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Microsoft OneNote comes bundled with Windows 10. This means you don’t have to purchase a retail copy of Office suite or pay for Office 365 subscription for you to be able to take notes with OneNote. The OneNote universal app is already found in Windows 10, and it is entirely free. The OneNote 2016 client is available in the Office suite, and that means that you have it because you have installed Microsoft Office 2016 or Office 365. In this beginners guide to Microsoft OneNote, we show you how to organise your notebooks with sections and pages; how to add content; what type of content yo.

  1. 10 ways to use OneNote for Project Management Posted on January 3, 2019 Microsoft 365 Having spent 15+ years in IT project management, I have an appreciation for the tools out there that make Project Management simpler and efficient.
  2. Create add-ins for OneNote. Extend OneNote functionality with OneNote add-ins through the Microsoft Graph.

There are two versions of OneNote that you can deploy to users in your organization who have devices running Windows:

  • OneNote: the desktop version, which was previously named OneNote 2016.
  • OneNote for Windows 10: the Microsoft Store app that's available only on Windows 10.

While both versions are supported and can be installed on the same device, OneNote is the recommended version for enterprise environments. OneNote provides more features and allows you to customize user settings through Group Policy.

Note

OneNote still appears as OneNote 2016 for the following installations:

  • Version 2003 or earlier of Microsoft 365 Apps
  • Volume licensed versions of Office 2019, such as Office Professional Plus 2019.

OneNote deployment guidance

You can use the Office Deployment Tool or enterprise deployment software, such as Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager, to include or exclude OneNote when you deploy Office in your organization.

Microsoft

As of March 2020, OneNote is included alongside the other Office apps, such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, when you deploy Microsoft 365 Apps or Office 2019. There are no additional steps you need to take to include OneNote with new installations of Office. But, always be sure to check the deployment settings before you deploy, for example when using the wizards in Configuration Manager (current branch) or Microsoft Intune.

To add OneNote to an existing installation of Office

If Office is already installed on the device, but OneNote didn't get installed previously, you can run the Office Deployment Tool on the device and use the following configuration.xml file to add OneNote.

Although you're deploying the freemium version of OneNote, the first time the user opens OneNote after it's installed, the license will update automatically to the same license as the version of Office already installed on the device.

Note

  • Using OneNoteFreeRetail isn't supported with volume licensed versions of Office 2019, such as Office Professional Plus 2019 or Office Standard 2019. To add OneNote back to those versions of Office, you can run an Online Repair.
  • If you deploy the freemium version of OneNote, when you go to Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features, OneNote will appear as a standalone entry named Microsoft OneNote Home and Student 2016.

To exclude OneNote from being installed

There are different ways to exclude OneNote from being installed with Office, depending on which deployment method you're using, as shown in the following table.

MethodInstructions
Office Deployment ToolYou can use the ExcludeApp element in your configuration.xml file.
We recommend that you use the Office Customization Tool to help you create your configuration.xml file.
Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (current branch)In the Office 365 Client Installation wizard, you can set OneNote to the Off position when you configure the Office settings.
Microsoft IntuneOn the Configure app suite page, you can clear the check box for OneNote in the Select Office apps drop-down list.

But, if you're allowing your users to install Office for themselves from the Office 365 portal, there is no way to exclude OneNote from being installed.

OneNote for Windows 10 deployment guidance

OneNote for Windows 10 is installed by default on computers running Windows 10. Users can also install it directly from the Microsoft Store, if you allow them to install apps from there. In either case, updates to OneNote for Windows 10 come directly from the Microsoft Store.

If you don't want your users to install apps directly from the Microsoft Store, you can set up the Microsoft Store for Business in your organization. This option allows you to control which Microsoft Store apps your users can install, including OneNote for Windows 10. For more information, see Microsoft Store for Business overview

If your users already use OneNote for Windows 10, they may continue to use it. We recommend excluding OneNote for Windows 10 for new deployments. We don't recommend uninstalling OneNote for Windows 10 for existing users because uninstalling an app permanently removes any notebook changes in the local cache that haven't been synchronized. If you plan to uninstall OneNote for Windows 10 for existing users, ensure that all open notebooks have finished synchronizing before uninstalling.

All notebooks supported by OneNote for Windows 10 are also fully supported by OneNote. All cloud-based notebooks associated with their user account will be accessible in OneNote after they sign in with that same user account.

