Manual method
Download a notebook package from OneNote for the web when it is stored on a personal OneDrive account.
- Open OneNote for the web using the personal account containing the notebook.
- On the notebook list, right-click the notebook and choose Export notebook.
- Confirm the size and export; download and extract the ZIP.
- Check for notebook files and any errors.txt rather than assuming a ZIP means success.
Coverage and limitations: This web route does not work for work/school OneDrive or SharePoint notebooks. Microsoft describes opening exported notebook files in OneNote for Windows; web re-import is deprecated. For organization content, obtain an authorized version-specific export or readable PDFs.
Size and time to allow
Illustrative small / central / large case: 0.1 / 5 / 100 GB (decimal GB). These are planning assumptions, not a measured average per person. 5 GB models several notebooks with scans, PDFs and some audio. Typed-only notebooks can be below 100 MB.
Preparation: Packaging can take minutes or longer for large notebooks; no fixed SLA is given. An interrupted or space-exhausted download may require restarting.
For the central 5 GB example, network transfer alone is approximately:
| Connection | Estimated transfer |
|---|---|
| 10 Mbps | 1.6 hours |
| 50 Mbps | 19.0 minutes |
| 100 Mbps | 9.5 minutes |
Assumes 70% sustained use of the stated connection. Provider throttling, many small files, retries, local extraction and copying add time. For online backup use your upload speed. These are not estimates of the provider’s preparation queue. See calculation and large-file advice.
Store and verify the archive
An encrypted external drive is a practical main archive; a USB key can carry a copy if it has sufficient free space. Keep an additional encrypted copy on another device or private online backup, outside the source account’s sync folder.
Create onenote/YYYY-MM-DD/originals/, preserve the untouched download, and extract a separate working copy when needed. Allow extra free space for archive plus extraction; compressed text can expand far beyond twice its size. Record account/scope, export date, date coverage and missing items in a local README without passwords.
Open the package in supported OneNote for Windows and inspect sections, pages and attachments. Keep PDFs of essential pages if long-term readability is needed. Reopen a sample from the second copy before deleting or replacing any source. Storage choices and verification.
Sources and review
Public documentation was reviewed on 27 October 2026. No signed-in export or restoration was performed. Account options and availability can change; follow the current provider instructions.