Taking Notes to Another Level with Microsoft OneNote 2013

  • 4/15/2013

Creating and constructing outlines

An outline is a list of important topics on a given subject. In a typical outline, topics are listed at different levels, with first-level topics not indented and sublevel topics indented to show they are subordinate.

To help construct outlines, OneNote 2013 offers the paragraph handle. Move the pointer over a topic in the outline list to display its paragraph handle, which appears on the left, and then do the following to construct an outline:

  • Change the outline level (the amount of indentation) Drag the paragraph handle to the left or right to change the topic’s outline level. Dragging the handle to the right lowers the outline level; dragging the handle to the left raises it. You can also press Tab or, on the Home tab, click the Increase Indent Position button to move a topic to a lower level; press Shift+Tab or click the Decrease Indent Position button to raise a subtopic to a higher level.
  • Move a topic up or down in the outline Drag the paragraph handle up or down in the note.
  • Select a topic and its subtopics Click the paragraph handle.
  • Collapse or expand a topic’s subtopics Double-click the paragraph handle. You can also press Alt+Shift+minus sign to collapse or Alt+Shift+plus sign to expand subtopics.
  • Select topics at different levels Right-click the paragraph handle and then, on the shortcut menu that appears, point to Select. On the submenu that appears, choose a level. Select all topics on the same level when you want to format text. For example, to italicize all level-3 subtopics, select them and click the Italic button.

Create and construct an outline

  1. Create the initial outline as a list.

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  2. Select the items in the outline and press Ctrl+/ (or, on the Home tab, click the Numbering button) to number the outline. You can open the gallery on the Numbering button and select an alternative numbering scheme, such as a., b., c., or I., II., III.

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  3. Drag to select the items in the outline that you want to make subordinate.

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  4. Drag the paragraph handle next to one of the items to the right to indent the selected items.

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  5. Double-click an item’s paragraph handle to collapse its subtopics.

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  6. Drag an item’s paragraph handle upward to move that item higher in the outline.

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  7. Double-click the paragraph handle on a collapsed item to expand it.

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