Recover deleted notes
Applies To
OneNote for Microsoft 365 OneNote 2024 OneNote 2021 OneNote 2016Restore deleted pages or sections
You can recover a page or section up to 60 days after deletion. If you deleted a section group, you can recover the sections, just not the group.
-
Select the History tab and select
-
Right-click the page or section and choose
-
In the Move or Copy dialog box, choose where to put the recovered content and select Move.
-
To close the recycle bin, select
:
-
If you just deleted text, images, a page or section, press Ctrl+Z to undo.
-
If you deleted a section group, recreate the group and then move the restored sections to it directly.
Restore notes from a backup
: To restore notes from a backup, you first need to back up your notebook.
-
Select the File menu and choose Info.
-
Select Open Backups, navigate to the notes you'd like to restore, and select Open.
-
Right-click the restored section or pages and select Copy to place them in the desired notebook.
-
When your notes have been restored, right-click the backed-up section and select Close.
To just restore pages or sections, see Recover a deleted page or section.
Restore pages on a notebook in OneDrive
If you're working on notes that were stored in OneDrive, do the following:
-
Open the shared notebook where you lost recent notes.
-
Choose the View tab and Deleted Notes.
-
If your deleted notes are found there, right-click the page tab that you want to restore, and then use the Move or Copy command to put the notes back in their original location.
Any notes that were deleted during the past 60 days appear in the Notebook Recycle Bin, unless the Notebook Recycle Bin was emptied during that time.
: To avoid any confusion between backup notes and your normal notes, be sure to close the Recycle Bin when you're done inspecting any available backups. Select the green, upward-pointing arrow next to the Deleted Notes section tab to return to the previous level.
To help protect yourself from future data loss, you can customize the automatic backup settings in OneNote.
Restore notes from backups on your computer
You may be in luck if you've deleted or lost some recent notes you were working on. OneNote keeps a limited set of automatic backups by default. Where you look for them depends on where your notes are stored.
If you're working on notes that were stored on your computer, do the following:
-
Open the notebook where you lost recent notes.
-
On the File tab, select Info and choose Open Backups.
-
In the Open Backup dialog box, note the folder names that appear. Each folder represents a OneNote notebook that's stored on your computer.
-
Double-click the notebook folder you want to open.
-
Select the notebook section backup file you want to open, and then choose Open.
-
If your deleted notes are included in the backup sections or pages, right-click the section tab or individual page tab that you'd like to restore, and then use the Move or Copy command to put the notes back in their original location.
: To avoid confusion between backup notes and your normal notes, close the backup section when you're done inspecting it. In the Open Sections view, right-click the section tab of your backup, and then select Close.
If you're using OneNote for the web, OneNote for Windows 10, OneNote for Mac, OneNote for iPad or OneNote for Android, refer to Help options from within your app.
Need more help?
Want more options?
Explore subscription benefits, browse training courses, learn how to secure your device, and more.
Communities help you ask and answer questions, give feedback, and hear from experts with rich knowledge.
