Getting started with OneNote

You can also create a new notebook directly from OneDrive.

1. Sign into OneDrive through the NSW Education staff portal that you use for OneNote.
   
2. When signed into OneDrive, navigate to the folder where you want to create the new notebook (for example, Documents).
   
3. On the top menu bar, click or tap + New > OneNote notebook.
   

As soon as your first section and page are created, you can continue editing in your browser window or click or tap Open in OneNote on the top menu bar to switch to the full OneNote app installed on your computer or device.

You can keep all your pages in a single notebook section, but adding more sections over time as your notebook grows will help you keep things organised.

To create a new section, do the following:

1. At the bottom of the sections list on the left side of the app window, click or tap + Section.
   
2. If you don’t see this button, first click or tap the Show Notebooks button near the top left of the OneNote app window.
   
3. When the new section appears, type a new name to describe the notes you’ll keep in the new section, and then press Enter.
   
4. The new section contains a single, blank page. You can begin taking notes on this page and add additional pages whenever you need them.
   

You can add as many notes to a page as you want and adding more pages to your notebook will help you keep things organised.

To add a new page, do the following:

1. At the bottom of the page list on the left side of the app window, click or tap + Page.
   
2. If you don’t see this button, first click or tap the Show Notebooks button near the top left of the OneNote app window.
   
3. When the new page appears, type a page title above the date and time stamp.
   
4. You can change the order of pages by dragging their page titles up and down in the list.
   

Sub-pages are a good way to group and organise notes in OneNote. 

Before you create a subpage, you’ll need at least two pages: a page that will be your main page, and a page that will be the sub-page. If your notebook is empty, you can add pages.

To make a page a sub-page:

1. Hover the mouse pointer over the page tab on the right side of the page.
   
2. Click and drag the page tab to the right until the title is indented.
   

You can handwrite notes with a mouse, stylus, or your finger:

1. Select Draw, select a pen, and start writing.
   

Convert handwriting to text:

1. Choose Select Objects or Type Text or Lasso Select.
2. Draw a circle around the text and select Ink to Text. 

Now, you can edit the text the same way you edit your typed text.

Search for notes

1. Select the magnifying glass or press Ctrl+F.
2. Type a search word or phrase.
   

OneNote highlights search words in typed text, handwritten notes, and even words shown in pictures.

To insert an online image:

1. On any page, tap where you want to insert a picture.
   
2. Click Insert > Pictures > From Online. 
   
3. A side bar will appear - type in a keyword to search for an image, tap the picture to select it and it will be inserted into your note space.
   

NB: these images are all licensed under Creative Commons and are copyright-free.

To insert a picture from a file:

1. On any page, tap where you want to insert a picture.
   
2. Click Insert > Pictures > from File.
   
3. Navigate to the location of the picture you want to insert, tap the picture to select it, and tap Open.
   

You can insert pictures from your computer’s camera, or from a file on your computer or device.

To insert a picture from your camera, do the following:

1. On any page, tap where you want to insert a picture.
   
2. Insert > Picture > From Camera.
   
3. If prompted, allow OneNote to use your computer’s camera.
   
4. When the live image appears in your camera, tap the screen to take the picture.
   
5. Click or tap Insert All to insert the captured picture (or pictures).
   

You can format text in OneNote for Windows 10 so it becomes a link.

1. Select the text you want to format (with a mouse and keyboard, click and drag; on a touch device, double-tap a word and drag the selection handles).
   
2. Click or tap Insert > Link.
   
3. If necessary, change the words shown in the text to display box.
   
4. Type the URL in the address box, and then click or tap Insert.
   

To add a new table to your notes:

1. On any page, tap where you want to insert a table.
   
2. Tap the Insert menu, and then tap Table.
   
3. OneNote creates a small table with one row and two columns.
   
4. Tap in the first cell and start typing.
   

To move to the next column (or to create a new column), press the Tab key on your keyboard. To create a new row of cells, place the cursor in the last cell on the right, and then press Enter. If you don’t have a keyboard, click the Table tab to change or format the table.

To add a voice recording audio file to your notes:

1. On any page, tap where you want to insert your audio.
   
2. Tap on insert and click audio. You will see a new tab appear called audio and the recording will automatically begin. Note you will also see an audio link icon appear in your note taking space.
   
