How to Organize OneNote: Create, Rename, and Rearrange Notebooks, Sections, and Pages

OneNote organizes everything into three layers: a notebook holds sections (the tabs across the top), and each section holds pages (the tabs down the side). Here’s how to build and tidy that structure.

Why: Think of a notebook as a physical binder, sections as the colored dividers, and pages as the sheets inside each divider. Once you know how to add, rename, and drag each one, you can reshape a messy notebook in a couple of minutes — nothing is locked in place.

Step 1: Create a new section

Sections are the tabs across the top of the notebook.

1. Right-click any existing section tab and choose New Section.
2. Type a meaningful name for the section and press Enter.

To rename it later, right-click the section tab, choose Rename, type the new name, and press Enter. To delete one, right-click the tab and choose Delete (this removes every page in that section, so move anything you want to keep first).

Step 2: Add and rename pages

Pages are the tabs running down the right side of the current section.

1. Click the Add Page button above the page tabs to create a blank page.
2. Type a title at the top of the page — OneNote uses that text as the page-tab name automatically.

To make a page a subpage (indented under the page above it), drag its page tab slightly to the right until the title becomes indented. This is a clean way to group related pages without creating a whole new section.

Step 3: Rearrange pages and sections by dragging

You rebuild the order entirely by dragging.

1. Reorder pages: click a page tab and drag it up or down. A horizontal bar shows where it will land. Hold Ctrl or Shift to select and move several pages at once.
2. Reorder sections: click a section tab and drag it left or right along the top. A small triangle marks the new position.
3. Move a section to another notebook: right-click the section tab and choose Move or Copy, then pick the destination notebook.

Step 4: Group related sections with a section group

When one notebook has too many section tabs to scan, a section group acts like a folder that holds several sections together.

1. Right-click any section tab and choose New Section Group.
2. Type a name for the group and press Enter.
3. Drag existing section tabs onto the group’s tab to move them inside. Click the group to open it; click the green back arrow to return to the top level.

FAQ

What’s the difference between a section and a section group? A section holds pages directly. A section group holds other sections (each with their own pages) — it’s a folder one level up, used to keep a long row of tabs manageable.

If I delete a section, do I lose the pages? Yes — deleting a section removes all the pages inside it. Move or copy any page you want to keep into another section first using right-click Move or Copy.

Where do my notebooks actually live? Personal notebooks sync to OneDrive; work or school notebooks usually live in OneDrive for Business or SharePoint. The structure (notebooks, sections, pages) is the same wherever they’re stored.

Sources: Microsoft Support — Organize your notes · Microsoft Support — Create a section group in OneNote