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What is Microsoft OneNote? A beginner's guide to using work notes in M365 E3/E5

About this article
Instead of treating Microsoft OneNote as just a basic notepad, this guide explains for beginners how to use it effectively in a professional context, covering notebook structure, its relationship with OneDrive and SharePoint, sharing, synchronization, Copilot, and Microsoft Graph. Verified against official Microsoft documentation as of September 17, 2026.

Verification Status: 📘 Confirmed with official Microsoft documentation, device testing not performed (2026-09-17)

OneNote plays a slightly different role than Word, which is used to create finalized documents. It is designed for rough meeting notes, links gathered during research, screenshots, incident response timelines, and otherinformation that is not yet fully organized, providing a space to store, search, and refine it later.

First, learn just 5 terms

API stands for Application Programming Interface. Without overcomplicating it,It is easier to understand if you think of it as a mechanism where a program queries a designated endpoint instead of a human clicking on a screen.

Viewing the OneNote Structure in a Diagram

flowchart TB
    NB[ノートブック: M365検証]
    NB --> S1[セクション: Teams]
    NB --> S2[セクション: OneDrive]
    S1 --> P1[ページ: 会議メモ]
    S1 --> P2[ページ: テスト結果]
    S2 --> P3[ページ: 共有リンク確認]

It is somewhat similar to folders and files, but OneNote allows you to freely place text, images, links, handwriting, and more within a page.

How does it connect with OneDrive / SharePoint?

When sharing work-related OneNote notebooks, it is important not to view OneNote simply as an isolated container. Microsoft's sharing procedures also state that notebooks to be shared must be saved to OneDrive or a SharePoint site.

sequenceDiagram
    participant U as 利用者
    participant O as OneNote
    participant C as OneDrive / SharePoint
    participant M as 共同利用者
    U->>O: ページを編集
    O->>C: クラウドへ同期
    M->>C: 権限のあるノートを開く
    C-->>M: 最新内容を提供
    M->>O: 追記・確認
    O->>C: 変更を同期

In other words, behind the scenes of "sharing OneNote",Storage Location and Sharing Permissionsare also involved. This does not necessarily mean that anyone with the link can view it.

Is OneNote different between E3 and E5?

Just like Word and Excel, upgrading to E5 should not be decided simply based on basic OneNote usage. The difference between E3 and E5 is evaluated by considering the overall security, compliance, analytics, and other features of Microsoft 365.

As of 2026, the delivery framework for Copilot has also evolved. Microsoft Support provides guidance for work or school accounts to verify usage scope using labels such as Copilot Chat (Basic), M365 Copilot (Basic), and M365 Copilot (Premium).Rather than relying solely on a statement from an outdated article stating that a separate Copilot license is always required, it is safe to check the current account display and administrator settings.

First, try this: separate meeting notes into "Records" and "Conclusions"

You may take notes chronologically during the meeting, but add the following section at the end.

決定事項:

- ○○を9/30までに確認する

未決事項:

- 外部共有の対象範囲

担当:

- Aさん: ライセンス確認

- Bさん: テスト環境作成

次回確認:

- 9/24 定例会

What happens upon success?

Anyone who opens the page the next day can check "what was decided and what remains" without having to reread the entire meeting from the beginning.

Change one location

Instead of a page title like "9/17 Meeting", use something like"How far should external sharing be permitted?"Change it to a question format like this and compare searchability.

A common example: Don't use OneNote as a "dumping ground for everything"

Because OneNote is flexible, it tends to end up in the following state.

ノートブック
├─ 無題のページ
├─ 無題のページ 2
├─ 9月会議
├─ メモ
├─ メモ2
└─ とりあえず

In this state, even if you search later, the context remains unclear.

In the Papanda method,Notebook = job/project, Section = theme, Page = 1 meeting, 1 question, 1 verificationStart with something like this. Move finalized procedures and official documents to the organization's designated official repository, such as Word or SharePoint pages.

Papanda Practice: Reading a list of notebooks using Microsoft Graph

In a test environment where Microsoft Graph is available, there is an entry point for programmatically reading OneNote data. We will start by retrieving a list rather than performing updates.

GET https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/me/onenote/notebooks

Actual calls require authentication via Microsoft Entra ID and the necessary Graph permissions.Simply pasting a URL into a browser does not allow anyone to read someone else's notes.

What should we look for in this example?

Observe what IDs and names are returned by the API for the OneNote notebooks you can access.

What happens upon success?

If authentication and permissions are configured correctly, notebook information is returned in JSON format.

Change one thing

Rather than proceeding directly to the update API, next narrow down the target to retrieve to sections or pages.It is safer to adjust the read scopeone step at a time.

This topic can be expanded into a Daily Code Sample titled "Observing OneNote Structures with Microsoft Graph".

When using PowerShell, do not infer sync destinations and delete them.

It is safer not to process OneNote cloud notebooks directly.onewith the same expectations as standard file operations. Start by only viewing potential OneDrive sync folders on Windows.

Get-ChildItem $env:USERPROFILE -Directory |
    Where-Object Name -Like 'OneDrive*' |
    Select-Object Name, FullName

This does not modify the OneNote body text. Nor is it code that determines whether the displayed folder is the correct storage location for OneNote.The actual notebook storage and sharing status should also be verified on the OneNote or Microsoft 365 side.

Leaving "Unrecorded" items when using Copilot

このページを
「決定事項 / 未決事項 / 担当者 / 期限 / 次回確認事項」に整理してください。
ページに書かれていない担当者・期限・事実は推測せず「未記載」としてください。
最後に、人間が原文と照合すべき固有名詞・日付・数値を一覧にしてください。

In meeting notes, rather than having AI plausibly fill in blank fields,it is important to leave unknown itemsas unknown.

As of 2026, Microsoft continuously updates Copilot features in OneNote, and some features, such as "Take notes with Copilot," are announced as being rolled out gradually. If a feature is not visible on the screen, do not immediately assume a failure; instead, verify the license, target platform, and rollout status.

What should administrators check?

Conditional Access is, for example,a mechanism to configure access conditions such as allowing access only from company-managed devices or requiring multi-factor authentication.a mechanism to set access conditions such as allowing access only from company-managed devices or requiring multi-factor authentication.

If you are unsure which app to place it in

This is not an absolute rule. If your organization has document management guidelines, please follow those instead.

Official and Primary Sources

• Microsoft 365 / Office 365 Plan Options (Microsoft Learn)

• How to Share a OneNote Notebook (Microsoft Support)

• OneNote API overview – Microsoft Graph (Microsoft Learn)

• Using Copilot in OneNote (Microsoft Support)

• Verify Your Copilot License (Microsoft Support, updated April 2026)

• Take notes with Copilot in OneNote (Microsoft Support)

Rather than viewing OneNote as a place to store completed documents,it is better to think of it as a space to capture information generated during your workflow without losing it, so you can search, organize, and use it later for your next deliverables.This makes the division of roles between OneNote, Word, and SharePoint much clearer.