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How to Search Across All Pages in OneNote Online
Question details
Users need to search for specific content across multiple pages or all open notebooks in OneNote Online.
- Product
- OneNote Online
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Attempting to locate notes spread across large, shared notebooks or multiple notebooks via a web browser or Microsoft Teams tab.
- Observed behavior
- The search function in the online version is limited and only returns results from the currently active page or the single open notebook, ignoring content in other notebooks.
Verify that you are logged into the correct Microsoft account and ensure the specific notebook you wish to search is currently opened in your browser session.
Use OneNote Desktop Application for Global Search
Switching to the OneNote desktop application is the most reliable method for searching across multiple notebooks and extensive page collections.
OneNote Online can only open and search one notebook at a time. To bypass this limitation and use the 'Find from all notebooks' feature, you must utilize the desktop version of OneNote, which indexes all open notebooks simultaneously.
Launch the OneNote desktop application on your computer and ensure all the notebooks you want to search are opened and fully synced.
Click on the Search box located near the top right of the application window, or press Ctrl + E on your keyboard.
Click the small dropdown arrow next to the search magnifying glass icon and select 'All Notebooks' to expand your search across all available pages.
Optimize Search Within OneNote Online
If you cannot use the desktop application, you must manually open the specific notebook you wish to search within the web browser.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does OneNote Online say 'No results found' when the note exists?
This happens because OneNote Online can only search the notebook that is currently open. If the note exists in a different, closed notebook, the online search tool will not find it. You must open that specific notebook first.
Can I search all notebooks from a Microsoft Teams OneNote tab?
No. The OneNote tab embedded inside Microsoft Teams functions exactly like OneNote Online. To search across all notebooks, you need to click 'Open in Desktop App' from the top menu in Teams.
How do I filter search results by a specific section in OneNote Online?
While using OneNote Online, you can select a specific section in the left navigation pane and then use the search box. The search results will prioritize matches found within the active section and the open notebook.
