How to password protect OneNote 2016 notebook sections

If you’re looking for a little more privacy with OneNote, then you might want to password protect your notebook sections. While we’ve already talked about how you can do this in the Microsoft Store, Android, MacOS, and Android versions of OneNote, we’ll now turn our attention to OneNote 2016.

While the Microsoft Store version of OneNote is more often updated, some users might still prefer OneNote 2016, too. After all, Microsoft said that the desktop app is here to stay. So, we’ve got you covered, and here’s how you can password protect OneNote 2016 notebook sections.

To get started, you’ll want to open the notebook with the section that you want to protect. Once there, right-click the tab on the top with the section name. You’ll then see an option which says Password Protect this Section. This is what you’ll want to click. OneNote will then open a sidebar, and you’ll want to click the Set Password option on the top.

You’ll be prompted to enter a password, so type it in and then confirm. Be sure you remember this password, and keep in mind that if you lose it, OneNote won’t be able to recover it. Also, be aware that passwords are case sensitive.

Once a password is set, OneNote will also automatically lock your sections after a period of inactivity. You can always, however, manually lock by pressing Ctrl, Alt, and L on your keyboard.  You’ll also need to keep in mind that you’ll need to unlock sections first if you want to search them.

And, that’s it! Password protecting sections in OneNote 2016 just takes a few simple steps. There’s much more to OneNote 2016 than just password protection, though. Our previous guide shows you how you can integrated it with Outlook, and how you can move local notebooks over to the Microsoft Store version of the app. Keep it tuned to OnMSFT for all your OneNote news and information, and let us know how OneNote works for you by dropping us a comment below.