Custom tags available soon in OneNote
Published Dec 17 2018 09:47 AM 65.3K Views
Former Employee

We’re extremely excited to bring custom tags to our users in the next few weeks! With this feature, users will be able to name the tag and select an icon to create a custom tag that will sync across devices and show up in app search results. Add custom tags to your pages and stay organized in whatever way helps you achieve more! 

 

Custom tags were passionately requested by our customers and starting in January 2019, it will be available on OneNote for Windows 10 and OneNote for MacNo settings need to be enabled to use this feature. Once you see it in your app, feel free to start using it. For a detailed explanation on how to use custom tags, read on below.  

 

Creating and using a custom tag 

To create a new custom tag, click the Tags dropdown in the Home tab and select “Create New Tag.” When the Create a Tag pane opens, name the new tag, select an icon to represent it and click Create to add your new tag to the list of tags.  

 

Your new custom tag is ready to useTo tag content with the new tagselect the line you want to tag, click Tags on the Home tab and select the desired tag 

 

 

 

 Click on Tags Used in this Notebook to see a list of: 

  • Previously deleted tags 
  • Custom tags created by you from another device 
  • Custom tags created by other users in that particular notebook.  

Not only will custom tags help you stay organized your way, but they will also help your teams and organizations keep shared notebooks organized with customized tags. 

 

Searching for custom tags 

Now that you’ve started tagging throughout OneNote with custom tags, it’s easier than ever stay organized and find what you need through search. Users can search for custom tags in the app search experience and tag results will appear under the Tags tab. Click on one of the results to go to its specific location.  

 

 

We’re excited for you to give custom tags a try in the upcoming weeks. As always, leave us a comment down below and add or vote for feature requests in the Feedback Hub. We look forward to hearing from you! 

38 Comments
Iron Contributor

@Jee Soo Han  thanks for the update! I'm curious how the custom tags will surface in Teams in the short term.

 

And, of course, if and when these will be usable in the OneNote Online and in-Teams OneNote interfaces.

 

Peace to you and yours.

Copper Contributor

You know what the MOST requested features are for OneNote? All the stuff taken away since 2016 version.  Why can't I change page size or print a page group anymore...

Copper Contributor

My feedback is if onenote 10 will only work with files in the cloud, i will have to stop using onenote after having used it for over 10 years. 

 

I have business information and other days i need secure and i have a lot of it. Putting it on the cloud is not an option.

I hope this cloud storage becomes optional. Otherwise i have to migrate everyone to another program. 

Brass Contributor
A bit off topic, but I would really like it if the find/replace option were available for OneNote pages in a section. Since OneNote doesn't have an explorer accessible file feature that I can use a ReNamer type of program to insist on a naming scheme when I add new pages via Office Lens.
Brass Contributor

@Jee Soo Han This is great! Would like to see the option to ‘export’ .onepkg file from the unified OneNote App & OneNote Mac Versions.

That would help teachers moving to another School to easily take their work with them!

Thanks 

Sam

Copper Contributor

The custom tags addition to the UWP is a great thing.  One Note 2016 continues to be a pearl of great price especially with the option of local storage.  Please Microsoft be a little more altruistic and bring local storage option to the ON 10.  Put it on your to do list.  Make it so.  You will make a lot of people happy by doing that and still we will also use the cloud.  I use both but for work I am required to have a local storage option.

 

Thank you!

Copper Contributor

Please give us a date :) This is so exciting.

Brass Contributor

Has this been released? How can I check I am on the latest OneNote for Windows 10 or update it?

 

I do not see any new tags like in this blog :(

 

Mine says Version 16001.11029.20060.0..

Copper Contributor

Any update on Release date? Or even a 'beta' version that I can test?

Iron Contributor

The custom tag feature is showing up for me, but the tags in search result isn't yet.

Copper Contributor
@ivan, what version do you have that's showing the custom tags?
Copper Contributor

I'm running OneNote for Win10 Version 16001.11126.20076.0

 

I see the new "Create New Tag" menu item, and the "Create a Tag" screen, but unfortunately it doesn't work. I can't type in the Tag Name field (for some reason what I type appears above the label, and even after selecting an icon the Create button is never enabled. Did this feature make it through QA?

 

OneNoteWhoops.JPG

Iron Contributor

@garyodss running the same version as @Eric Wagner  but not having the problem with the "Name this tag".

 

Try creating a new Notebook and see if the feature lights up. I know it shouldn't matter, but before I did that I didn't see the feature. After I created the notebook, it showed up. Not sure about cause and effect.

