OneNote Is Getting a Native Dark Mode

Microsoft is adding a native dark mode to OneNote. The company is internally testing a new dark mode for the OneNote app on Windows 10, according to Italian blog Aggiornamenti Lumia.

The new dark mode in OneNote makes the application dark — including the ribbon, the titlebar, etc, losing the traditional white/purple accent. For now, though, it seems like the actual note you work on is going to continue to have a white background, and that kind of destroys the look of the dark mode. However, the version leaked by Aggiornamenti Lumia is still an early version of the dark mode, so that could change before the feature arrives for everyone.

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OneNote’s new dark mode also syncs with your Microsoft Account, so if you change to the dark mode on your laptop, it will automatically switch the OneNote app on your phone to use the dark mode accordingly. That is, of course, once all the other OneNote apps on other platforms actually pick up the new dark mode. It’s not clear if Microsoft is planning to release the new dark mode for all platforms at the same time, but for now, we only have evidence of the new dark mode on Windows 10.

Update: Lara Butler, who is a VP leading the OneNote team at Microsoft, confirmed the new dark mode on Twitter. Buttler then went on to tease a “new majorly improved navigation” system:

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Conversation 19 comments

  • TheJoeFin

    Premium Member
    06 February, 2019 - 2:15 pm

    <p>Ooooooooooooooooooooooo yeah!</p>

  • ecumenical

    06 February, 2019 - 2:17 pm

    <p>squee. Even if it doesn't change how the notes are rendered, I'll take a 30% reduction in blinding whiteness when I'm working after dark.</p>

  • rfog

    06 February, 2019 - 3:05 pm

    <p>OneNote has lost my full 2018 year of web scraps (about 1000), mostly printouts… Lost the printout and the original PDF…</p><p><br></p><p>For me, even if they gift a 1000 years of free 365 subscription. It happened in 2005 and now at the start of 2019… Not anymore. </p><p><br></p><p>Luckily I had replicated all in DEVONthink…</p><p><br></p><p>(and yes, please, vote me negative). </p>

    • Nonmoi

      06 February, 2019 - 4:19 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#403133">In reply to rfog:</a></em></blockquote><p><br></p><p>What happened?</p>

      • rfog

        07 February, 2019 - 5:13 am

        <blockquote><em><a href="#403146">In reply to Nonmoi:</a></em></blockquote><p>I don't really know. Simply, as a matter of test, after "closing" the 2018 scrap notebook year, that for me is create a new 2019 scrap notebook year and left untouched the 2018 one, using it only for search and reference.</p><p><br></p><p>Then this weekend I started some searches in the 2018 one and it found the supposedly text, but when opening the scrap as PDF printout, it wasn't anymore. I review all my machines to see if someone didn't update all the OneNote content but all were synced.</p><p><br></p><p>I did more searches with same result.</p><p><br></p><p>One of my friends have the problem that it does not find anything (a problem that I have but with less incidence, but searching OneNote content from OneDrive web should find all)… At the end, as I only use OneNote when I don't have my DEVONthink stuff near, I've deleted all OneNote notebooks, as I deleted some months ago all my cloud stuff (seems you cannot have 500.000 or more files in OneDrive without making it berserk) and moved to Dropbox.</p><p><br></p><p>Currently, my O365 account is used only for NAS backup thanks to the 5TB of the 5 possible OneDrive accounts.</p><p><br></p><p><img src=""></p>

  • Nonmoi

    06 February, 2019 - 4:18 pm

    <p>Finally</p>

  • robincapper

    06 February, 2019 - 4:32 pm

    <p>Is the page dark (inverted) too?</p>

    • rfog

      07 February, 2019 - 5:17 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#403150">In reply to robincapper:</a></em></blockquote><p>Be happy if you don't have contrast problems and are able to find the buttons in the screen…</p>

      • robincapper

        07 February, 2019 - 2:57 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#403272">In reply to rfog:</a></em></blockquote><p>I find the white 'paper' a pain note taking in darker lecture/theater spaces. A simple invert would sort it out.</p>

  • red.radar

    Premium Member
    06 February, 2019 - 10:41 pm

    <p>Onenote 2016 …. FOREVER!!!</p>

    • dontbe evil

      07 February, 2019 - 6:40 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#403248">In reply to red.radar:</a></em></blockquote><p>ok</p>

      • red.radar

        Premium Member
        07 February, 2019 - 8:17 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#403279">In reply to dontbe_evil:</a></em></blockquote><p>I value onenote 2016's local storage. They have made it clear that OneNote for windows 10 will be a cloud product. This means if I continue to use it I will be forced rather quickly to pay for Office 365 because i will blow through 5GB rather quickly. Its a strategic limitation to encourage me to pay annually for them to hold my data hostage. which shame on me for even using the product in the first place. </p><p><br></p><p>To me I can't understand why anyone would use the tool until Microsoft creates a local storage option. You are basically saying I am going to create a library of content in a proprietary format locked to a closed service. What happens if Microsoft changes its mind 15 years from now and says we are closing the onenote service. If you have a local storage option its not the end of the world because you could maintain the application and still get access to the data. Now with OneNote.. You are just stuck…. Now I'll admit Microsoft is more strategic and a better steward to its customers than google. Google will spring clean anything. </p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p>

  • irfaanwahid

    07 February, 2019 - 12:12 am

    <p>I am not too about the Dark mode rage happening all over.</p><p>I mean it's nice and all, but making a big news out of it is a bit of stretch.</p>

    • Hoomgar

      07 February, 2019 - 2:10 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#403254"><em>In reply to irfaanwahid:</em></a><em>&nbsp; I can see how you may feel that way if not one who is affected.&nbsp; Just keep in mind though, A LOT of people have been complaining about the Office themes since they started using white for everything instead of color.&nbsp; Then to help they even removed a lot of boarders and lines.&nbsp; There has been a HUGE outcry from consumers to MS for a few years now protesting this and asking for this exact thing to be implemented.&nbsp; So for those who were impacted this is in fact very big and great news.&nbsp; Being one of them helps me to understand it better.</em></blockquote><p><br></p>

  • nordyj

    07 February, 2019 - 1:43 pm

    <p>I'll take it!</p>

  • Hoomgar

    07 February, 2019 - 2:12 pm

    <p>I personally have no use for OneNote but kudos to MS for listening to the user base and doing something about this…&nbsp; finally.</p>

  • EZAB

    07 February, 2019 - 4:02 pm

    <p>Update: Lara Buttler, who is a VP leading the OneNote team at Microsoft, confirmed the new dark mode on Twitter.</p><p><br></p><p>It's Laura Butler, not Lara Buttler!</p>

  • mattbg

    Premium Member
    10 February, 2019 - 10:02 am

    <p>Genuine question: why does a modern app that should be fully capable of inheriting dark mode from the OS need its own dark mode?</p>

  • maulik73

    28 October, 2019 - 11:27 am

    <p><span style="background-color: rgb(245, 245, 245); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I am not too about the Dark mode rage happening all over.</span></p>

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