To exclude OneNote for Windows 10 from a Windows image

To remove OneNote for Windows 10 from a Windows image so that OneNote for Windows 10 won't be installed when a new user account is created, you can use the Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage cmdlet. For the package name parameter, you should use Microsoft.Office.OneNote_2015.9126.21251.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe.

Additional information about deploying OneNote

OneNote training resources We're providing free and shareable eBooks to help your users transition to the user interface and functionalities in OneNote.

Download Onenote For Windows 10

Configure OneNote settings: You can use Group Policy to configure certain OneNote settings for your users. To use Group Policy, download the latest Administrative Template files (ADMX/ADML) for Office from the Microsoft Download Center and implement the policy settings by using Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS).

Note

  • Group Policy requires the devices with OneNote to be joined to an Active Directory domain.
  • Most of these same policy settings can be applied by using the Office cloud policy service, which doesn't require the device to be joined to a domain.
  • Neither Group Policy nor Office cloud policy service can be used with Microsoft 365 Apps for business or with OneNote for Windows 10.

Support dates: In November 2019, we announced that mainstream support for OneNote will continue until October 2023. Extended support remains the same, ending in October 2025. These dates align with the support dates for Office 2019. These specific support dates apply only to OneNote included with versions of Office, such as Office Professional Plus 2016, that are available as a one-time purchase or through volume licensing agreements.

Supported languages: While both OneNote and OneNote for Windows 10 are available in most of the same languages, there are a few differences. The lists of the supported languages are available here: OneNote, OneNote for Windows 10

Other platforms: There are also versions of OneNote for Mac, iPad, iPhone, Android, and for web browsers. For more information, see What's the difference between the OneNote versions?

Related articles

A lot has happened with Windows OneNote in the last year around its versioning, and it’s now getting confusing for many people. This version confusion can influence several things that 1MTD and MYN users might be doing. So, let me sort out these different Windows OneNote versions for you.

First, let me say that I really like OneNote, which is Microsoft’s notetaking app, and I recommend it often to my 1MTD and MYN users. I use it for a lot more than just notetaking. I use it for shopping lists, for saving web links, for collecting ideas for books, and more.

In my video courses, I also recommend OneNote for small project management and for email archiving. Which video courses? I discuss using OneNote in my One-Minute Project Management Video Course and in my Outlook Inbox Ninja videos. Picking the right version is important for both courses. So for those courses, and for other reasons, let me explain current Windows OneNote versioning.

This is a relatively long article by the way, but the first few paragraphs may tell you all you need to know, so at least read the beginning.

Two Primary Versions of OneNote

There are currently two primary versions of the Windows OneNote application in use. One is called OneNote 2016, and the other is called OneNote for Windows 10.

The best place to see these is in the Windows 10 Start Menu. Look at the Start Menu screenshot below. While the OneNote 2016 naming in clear, notice that the OneNote for Windows 10 icon simply shows the name OneNote.

Also, you should know that both versions run in Windows 10.

When you open these apps, they look quite different.

Here is a screenshot of OneNote 2016 once it’s launched:

And here is a screenshot of OneNote for Windows 10:

Each of these versions has its strengths and weaknesses. For example, notice in these screenshots that the page and section navigation user interface is quite different between the two, and you may have a preference. But beyond that, there are many other differences between the two versions.

I’ll go over many of those differences ahead but let me cut to the chase. For both of my video courses that I mention above, I recommend you use OneNote 2016. It has needed features that are not present in OneNote for Windows 10.

And in general, OneNote 2016 is my go-to choice nearly always. Read on for more details.

Determining which Version You Have

Microsoft Onenote Windows 10 Tutorial

Be aware that both versions may already be installed on your Windows 10 computer, but perhaps not.

And it may be initially hard to tell which versions you have. For example, even if you do have both, you might not have large tiles for both installed on your Start Menu. And text searching on “OneNote” in the Start Menu sometimes only finds one—even if you have both.

The best way to tell what you have is to open the Start Menu (e.g. click the Windows key), and then scroll through the alphabetical list of apps on the left side of the Start Menu; that’s the vertical list with the small tiles as shown in the first figure above. Scroll down to the section for the letter O. If you have both versions installed, you will see both in that section, as shown in that figure.

