Sections Vs. Folders

[Eric]

Hi, new OneNote user here.

I was just wondering what the difference between sections and folders is. I'm still trying to get t he swing of this program.

Would I be correct in saying that they are like subgroups, with the order going Notebook > Sections > Folders > Pages ?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Kathy J]

Close, but just a little backwards. You can have multiple sections in a
folder, not the other way around. Think of the section as a single file with
multiple notes pages within it. Those files usually reside in the "My
Notebook" folder, but they can also reside in other folders, including those
inside My Notebook.

Make more sense?

--
Kathryn Jacobs, Microsoft MVP PowerPoint and OneNote
Author of Kathy Jacobs on PowerPoint - Available now from Holy Macro! Books
Get PowerPoint answers at http://www.powerpointanswers.com
Featured Presenter at PPT 2004 - http://www.pptlive.com

I believe life is meant to be lived. But:
if we live without making a difference, it makes no difference that we lived

Hi, new OneNote user here.

I was just wondering what the difference between sections and folders is.

I'm still trying to get t he swing of this program.

Would I be correct in saying that they are like subgroups, with the order

going Notebook > Sections > Folders > Pages ?

 

[Amos Soma]

Eric,

I just discovered this yesterday. I had asked a question concerning the
lack of being able to create multiple notebooks. This is what I have
learned. The highest level object is the notebook itself. Then comes
Folders. Then comes Sections and then Pages.

You can (but don't have to) create as many folders as you want. You can then
put sections into these folders etc. As I learned, even though I cannot
create multiple Notebooks, I can create multiple folders which essentially
accomplish (for me), the same thing.

Amos

Hi, new OneNote user here.

I was just wondering what the difference between sections and folders is.

I'm still trying to get t he swing of this program.

Would I be correct in saying that they are like subgroups, with the order

going Notebook > Sections > Folders > Pages ?

 

[Grant Robertson]

Did you know that you can also put folders in sections? So you can have this kind of structure:

Folder
Section
Folder
Section

Ad infinitum as far as I can tell.

No, you can not. You can right click on a section tab and choose 'New
Folder'. However, this does not create a folder within the section. I
creates it NEXT to the section. Sections are nothing more than files just
like Word documents are files. You can not create folders within within
files. If you go to the top of your My Notebook then choose {File / Open
/ File} (in SP-1 Preview) you will see the folder and file structure. If
you go to your My Notebook folder in your My Documents folder (unless you
have moved it) you can also see the folder and file structure. It is
really quite simple when you realize it is just files with pages that are
stored in folders like most any other program.

 

[john_w_s_paton]

It's interesting to read what people have written here,
but I still find the structure counter-intuitive. If 'My
Notebook' is the top dog in the hierarchy, it gets mad if
you try to make the next item a folder rather than a
section. You will always get a window saying "There are
no sections open in this folder" every time you open 'My
Notebook', which implies that you really do have to have
sections from the highest level down.

If anyone out there really understands this, would they
be prepared very kindly to show how they would arrange
the following hierarchy within 'My Notebook', using
sections and folders as appropriate?

1 Business
a History
(as many pages of notes as necessary)
b Present
(as many pages of notes as necessary)
c Future
(as many pages of notes as necessary)

2 Personal
a History
(as many pages of notes as necessary)
b Present
(as many pages of notes as necessary)
c Future
(as many pages of notes as necessary)

3 Voluntary work
a History
(as many pages of notes as necessary)
b Present
(as many pages of notes as necessary)
c Future
(as many pages of notes as necessary)

Many thanks


JOHN

 

[Erik Sojka]

I have many folders in my top level area of my ON hierarchy (i.e.
subfolders under "My Notebook" if you were to look at it in Explorer).
It makes sense for OneNote to report that a folder is empty if you've
just created it and there are (currently) no contents in that folder.
It's not a fatal error message or anything, just a friendly reminder not
to expect any content inside. Once inside the empty folder you can still
create sections and subfolders.

Your example, which is similar to how my "My Notebook" is laid out, can
be done like this:

Business, Personal and Volunteer Work are all folders. Inside each of
them are three sections called History.ONE, Present.ONE, and Future.ONE.
Inside each of these ONE files are the various pages/subpages containing
your notes.

Business (Folder)
History (Section)
notes
notes
notes
Present (Section)
notes
notes
notes
Future (Section)
notes
notes
notes

etc.

 

[Grant Robertson]

It's interesting to read what people have written here,
but I still find the structure counter-intuitive. If 'My
Notebook' is the top dog in the hierarchy, it gets mad if
you try to make the next item a folder rather than a
section. You will always get a window saying "There are
no sections open in this folder" every time you open 'My
Notebook', which implies that you really do have to have
sections from the highest level down.

Just because a program is telling you there is nothing to view at a
particular level does not mean it is absolutely imperative to create
something to view at that level. If Windows Explorer displayed a little
note in all empty folders telling you the folder was empty would that
mean you absolutely had to create a file there or the OS wouldn't work?

Usually, there is at least 1 or 2 sections in the root of the My Notebook
folder. These include the SideNotes section and one for e-mailed notes.
While you can set the SideNotes section to be just about anywhere (see
the help file) it seems appropriate to just leave it at the root.