 

Ivan 

Deleted
Not applicable
I am eagerly awaiting this feature but still do not see it as available in Onenote for Mac. I installed the latest update from the mac store and am on version 16.21. I do not see the ability to create custom tags. Any idea when this will be available on the Mac? Or am I missing something? Thanks!
Copper Contributor
I got the update to 16001.11029.20060.0 and now it's all working fine for me -- no issues, custom tags auto-sync between PCs even!
Copper Contributor

i'm glad to see the store app is adding more features.

 

But i don't use the store app, i can only use One Note 2016 because I have sensitive company information I will not put on the cloud.

 

So when the day comes the desktop version is about to stop being supported I have to move to something not from Microsoft.

 

So will many others for the same reason.

 

I hope you add local storage to the store app. If not many have no choice but to leave.

Copper Contributor

Is there a limit on the number of custom tags in OneNote for Windows?  OneNote 2016 appears to have a max limit of 100 tags which I quickly exceeded.  

Copper Contributor

I am on mac and this did not arrive with the latest update. When will this be available? January is almost over, and it seems to be working for windows users.

Copper Contributor

Where are the Custom Tags for the Mac? You last blog said a few weeks. Its been over a month. 

 

Copper Contributor

I see slightly different behavior than @Eric Wagner reported. When I click to add a new tag, it's not clear what "element" has focus and clicking into the Tag Name input field doesn't give that field focus. Pressing tab lets you cycle through giving focus to 3 elements in this order: 1. The Featured icon tab, 2. The first icon in the list of Featured icons, and 3. weirdly up to the "Name this tag" string that looks like a field label above the Tag Name input box. It looks like this when that string seems to get focus. The only evidence is the cursor:

 

image.png

With this string "in focus", I can press Enter. That adds a weird space between the string and the actual text input box, but that seems to actually give focus to the text input box which is what was missing. From there, I can type in a new tag, the Create button gets enabled, and I can save and use the new tag.

 

Seems like a bug that needs fixing :)

Copper Contributor

I just updated the app to 16.22 and still don’t see the option.  Is there an ETA or am I doing something wrong?

Brass Contributor

Tags are getting better, but still only "half baked"

 

  • You can CREATE them, but not MODIFY them
  • You cannot assign a specific font color or highlight to a tag
  • You can search for tags, but you can't specify only "unchecked" to do type tags
  • There is no Tag Summary
  • You can't re-arrange the tags

For Heaven's sake, can we have some consistency between versions?!  If I create a Tag in 2016 version with a red car icon, I expect to see a red car icon in the UWP version. At least use the same icons! Why not just have the whole list of pre-defined tags in 2016 be available to UWP?  If the app version is going to be the beat-all version, it's GOT to have all of the features of the desktop version.

Copper Contributor

.

Copper Contributor
@Jee Soo Han, I'm new to OneNote (and never used ON 2016). Pretty perplexed by the tag feature, which I would like to use extensively across more than one notebook. Some Qs: 1---Once custom tags are created and added to text, how can a user see what they are? When looking at a page I created last month, I can see I've attached a few, but only the symbols -- I can't see text indicating what the tags are. 2---Is there a way to see a global list of (custom) tags already created? I've tried the "tags used in this notebook" list but it's showing me only one tag when I know I created more. Maybe I created them in another notebook somehow -- inadvertently. A global list might help me find them -- circling back to item 1. 3---How does one remove custom (or other) tags from text? I've reviewed so many videos -- MS, Lynda and others -- and while there are quite a few showing me how to tag something as "to-do" or "contact," there's no info on how to use a wider array of tags and how to make use of them once they're applied. I am trying to use content-based tags for research, not as productivity tools. This is apparently something you can do in EverNote (haven't tested that), but I was hoping to stick with OneNote. If it's not currently an option, will it be? Thanks.
Copper Contributor

I would like to echo @Denise Vajdak, and amplify it.  When we purchase Office 2019, this is the version of ON we are forced to use.

 

The previous non-Metro versions of ON have been very powerful and contained many granular options.  Although I am aware of the obvious trajectory of MS moving ON to a touch-friendly version, it is really killing a lot of usefulness and causing a lot of frustration for the ON users who depended on the features of the past versions.  The voice in this thread is unified, and we are simply asking that MS put some more heart in to ON and give us back the simple features that have made ON so great for us.  When I mention "simple" I am referring to things like having the ability to modify a custom tag, modify the CTRL-# shortcut for the tag, etc.  These are very simple things that should've been passed along to this version, especially since WE ARE PAYING FOR THIS PRODUCT! 

Copper Contributor

@Terry RVery good question! I have given it a test and was able to create >150 tags. I stopped at that point, as there was no indication for a limit as well as that more tags than that number seem to be no more beneficial.

