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Migrating from Mac OneNote to Apple Notes

Is there a direct way to migrate from Mac OneNote to Apple Notes which preserves structures, imports attachments, images etc?


I couldn't see a direct method on Mac from OneNote to Apple Notes. I did however find a way to via Evernote (OneNote to Evernote to Notes). This worked OK for me - though by no means perfect. If there's a better, faster, cheaper way please let me know.


For my approach, you need a PC or Parallels on Mac with OneNote 2016 version available at onenote.com - not the version from the Windows Store. Also, Evernote for PC and possibly 1 month premium subscription if you have several GB's to migrate.


  1. Sync OneNote on your Mac to your Live / Office365 account
  2. Install OneNote 2016 (see above) to the PC or Parallels and sync with your online account
  3. Install Evernote to PC/Parallels, create or log in to an account
  4. <optional step> If you have a lot to migrate (embedded attachments and images), then purchase a month of Premium Evernote subscription (removes the upload limit) ... set a reminder to cancel the sub before it renews
  5. Import from OneNote to Evernote from the File menu in Evernote
  6. Once the import is completed... hit sync. Check online evernote.com a few minutes later to see if the sync has started, if not then move all notes to a new Notebook in desktop Evernote (this forces the sync)
  7. Install Evernote on your mac and sync
  8. You may want to reorganise things at this point ... structure and hierarchy are not supported during import. Evernote imports Pages as Notes with Tags named after the OneNote Section they originated from. Import also does not support Subpages - so the Subpage is imported as a Note with the tag from the Section (no reference to the parent Page).
  9. Export either all Notes in Evernote to .enex file (Evernote XML) - or by grouping (by Tag for e.g.) according to the reorganisation in the step above. If you export all Notes at once, they will import as one list of Notes (no tags or folders) into a folder called "Imported Notes"
  10. Open Apple Notes, import to Notes from the File menu, select the .enex file - wait - repeat as needed renaming the folder each time according to the folders you want.


Not easy, though I had several GB, >1000 Pages. Manual copy paste was not an option for me. If you have lots of Sections and Subpages in OneNote then it's a bit of work manual involved, as structure and hierarchy are not preserved during migration to Evernote or to Notes.

MacBook Air, macOS High Sierra (10.13.3), null

Posted on Mar 28, 2018 6:39 AM

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Posted on Mar 28, 2018 7:01 AM

Thanks KitledTIm, I know it's more functionally rich product. Though I found a lot of conflicts pop up and it gets stuck syncronising from time to time. There is no sorting - or a single view of all notes regardless of location. Embedded links don't work when you output to PDF. Also Spotlight can't find pages in OneNote. My workflow relies on searching emails, documents, notes etc. in one shot 🙂

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Mar 28, 2018 7:01 AM in response to KiltedTim

Thanks KitledTIm, I know it's more functionally rich product. Though I found a lot of conflicts pop up and it gets stuck syncronising from time to time. There is no sorting - or a single view of all notes regardless of location. Embedded links don't work when you output to PDF. Also Spotlight can't find pages in OneNote. My workflow relies on searching emails, documents, notes etc. in one shot 🙂

Migrating from Mac OneNote to Apple Notes

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