OneDrive File Issues

How to Access and Transfer a Former Employee's OneNote Notebook

Elise Williams Oct 20, 2026 868 views

Question details

Global administrators need to retrieve a OneNote notebook from a former employee's OneDrive and move it to a different account, but standard export options are unavailable.

How to Access and Transfer a Former Employee's OneNote Notebook

Product: Microsoft OneNote, OneDrive
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Transferring critical project files and notebooks of a departed employee to an active user's destination account.
Observed behavior: The standard OneNote export options are unavailable when opening the file because the former user is no longer signed in.

Before you start

Ensure you have global administrator privileges in your Microsoft 365 environment and have generated the necessary access links to the former employee's OneDrive.

Solution 1Recommended

Download and Transfer the Notebook via OneNote Desktop

Download the notebook package locally and use the OneNote desktop application to properly share and migrate it to the new OneDrive account.

Since the original owner is no longer signed in, web-based export options are disabled. Using the desktop version of OneNote allows you to bypass this limitation by opening a locally downloaded copy and re-uploading it to the new destination.

Download the notebook locally

Access the former employee's OneDrive via your admin permissions. Locate the OneNote notebook folder, select it, and download it as a package to your local computer.

Open OneNote desktop application

Launch OneNote 2016 (or install OneNote for Windows if you do not have it). Sign in to the application using the credentials of the destination account.

Open the downloaded package

In OneNote, go to **File > Open > This PC** and browse to the location where you saved the downloaded notebook package to open it.

Share to the new OneDrive

With the notebook open, navigate to **File > Share**. Select the destination account's OneDrive location from the list of connected services.

Rename and move

Rename the notebook if necessary for organizational purposes, and confirm the move. The notebook will now sync to the new destination account's OneDrive.

Download and Transfer the Notebook via OneNote Desktop

Transfer Complete: Once the sync process finishes, the new owner can access and edit the notebook normally from their own OneDrive account.

Free Microsoft Office alternative

Manage Your Team's Documents with WPS Office

While transferring OneNote notebooks requires Microsoft admin access, you can manage your team's standard documents effectively using WPS Office. It provides a lightweight, highly compatible, and free alternative to Microsoft Office for your daily workflow.

1. Download and install: Get the free WPS Office suite from the official website and install it on your device.
2. Open Office files: Launch WPS Office and directly open your existing .docx, .xlsx, or .pptx files without formatting loss.
3. Save and share: Edit your team's documents and seamlessly save them locally or sync them to WPS Cloud for easy sharing.

Highly compatible with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint formats.Lightweight installation that runs smoothly on older hardware.Built-in cloud integration for easy file sharing and team collaboration.

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are the export options missing in the OneNote web interface?

The export options become unavailable if the original owner's account is disconnected, unlicensed, or no longer signed in, which is standard behavior when an employee leaves an organization.

Can I transfer the notebook directly through the OneDrive web interface?

Directly moving a OneNote notebook between different user accounts via the web interface often breaks synchronization links. It is safer to download the package locally and re-share it to the new account using the OneNote desktop application.

How do I get access to a former employee's OneDrive files?

As a global administrator in Microsoft 365, you can generate a OneDrive access link from the Microsoft 365 admin center under the deleted user's profile settings, provided it is within the active retention period.

Document & File Issues