The Action Center in Windows 10 has quick access buttons that let you toggle the WiFi, Airplane mode, and create a new note. The Note button is linked to the OneNote UWP app. If you click this button, it will open OneNote ready for you to type a new note. The only thing is, there are actually two OneNote apps. The OneNote UWP app comes bundled with Windows 10 whereas, if you have the Office Suite installed, a second OneNote app comes with it. This second OneNote app is a desktop app. If you prefer using the OneNote desktop app, you can bind the Action Center Note button to open a section in OneNote. Here’s how.
Sections in the OneNote desktop app are like chapters in a book. You can add as many notebooks in OneNote as you like and you can add as many sections to a notebook. Each section has its own name. The Note button in the Action Center can be set to always open a specific section in the OneNote app.
First open the OneNote desktop app and pick which section you want the button to open. Right-click the section tab and select ‘Copy Link to Section’.
Paste the link copied to your clipboard in Notepad to make sure you don’t lose it. This is what it looks like;
onenote:///C:UsersFatima%20WahabDocumentsOneNote%20NotebooksMy%20NotebookMy%20Quick%20Notes.one#section-id={187BAFC6-D67F-4D78-B225-F3360BA731E0}&end
Open the windows registry. Type Regedit in the search bar and open the registry with administrative rights. Navigate to the following location;
HKLMSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionActionCenterQuick ActionsAllSystemSettings_Launcher_Quicknote
Double-click the Uri key and paste the link you copied from OneNote in the key’s value field.
Next, open the Action Center in Windows 10 and click the Note button. You might be asked to select the default notes app. If you are, select the OneNote desktop app. Any time you click the Note button in the Action Center, it will always open the section you bound it to.
To undo this change and bind the Note button back to the OneNote UWP app, open the Settings app. Go to System>Default Apps and click ‘Set defaults by app’ at the very bottom. Look for the OneNote UWP app in the Control Panel window that opens, select it, and click ‘Set this program as default’.
You can edit the registry key and bind the Action Center Note button to a different section in the OneNote app. If you don’t mind a third-party app, there’s also a way to create a new note from the Action Center.