Location of OneNOte Notebook files

Question

I have recently moved my onenote notebooks from my PC to the cloud so that I can access them from other devices, but there are no longer any local files, only hyperlinks to the location in the cloud where they are stored, but where is that, and can I have copies on my PC?

Answer 1

Hi,

Are you trying to remove old notebooks completely from your account or just from your device list?

Open OneNote, go to File then Open, right click the notebook you want to remove and choose Close This Notebook to remove it from your app, then sign in to your OneDrive on the web, locate the notebook folder under Documents or OneNote Notebooks, and delete it there to permanently remove it, then go back to OneNote and use File then Info then Settings then Close or remove any remaining links so only active notebooks stay visible and synced.

Answer 2

There are a number of previous notebooks that I have closed but that can still be accessed. I would like to delete them. How do I do that?

Answer 3

After moving notebooks to OneDrive or SharePoint, OneNote treats them as cloud notebooks. The “files” seen in File Explorer (or in the OneDrive sync folder) are internet shortcut links pointing to the real notebook in the cloud, not the actual .one section files.

Where the notebooks are stored:

• If moved to OneDrive, they are stored in the OneDrive account online (for example under the OneNote Notebooks area in OneDrive).
• If moved to SharePoint or Microsoft 365, they are stored in that SharePoint/Teams site’s document library.

OneNote keeps a cached copy of cloud notebooks on the device so they can be used offline, but this cache is managed internally by OneNote and is not meant to be used as normal files.

To move a local notebook to the cloud (and thus know exactly where it is stored):

1. In OneNote desktop, open the local notebook.
2. Go to File > Share.
3. Pick a web location such as OneDrive or SharePoint, then select Move Notebook.
   • OneNote uploads the notebook and sets up direct sync.
4. After the move, the old local notebook is no longer connected or synchronized and can be deleted.

Having a copy on the PC:

• OneNote automatically caches a local copy of cloud notebooks so they are available offline; this is the supported way to have them “on the PC.”
• Do not use Windows Explorer to copy or move .one files into the OneDrive folder. This can cause sync errors because OneDrive and OneNote would both try to sync the same files. Instead, always use File > Share > Move Notebook in OneNote to place notebooks in OneDrive/SharePoint.

If local notebooks seem to have disappeared after moving:

• They are now in the chosen OneDrive/SharePoint location (visible via a web browser in OneDrive or the SharePoint document library).
• The entries seen locally are shortcuts representing those cloud notebooks.

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References:

• Sync a notebook in OneNote
• Frequently Asked Questions about OneNote in Office 2019 and Microsoft 365
• Open or create notebooks in OneNote for Windows 8
• Troubleshoot moving notebooks from your computer to the cloud