Many users find that using an external keyboard with keyboard shortcuts for OneNote helps them work more efficiently. For users with mobility or vision disabilities, keyboard shortcuts can be easier than using the touchscreen and are an essential alternative to using a mouse.
Note
- The shortcuts in this topic refer to the US keyboard layout. Keys for other layouts might not correspond exactly to the keys on a US keyboard.
- A plus sign (+) in a shortcut means that you need to press multiple keys at the same time.
- A comma sign (,) in a shortcut means that you need to press multiple keys in order.
This article lists the keyboard shortcuts for OneNote for Windows desktop.
Note
- For information on the differences between the app versions, go to What's the difference between the OneNote versions?
- To quickly find a shortcut in this article, you can use Search. Press Ctrl+F, and then type your search words.
In this topic
- Frequently used shortcuts
- Format notes
- Insert items on a page
- Work with tables
- Select text and objects
- Tag notes
- Use outlines
- Specify language settings
- Work with pages
- Work with notebooks and sections
- Search through notes
- Share notes
- Protect notes
Frequently used shortcuts
| To do this | Press |
|---|---|
| Open a new OneNote window. | Ctrl+M |
| Create a Quick Note. | Ctrl+Shift+M or Alt+Windows 
key+N |
| Dock the OneNote window. | Ctrl+Alt+D |
| Undo the previous action. | Ctrl+Z |
| Redo the previous action, if possible. | Ctrl+Y |
| Select all items on the current page. | Ctrl+A To expand the selection, press Ctrl+A again. |
| Cut the selected text or item. | Ctrl+X |
| Copy the selected text or item to the clipboard. | Ctrl+C |
| Paste the contents of the clipboard. | Ctrl+V |
| Paste text only (Paste without formatting) | Ctrl+Shift+V |
| Move to the beginning of the line. | Home |
| Move to the end of the line. | End |
| Move one word to the left. | Ctrl+Left arrow key |
| Move one word to the right. | Ctrl+Right arrow key |
| Delete one character to the left. | Backspace |
| Delete one character to the right. | Delete |
| Delete one word to the left. | Ctrl+Backspace |
| Delete one word to the right. | Ctrl+Delete |
| Insert a line break without starting a new paragraph. | Shift+Enter |
| Check spelling. | F7 |
| Open the thesaurus for the currently selected word. | Shift+F7 |
| Display the context menu for the currently focused object. | Shift+F10 or Windows Menu key |
| Perform the action suggested on the Information Bar when it appears at the top of a page. | Ctrl+Shift+W |
| Play the selected audio recording. | Ctrl+Alt+P |
| Stop audio recording playback. | Ctrl+Alt+S |
| Skip the current audio recording backward by 10 seconds. | Ctrl+Alt+Y |
| Skip the current audio recording forward by 10 seconds. | Ctrl+Alt+U |
Format notes
| To do this | Press |
|---|---|
| Highlight the selected text. | Ctrl+Alt+H |
| Insert a hyperlink. | Ctrl+K |
| Copy the formatting of the selected text (Format Painter). | Ctrl+Alt+C |
| Paste the formatting to the selected text (Format Painter). | Ctrl+Alt+V |
| Open a hyperlink. | Enter when on the hyperlink text |
| Apply or remove bold formatting. | Ctrl+B |
| Apply or remove italics formatting. | Ctrl+I |
| Apply or remove underline formatting. | Ctrl+U |
| Apply or remove strikethrough formatting. | Alt+Hyphen (-) |
| Apply or remove superscript formatting. | Ctrl+Shift+Plus(+) |
| Apply or remove subscript formatting. | Ctrl+Shift+Minus(-) |
| Apply or remove bulleted list formatting. | Ctrl+Period (.) |
| Apply or remove numbered list formatting. | Ctrl+Forward slash (/) |
| Apply a Heading 1 style to the current note. | Ctrl+Alt+1 |
| Apply a Heading 2 style to the current note. | Ctrl+Alt+2 |
| Apply a Heading 3 style to the current note. | Ctrl+Alt+3 |
| Apply a Heading 4 style to the current note. | Ctrl+Alt+4 |
| Apply a Heading 5 style to the current note. | Ctrl+Alt+5 |
| Apply a Heading 6 style to the current note. | Ctrl+Alt+6 |