20 Essential OneNote Shortcuts to Boost Your Productivity

You open OneNote to jot down ideas, organize tasks, or capture meeting notes. But instead of feeling efficient, you’re drowning in clicks, menus, and formatting struggles. 

It doesn’t have to be this way.

With the right shortcuts, you can navigate OneNote like a pro—instantly organizing notes, formatting text, and finding what you need in seconds. 

Whether you’re capturing ideas on the fly, structuring meeting notes, or switching between projects, these 20 essential OneNote shortcuts will help you work smarter. Keep reading to learn them all!

As a bonus, we’ll introduce you to two perfect alternatives to OneNote: AI Notetaker and Docs.

What Are OneNote Shortcuts?

OneNote shortcuts are the fastest way to take notes, format text, and organize tasks without breaking your flow. With a few keystrokes, you can jump between sections, create to-do lists, and structure your notes effortlessly. 

These shortcuts eliminate the need to constantly switch between the keyboard and the mouse, helping you focus on the task at hand.

Benefits of Using Shortcuts in OneNote

Using shortcuts in OneNote doesn’t just save a few seconds here and there; it makes note-taking smoother and more efficient. 

Let’s look at some key benefits of OneNote shortcuts in your daily workflow. ⚒️

• Less reliance on the mouse: Perform tasks with a few keystrokes instead of clicking through menus, making actions like creating a new page much faster
• Quick navigation: Jump between sections and pages instantly with Ctrl+Tab, keeping your workflow uninterrupted
• Instant tagging: Mark tasks on the fly with Ctrl+1 to keep your notes structured without losing your train of thought
• Better note organization: Create subpages effortlessly with Ctrl+Alt+N, keeping everything neat and easy to find
• Customizable shortcuts: Set up your key combos for frequently used actions so your workflow works your way
• Fewer distractions: Stay focused on your content instead of wrestling with the interface (convenient during meetings or lectures)
• Streamlined tasks: Insert links (Ctrl+K), check spelling (F7), and perform other actions in a snap

How to Use Shortcuts in OneNote

Instead of relying on manual clicks and menu options, shortcuts instantly let you perform everyday actions, such as formatting text, creating new pages, or switching between notebooks.

Let’s see how! 💪

Step #1: Understand some commonly used shortcuts 

Keyboard shortcuts are combinations of keys that perform special functions. You must familiarize yourself with these shortcuts to use OneNote effectively to take notes, organize your notebooks, and manage your tasks. 

Here are some keyboard shortcuts you can use for general navigation, editing, and formatting: 

Step #2: Use shortcuts regularly 

Here are some tips to use shortcuts regularly: 

• Practice regularly: Use shortcuts and OneNote templates for everyday tasks like creating pages and formatting texts. The more you use them, the more natural they will become 
• Create cheat sheets: Create a cheat sheet or OneNote checklist that lists all the shortcuts 
• Combine shortcuts with mouse actions: Use mouse actions for complex tasks that might not have direct shortcuts 

Step #3: Customize your experience 

If you frequently open the same notebook or section, you can create a desktop shortcut for instant access. This way, instead of opening OneNote and manually navigating through notebooks, a single click can take you exactly where you need to go. 

Here’s how to set it up: 

1. Open OneNote and find the notebook or section for which you want to create a shortcut. Right-click the notebook or section name to copy the link. You can also select the Share button and click Copy Link to Notebook

2. Right-click on your desktop, select New, and click Shortcut. Paste the copied link into the location field and click Next

3.  Give your shortcut a name like ‘Work Notes’ or ‘Daily Planner’ and click Finish 

Top 20 OneNote Shortcuts to Boost Your Productivity

Keyboard shortcuts can make a huge difference in how you use OneNote and become more productive. Here are some advanced OneNote shortcuts to streamline your workflow. 

