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While OneNote is great for use on a tablet, its desktop app is just as handy. In this article, I’ll run through the essential keyboard shortcuts for OneNote on a Windows desktop computer.
Mac keyboard shortcuts in OneNote often follow the same principle as the Windows keyboard shortcuts, though the Alt key on a Windows keyboard is often replaced by the Options key on a Mac, and the Windows Ctrl key can be substituted for a Mac’s Cmd key.
The OneNote Interface
Here’s a screenshot of the OneNote interface and where you can find different areas of the program. These areas are referred to throughout the article, so use this graphic as a guide if you run into any unfamiliar terms.
Since new notes can be added anywhere on a page, the only way to do so is by single-clicking the relevant area using your mouse. However, once you’ve done this, you don’t need to touch your mouse again! Always use the main area of your keyboard for keyboard shortcuts, and avoid using the number pad.
OneNote Shortcuts to Use When Typing Notes
These shortcuts are the nuts and bolts for creating and editing notes in OneNote.
Select the text in a note
Shift+Left or Right Arrows
Select the current line in a note
Select the current note
Ctrl+A twice
Select everything on the active page
Ctrl+A three times
Cut the selected text
Copy the selected text
Undo the previous action or actions
Redo the previous action or actions you undid
Insert the current date
Insert the current time
Insert the current date and time
Alt+Shift+F
Formatting a Note’s Text in OneNote
After using the above shortcuts to select text in a note, use these keyboard shortcuts to apply formatting. If you use any of these shortcuts without selecting text in a note, the formatting will be applied to anything you add to the note after that point.
Make the selected text bold
Make the selected text italic
Underline the selected text
Add strikethrough to the selected text
Increase the selected text’s font size
Decrease the selected text’s font size
Ctrl+Shift+,
Highlight the current line of text in yellow (or remove the yellow highlight)
Ctrl+4
Highlight the current line of text in green (or remove the green highlight)
Start or end a bulleted list
Start or end a numbered list
Left-align the current paragraph
Right-align the current paragraph
Copy the selected text’s formatting
Paste text formatting
Apply heading styles 1 to 6
Ctrl+Alt+[number]
Working With OneNote Tables
Using tables in OneNote is straightforward. Here’s how to add and amend a table in a OneNote note.
Shortcut
Turn the active note into a table
Place your cursor where you want the column break to be, and press Tab
Create a table
Insert a new row below the current row
Ctrl+Enter
Insert a new column to the right of the current column
Select cells in a table
Select text in a cell
Select a whole cell
Select the whole row of cells
Select the whole table
Ctrl+A four times
Delete a table row
Ctrl+A three times > Delete
Delete a whole table
Ctrl+A four times > Delete
Exit a table to add text below
Navigate to the bottom row and press the Down Arrow key
Applying and Removing OneNote Tags
OneNote lets you attach a visual tag to text within your notes to categorize information and make it stand out. To apply a tag, make sure your cursor is in the relevant text, and use the following keyboard shortcuts.
Action
Apply, check, uncheck, or clear the “To Do” tag and checkbox to the current line of text
Ctrl+1
Apply or clear the “Important” tag to the current line of text
Ctrl+2
Apply or clear the “Question” tag to the current line of text
Ctrl+3
Apply or clear the “Highlight” tag to the current line of text
Ctrl+6
Apply or clear the “Contact” tag to the current line of text
Ctrl+7
Apply or clear the “Address” tag to the current line of text
Ctrl+8
Apply or clear the “Phone Number” tag to the current line of text
Remove tags from the current line of text
Ctrl+0
Organizing and Navigating OneNote Pages, Subpages, and Sections
As I mentioned above, the only way to add a new note is by single-clicking the relevant place, but that’s the only time you’ll need to use your mouse when organizing and navigating your OneNote file. See the screenshot in the first section of this article to remind yourself of the OneNote interface and, thus, some of the terms used in the table below.
Create a new page
Ctrl+N
Create a new page or subpage after the active page or subpage
Create a new subpage
Promote a subpage to a page
Demote a page to a subpage
Create a new section
Jump to the next or previous note on a page
Alt+Down or Alt+Up
Jump to the previous page in a section
Jump to the next page in a section
Jump to the first page in the current section
Jump to the last page in the current section
Jump to the last page you viewed
Jump to the active page’s title
Jump between OneNote’s interface areas and menus
Open a small OneNote window to create a side note
Ctrl+Shift+M
Other Useful OneNote Keyboard Shortcuts
Here are some other keyboard shortcuts I use all the time.
Add a hyperlink
Open a selected hyperlink
Launch the search bar
Share the active page via Outlook email
Show or hide the ruler lines
Open or close full-screen mode
Open Editor to review the notes for spelling and grammar
F7
Learning the keyboard shortcuts is just one way tomaximize your OneNote productivity. You can also set reminders for important tasks,use OCR to extract text from images,record and transcribe voice recordings, and invite collaborators to contribute to a notebook.
