Microsoft OneNote Icons and Symbols Meaning - App/Desktop

Microsoft OneNote is a digital notebook available on mobile and desktop platforms. But beyond all the organizational tools and note-taking features, you might wonder what those little symbols and icons scattered throughout the interface mean. This guide will break down the meaning of icons and symbols in the mobile and desktop versions of Microsoft OneNote.

Table of Contents

Desktop Sync Icons Meaning

The sync icons provide a quick visual way to understand the current synchronization status of your notebooks. Here’s a breakdown of what these icons mean as you work within the OneNote desktop application:

Icon	Icon Name	Meaning
	X inside Circle Icon	It means that the notebook is not syncing.
	Exclamation Mark Inside a Triangle	Shows that OneNote can’t sync your notes because of an error.
	Red Cross with Curved Arrows in Circle Icon	It also shows up when the notebook is not synced.
	Curved Arrow in Circle Shape Icon	Sync is in progress.
	Notebook Icon	You will only see a notebook icon if it is synced.

You might notice this Blu-ray icon near your notebook. Here’s what it means:

New File (Blue Rays Loading Type) Icon: This icon, next to the notebook, indicates that the file is new. Usually, you will only see this when using OneDrive online.

Mobile App Home Tab Icons Explained

The Home tab in the OneNote mobile app is your starting point for accessing and managing your notes. Here’s a quick rundown of the icons you’ll typically find at the top of this screen:

Profile Icon: Access your account settings and other OneNote options.
Notes Options (Three dots) Icon: Opens a menu with various actions like view as list, select notes and filter and sort.
Purple Note Icon: Indicates the notes you’ve created directly within the OneNote app.
Yellow Note Icon: Represents notes that originated from the Sticky Notes app on your desktop.
Add Note (Plus in Circle) Icon: Allows you to quickly create a new note.
Magnifying Icon: For search notes, notebooks, or specific info.
Two Horizontal Lines with Dots Icon: Sort & filter notes by different categories.
Red Note Icon: Notes created on Samsung Notes, if you have synced to OneNote.
Two Small Rectangle Box Icon: Change to list view or grid view.

“Select Notes” Screen Icons Meaning

Alright, let’s break down the icons you see when you’re in the “Select notes” screen in the OneNote mobile app. You will see these icons when you tap and hold any note or go to select note option in three dot menu.

Empty Circle Icon: Indicates a note that you have not currently selected for any action.
Circle with Purple Tick Inside Icon: Shows that the note next to it is selected.
Delete (Dustbin) Icon: Permanently delete notes that you have selected.
Color Palette Icon: Allows you to change the tab color of the notes that you have currently selected. Note that this will only work for notes that are not created in OneNote, like Sticky Notes and Samsung Notes.
Lines with Nodes Icon: Share the selected note.
Square with Right Arrow in a Circle Icon: Move the selected note.

Notebooks Tab Icon Meaning

When you navigate to the Notebooks tab in the OneNote mobile app, you’ll find an icon at the top that allows you to manage your notebooks:

Purple Plus Icon: Tapping this icon allow s you to create a new notebook.

“Select Notebook” Screen Icons Meaning

You can also select a notebook and do more with it, just like with notes. Let’s break down what the icon means on this screen:

Minus in Circle Icon: Close the notebook. Remember that closing the notebook doesn’t mean it will get deleted. You can always open it when you want from the More Notebooks menu.
Color Palette Icon: Allows you to change the color of your notebook that you have currently selected. This will work on the notebook created in OneNote as well.

Adding a New Page Icons Meaning

When you’re in the process of creating or editing a page, you’ll find a row of icons above or below the keyboard that provide quick access to various formatting and insertion options. Here’s what they mean:

Draw (Pencil) Icon: Open the drawing tools to create handwritten notes, sketches, or annotations directly within your page.
Three Dot Menu: Opens a menu with page-related options, such as deleting the current page, viewing pages as a list, and more.
Camera Icon: Insert pictures into your page, either by selecting them from your device’s library or by taking a new photo directly with your camera.
Microphone Icon: Record audio and insert the recording directly into your page.
Tick in Square Icon: Create a checklist within your page, making it easy to track tasks.
Three Lines with a Dot Icon: Create a bulleted list for organizing items on your page.
Three lines with Numbers Icon: Create a numbered list for sequential items on your page.
Three lines with Left Arrow Icon: This is for indentation, allowing you to move selected text or list items to the left.
Three lines with Right Arrow Icon: This is also for indentation, allowing you to move selected text or list items to the right.
Keyboard with Down Arrow Icon: Close or hide the on-screen keyboard.
“B” Icon: Write or convert text in bold.
“I” Icon: Write or convert text in italic.
U with a Line Below Icon: Underline text.
“S” with a Line Striking Icon: Strike a line through a text.
Paperclip Icon: Attach files.
Chain Icon: Insert a link.
Slight Left Curved Arrow Icon: Revert or undo the recent.

Drawing Tools Icons Meaning

When you tap the “Draw” (Pencil) icon, a set of drawing tools will appear, each with a specific function for creating and editing ink strokes. Here’s what those icons represent:

Small Right Arrow Icon: Minimize the tools tab to the right.
Pen Icon: Draw with a standard pen style for solid lines.
Sketch Pen Icon: Draw with a sketch pen effect.
Highlighter Icon: Draw or highlight areas with a semi-transparent color.
Eraser Icon: Erase any ink strokes or highlights you’ve made.
Square with circle Icon: Open a palette of different geometric shapes that you can insert into your note.
Lasso Select (Dotted line shape) Icon: Select specific ink strokes by drawing a freeform shape around them.
Close the drawing tab (X Icon): Close the drawing tools tab and return to the standard note-editing view.

Lasso Menu Icons Meaning

When you use the Lasso Select tool to select ink strokes, a set of icons will appear, allowing you to manipulate your selection. Here’s what they mean:

Purple circle connected by line icon: a) The corner dots allow you to stretch or resize the selected ink proportionally from all sides. The direction of the stretch will be influenced by which corner dot you drag. b) The dots in the center of each side allow you to stretch or resize the selected ink only in that specific direction (horizontally or vertically).
Scissor Icon: Cut the selected ink from its current location. You can then paste it elsewhere in your note.
Two Rectangles Stacked Icon: Copy the selected ink to your clipboard. You can then paste it multiple times.
Writing Pad with Paper Icon: This icon is for pasting. After you’ve cut or copied ink, tapping this will paste the selected ink into your current location.
Arrows forming plus Icon: Move the selected ink freely around on the canvas by dragging it.

Square with Pencil Icon: This icon toggles the Shape Recognition feature. When enabled, OneNote will automatically recognize and convert your freehand drawings of basic shapes (like circles, squares, triangles, etc.) into precise, geometric shapes. For example, if you draw a rough circle, OneNote will snap it to a perfect circle.

You might have noticed these dots near your notebook. Here’s what it means:

Small Dot Next to Section Name: This indicates that there have been changes made to the notes within that particular section that you have not yet opened or viewed. Once you open the section and view the updated pages, the dot will disappear.

Here’s what the lightning bolt icon next to your notebook means:

Notebook Icon with a Lightning Bolt Inside a Circle: This icon indicates that the notebook is currently offline, and any changes you make will be synced once your device is connected to the internet again.

And that wraps up the meaning of icons and symbols in the Microsoft OneNote mobile app/Desktop! Hopefully, this guide has helped you better understand these visual cues and navigate the app more efficiently.

Check out our other guides for more app icon meanings below!

Microsoft OneNote Icons and Symbols Meaning – App/Desktop