3. In the Audio tab, click stop to end your recording.
   
4. You can play your file back as well as skip forward and backwards using the controls.
   

To add an online video to your notes:

1. On any page, tap where you want to insert a video.
   
2. Tap on insert in the menu bar and choose Online Video.
   
3. Paste the URL from your online video site and click OK. 

See this link for supported video types:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/embed-content-in-onenote-fd5abf7d-abd4-4902-8e5f-93088c45b11d?ui=en-us&rs=en-us&ad=us

Selecting this option uploads a copy of one or more selected files to your OneDrive account (the same account on which you store your current OneNote notebook). A link to each file is then inserted on the current page in your notebook. Using this option can help to reduce the size of your notebooks by keeping the source files on OneDrive, and you can easily invite other people to view and contribute to those files.

1. Place the cursor anywhere on the current page, and then click Insert > File.
   
2. In the dialog box that appears, locate and select the file you want to insert, and then click Open.
   
3. In the dialog box that appears, click Upload to OneDrive and insert link.

For each uploaded file, OneNote inserts a clickable link that points back to the source file on OneDrive. If the inserted file is associated with a Microsoft Office app (such as a Word document, an Excel spreadsheet, or a PowerPoint presentation), OneNote will display a live preview of the file contents on your page. This lets you view and browse through the file contents quickly and easily, without having to open the file in the associated app.

Selecting this option inserts the contents of a file as a virtual 'printout' by importing the contents of the file as a series of images (one image per 'page'). Once placed in your notes, each printout image can be selected, resized, moved, and annotated, but they can't be edited like normal text. 

1. Select Insert > Printout (alternatively you can select Insert > File > Attach as Printout).
2. In the dialog box that appears, locate and select the file you want to insert, and then click Open.
   
3. In the dialog box that appears, click Insert as printout. If the source file is large, it may take a moment for the printout images to appear in your notes.

When the printout images have been placed in your notes, click any image to resize it, move it elsewhere on the page, or right-click the image to cut, copy, paste, save, or delete it.

You can also annotate any printout image by typing or handwriting text over it. To do this, right-click the image you want to annotate, click the Set Picture as Background button, and then type or write over the image.

Selecting this option inserts a copy of one or more source files as separate attachments in OneNote. Once inserted, attached files have no link to their source files, so any changes you make to them in OneNote will exist only there. 

1. Select Insert > File.
   
2. In the dialog box that appears, locate and select the file you want to insert, and then click Open.
   
3. In the dialog box that appears, click Insert as attachment.
   
4. In the box that appears, select the file and select Open.
   

To add a sticker to your notes, do the following:

1. On any page, click where you want to add a sticker.
2. On the Insert tab, click Stickers.
3. In the Stickers pane that opens, click the sticker you want to insert.

If you don’t see the sticker you want, select a different category icon on the left side of the Stickers pane.

You can modify an inserted sticker by doing any of the following:

• To move a sticker to a different location on your page, position the mouse pointer over the sticker until you see a cross-cursor icon, and then click and drag the sticker to the new location.
• To change a sticker’s size, click and drag one of the sizing handles in its corners. (On a tablet, you can tap and then pinch or stretch the sticker with two fingers.)
• To rotate or flip a sticker, click to select it, and then click the Picture tab on the ribbon to reveal the flip and rotation commands.
• To set a sticker as a background image so that you can type over it, click to select the sticker, click the Picture tab, and then click Set Picture as Background.

To insert a form. Open to the page in which you want to insert a form or quiz.

1. On the Insert tab, select Forms.
   
2. A Forms for OneNote panel will open and dock on the right side of your OneNote notebook, with a list of any forms and quizzes you've created.
   
3. Find the form or quiz you want to insert into your OneNote page under My forms, and then select Insert.
   

You may also select:

• New Form: If you want to create a form from scratch.
  
• New Quiz: If you want to create a quiz from scratch.
  
• Edit: If you have more changes to make or want to review results of the form or quiz.
  

Your form or quiz is now embedded in your OneNote page.

NB: if you want to make further edits, select the Microsoft Forms hyperlink above your embedded form or quiz.