Where are onenote notebooks (data files) stored? Where do they sync to?

Question

I have been using the onenote default desktop app.

The onenote app used by me doesn't have a file tab. When I opened office 365 that had and then opened onenote app a different onenote app opened which had file tab.

I don't know where my onenote default desktop app is (which doesn't have a file tab) saved my notebook. Its not in c drive/users/username/documents/onenotebook/ there is nothing there.

I just want to use the other onenote app which has a file tab. That way I can save and sync the file with my smartphone.

Can someone just tell me where is my notebook saved cause it isn't in my onedrive nor my files or anywhere

NOTE: I tried uploading screenshot here but the file wouldn't upload I don't know why.

Answer 1

Hello Anju,

I’m an Independent Advisor and Microsoft user like you. Thanks for posting the query here at this forum.

There are 2 versions of OneNote application available and there are few differences between "OneNote 2016" and "OneNote for Windows 10". Kindly verify which app are you using.

1. OneNote (formerly called “OneNote 2016”), the free desktop app that runs on all supported versions of Microsoft Windows and is part of Office 2019 and Microsoft 365.
2. OneNote for Windows 10, the OneNote app that is pre-installed on all editions of Windows 10.

The OneNote desktop app on Windows is part of Office 2019 and Microsoft 365, but it can also be downloaded as a standalone app and used independently on any PC. It runs on any currently supported version of Windows — including all editions of Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Please find the details here - https://support.microsoft.com/office/a624e692-b78b-4c09-b07f-46181958118f

Please try to update the OneNote app with latest updates. Also if you're using OneDrive, by default OneNote will sync the backup into cloud.

If you suspect that your notes are on OneDrive and searching for them in OneNote hasn’t worked, try to locate them in your OneDrive folders directly, without using OneNote

1. Sign in to your OneDrive account from the OneDrive home page - https://www.onedrive.com/ or by using the OneDrive app for Windows 10.
2. Browse through your OneDrive folders (for example, Documents or Notebooks) for any notebook files you're looking for.
3. When you've found the notebook you want, click to open it in OneNote for the web.

Depending on your computer's operating system, backups of your notebook files are stored in one of the following default locations:

On Windows 10, the Backup folder for your notebooks is located at %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\OneNote\version\Backup. Or below path in Windows 11 %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\OneNote\16.0

To sync OneNote in any of the mobile, kindly download the app and try to login with the Microsoft account which you're using currently in desktop. By default the sync process will start moving the files from cloud to your smartphone.

Hope this information would be useful to you. Please feel free to get back if you need any additional info.

Thank you! Ravikumar Help the next person who has this issue by indicating if this reply solved your problem. Click Yes or No below.

Answer 2

The OneNote you use (without a File tab) is OneNote for Windows 10 and stores notebooks only on OneDrive.

You can open your notebooks also in the other OneNote (with a File tab) from Office:

Go to File -> Open and login. Then you should see a list of your notebooks on OneDrive. Click to open.

Bernd

Answer 3

Thanks-finally, a correct answer!

I had the same question about where to find the OneNote files that are stored locally.

I have to say, this is a simple question. It comes up all the time. And it's mind-boggling how often the answer given on this forum and in others is not at all straight-forward and/or is wrong. Half the time this simple question - Where can I find my OneNote files? - leads to an answer on how to find or save OneNote notebooks in OneDrive. Most of the other answers will direct folks to c:\users\username\documents\OneNote Notebooks folder where users like me will NOT find any of their notebooks.

Instead of a simple answer like:

If your OneNote Notebooks are synced to OneDrive, the files will be stored at %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\OneNote\version\Backup, and if they are not synced to OneDrive they will be found at c:\users\username\documents\OneNote Notebooks

we get answers that are all over the place. Unfortunately, as I mentioned, the confusion and misleading answers to this question are found all over the internet as well.

I'll also add that it does not help that when you open up options in OneNote and select Save and Backup, the "Default Notebook Location" tab points users to the c:\users\username\documents\OneNote Notebooks location, where again they will NOT find their notebooks if they are synced to OneDrive.

Answer 4

Your "simple answer"

"Instead of a simple answer like:

If your OneNote Notebooks are synced to OneDrive, the files will be stored at %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\OneNote\version\Backup, and if they are not synced to OneDrive they will be found at c:\users\username\documents\OneNote Notebooks"

is simply wrong.

Whether you find notebooks in the ...\Backup folder does not depend on the location of your notebooks, it depends on the OneNote version you use. This is the Backup folder of OneNote from Office (even for local notebooks), but OneNote for Windows 10, which uses only notebooks synced to OneDrive, has no Backup at all (so this folder doesn't exist).

Bernd

Answer 5

I'm not talking about finding notebooks. And neither was the original poster. We're simply looking for the data files. Also, there is nothing in the original post indicating he or she was using OneNote for Windows. It seems likely he or she wasnt because he or she ran into the same issue I did - there's nothing in the c:\users\username\documents\OneNote Notebooks folder that we are often directed to look to find the DATA FILES.