How to Open Local OneNote Notebooks on Mac

Are you frustrated that OneNote for Mac doesn’t let you open local notebooks?

Good news! 🎉 Outline fully supports opening and working with local OneNote notebooks, making it the best choice for users who prefer not to be tied to Microsoft Cloud.

With Outline, you can:

✅ Open local notebooks—just like the full OneNote app on Windows.

✅ Choose where to store your notebooks—locally or in a cloud of your choice.

Opening a Local OneNote Notebook in Outline

1. Click the + button in the Sidebar (next to the “Notebooks” section).
2. Select “Open From Local” and choose your notebook folder.
3. Your notebook will now open and function just like in OneNote for Windows.

Moving a Notebook from OneDrive to Local Drive

If your notebook is currently in OneDrive but you’d prefer to store it locally, follow these steps:

1. Open the notebook from OneDrive in Outline:

• Click the + button in the Sidebar.
• Select “Open From OneDrive” and choose your notebook.

2. Move it to a local folder:

• Right-click the notebook in the Sidebar and select “Properties”.
• Click “Location”, then choose “Local”.
• Select a folder on your Mac where you want to store the notebook.

⚠️ Important: Moving a notebook does not delete the original from OneDrive.

If you want to avoid duplicate notebooks, manually delete the original from OneDrive after confirming your local copy works correctly. Here is how you can do this.

With Outline, you get the flexibility to work with local OneNote notebooks just like on Windows—without Microsoft Cloud restrictions.

💡 Need help? Contact our support team, and we’ll be happy to assist! 😊