How to Get OneNote 2016

Again, I recommend you mostly use the Outlook 2016 version. However, if you confirm that OneNote 2016 is not installed on your Windows computer you might be concerned. Well, the good news is you can download it for free from Microsoft at this link:

Delineating the Two Versions

Okay, so why is Microsoft distributing two different current versions of OneNote? It’s a long story but I’ll try to make it short and clear.

First, let me state that there are two different types of apps represented here. OneNote 2016 is a normal Windows desktop application (also called a Win32 app), like Word, Excel, Photoshop, and so on. These types of apps have been around a long time—literally for decades—and most have accumulated tons of great features over years of updates.

The second type was started around 2012, and it is what used to be called a Windows Store App, or a Trusted Microsoft Store App, or a Modern App. In the technical press they are mostly called UWP apps these days (I will explain that acronym below). They are simpler and have fewer features than the full-fledged Win32 apps. They are usually designed to work well on tablets. Of the two OneNote apps, the one called OneNote for Windows 10 is a UWP app.

Why the UWP Version?

As I said, UWP apps are primarily created to work well in Windows tablet mode (but they have other reasons to exist, as well). In the beginning days of Windows 8, these apps were full-screen, very simple, and primarily designed to be used with touch or a pen. Microsoft released UWP versions of several of its Office software products (Excel Mobile, Word Mobile, PowerPoint Mobile, and OneNote). There is no Outlook UWP app per se, but Microsoft created Mail and Calendar apps that link to your primary servers. Many other software sellers have created simple UWP apps that correspond to their more feature-laden desktop apps.

However, you also might recall that the tablet version of those apps never really took off with most Windows users. And the count of software developers that bothered to make UWP/Microsoft Store versions of their desktop software was not as high as Microsoft had hoped.

Furthermore, for those UWP apps that were made to match their older cousins, the UWP versions were usually hobbled and feature-poor in comparison to their desktop equivalent. That’s because, to make them work with touch on a Windows tablet, the developers had to eliminate a lot of the features. Many of those features were normally embedded in tiny menus, and such menus did not work well in touch mode. And the tiny dialog boxes that controlled many software features were also hard to work with in touch mode. So, most of these software packages were greatly dumbed-down compared to their original versions. Plus, it can take years to recode an entire application from the ground up to capture decades worth of features—it was a big task.

Switching Back to the Keyboard

At first it was a novelty, being able to use a touch-based Windows tablet with their Microsoft Office software. At least with me anyway. But over time, I and most other Office users switched back to the full-featured Win32 desktop apps that worked better with a keyboard and mouse/trackpad. We needed the features there. So, the corresponding tablet business software languished, as did other software categories you’d normally expect to see on a tablet.

Perhaps the best (or worst) example is this: about two years ago Amazon killed its UWP version of the Kindle app. Amazon now only distributes the desktop (Win32) Kindle app for Windows 10. To me that really represented the decline of the tablet apps in Microsoft Store. If you can’t even read a Kindle book when in true tablet mode, what can you do with tablet mode? OneNote might be one answer, which I’ll come back to in a moment.

Catching Up with Tablet Apps

Microsoft saw the issues and tried several things to supply its users with a true tablet experience in their business software without compromising features. First, they quickly added a Touch Mode to all their standard Win32 desktop Office apps. By clicking a single control in the upper left of the app, you could toggle between a keyboard/mouse friendly interface and a touch friendly interface. There was a huge advantage to this in that the user retained full-feature functionality but could also use touch. In my mind, that was a very good solution, and I still use it today.

Microsoft also continued trying to improve the simpler UWP/Microsoft Store versions of Office apps, adding over time many features that were missing. Plus, UWP became the common coding platform for Windows Mobile (phone) apps and a lot of other new Windows hardware like Surface Hub, Xbox, HoloLens, and more (thus its UWP name: Universal Windows Platform). So, a single app could run on all these devices. That was pretty useful, and until recently, there was a lot of hope for UWP business apps.

But perhaps that UWP attention was too little too late for two reasons. First, those tablet apps still never really caught on with PC users. Let’s face it, if you are doing typical Excel work you are likely to have your PC in desktop mode, with a keyboard and mouse/trackpad. And you are likely to favor using the desktop version of Excel. That’s also true with most of the other Office apps.

Second, Microsoft abandoned Windows Mobile, and that entire smartphone OS market, which was a primary motivator for creating UWP apps. Given these two realities, Microsoft is reportedly not developing the UWP versions of Office apps any further, at least not now.

