Shared notepad - not displayed on colleague's screen

Hayes Willa 0 Reputation points
2026-08-18T13:10:49.4933333+00:00

Good morning,

I created a notepad for a group, which is editable, and I shared it. Some colleagues see the notepad on their ONE note, but for others it does not.

What manipulations are required for this to appear?

Thank you in advance.

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneNote | For business | Windows
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  1. Alina Le 5,000 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-08-18T13:41:51.3033333+00:00

    Hello @Hayes Willa

    From what you described, you created and shared a OneNote notebook for a group, and while some colleagues can see it in OneNote, others do not see the notebook appear on their side even though it has been shared with them.

    This behavior can sometimes be related to how the notebook was shared, how the recipients are accessing OneNote, or whether the notebook has been added to their OneNote account.

    To analyze your case to see where the root cause is, might I confirm:

    • Are the colleagues using OneNote for Windows, OneNote on the web, or another version?
    • Was the notebook shared directly with individual users or through a Microsoft 365 Group/Team?
    • When you check the sharing permissions, do the affected colleagues appear in the permission list?
    • If they open the original sharing link, do they receive any error message?

    Along the way, I also want to help the notebook appear for the affected colleagues, please try these steps :

    1/ Check sharing permissions

    • Open the notebook.
    • Select "Share" > "Manage Access".
    • Confirm the affected colleagues have access.

    User's image User's image

    User's image

    You can also recreate the link to refresh it and share the link again to your members.

    User's image

    2/ Open the notebook using the shared link

    • Ask the colleague to open the original sharing link.
    • Sign in with the Microsoft 365 account that was granted access.
    • If available, select "Open in Desktop App".

    3/ Look for the notebook in OneNote

    • Select "File" > "Open".
    • Check whether the notebook is listed under shared or recent notebooks.

    4/ Verify the correct account

    • In the top right corner of OneNote, check the signed-in account.
    • Make sure it matches the account that received the invitation.

    For your reference:

    How to share a OneNote notebook

    If you get stuck while trying the steps above, please share a screenshot or provide more detailed information. I will check the situation and continue to support you. 

    Kind regards, 

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  2. AI answer

    2026-08-18T13:11:03.7166667+00:00

    For shared notes to appear for everyone, the notebook must be stored in a shared location such as OneDrive or SharePoint, and each colleague must have permission to open and edit it.

    What to check:

    1. Confirm the notebook is shared from OneDrive or SharePoint
      A OneNote notebook must be saved there before it can be shared.
    2. Share the entire notebook
      In OneNote, select Share in the upper-right corner, then Share Entire Notebook.
      Enter the names of the colleagues or groups, then set permission to Can edit or Can view as needed, and select Send.
    3. Verify permissions for the affected colleagues
      If some people can see it and others cannot, check whether the missing colleagues were actually added to the share list or whether their permission needs to be changed.
    4. Ask affected colleagues to open the shared notebook directly
      In Skype for Business shared notes guidance, only shared notebooks that were previously opened on a computer appear in the note picker. If the notebook does not appear automatically, they may need to open it first from the shared invitation.
    5. Be aware of current sharing limits
      In OneNote for the web, a single notebook page cannot be shared by itself; the entire notebook is shared. If the expectation is that only one page should appear, that can cause confusion.
    6. If using meeting/shared notes scenarios
      Shared notes must be in a location others can access, and they must have permission to open and edit them.

    Also, OneNote can show who is editing by going to View > Show Authors, which helps confirm that collaboration is working.

    References:

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