Office Settings & Configuration

Why OneNote Mixed Hebrew and English Page Names Display in the Wrong Direction

WPS Editor Sep 28, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user wants to understand why OneNote displays page names containing both Hebrew and English text left-to-right instead of correctly adapting to the RTL (right-to-left) direction in the section page list.

OneNote Mixed Hebrew and English Page Names Display in the Wrong Direction

Product: Microsoft OneNote
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Naming a page in the OneNote section list using a combination of RTL (Hebrew) and LTR (English) characters.
Observed behavior: The mixed-language page name ignores RTL formatting and displays in the wrong direction (left-to-right) within the section's page list.

Before you start

Verify that your system language settings have the Hebrew language pack fully installed and that your keyboard layout is switching correctly, just to rule out basic operating system language conflicts.

Solution 1Recommended

Report the Mixed-Language Design Limitation to Microsoft

Because this is a known design defect in OneNote with no built-in settings to fix it, the best course of action is submitting feedback directly to the development team.

Currently, Microsoft OneNote has a design limitation where it cannot correctly parse the display direction of mixed right-to-left (RTL) and left-to-right (LTR) text in the page list. There is no hidden toggle or configuration setting to override this behavior.

To encourage a permanent fix in future updates, users experiencing this issue should report it through the official feedback portal.

Open the Help Menu

Launch Microsoft OneNote and navigate to the 'Help' tab located on the top ribbon.

Select Feedback

Click on the 'Feedback' button. A sidebar will open on the right side of the screen.

Report a Problem

Choose 'Report a problem' or 'I don't like something' and clearly describe that mixed Hebrew and English page names display in the wrong direction in the section list.

Submit the Report

If possible, attach a screenshot of the page list displaying the incorrect text direction, then click 'Submit' to send the data to Microsoft for investigation.

Report the Mixed-Language Design Limitation to Microsoft

Limitation Scope: This issue is specific to the page navigation pane. You can usually format mixed Hebrew and English text correctly within the actual body of the OneNote page using the RTL text direction button.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a registry edit to fix the OneNote Hebrew page name direction?

No, there is currently no known Windows registry edit or hidden setting that changes the display direction of mixed-language page names in the OneNote page list.

Does this issue affect other RTL languages like Arabic?

Yes, this design limitation generally applies to any right-to-left (RTL) language, including Arabic and Persian, when mixed with left-to-right (LTR) text like English in the page title.

Can I format the text correctly inside the OneNote page itself?

Yes, while the page name in the sidebar list displays incorrectly, the text inside the actual note canvas can be formatted correctly by selecting the text and clicking the Right-to-Left text direction button in the Home tab.

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