Why OneNote is Different

But there is one class of products that does make sense to continue expanding and improving for the Windows tablet, and that’s ink notetaking and drawing apps. Windows 10 in tablet mode, when used with a pen, is perfect for making ink notes and ink sketches, and the UWP version of OneNote shines in this area. It’s optimized for that. And as of recent, the UWP version of OneNote also works okay as a desktop app (though I prefer the user interface and extra features of the OneNote 2016 app).

Perhaps because it’s not bad in its desktop mode, and perhaps to save money and define focus better, Microsoft has decided that the touch-optimized UWP version of OneNote is the primary version they are going to support, develop, and distribute, going forward.

OneNote Version Detached from Office

Onenote Microsoft 10

In fact, Microsoft has announced that all new features and app development for OneNote are only being made on the UWP version. The Win32 desktop version will supposedly have no more updates made to it. In fact, at last announcement, there will be no Win32 OneNote 2019 released to accompany Office 2019.

Reportedly, OneNote has been “detached” from the Microsoft Office suite, and the UWP OneNote is now installed as a part of Windows 10 (the OS) instead. Which explains its formal name: OneNote for Windows 10.

That said, as of this writing, if you go to any of Microsoft’s Office products sale sites, OneNote is still shown as being part of the Office suite. So, it’s a bit confusing. And note that it’s the UWP version that you will get if you install Office 365 or Office 2019 today.

What does this mean feature wise, and which version should you use?

I think each of the two OneNote versions has its own strengths and so I keep both installed. The UWP version is being enhanced with many new features that are not in OneNote 2016, most of them ink-based. So, if you use OneNote with a pen on a Windows computer in tablet mode, you should launch that version. Its user interface is optimized for such.

But in terms of interoperability with other Office apps, the older OneNote 2016 version works better. It also still has way more general features. And I feel its interface works better with a mouse and keyboard.

So for now, I always launch OneNote 2016 when I use OneNote if I am using a keyboard and mouse/touchpad (which is 99% of the time). Not only does it have more features, but I like the top-tabbed section interface much better than the side-tab design of the UWP version, which seems to eat up much more screen real estate (see the screenshots at the start of this article to see what I mean).

Why Do I Need the OneNote 2016 Version for my Video Courses?

Okay, back to why I recommend you use the older Win32 OneNote 2016 app with my video courses. Simple: it has some important needed features that the UWP app does not have.

For example, in my One-Minute Project Management Video Course I rely on the use of OneNote templates to create project pages. This greatly speeds up adding new project pages to OneNote. But as of this writing, the UWP OneNote does not support such templates. Only OneNote 2016 does. Support for templates is supposedly planned for future releases of the UWP app, but it’s not there yet. Other features are missing in the UWP app like the Link-to-Outlook-tasks button.

Also, in my Outlook Inbox Ninja videos video Lesson 7.4, I show using OneNote as an option for archiving Outlook email. In that video I state that to make that practical you really need to store your mail archive OneNote Notebook file on your local hard drive, not in the cloud. Unfortunately, the UWP version of OneNote does not support local notebook files and never will. It will only support cloud files. So, OneNote 2016 is what I recommend there, too.

Is Using OneNote 2016 a Dead End?

You might be wondering, is your using OneNote 2016 leading you to commit to a dead-end app?

Well, the fact is, even though Microsoft is not further enhancing OneNote 2016, they did say they will continue to support it (think security and OS updates) for many more years to come, reportedly through 2025 even. And they will continue to allow you to download it free (at the link above). Too many people rely on its advanced features to simply drop it at this point, so, it will remain a viable app for some time.

Also consider that Microsoft has changed its strategy many times around UWP/Microsoft Store apps. Given that the market has been so lukewarm toward them, it would not surprise me if in a few months Microsoft reverses its position again on this and starts releasing new Win32 versions of OneNote.

And finally, since Microsoft recently announced it is no longer developing the UWP versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint—rather they are currently focused on the Win32 versions (and the Office Online versions) instead—that tells me it’s quite possible Win32 OneNote could also get fresh attention in the future.

In the meantime, I’d say you should continue to use one or both, whichever version best solves your needs on your hardware.

Onenote microsoft 10 app

In the comments section let me know your thoughts. Do you have a favorite between the two versions, and why?

Michael