I remember the first time I wanted to rename a notebook in OneNote, I thought it would be as simple as right-clicking and typing a new name. However working with OneNote notebooks has always been a little different to other file formats. The other approach many people try is to rename the notebook from inside OneNote, spoiler alert: this doesn’t work either. So here I want to take you through a few options you can use the access and rename your OneNote notebook.
Where is your OneNote notebook saved?
Most of the time, your OneNote notebooks are saved to OneDrive, especially if you’re using OneNote as part of your work or school account. This is a great location to save your files to because it means your notes are backed up and accessible from anywhere and at anytime.
Rename a OneNote Notebook
Here I want to give you two methods you can use to rename a notebook, or any file type that is saved to OneDrive.
Method 1: OneDrive online
Just as there are web and desktop versions of many of the Microsoft 365 apps, there is a web and desktop version of OneDrive. Let’s look at how to access your OneDrive files via any web browser.
Because you want to RENAME a file, you need to make sure you close the notebook first to allow you to edit the name.
- Open Microsoft OneNote.
- If you can see the Notebook in your list of Open notebooks, then you need to close it:
- To close a notebook, right mouse click the notebook name and choose Close This Notebook.
- The notebook should be removed from the list of Open notebooks.
- Now open your chosen web browser.
- Go to the Microsoft365 homepage at https://microsoft365.com/.
- Log in with your Microsoft 365 username and password.
- From the M365 homepage, click Apps.
- Now choose OneDrive from the app icons.
- The OneDrive Home page will appear:
- From the left hand menu, choose My files.
- Browse through the folders and files to locate the OneNote Notebook you want to rename.
- Once you have located the file, hover the cursor over the file.
- Click the ellipsis (…) button:
- From the menu choose Rename.
- Enter a new file name.
- Click Update.
- Now return back to OneNote and open the notebook again but now it will have the new filename.
Method 2: Rename via Windows File Explorer
One of the most common ways to access your files in OneDrive is via the Windows Files Explorer app. By installing the OneDrive app on your PC, you can sign in with your M365 account and then gain access to your files locally through the File Explorer that many users have been using for decades.
An important thing to be aware of when accessing a OneNote notebook via File Explorer is the actual file format and what the file will look like. In File Explorer, all OneNote notebooks appear as an Internet Shortcut (*.url) rather than an actual file type such as a Word or Excel files. This is because the more recent OneNote apps store notebooks in the cloud (OneDrive or SharePoint) rather than as local folders with .one file extension that has been used in the past. Read more about this at the end of this post.
Download the OneDrive app
Having the OneDrive app installed on your computer will allow you easy access to all files in your account via the File Explorer window. It also allows you to edit files locally on your computer and the app then synchronises the changes to your OneDrive account to keep all files synchronised.
- The first thing you’ll need to do, if you don’t already have it installed, is install the OneDrive app onto your computer.
- Simply go to https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/microsoft-365/onedrive/download.
- Click the Download OneDrive button and follow the prompts.
- Once you have OneDrive app installed, you should see the blue OneDrive cloud icon in your system tray:
- Click the blue OneDrive cloud icon to log in with your M365 account (if you haven’t already).
- If this is the first time installing the app, you may need to give it some time to synchronise all your files and essentially download a local copy for you to access.
Rename a OneNote Notebook via File Explorer
- Open Windows File Explorer or press the Windows key and E on the keyboard to use the keyboard shortcut.
- With File Explorer open, locate the OneDrive folder which may include the name of your work or school:
- Click the OneDrive directory.
- Browse through the folders and files to locate the Notebook you want to rename.
- Right mouse click the file and choose Rename.
- Now return to OneNote and open the notebook again but now it will have the new filename.
Older Notebook File Formats
When you save a Word or Excel file to OneDrive, it’s just a single file and is easy to rename, move, or copy. OneNote, on the other hand, works a little differently behind the scenes, especially with older OneNote versions.
Older OneNote notebook files aren’t just a single file. These “files” had a .one file extension and were actually a folder that contained multiple files and subfolders. Each section in the notebook is stored as its own file, and pages live inside those section files. This structure allowed OneNote to sync changes quickly and efficiently across devices, but it also meant you couldn’t just rename the notebook from inside the app.
As OneNote has evolved the file structure has therefore changed and the older file formats including .one, .onetoc2 file extensions aren’t visible in Windows File Explorer anymore. We now have simple Internet Shortcuts named after each of our OneNote notebooks which when double-clicked, open the notebook directly through our web browser.
I hope this helps give some insight on how to rename a notebook in OneNote and the options to rename files via OneDrive online or the OneDrive app through File Explorer. Some other useful tips you might find interesting are:
- How to share a OneNote notebook
- How to delete a notebook in OneNote
- The best OneNote keyboard shortcuts
Feel free to comment below with any questions.