How to Delete a Notebook in OneNote on Mac

OneNote notebooks allow you to organize notes, documents, images and more into categorized sections. But over time, some notebooks may become outdated or unnecessary. Deleting old notebooks you no longer need can help keep your OneNote organized.

Unfortunately, OneNote doesn’t make it super obvious how to delete entire notebooks on Mac. In this detailed guide, we’ll walk through the steps to delete a notebook in OneNote on Mac, along with additional tips for managing your notebooks.

Benefits of Deleting Old OneNote Notebooks

Over time, it’s common for OneNote users to create notebooks for specific projects, classes or purposes that eventually become outdated. Notebooks from years ago may sit there cluttering up your notebook list.

Here are some benefits to periodically deleting old notebooks you no longer need:

• Keeps your OneNote notebook list organized and uncluttered.
• Frees up local or cloud storage space used by unneeded notebooks.
• Allows you to focus on current notebooks and notes.
• Can remove notebooks with redundant or useless content.
• Deletes notebooks for projects, classes or tasks you’ve completed.

Basically, deleting notebooks provides an easy way to do some “digital spring cleaning” in OneNote on Mac.

How To Delete a Notebook on OneNote for Mac

If you’ve decided an old notebook needs to go, here are the steps to delete it in OneNote on a Mac:

Delete Locally Stored Notebook

If the notebook is only stored locally on your Mac and not synced online, do the following:

1. Open the OneNote app and locate the notebook in the notebook list on the left sidebar.
2. Right click on the notebook name.
3. Select “Delete” from the pop-up menu.
4. Click “Delete” again in the confirmation window.

The notebook will now be removed from your Mac’s local OneNote files and storage.

Delete Notebook Synced via OneDrive

For notebooks stored and synced via OneDrive or SharePoint Online:

1. Open OneDrive in your web browser and log into your Microsoft account.
2. Click on “OneNote Notebooks” in the left navigation pane.
3. Right click on the notebook you want to delete.
4. Click “Delete” in the pop-up menu.
5. Confirm the deletion in the pop-up window.

This will delete the synced notebook from OneDrive online storage. Sync the change in your Mac OneNote app.

Permanently Delete Closed Notebook

If you only closed the notebook but now want to delete it fully:

1. In OneNote Mac, click the “File” menu option.
2. Select “Notebooks” and click “Deleted Notebooks” at the bottom.
3. Right click the closed notebook and choose “Permanently Delete”.
4. Confirm deletion in the pop-up window.

This will permanently erase a closed notebook from OneNote on your Mac.

And that covers how to delete notebooks you no longer need on OneNote for Mac!

Recovering a Deleted Notebook

Made a mistake and need to retrieve a deleted notebook? Here are a few options:

• On Mac, select File > Notebooks > Deleted Notebooks > right click notebook > Reopen.
• On OneDrive, visit the Recycle Bin to restore the notebook.
• If no longer in the Recycle Bin, contact Microsoft Support to recover.

Keep in mind that the longer a notebook stays deleted, the lower the chances of recovering all of its contents intact. Act fast if you change your mind after deletion.

Alternative Ways to Organize and Manage Notebooks

If you don’t necessarily want to delete a notebook fully, consider these other organizational options:

• Rename the notebook to archive or identify outdated content.
• Create a new Archive or Reference section within the notebook.
• Move unnecessary pages to an Archive section.
• Copy key pages to a new notebook and delete original.
• Create a master Archive notebook and move pages to it.

Taking the time to restructure older notebooks can optimize your OneNote workflow versus outright deleting full notebooks.

FAQs About Deleting OneNote Notebooks on Mac

Here are answers to some common questions people have about removing OneNote notebooks on Mac:

How do I delete a notebook that’s not listed anymore in OneNote?

Right click on any current notebook, select Notebooks > Deleted Notebooks, then find and permanently delete the closed notebook fully.

Can I recover a notebook after deleting it permanently?

It depends. If recovered fast from OneDrive’s Recycle Bin, there’s a good chance. But the longer it’s deleted, the lower your recovery odds due to sync issues.

Is there a faster way to delete multiple old notebooks at once?

Unfortunately no. Because sync issues can occur, notebooks must be deleted one at a time through the proper deletion steps.

What happens to the notes if I delete the notebook they are in?

Any notes and sections within a deleted notebook will be removed as well. Make sure to save important notes to a new notebook first if you need them.

Is it better to delete or archive old notebooks?

Archiving by renaming notebooks or moving unnecessary pages can be safer than deleting the notebook entirely. But deleting does offer the cleanest organizational slate.

Conclusion

While it may seem tricky, deleting an entire notebook in OneNote on Mac just takes a few clicks once you know the steps. Taking the time to remove outdated or redundant notebooks can really help optimize your OneNote workflow.

Just make sure you first save any important notes or sections to a new notebook. And act quickly if you change your mind, before the deleted notebook is purged from OneDrive’s Recycle Bin.

By regularly reviewing and deleting clutter in OneNote, you can focus your mind on the notebooks and notes that really matter. For further OneNote tips and tricks on Mac, feel free to explore the rest of our blog!