OneNote Search Results not pinning

Question

When attempting to click the "pin search results (Alt-O)" or by pressing ALT-O, the pinning action does not work.

Answer 1

I found a workaround. (Clearing the cache didnt work for me.)
But what has worked for me is when the "Pin search Results" Stops working, I go to View>Tabs Layout, then I change the layout to "Vertical Tabs" and then click "New Docked Window"
I close the New Docked Window that appears. Change the Tabs Layout back to "Horizontal Tabs", and then try "Pin Search Results" again, and it works. ((Might not need to change the "Tabs Layout." I suspect the "New Docked Window" might be all that is needed to get it working again but I didnt test that.

For me, it seems to stay fixed for several months and then somehow stops working.
Anyway, I hope it helps.

Answer 2

Microsoft broke search in OneNote. In order to make it more streamlined, they now require extra clicks to perform a search. Someone told me to use Search in OneNote online since the search box remains, but Microsoft doesn't search notebooks in OneNote Online - you need to know where what you're looking for is because you can't search more than a single section.

Answer 3

Hi @Krajewski, Todd,

Good day! Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A forum and sharing the detail.  

Thank you for reporting the issue with the “Pin Search Results” function in OneNote. This behavior can be caused by several factors, and in order to investigate further and provide an efficient solution, please follow the troubleshooting steps below and share your observations: 

1. Confirm the OneNote and Office version by checking if your OneNote and Office suite are fully updated. Go to File > Account > Update Options and select Update Now. 
2. Test different pinning methods by trying both the mouse (clicking the pin icon) and the keyboard shortcut (Alt+O). Note whether either method works or if both fail. 
3. Attempt in a different environment by testing the pinning feature using OneNote Online via a web browser. Let me know if the same issue occurs there or if the function works as expected. 
4. Clear OneNote cache by closing OneNote completely. Locate and rename or clear the OneNote cache folder on your device. After this, restart the app and try pinning the search results again. 

Your cooperation in the above steps is greatly appreciated, as it helps us isolate and resolve the issue more quickly. Please provide any results after trying each step.  

I look forward to your response. 

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Answer 4

I am not sure what changed. I recently had the Office applications updated on the workstation and under went numerous reboots for an OS update. Testing this issue again today, shows that the "click on pin" option works, the ALT-O option does not.

I did not clear cache. I did not get a chance to verify with the on-line version.

Answer 5

Try signing out of your active account within OneNote and sign back in.