SharePoint Document Issues

How to Create a Shared OneNote Notebook on SharePoint Without a Single Owner

Maira Mehtab Sep 22, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user wants to set up a shared OneNote notebook in SharePoint with various permission levels, ensuring it is not tied to the original creator's personal account.

Product: Microsoft OneNote and SharePoint
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Setting up a team notebook that needs to persist even if the creator leaves the organization.
Observed behavior: Creating a notebook normally ties it to a single user's OneDrive or account, which causes access loss if that user leaves the company.

Before you start

Ensure you have Edit or Owner permissions for the target SharePoint document library where you plan to store the shared team notebook.

Solution 1Recommended

Create in OneDrive and Move to a SharePoint Document Library

By storing the notebook in a SharePoint document library, ownership belongs to the site rather than an individual user, preventing data loss when employees leave.

When you create a notebook in a SharePoint document library, the notebook is owned by the SharePoint site itself. This ensures that the notebook remains available to the team even if the original creator's Microsoft 365 account is deactivated.

Since OneNote for Windows 10 does not support creating notebooks directly in a SharePoint location, you must first create it in your personal OneDrive and then use SharePoint's Move To function.

Create the notebook

Open OneNote for Windows 10 or OneNote online and create a new notebook, saving it to your personal OneDrive.

Access OneDrive online

Initiate the move

Locate the newly created notebook, select it by checking the circle next to its name, and click the 'Move to' option from the top toolbar.

Select SharePoint destination

Choose the target SharePoint site and navigate to the desired Document Library, then click 'Move here'.

Assign permissions

Open the SharePoint document library, click the three vertical dots next to the notebook, select 'Manage Access', and assign the appropriate Edit or View permissions to your team members.

Direct Creation Alternative: If you are using the full OneNote desktop application (formerly OneNote 2016), you can skip the moving process by creating the notebook directly into SharePoint via File > New > Sites.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why can't I create a SharePoint notebook directly using OneNote for Windows 10?

OneNote for Windows 10 was primarily designed with a streamlined interface that defaults to saving files in OneDrive. To save directly to SharePoint, you need to use the full desktop version of OneNote or use the web interface to move an existing file.

What happens to a OneDrive notebook if the creator leaves the company?

If a notebook remains in an individual user's OneDrive, it will typically be permanently deleted a certain number of days after their Microsoft 365 account is deactivated. Moving it to SharePoint secures it as team-owned data.

How do I set different permission levels for the shared notebook?

Once the notebook is stored in a SharePoint document library, click the ellipsis (three dots) next to the file, select 'Manage Access', and use the advanced permissions settings to assign View, Edit, or Owner rights to specific users or Microsoft 365 groups.

Can multiple people edit the SharePoint notebook at the same time?

Yes. Once the notebook is hosted on SharePoint and permissions are granted, multiple users can open and edit the notebook simultaneously across different devices, and OneNote will automatically sync all changes.

Document & File Issues