Shortcuts · OneNote
OneNote keyboard shortcuts for Windows, with the Mac keys
In OneNote for Windows, Ctrl+N adds a page, Ctrl+E searches all notebooks, Ctrl+1 applies the To Do tag and Ctrl+Alt+1 to 6 set headings. Ctrl+Shift+M or Alt+Windows key+N makes a Quick Note. OneNote for Mac has its own, shorter list, shown here where it matches.
These are the OneNote keyboard shortcuts for the OneNote desktop app on Windows (OneNote for Microsoft 365, OneNote 2024, 2021 and 2016), from Microsoft's support article, which was updated in August 2026 and checked on October 2, 2026. Microsoft's article says the keys refer to the US keyboard layout. A plus sign means press the keys together, and a comma means press them in order, as in Alt+N, F.
OneNote for Mac has its own, much shorter list. The Mac column below shows a key only where Microsoft's Mac list has the same action; "Not listed" means the Mac list has no entry. Microsoft notes that support for the older OneNote for Windows 10 app was set to end in October 2025, and OneNote for the web uses different keys, so neither is covered here.
At the end, a table shows the same jobs in Barside, a free local-first notes app for Windows and Linux.
Frequently used OneNote keyboard shortcuts
As of October 2026:
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Open a new OneNote window | Ctrl+M | Not listed |
| Create a Quick Note | Ctrl+Shift+M or Alt+Windows key+N | Not listed |
| Dock the OneNote window | Ctrl+Alt+D | Not listed |
| Undo / redo | Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y | Cmd+Z / Cmd+Y |
| Select everything on the page (press again to expand) | Ctrl+A | Cmd+A |
| Paste text only | Ctrl+Shift+V | Not listed |
| Line break without a new paragraph | Shift+Enter | Shift+Return |
| Check spelling | F7 | Not listed |
| Thesaurus for the selected word | Shift+F7 | Not listed |
| Play / stop the selected audio recording | Ctrl+Alt+P / Ctrl+Alt+S | Not listed |
Format notes
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Bold / italic / underline | Ctrl+B / Ctrl+I / Ctrl+U | Not listed |
| Highlight selected text | Ctrl+Alt+H | Not listed |
| Insert a hyperlink | Ctrl+K | Not listed |
| Strikethrough | Alt+Hyphen | Not listed |
| Bulleted list | Ctrl+Period | Type *, then Space |
| Numbered list | Ctrl+Forward slash | Type 1, then Space, or Cmd+/ |
| Heading 1 to Heading 6 | Ctrl+Alt+1 to Ctrl+Alt+6 | Not listed |
| Clear all formatting (Normal style) | Ctrl+Shift+N | Not listed |
| Copy / paste formatting | Ctrl+Alt+C / Ctrl+Alt+V | Cmd+Option+C / Cmd+Option+V |
| Increase / decrease indent | Alt+Shift+Right / Alt+Shift+Left, or Tab / Shift+Tab at the start of a line | Cmd+Option+Right / Cmd+Option+Left |
| Show or hide rule lines | Ctrl+Shift+R | Not listed |
Insert
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Current date | Alt+Shift+D | Cmd+D |
| Current date and time | Alt+Shift+F | Cmd+Shift+D |
| Current time | Alt+Shift+T | Not listed |
| Screen clipping (OneNote icon active in the notification area) | Windows key+Shift+S, then Ctrl+V | Not listed |
| A file / a file printout / a picture | Alt+N, F / Alt+N, O / Alt+N, P | Not listed |
| Start a math equation | Alt+= | Ctrl+= |
| Create a table | Tab after typing text on a new line | Not listed |
Tags
Microsoft lists these for Windows only.
| Tag | Windows |
|---|---|
| Apply, select or clear the To Do tag | Ctrl+1 |
| Important / Question / Remember for later | Ctrl+2 / Ctrl+3 / Ctrl+4 |
| Definition / Highlight / Contact | Ctrl+5 / Ctrl+6 / Ctrl+7 |
| Address / Phone number | Ctrl+8 / Ctrl+9 |
| Remove all tags from the selected notes | Ctrl+0 |
Pages, sections and notebooks
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| New page at the end of the section | Ctrl+N | Cmd+N |
| New subpage below the current page | Ctrl+Shift+Alt+N | Not listed |
| Go to the page title | Ctrl+Shift+T | Cmd+Shift+T |
| Full-page view on or off | F11 | Cmd+Ctrl+F (full screen) |
| Move or copy the current page | Ctrl+Alt+M | Cmd+Shift+M (move) / Cmd+Shift+C (copy) |
| Previous / next page visited | Alt+Left / Alt+Right | Not listed |
| Zoom in / out | Ctrl++ / Ctrl+- | Cmd++ / Cmd+- |
| Sync the notebook (notes save automatically) | Ctrl+S | Cmd+S, or Cmd+Shift+S for all |
| Print the current page | Ctrl+P | Not listed |
| Mark the page as unread | Ctrl+Q | Not listed |
| Open OneNote | Windows key+Shift+N | Not listed |
| Open a notebook | Ctrl+O | Cmd+O |
| New section | Ctrl+T | Not listed |
| Next / previous section | Ctrl+Tab / Ctrl+Shift+Tab | Cmd+Shift+} / Cmd+Shift+{ |
| Next / previous page in the section | Ctrl+Page Down / Ctrl+Page Up | See Microsoft's Mac list |
| Switch to another notebook | Ctrl+G, then the arrows or Tab, and Enter | Control+G shows open notebooks |
Search and outlines
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Search all notebooks | Ctrl+E | Cmd+Option+F |
| Search the current page | Ctrl+F | Cmd+F |
| Next / previous result on the page | Enter or F3 / Shift+F3 | Not listed |
| Collapse the outline to Level 1 | Alt+Shift+1 | Not listed |
| Expand all levels | Alt+Shift+0 | Not listed |
| Expand / collapse the selected heading | Alt+Shift+= / Alt+Shift+- | Microsoft's Mac list shows Control+Shift+- to expand and Control+Shift++ to collapse |
| Move the selected paragraphs up / down | Alt+Shift+Up / Alt+Shift+Down | Not listed |
On Windows, Ctrl+Shift+E sends the selected pages in an email, Ctrl+Shift+1 and Ctrl+Shift+2 make a Today or Tomorrow Outlook task from a note, F9 syncs all shared notebooks, and Ctrl+Alt+L locks all password-protected sections.
