File Corruption & Recovery

What Are OneNote Open Sections and Can You Delete Them?

Muhammad Talha Oct 12, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user is asking about the purpose of the 'Open Sections' area in Microsoft OneNote and wants to know if it is safe to permanently delete the sections found there.

What Are OneNote Open Sections and Can You Delete Them?

Product: Microsoft OneNote
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Managing OneNote notebooks and cleaning up unwanted or orphaned .one section files that appear outside the normal notebook structure.
Observed behavior: OneNote displays an 'Open Sections' area containing orphaned .one files, which typically originate from recycle bin backups or synchronization issues.

Before you start

Before attempting to delete any open sections, hover your cursor over the section tabs to verify their exact file paths. It is highly recommended to manually copy these .one files to a temporary backup folder just in case you need to restore the data later.

Solution 1Recommended

Identify and Safely Delete OneNote Open Sections

Verify the storage location of the orphaned sections to confirm they are unneeded backups, then proceed to delete them safely.

The "Open Sections" area in OneNote acts as a holding space for individual, orphaned .one files that are stored outside of a designated notebook. These files can occasionally appear if OneNote discovers pages from backups, recycle bin contents, or resolved sync conflicts.

Locate the file path

Open Microsoft OneNote and navigate to the Open Sections area. Hover your mouse over the specific section tab you wish to inspect; a tooltip will appear displaying the exact file path where the .one file is stored.

Verify the contents

Click on the section to review its pages. Confirm whether the information is from a recycle bin backup or contains deleted content that you no longer need.

Close the section in OneNote

If you are confident the section is no longer needed, right-click the section tab and select 'Close This Section'. This removes it from your active OneNote view.

Permanently delete the file

Open your computer's File Explorer, navigate to the file path you identified earlier, and delete the actual .one file to permanently free up space.

Identify and Safely Delete OneNote Open Sections

Automatic Cleanup: In some instances, if the open sections are temporary cache files, they may disappear automatically after you close and reopen the OneNote application.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What exactly is an orphaned .one file in OneNote?

An orphaned .one file is a standalone section file that is no longer associated with an active OneNote notebook structure. These files often appear in the Open Sections area due to incomplete syncs, recovered backups, or files restored from a recycle bin.

Can I recover an Open Section if I delete it by mistake?

If you closed the section in OneNote and deleted the file from your computer's drive, it may be sitting in your system's Recycle Bin. You can open the Recycle Bin and restore the file to its original location, then reopen it in OneNote.

How do I move an Open Section into a permanent notebook?

To integrate an orphaned section into your main workspace, right-click the Open Section tab, select 'Move or Copy', and then choose the desired active notebook destination from the list.

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