Copper Contributor

I am a bit confused. I have Windows 10 with OneNote version 16001.11601.20066.0 and custom tags are not yet available. I use custom tags in OneNote on my iPad and the custom tags appear when I view the note on Windows 10 but I cannot create such tags in the Windows 10 version. Am I missing something?

 

Updated: I just realize that on the iPad I am selecting a tag from a larger 'built-in' set and I did not actually create a new tag there. That larger set of built-in tags is not available in my Windows 10 version. However - my question remains - are custom tags not yet available on Windows 10 versions?

Copper Contributor

Have I missed something...does OneNote for Windows have the feature to create a summary page of tags like the Office version has had for the past 15-20 years?  I can't find it on my build and can't imagine migrating to the Windows version if I have to build tag summary pages manually (I'll migrate to Evernote).

Copper Contributor

@jelarvThe creation of custom tags is alvailable on W10/16001.11507.20006.0 as well as to find them in the notes. What's still missing is

 

  • the creation of a summary page
  • to filter out checked off tags

Meaning: Important functionality is still missing! "One swallow does not make a summer."

Copper Contributor

@Jee Soo Han the feature to create tags is not available on all versions of the onenote app, I.e. iOS, macos,... This makes for a very jarring UX when using devices across many platforms.

 

In addition, all no decent printing on any of these platforms either, eenden though it is a top request  on uservoice FOR YEARS now.

 

Finally, no zoom lock on ipad: palm rejection on ipad pro is not perfect : sometimes I just want to disable pinch to zoom when inking...

 

Why does all of this have to be so hard?

Copper Contributor

this is absolutely terrible and embarrassing.  anyone that has used OneNote for an extended period of time must just be crushed.  The app is AWFUL compared to the desktop version.  3 keyboard shortcuts instead of 9 for Tags???  I have years and years of tags built in numerous notebooks.  And no more integration with Outlook???  Reading the excitement from the Microsoft writers makes me feel like the people doing the writing have never used OneNote at all.  I just re-installed office and OneNote didn't install, so I decided to try the app, and in 30 seconds, I am absolutely stunned at how disappointing this is.  This is a huge gut punch.

Copper Contributor

Is there any update for OneNote for Mac regarding this. It is almost June 2019, and I was under the impression this was rolling out "soon", back in Dec/Jan. But I still do not see this functionality.

 

Please update. Thanks!

Copper Contributor

My [Mac, Mojave] version 16.16.10 is fully updated, and still no custom tag capability.

 

Is there an update as to when custom tags for the Mac ON version will be available?

Copper Contributor

I really like having the custom tags, but what would be even better would be for me to be able to add my own symbols, as I find the set given very restrictive.

Copper Contributor

As Denise Vajdak mentioned earlier

 

  • You can CREATE custom tags, but not MODIFY them
  • You cannot assign a specific font color or highlight to a tag
  • You can search for tags, but you can't specify only "unchecked" to do type tags
  • There is no Tag Summary
  • You can't re-arrange the tags

Is there any plan for updating more TAG features?

Copper Contributor

Is this issue solved?  I am surprised the last post was over a month ago.

 

I am having no luck creating custom tags on the Mac.  On Windows 10, I managed to create one, even though I had the problem with my typing appearing above the entry box rather than within (as described above).  Somehow I managed to get back into the box and inserted the title there as well.  However, I haven't been able to do this a second time.

 

Using the online (browser) version, I can't get custom tags at all.  I tried a few different browsers on the Mac.

 

Someone comment please.  Thanks.

Copper Contributor

Hi

 

I completely agree with what Denise Vajdak mentioned earlier

 

  • You can CREATE custom tags, but not MODIFY them
  • You cannot assign a specific font colour or highlight to a tag
  • You can search for tags, but you can't specify only "unchecked" to do type tags
  • There is no Tag Summary
  • You can't re-arrange the tags

Unfortunately, without this Onenote 10 is basically worthless... Could you please fix that ? 

 

Thx

Copper Contributor

@Jee Soo Han. Today I am running Vs 16.60 (22041000) of MS ON for Mac. I am using a MacBook Pro with the Apple M1 chip running macOS Monterey. It has been over 3 years since this post was started and from the comments there are a lot of unhappy people or at least to say unsatisfied. 

 

Shall we assume that MS has given up on ON? I have tried to used this feature with the specs above as well as O365 ON online, Win10 and Win11 all producing the same results. A reply to the group from someone at MS would be helpful, maybe even an honest one that will clarify if/when this feature will ever be usable? Buggy at best is not helpful for power users with hundreds of tags and multiple Notebooks. When your company has other companies creating content for training purposes to get people certifications MS should really try and put in some effort for communication and ownership.

 

Thanks for giving me a platform to rant for a minute so I can go on about my day knowing no one at MS will read this/care enough to act on this and I will move on.  Like I said, thanks.

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