The same jobs in Barside
Barside's note editor shares the common formatting keys with OneNote, including the same heading keys. It has checklists instead of tags, and its search bar opens from any app. Every Barside key below is on the Barside keyboard shortcuts sheet.
| Action | OneNote (Windows) | Barside (Windows and Linux) |
|---|---|---|
| New page | Ctrl+N | Ctrl+N (new note) |
| Quick Note from anywhere | Alt+Windows key+N | No default: give New note a hotkey |
| Open the app | Windows key+Shift+N | Ctrl+Shift+Space shows or hides Barside |
| Search all notes | Ctrl+E | Ctrl+F, or Ctrl+K |
| Search the current page | Ctrl+F | Not in Barside (Ctrl+F searches all notes) |
| Bold / italic / underline | Ctrl+B / Ctrl+I / Ctrl+U | Ctrl+B / Ctrl+I / Ctrl+U |
| Strikethrough | Alt+Hyphen | Ctrl+Shift+S |
| Bulleted list | Ctrl+Period | Ctrl+Shift+8 |
| Numbered list | Ctrl+Forward slash | Ctrl+Shift+7 |
| Heading 1 to 3 | Ctrl+Alt+1 to Ctrl+Alt+3 | Ctrl+Alt+1 to Ctrl+Alt+3 |
| To Do checkbox | Ctrl+1 | Ctrl+Shift+9 (checklist) |
| Clear formatting | Ctrl+Shift+N | No shortcut: Clear text formatting |
| Hyperlink | Ctrl+K | No shortcut: Insert text link |
| Highlight | Ctrl+Alt+H | No shortcut: Highlight color |
| Paste text only | Ctrl+Shift+V | Ctrl+Shift+V |
| Line break | Shift+Enter | Shift+Enter |
| Indent / outdent | Tab / Shift+Tab | Tab / Shift+Tab in lists |
| Undo / redo | Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y | Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Shift+Z |
| Screen clipping | Windows key+Shift+S, then Ctrl+V | The same on Windows, pasted into a note; or Alt+Shift+S for the text on screen |
| Table | Tab after text | Type /table |
| Current date | Alt+Shift+D | Not in Barside |
| Math equation | Alt+= | Not in Barside |
| Dock the window | Ctrl+Alt+D | No shortcut: drag a window to a screen edge to dock it |
In Barside for Mac, Cmd replaces Ctrl inside the app.
Tips
- Learn the tags.
Ctrl+1toCtrl+9are the fastest way to mark up meeting notes in OneNote. - Watch the slash. In OneNote,
Ctrl+Forward slashmakes a numbered list. In Barside, typing/opens the block menu instead. - Copy text from pictures. A screen clipping pasted into a Barside note can be found later by the words in it, and
Alt+Shift+Scopies the text itself. See copy text from the screen.
More guides
Thinking about switching? Read the OneNote alternative guide, then export OneNote notes to bring pages over with Barside's importer. For another notes app, see the Evernote keyboard shortcuts.
FAQ
Questions and answers
What is the shortcut for a Quick Note in OneNote?
Ctrl+Shift+M or Alt+Windows key+N creates a Quick Note in OneNote for Windows. Microsoft's Mac list has no Quick Note shortcut.
How do I add a checkbox in OneNote with the keyboard?
Press Ctrl+1 to apply, select or clear the To Do tag, which shows a checkbox. Ctrl+2 to Ctrl+9 apply other tags, such as Important (Ctrl+2) and Question (Ctrl+3), and Ctrl+0 removes all tags from the selected notes.
How do I search in OneNote?
Ctrl+E searches all notebooks and Ctrl+F searches the current page in OneNote for Windows. On a Mac, Microsoft lists Cmd+Option+F to search all notebooks and Cmd+F for the current page.
Can I change OneNote's keyboard shortcuts?
Microsoft's Windows list does not mention customizing them. Its Mac list points to creating a custom keyboard shortcut for Office for Mac.
Do OneNote's shortcuts work in Barside?
Several do: Ctrl+N, Ctrl+B, Ctrl+I, Ctrl+U, Ctrl+Alt+1 to 3 for headings, Ctrl+Shift+V and Shift+Enter. Lists, checklists and strikethrough use other keys. See Barside keyboard shortcuts.
Sources
Where the facts come from
Checked on October 2, 2026. Products change: if something here is out of date, tell us at support@barside.space.
Product names are trademarks of their owners. Barside is not affiliated with them.