A quick note to make it easier for you:

• A plus sign (+) in a shortcut means that you need to press multiple keys at the same time
• A comma sign (,) in a shortcut implies that you need to press multiple keys in the specified order

Limitations of Using OneNote

OneNote is packed with valuable features, but it can be limiting. Here are some common roadblocks you can run into:

• 🔄 Syncing struggles: Since OneNote relies on OneDrive, syncing can be slow or glitchy, leaving you with missing notes or outdated versions (especially if you switch between devices often)
• 🔌 Limited compatibility: OneNote doesn’t always play nice with other tools, making exporting notes or collaborating outside the Microsoft ecosystem a bit of a hassle
• 🎨 Basic formatting: Compared to Word or Docs, OneNote’s formatting options feel pretty barebones, which isn’t ideal if you love polished, visually rich documents
• 📜 Endless scrolling: Long lists can quickly turn into a scrolling marathon, with no quick way to jump between sections or find what you need fast

Meet : The Best OneNote Alternative

, the everything app for work, is an all-in-one productivity platform that streamlines your workflow and brings data, documentation, and conversations into one place. 

From managing projects, tasks, and docs to collaborating with your team, it offers a comprehensive suite of tools to help you stay organized and efficient.

Let’s look at some ways to get started with . 👀

Streamline documentation with Docs

Ever taken notes in one app, managed tasks in another, and then spent forever switching between them?  Docs helps eliminate productivity loss due to context switching by keeping your ideas, notes, and action items in one place. 

Jotting down a brilliant idea during a meeting? Highlight it, convert it into a task, and assign it to a teammate without leaving the doc. 

Unlike OneNote, where your notes live in isolation, Docs links directly to your projects and tasks. Need to reference meeting notes while working on a task? It’s all right there (no tab-hopping required).

With slash commands, you can add tables, banners, columns, or even syntax-highlighted code blocks for technical documentation. Want to make your notes more engaging? Embed videos, images, and links for a richer, more interactive experience

Here’s a shortcut cheat sheet for Docs! 🤩

Manage notes and checklists in Notepad

Have you ever scribbled down an idea only to forget where you put it? Notepad makes sure that never happens again. 

Whether you’re brainstorming, jotting reminders, or mapping out a project, this tool keeps everything organized. 

Here’s how: 

• 📝 Quick notes, no clutter: Get the simplicity of a notepad with the power of a task manager. Use headers, bullet points, and color coding to keep your notes structured and easy to scan
• ✅ Turn notes into tasks instantly: Taking meeting notes? As action items pop up, convert them into tasks on the spot, assign them to teammates, and set deadlines—no more copy-pasting into another tool later
• 🔄 Drag, drop, and organize with ease: Create interactive checklists, reorder tasks, and nest subtasks for better structure. Whether it’s a grocery list or a full-on project breakdown, this note-taking app keeps you in control

Here are some text shortcuts you can use on Notepad and Docs! 

Get an AI-powered writing assistant with AI Notetaker and Brain

AI Notetaker

Note-taking becomes 10X more powerful with ’s AI Notetaker—a tool built to turn the mess after meetings into clear, actionable insights.

Here’s how it helps:

• ✅ Ensures that every decision made is captured and can be shared easily with anyone—whether they were in the room or not
• 📝 Captures action items and assigns them to the right people
• 🔗 Connects every discussion to relevant tasks and files while providing full context—so your team can move forward without needing to rehash the past

Brain

Brain elevates note-taking with the power of AI. It can instantly generate structured summaries from scattered thoughts, turning raw ideas into well-organized notes. 

Plus, its transcription abilities let you convert discussions into searchable text, making it perfect for online meetings and brainstorming sessions. 

It also offers real-time editing suggestions to fix grammar, improve clarity, and refine your writing on the fly. Whether you’re drafting reports, blog posts, or internal documents, Brain ensures your words flow smoothly. 

Pick The Note-Worthy App—

Now that you’ve unlocked these OneNote shortcuts, you’re on your way to mastering your notes. However, if you need something more robust for managing projects, tracking tasks, and collaborating with teams while documenting everything, is the way to go. 

, the everything app for work, offers a suite of tools to maintain efficiency. 

With Docs, you can create and collaborate on documents while keeping them connected to your work. Brain helps organize scattered ideas into a clear plan, and Notepad ensures your quick thoughts don’t get lost in the shuffle. 

With , you can spend less time switching between tools and more time getting things done. Sign up to for free today! ✅

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