still store their files locally where they are 100% safe from theft.

    Please fix this.

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2019-08-10T16:02:14+00:00

    I too have been a long time OneNote user since it's inception. The tool got better and better with each version release and then, BOOM...MS stripped this great tool, slapped the sappy 2019 look and then tried to pan this off as the future improved.

    The search function sucks. You do a search, click back into the search field and the text won't clear when I type my next word. I have to do a special workaround...a WORKAROUND FOR THE SEARCH BOX TO WORK LIKE IT DOES IN ONENOTE 2016!

    Please fix this issue Microsoft. This release of OneNote does not suffice.

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  5. Anonymous
    2019-08-10T15:55:15+00:00

    It should have an option to have local notebooks as well as notebooks fully on the cloud.

    But the worst of all is that some features of old Desktop One Note are not available in the new One Note. One of these features is related the possibility of printing files. Cut and Paste does not work (you have to drag and drop, which is terrible if you are using a small screen), some files cannot be printed (only attached), and, last but very very important, when I edit a printed file (word, Power point, etc) and I save the file it does not refresh the printing. 

    Please Microsoft solve the problems above asap.

    Jonas Gomes

    Was this answer helpful?

    2 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments