Unlock Productivity with OneNote Gem’s Favorites FeatureOneNote Gem’s Favorites feature is a simple but powerful way to streamline your workflow inside Microsoft OneNote. By letting you pin frequently used pages, sections, notebooks, links, and tags to a single access panel, Favorites reduces time spent searching and helps keep your most important content one click away. This article explains how the feature works, shows practical workflows, covers setup and customization, offers tips and keyboard shortcuts, and suggests best practices for teams and power users.
What the Favorites feature does
Favorites creates a centralized, persistent list of items you access most often. Instead of navigating nested notebooks or using search repeatedly, you can open the Favorites panel and jump directly to a pinned item. Favorites can include:
- Pages and subpages
- Sections and section groups
- Entire notebooks
- Internal page links and section links
- Custom tags and tag searches (depending on Gem version)
This makes Favorites especially useful for recurring tasks: daily planners, project dashboards, meeting agendas, reference pages, and templates.
Where Favorites fits into your workflow
Think of Favorites as the docking station for the things you use every day. Typical use cases:
- Daily routine: Pin your daily note or planner page so you can open it each morning without hunting through a notebook hierarchy.
- Project management: Keep a project dashboard, backlog, and current sprint notes accessible from the Favorites list.
- Reference and templates: Pin standard operating procedure pages, templates (meeting agenda, expense form), and frequently referenced checklists.
- Teaching and presentations: Instructors can pin lesson plans, slide outlines, or quick reference pages to switch quickly between items during a class.
- Research: Pin key source pages, bibliographies, or tag-based searches so you can jump between notes and reference material.
How to add, organize, and remove Favorites
- Open the OneNote Gem pane (Gem tab → Favorites or the Favorites button in the add-in toolbar).
- To add an item, navigate to the page/section/notebook you want and click the “Add to Favorites” button or use the context menu (right-click) and choose “Add to Favorites.”
- Organize items by dragging them into the desired order within the Favorites pane. Many versions allow grouping or creating separators for visual organization.
- Edit the name of a favorite: right-click the item in the Favorites pane and choose Rename (useful to shorten long page titles).
- Remove a favorite by selecting it and choosing Remove or Delete from the Favorites menu; this only removes the favorite link, not the original page.
Tip: Use short, descriptive names for favorites to keep the list scannable.
Customizing Favorites view
Gem often provides options to control what appears in the Favorites pane and how:
- Show icons vs. text-only list
- Display page previews or snippets (if available)
- Group by type (pages, sections, notebooks)
- Auto-sync favorites across devices (depends on Gem/OneNote sync settings)
If you rely on a mix of notebooks (personal and work), consider grouping favorites by context to avoid confusion.
Keyboard shortcuts and quick actions
Favorites becomes even faster when paired with keyboard navigation:
- Assign or use a hotkey to open the Favorites pane (check Gem settings).
- Use arrow keys to move through favorites and Enter to open the selection.
- Some Gem versions let you assign number shortcuts to top favorites for instant opening.
Check your installed Gem version’s settings panel to discover any shortcut customization available.
Advanced workflows: combining Favorites with tags, templates, and search
- Tag-driven favorites: If Gem supports pinning tag searches, create favorites for important tag queries (e.g., “@Urgent” or “ToDo-Today”) so you can surface dynamic lists that update as you tag notes.
- Template shortcuts: Pin a page that contains multiple templates or a template index page. Open the template page from Favorites and duplicate the template quickly.
- Meeting hub: Create a meeting hub page that links to agendas, minutes, and action logs for recurring meetings; pin the hub to Favorites for instant access during meetings.
- Cross-notebook linking: Use internal links to reference pages in other notebooks and pin those links in Favorites to create a cross-notebook quick-access board.
Collaboration and team best practices
When working in shared notebooks:
- Agree on a naming convention for pinned items to keep the Favorites list meaningful to everyone.
- Maintain a “Team Dashboard” page in the shared notebook and pin it to Favorites for all team members (note: Gem favorites are typically user-specific; share the dashboard link in a shared place so others can pin it too).
- Use Favorites to pin meeting agendas and action items so recurring meeting participants can access the same materials quickly.
Mobile and cross-device considerations
Favorites behavior can vary between the OneNote desktop app, OneNote for Windows 10, Mac, and mobile clients. Gem’s Favorites pane is primarily an add-in for desktop versions; it may not sync as a visible Favorites list to mobile apps. To bridge the gap:
- Pin a central “Favorites index” page inside a commonly synced notebook. Place links on that page to the items you want quick access to; this page will sync and be visible on mobile.
- Use shared templates and tag-based searches that are supported across platforms.
Troubleshooting common issues
- Favorite not opening: Ensure the original page/section hasn’t been moved or renamed; update the favorite if necessary.
- Favorites pane missing: Check that the Gem add-in is enabled in OneNote’s Add-ins settings and that you have the latest Gem version installed.
- Sync inconsistencies: Confirm OneNote sync is healthy for the notebook containing the favorite. Favorites themselves may be stored locally in the add-in; export/import features (if available) can help migrate favorites between machines.
Tips to get the most from Favorites
- Keep the list short and focused—prioritize the 8–12 items you use most often.
- Use separators or groups for different contexts (Work / Personal / Projects).
- Regularly review and prune favorites to avoid clutter.
- Combine Favorites with OneNote’s internal linking to create mini-dashboards.
- Use descriptive short names to reduce cognitive load when scanning.
Example setups
- Freelancer: Daily Planner, Current Project Folder, Invoice Template, Client Contact Page, Receipt Scan Inbox.
- Team Lead: Sprint Board, Team Meeting Agenda, Retrospective Notes, Project Roadmap, Team SOP.
- Student: Lecture Notes Index, Course Syllabus, Assignment Tracker, Research Sources, Exam Revision Checklist.
Conclusion
OneNote Gem’s Favorites feature turns a sprawling notebook system into a focused productivity surface. By pinning the pages, sections, and searches you use most, you reduce friction, speed navigation, and keep attention on work that matters. A small upfront investment in organizing Favorites pays dividends in time saved every day.
Leave a Reply