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Microsoft 365 Insider Blog
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Touch keyboard appears automatically in OneNote on Windows

Bola_Soneye's avatar
Bola_Soneye
Icon for Microsoft rankMicrosoft
Oct 16, 2025

Hi, Microsoft 365 Insiders! I’m Bola Soneye, and I’m a Product Manager on the OneNote team. I’m excited to share an update that improves the experience for touch-enabled devices running Microsoft OneNote on Windows.

Touch keyboard appears automatically in OneNote on Windows

We heard from many of you that typing on touch devices like the Microsoft Surface should feel seamless and effortless. With this update, the touch keyboard now launches instantly with a single tap on the page canvas, making it faster and easier to jot down thoughts, edit notes, or add titles on the go.

How it works

  1. Open OneNote on Windows on a touch-enabled device.
  2. Tap anywhere in the canvas area of your notebook, and notice that the touch keyboard automatically appears, ready for you to start typing immediately.

Availability

This update is available to OneNote on Windows users running Version 2510 (Build 19402.15030) or later.

This feature is rolling out gradually to Insiders and will reach general availability by end of November 2025. If you don’t have it yet, it’s probably us, not you, as we often roll out features in stages to ensure a smooth experience and may tweak things based on feedback before wider release.

Feedback

This update came directly from your feedback! Let us know what you think of the new typing experience. Go to Help > Feedback in OneNote to share your thoughts.

 

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Updated Oct 15, 2025
Version 1.0

6 Comments

  • Benny480's avatar
    Benny480
    Occasional Reader

    Notice how these idiots from Microsoft don't address this stupid mistake? I am livid about this update 

  • GeoSoft's avatar
    GeoSoft
    Copper Contributor

    Please add a disable option, it's too intrusive !

  • SilkySalmon's avatar
    SilkySalmon
    Copper Contributor

    You can fully disable the pop-up by going to settings --> Time & Language --> Typing. Then under touch keyboard set the "show the touch keyboard" select "never". That worked for me

  • NeedAUsername's avatar
    NeedAUsername
    Copper Contributor

    There is a workaround that seems to be working for me, but it is a workaround. in Advanced Options, deselect "automatically switch between inking, selecting, typing, panning". Not perfect but this seems to work for me.

    This is an awful feature, that must have a proper off toggle somewhere. This needs to be a manual toggle in the settings as not all pens are docked with the laptop/tablet. The lack of Systems Thinking applied around updates is incredibly frustrating. Not all users want a "seamless and effortless" typing experience. Helping one group while destroying the experience of another, poor form.

     

     

  • Ivo_T's avatar
    Ivo_T
    Copper Contributor

    I thought this was a bug and it is some kind of feature?? I am using pen to write notes and every time i click to deselect something or anything the stupid keyboard appears on the screen. This is really stupid.

  • BreadCart's avatar
    BreadCart
    Copper Contributor

    Is there a way to disable this function? It's very obtrusive when taking notes by hand. Perhaps an option to only enable when the pen is docked?