Office Settings & Configuration

How to Change or Remove the Author Name in OneNote

Natalie Taylor Oct 9, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user wants to know how to change or remove the author name associated with content in a shared OneNote notebook.

How to Change or Remove the Author Name in OneNote

Product: Microsoft OneNote
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Collaborating on cloud-hosted shared notebooks where user contributions are automatically tagged.
Observed behavior: Author names are tied to the signed-in Microsoft account at the time of creation, and existing content cannot be easily reassigned to another author.

Before you start

Verify which Microsoft account you are currently logged into, as OneNote automatically assigns this profile's name to any new content you type or paste.

Solution 1Recommended

Copy Pages to a New Notebook (Recommended)

Since existing author metadata cannot be directly edited, you must copy the pages to a fresh notebook owned by the correct account to reset the author attribution for future use.

OneNote firmly attaches the author's Microsoft account identity to the content upon creation. Simply exporting and importing the notebook will not work, as this process retains the original author metadata.

Sign in with the correct account

Open OneNote, log out of the current profile, and sign in using the Microsoft 365 account you want to be associated with the content.

Create a new notebook

Go to 'File' > 'New' and create a brand new cloud-hosted notebook under your correct account.

Copy the existing pages

Navigate to your original notebook, right-click the pages or sections you want to keep, and select 'Move or Copy'.

Paste into the new notebook

Select the newly created notebook as the destination and click 'Copy'. The content in the new notebook will now fall under the ownership of your current account.

Copy Pages to a New Notebook (Recommended)

Avoid using Export/Import: Do not use the OneNote Export feature for this specific task. Exporting preserves existing author tags, meaning the incorrect author names will still appear when imported.

Solution 2

Ensure Correct Account Sign-In for Future Edits

Prevent incorrect author names from appearing on new content by verifying and switching your active account before editing.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I temporarily hide author initials in a shared OneNote notebook?

Yes, you can hide author initials by navigating to the 'History' tab on the ribbon and clicking the 'Hide Authors' button. This hides the initials on your screen but does not remove the underlying author metadata from the notebook.

Why didn't exporting and importing my OneNote notebook remove the author names?

The OneNote export function is designed to create an exact backup of your notebook, which inherently preserves all original metadata, including author tags. To remove these tags, you must manually copy the pages into a new notebook.

Will changing my Microsoft account display name update past edits in OneNote?

Updating your display name in your online Microsoft Account settings will change how your name appears for any future edits. However, it typically does not retroactively change the author tags already permanently attached to past edits in shared cloud notebooks.

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