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Insert File Printout No Longer Working

Anonymous
2024-01-08T19:47:52+00:00

I'm really hoping someone can help with this issue, because I'm at the end of my rope.

I've been using Firefox as my default PDF viewer for months now, and OneNote (newest version-- via 365) has never given me trouble with the Insert File Printout function, whether I was using the button from the toolbar or just dragging a PDF into my notebook.

Until now. All of a sudden, the function doesn't work at all, and gives me this error message. r/OneNote - Issues with Insert File Printout-- losing my mind. I've followed other troubleshooting methods and tried downloading Adobe Acrobat and setting that as my default. This makes the Insert File Printout function "work"... but it seems to insist on putting EVERY file in as portrait orientation, meaning my presentation slides (i'm a student so I'm constantly uploading lecture slides to onenote) all end up sideways. This is kiiiind of fixed if I change the print preferences to set everything as landscape, but I don't WANT to have absolutely everything as landscape! That's fine for slides, but I also have to import written documents that have to stay portrait!

I'm furious that this is an issue at all. It's ridiculous that I have to do so much tech support just to get a basic function working again. And I HATE Acrobat, it uses up so much storage space and doesn't even do its job. I NEVER had any of these issues when it was using FireFox as my default PDF reader, it always imported everything in the orientations the file was supposed to have.

And please don't tell me to open my PDF reader and use the "print to onenote" function-- yes that works, but it takes SO much time (like 5 minutes per file, and given that I'm importing at least a dozen files per day, that really isn't feasible for me to do regularly), and I really want to just get the Insert File Printout function working again! It used to be so quick and convenient and I miss it.

Does anyone know what I can do to make this work again? I just wanna be able to drag files from my computer into OneNote and have them import with the right orientation without having to wait 5 minutes or fiddle with the print page every single time-- I want it to work like it used to!!

Failing that, does anyone know how I can "roll back" onenote-- i.e. uninstall the most recent (Jan 4th) update? I'm pretty sure onenote worked fine before that.

Sorry if I come across as cranky in writing this-- I've been troubleshooting ALL DAY just to get a basic function working again and I find that absolutely unacceptable. Why does microsoft keep doing this!!!

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneNote | Other | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2024-01-16T16:47:22+00:00

    From the video it's obvious that the OP uses OneNote from Office.

    The Insert Printout feature is a notoriously unreliable feature because it's completely dependent on non standard registry entries of the current PDF reader. It's a convenience feature with the risk of failure. The only solution is the one the OP doesn't want: to use explicitely the virtual Send to OneNote printer (where one can set the print orientation).

    So it's his decision.

    Bernd

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  2. Anonymous
    2024-01-16T19:55:59+00:00

    Above is a screenshot of my OneNote before I followed your instructions and reinstalled OneNote.

    Here it is after I reinstalled OneNote. It looks about the same. I tried going through the store to get the desktop app, but it told me it was already installed. I can't find any version of OneNote on my computer besides the one I've been sending you this whole time. I did more research into trying to find a link to the desktop app version instead of the one for Windows 10, and every link and download I use just gives me the same version of OneNote as before.

    Would it work if I uninstalled my current version of OneNote and then tried to download it again? Would I risk losing access to my OneNote files?

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  3. Anonymous
    2024-01-16T14:21:48+00:00

    Hello,

    Thank you for providing those additional information.

    I'll get back to as soon as possible, for now can you confirm the specific build version of your Office application? About Office: What version of Office am I using? - Microsoft Support.

    As per checking on the video you shared, seems like you are using the OneNote for Windows 10. Try checking on your computer if there is another OneNote installed. Here is a reference for the OneNote versions:

    (Left side: OneNote for Windows 10 | Right side: Desktop App OneNote):

    If you don't have Desktop App OneNote, try to install it on this link: https://office.com and use this article for reference: Download and install or reinstall Microsoft 365 or Office 2021 on a PC or Mac - Microsoft Support.

    I am looking forward to your response.

    Regards,

    Arquel C.

    Microsoft Moderator

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  4. Anonymous
    2024-01-10T18:40:30+00:00

    Thank you very much for the reply Arquel! I feel like you actually read my problem and truly want to get to a solution, which is very much appreciated.

    • No, this does not happen when I drag and drop Word files, but when I try it with PDF or PowerPoint files it gives me the error from the first message.
    • I am using Office 365, and it is fully updated (I actually just uninstalled then reinstalled 365 yesterday as part of troubleshooting to make sure my version was up to date).
    • I've taken a video for you. Here's the link to it in my google drive: Recording of OneNote Issue

    As for troubleshooting:

    1. Changing my browser to Edge did not solve the problem. Here's a video I took showing that my browser and PDF viewer are set to Edge, and it's still not working. I tried opening multiple PDFs in this video to show that it's all PDFs that have this issue, not just a few corrupted files. Edge Not Working With OneNote
    2. Word documents work fine, but PowerPoint and PDF files give me the same error as before.
    3. Quick repair unfortunately did not solve the problem while I was still using FireFox.
    4. It seems that the version you linked is the one I already have. When I followed the link you sent, it brought me to the microsoft store page, which told me I had already downloaded it. I'm hoping you don't mean to download OneNote for Windows 10, since I found some information online that said it will be discontinued next year.
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  5. Anonymous
    2024-01-09T21:54:33+00:00

    Hello,

    I truly understand what you've gone through on this, there are a lot of possible reason for this that we may need to consider, one of it is that it may be specific to this PDF format. Rest assured, I'd be more than glad to assist you on this matter. For me to also have a better view of your concern, I'd like to ask few questions:

    Here are troubleshooting steps I can suggest:

    1. Use Microsoft Edge as the default browser instead of Firefox, check if it does the same issue: Change your default browser in Windows - Microsoft Support
    2. Try to insert a file printout which a Word document or other file format, check if it has the same error. If it does not, possible it is related to the PDF file.
    3. Run a Quick Repair on your Office application: Repair an Office application - Microsoft Support
    4. Download the other version OneNote through this website OneNote - Microsoft Apps and check if the same issue persist there.

    I am looking forward to your response! These information would be handful of help for us to isolate and provide you more troubleshooting steps if the same issue persist after performing the troubleshooting steps.

    Best regards,

    Arquel C.

    Microsoft Moderator

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