How to Use Tags in OneNote (2026)
Tags turn loose notes into something you can act on — flag a line as a task, a question, or important, then pull every tagged item across a notebook into a single summary. OneNote ships with ready-made tags and lets you build your own.
1. Apply a Tag (Windows & Mac)
- Click the line you want to tag.
- On the Home tab, open the Tags gallery.
- Pick a tag — To Do, Important (star), Question, Remember for later, and more.
Keyboard shortcuts: Ctrl+1 = To Do, Ctrl+2 = Important, Ctrl+3 = Question, up to Ctrl+9 (Windows).
2. Find Every Tagged Note
- Home tab > Find Tags.
- The Tags Summary pane groups every tagged item by tag.
- Click a result to jump to it; check Show only unchecked items to focus on open tasks.
You can also create a summary page that lists all tags in one note.
3. Create a Custom Tag (Windows)
- Open the Tags gallery > Customize Tags > New Tag.
- Set a display name, symbol, font color, and highlight.
- Click OK — it joins the gallery for reuse.
4. OneNote on the Web & Mobile
The web app offers core tags (To Do, Important, Question) under Home > Tags, but custom tags and full Find Tags are desktop features. On mobile, tap the tag icon in the formatting bar to apply common tags.
5. Troubleshooting
Find Tags returns nothing
It only scans tagged items. Confirm you applied a tag rather than typed a symbol, and widen the search scope to the whole notebook.
My custom tag isn’t on other devices
Custom tags are stored per-install on Windows and don’t fully roam. Recreate them where you need them.
A tag won’t apply to a whole paragraph
Tags attach to a line or paragraph. Select the text first, then apply.
Related OneNote guides: How to add a checkbox · How to use templates · How to link notes · How to insert a table · How to sync OneNote
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