If anyone out there really understands this, would they
be prepared very kindly to show how they would arrange
the following hierarchy within 'My Notebook', using
sections and folders as appropriate?

Everything I know I got from the help files and the MS web site. I just
double checked and it took me all of 15 seconds to find the information
you are looking for. You know, you can speculate all day about how a
program is supposed to work but if you don't read the instructions then
all you are gonna have is speculation.

In OneNote Help just go to the Table of Contents / Setting Up Your
Notebook / Sections and Folders / About Sections and Folders. On the web
just go to www.microsoft.com; click the 'Office' link on the left; then
the OneNote link on the left; then, under 'BROWSE ONENOTE', click the
'2003 assistance' link; then, under 'Setting Up Your Notebook', click the
'Sections and Folders' link. It couldn't be more straightforward.

 

[Ben M. Schorr, MVP-OneNote]

It's interesting to read what people have written here, but I still
find the structure counter-intuitive. If 'My Notebook' is the top dog
in the hierarchy, it gets mad if you try to make the next item a folder
rather than a section. You will always get a window saying "There are
no sections open in this folder" every time you open 'My Notebook',
which implies that you really do have to have sections from the highest
level down.

Aren't there already some sections in you’re My Notebook folder by default?
If not try creating one, just a placeholder, then see if you can create
new subfolders in your My Notebook folder.

 

[rickym]

No, you can't.

What you can do is have the following structure:

My Notebook
Folder
Subfolder
Sub-subfolder
(and on down through subfolders)
Section

There is no way to place a folder into a section.

 

[EMRhelp.org]

"There is no way to place a folder into a section. "

No there is not.
Why ?
In OneNote, Folders are actual directories. And sections are actual
..one files. How could you place a directory inside a file.

OneNote in it's current iteration is really just a viewer to .one files
(sections) which are placed in directories (folders).

 

[Adahn]

OneNote in it's current iteration is really just a viewer to .one files
(sections) which are placed in directories (folders).

as it should stay - Makes backups and moving around a whole lot more
intuitive.

 

[Ben M. Schorr - MVP]

"There is no way to place a folder into a section. "
No there is not.
Why ?
In OneNote, Folders are actual directories.

In Windows Explorer too.

And sections are actual
.one files. How could you place a directory inside a file.
Exactly.

OneNote in it's current iteration is really just a viewer to .one files
(sections) which are placed in directories (folders).

No, it isn't.


--
Aloha,

-Ben-
Ben M. Schorr, OneNote-MVP
Roland Schorr & Tower
http://www.rolandschorr.com
Microsoft OneNote FAQ: http://www.factplace.com/onenotefaq.htm

**I apologize but I am unable to respond to direct requests for assistance.
Please post questions and replies here in the newsgroup. Mahalo!

 

[alphabetgirl]

It seems to me that in the new OneNote (2009) that the names are different.
They are easier to conceptualize. I think that "folders" are now "Section
Groups".
When I look in Documents > OneNote notebooks, I see my Section Group names
listed.

Is this true? Thanks.

 

[alphabetgirl]

My One Note places a new Section Group at the top of the list in my Notebook.
How can I move it elsewhere? I want it at the bottom (last). 'Move' will
only allow me to move the Section Group to another Notebook.

This is what I've been able to do with Section Groups:

My new OneNote has Sections and Section Groups.
I have successfully put sections into Section Groups.
I have also put lower level Section Groups into Sections! And filled them
with Sections too.

 

[Rainald Taesler]

It seems to me that in the new OneNote (2009) that the names are
different.

Sad to see that you jumped in a really oooooold thread (no idea where
you did dig this out):-(
"New" would mean ON2010, there was no ON2009, only ON2007. It seems that
you are having the latter in mind

They are easier to conceptualize. I think that "folders" are now "Section Groups".
When I look in Documents > OneNote notebooks, I see my Section Group
names listed.

I cannot say if there was the naming "folders" in the old 2003 version
as I only used it a week or so and immediately moved to the 2007 Beta.
In ON2007 and ON2010 there's

"Notebooks" and "Sections" as the basics.
One can create "Section Groups" in addition as a level between.
And "Section Groups" can be "nested", i.e.: one can create additional
"Section Groups" inside a "Section Group".

Rainald

 

[Rainald Taesler]

My One Note places a new Section Group at the top of the list in my
Notebook.

Normal behaviour is that Section Groups are automatically sorted in
alphabetical order. So a new group will be placed where the "N" belongs.
If one changes the name the position will change automatically.

How can I move it elsewhere? I want it at the bottom

(last). 'Move' will only allow me to move the Section Group to
another Notebook.

Section Groups can not be moved with drag & drop inside a notebook as
they are sorted automatically. Thy can be moved onto other Section
Groups, however (in the same notebook).

This is what I've been able to do with Section Groups:

My new OneNote has Sections and Section Groups.
I have successfully put sections into Section Groups.
I have also put lower level Section Groups into Sections! And filled
them with Sections too.

Sorry, not fully correct:
One can *NOT put "Section Groups" in "Sections"!!
But one can have "nested" Section Groups, i.e. one can create a new
Section Group inside an existing Section Group. And one can move
existing groups into other groups with drag & drip.

Rainald