Today, we’ll review how to utilize Microsoft OneNote’s helpful “Read-only” function. Since Microsoft OneNote provides this option, you can block all editing capabilities and allow the user to only read the page, nobody would want someone to make unwanted modifications to their notebook. Now that you’re ready, let’s start learning to make OneNote read-only.
Advantages of Making OneNote Read-Only
You can avoid unintentional changes by setting OneNote to read-only, especially if you are working with numerous people on the same exchange. Additionally, while sharing your OneNote with others, you should set it to Read-only.
Enabling Read-Only mode on your OneNote might help you avoid unintentional modifications while presenting it to a large group of people, such as staff members or students. Read the following article to learn how to make OneNote read-only if you also wish to do so.
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How to Make OneNote Read-Only
We’ll cover three different methods of how to make OneNote Read-only in this article, which are listed below.
- Make OneNote Read-only using the property dialogue box
- Make OneNote Read-only using sharing access
- Make OneNote Read-only using the view-only option
Make OneNote Read-only using the property dialogue box
Unfortunately, there is no direct access option to set your OneNote to read-only if you are using it on a desktop computer running either Windows or Mac OS X. However, the notebook’s property dialogue box can accomplish this. If you do not understand what I am saying, then follow these instructions to use the property dialogue box to set OneNote to read-only.
Step 1>
You can see that all of the tools and settings are currently enabled for editing your notebook if you look at the following image. Let’s investigate how to set this OneNote notebook to read-only.
Step 2>
Start your device’s File Explorer first. You can click “This PC” to open it from your desktop or use the Windows start menu to search for it and then choose “File Explorer” to access it.
Step 3>
Since Microsoft OneNote automatically saves notebooks and their pages in the Windows “Documents” folder, we will now open the “Documents” folder from the side folder tree panel, as indicated below.
Step 4>
You will see other folders in this Documents folder, and among them is a “OneNote Notebooks” folder that contains all of your stored notebooks and pages. To open it, double-click on it.
Step 5>
Now locate the OneNote notebook you wish to make read-only in this folder. We made “Project 1″ read-only, just like in the example above, so we’ve located our notebook now.
Step 6>
When you do a right-click on this notebook, a little drop-down menu will appear. The “Properties” option will be the final one to appear, and by selecting it, you can open the notebook’s property dialogue box.
Step 7>
When the property dialogue box opens, a few tabs will appear at the top. Select the “General” tab to reveal the unchecked “Read-only” option, which is shown in the below image. To make this file “Read-only” in OneNote, check this box.
Step 8>
To save these changes, you must first check the mark option, then click the “Apply” and “Ok” buttons.
Step 9>
Return to Microsoft OneNote now, and you should see the result. All editing tools and options have been removed, so you can only see or read the file and not change the notebook.
You can make your OneNote read-only in this way.
Make OneNote Read-only using sharing access
When we share a OneNote notebook, Microsoft OneNote requests user access so that you can make the notebook read-only mode. Allow me to show the following procedures practically.
Step 1>
As I’ve opened below, first open the OneNote notebook you wish to make read-only.
Step 2>
Once the notebook is open, follow the instructions below to locate the “Share” button in the window’s upper right corner. To share the notebook, click on it.
Step 3>
When you click on this Share button, a little drop-down option will appear asking you to email the page, copy the URL, or share the entire notebook. This is the “Share Entire Notebook” option because the entire notebook is now read-only.
Step 4>
You will be presented with a small pop-up window where you can enter the email address of the person you are sharing a file with. Additionally, a “Pencil” icon will be visible to you here, allowing you to control file access.
Step 5>
Clicking this pencil icon will cause a little drop-down menu to appear. Choose “Can view” to only allow access to the file.
Step 6>
Once access has been set up, click the “Send” button to share your file with “Can View” rights, which will turn your OneNote file read-only.
Make OneNote Read-only using the view-only option
You can set your OneNote to read-only using a feature in the web edition of Microsoft OneNote. However, this feature is limited to the Microsoft OneNote web edition.
Step 1>
Launch Microsoft OneNote online using any device’s browser, then open the notebook you wish to mark as read-only.
Step 2>
Once the notebook is open, you will notice an Editing mode-configured button next to the Share button in the window’s right upper corner, as seen below. To make changes, click on it.
Step 3>
A little drop-down menu with the option to “View” will appear when you click this button. To set OneNote to read-only, click on it.
Step 4>
The result is shown in the photo below, where the file has been set to read-only in OneNote and the disabled tools are visible in the ribbon.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to disable Read-only in OneNote?
Even if you’ve set your OneNote notebook to read-only, you can still disable the read-only mode if you need to edit your notebook.
Step 1>
If you wish to turn off read-only mode, first locate it by opening File Explorer in Windows and going into the Documents folder as shown below.
Step 2>
To access the drop-down menu, right-click on that notebook. From there, select the “Properties” option.
Step 3>
This dialogue box has the checked Read-only option when it is correctly opened. To uncheck this option, click on it.
Step 4>
To save these changes, click the “OK” button after selecting the “Apply” option to put them into effect. You can now edit your notebook in OneNote as read-only mode has been turned off.
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Conclusion
You can decide which scenario you want to use to make OneNote read-only now that you are aware of all the options in the instructions above. We have discussed a variety of scenarios to make OneNote read-only. I hope it becomes useful to you.