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Microsoft 365 Insider Blog
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Introducing new layout options in OneNote on Windows

Linda_C's avatar
Linda_C
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Aug 25, 2024

(Originally published on January 26, 2023 by Greg MacEachern)

 

Hi, Microsoft 365 Insiders! My name is Greg MacEachern and I'm a Product Manager on the OneNote team. I'm excited to announce a new way to navigate your notebooks, sections, and pages in OneNote on Windows.

 

Introducing new layout options in OneNote on Windows

 

For those who love the left-sided layout on OneNote for the web, OneNote for Mac, and OneNote for iPad, you’ll be thrilled to hear that we’re now bringing this experience to OneNote on Windows client! Using the new Vertical Tabs layout option, you can use a navigation experience similar to other Microsoft 365 apps and services, such as Outlook and Teams.

Vertical Tab layout

 

How it works

  • Click View > Tabs Layout > Vertical Tabs. Notice that your notebooks and pages now appear on the left.
  • If you prefer having the section tabs at the top of the canvas, you can easily switch back by selecting ViewTabs LayoutHorizontal Tabs.

 

Scenarios to try

  • In Vertical Tabs layout, collapse the notebook list for a more focused view of your notes by clicking the three-vertical lines button at the top of the notebook list!
  • Try out Full Page View for a totally immersive note taking experience by clicking the double-sided arrows in the upper right corner of the canvas. Learn more.

 

FAQ

In which version of OneNote is this feature available?

  • This new option is available for OneNote on Windows. It is not available in OneNote for Windows 10.

How do I get the OneNote app?

How do I move my Page list and Notebook list to other sides of the app windows?

  • The Page list and Notebook list can only appear on the right side while using the Horizontal Tabs layout.
  • To move them to another location, you must first switch to Horizontal Tabs. Then, go to the File > Options > Display, and then choose the option you want under Horizontal Tabs Layout.
  • We do not currently support right-sided layout when using the Vertical Tabs layout.

 

Availability

This feature is rolling out to Insiders running Version 2302 (Build 16124.20000) or later.

 

NOTE: This feature is currently only available for OneNote on Windows. It is not available for OneNote for Windows 10.

 

Features are released over some time to ensure things are working smoothly. We highlight features that you may not have because they’re slowly releasing to larger numbers of Insiders. Sometimes we remove elements to further improve them based on your feedback. Though this is rare, we also reserve the option to pull a feature entirely out of the product, even if you, as an Insider, have had the opportunity to try it.

 

Feedback

We want to hear from you! Please share your feedback with us right from the app by selecting Help > Send Feedback in OneNote.


Learn about the Microsoft 365 Insider program and sign up for the Microsoft 365 Insider newsletter to get the latest information about Insider features in your inbox once a month!

Updated Aug 25, 2024
Version 1.0
  • michalkysel's avatar
    michalkysel
    Copper Contributor

    Hi,

     

    I'm struggling to see all of my sections in the horizontal view. Vertically, all sections are available, but using horizontal view there are just 5 sections visible and the rest is grouped under the down arrow, is there a maximum by viewing sections horizontally that doesn't apply for the vertical view?

  • deborahmdavis's avatar
    deborahmdavis
    Copper Contributor

    I'm wondering this as well - very inconvenient.  It was better in Windows 10, not perfect but better - not sure how to resize the font/layout as well to maybe make the sections smaller to see more?  Also wondering how to shrink the margins in the Page column off to the right when in horizontal view to take up less room seems there is a lot of wasted space of a margin showing just white screen where in 10, you saw the description of the individual pages labeled and could move the slider to show more or less of the text but over to the far right.  Now in that Pages column, you can only shrink it so far and the excess white space/margin takes up a lot of screen room.  

  • shreediculous's avatar
    shreediculous
    Copper Contributor

    Linda_C 
    The spacing between section names in the vertical list and for pages is still TOO much.

    At some point last year (2023) there was an update that increased the spacing too much without giving an option for a condensed/compact view. 

    This still hasn't changed. There are multiple feedback posts for this in the Microsoft Feedback portal and multiple discussing this in other forums as well. 

    This is a much need feature. Please bring it back!