OneNote Feature Request: SHA3 File Auditing

Question

OneNote Feature Request: SHA3 File Auditing

Lonnie S. Jones 0

I noticed my notebooks were damaged for some reason. I tried to pull it from OneDrive, but the damage was committed to the notebooks. Luckily, I had an external drive version too. I know it would be a big ask for OneNote to include version control with collaborators. My company relies heavily on OneNote instead of using several hundreds of docs or using Obsidian. Until version control could happen, I could have avoided a lot of hassle if there was SHA256 or SHA3 file auditing.

My best option for now is to use SHA3, then commit it to GitHub. Once it is in a satisfactory state, we may consider copying to OneDrive.

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Answer 1

Configure OneNote for Windows to create retained backups on the external drive, then hash each completed backup snapshot; hashing the live OneDrive notebook or committing only its checksum cannot restore content after a damaged version synchronizes.

Recommended Windows workflow

In the current OneNote desktop app, open: File → Options → Save & Backup.
Under Save, select Backup Folder → Modify, and choose a folder on the external drive.
Increase Number of backup copies to keep and set an appropriate automatic-backup interval.
After important changes, select Back Up All Notebooks Now.
Wait for the successful-completion message before generating hashes.

Automatic and manual notebook backup is supported by OneNote on Windows, and Microsoft specifically recommends locating backups away from the computer’s internal drive.^1^ Windows also supports .one section files, local notebooks, and page/section/notebook export.^2^

Give each backup set a timestamped, immutable folder—for example:

D:\OneNoteArchive\
  2026-10-22T180000Z\
    Notebook A\
      Section 1.one
      Section 2.one
    SHA256SUMS.txt

Do not let a later backup overwrite the only known-good snapshot.

Generate a manifest

Windows PowerShell’s built-in Get-FileHash provides a straightforward SHA-256 audit. Run this against the completed backup folder, not files OneNote is actively changing:

$root = "D:\OneNoteArchive\2026-10-22T180000Z"

Get-ChildItem $root -File -Recurse |
    Where-Object Name -ne "SHA256SUMS.txt" |
    Sort-Object FullName |
    ForEach-Object {
        $hash = (Get-FileHash $_.FullName -Algorithm SHA256).Hash
        "$hash  $($_.FullName.Substring($root.Length + 1))"
    } | Set-Content "$root\SHA256SUMS.txt"

To audit the snapshot later:

$root = "D:\OneNoteArchive\2026-10-22T180000Z"

Get-Content "$root\SHA256SUMS.txt" | ForEach-Object {
    $expected, $relative = $_ -split "  ", 2
    $actual = (Get-FileHash (Join-Path $root $relative) -Algorithm SHA256).Hash
    [pscustomobject]@{
        File = $relative
        Valid = $actual -eq $expected
    }
}

Windows cryptographic APIs support SHA3-256, SHA3-384, and SHA3-512, but the OneNote documentation does not describe an integrated SHA-3 auditing feature.^3^ If SHA-3 is mandatory, use an organization-approved tool or script backed by Windows CNG and store its manifest beside each snapshot.

A checksum establishes whether bytes changed after the manifest was created. It does not:

Determine whether the notebook was already damaged when hashed.
Identify which collaborator made a valid edit.
Restore an earlier state.
Produce useful line-by-line Git diffs for OneNote’s binary .one files.

Git can still retain whole snapshot versions, but an approved private repository is necessary if notebooks contain company or regulated information. Avoid publishing notebook backups to a public GitHub repository.

Restore a known-good snapshot

In OneNote:

Select File → Info → Open Backups.
Open the required .one section file.
Review it under Open Sections.
Right-click the required page or section and select Move or Copy.
Copy it into the active notebook, then close the backup section.

That restores selected content without replacing the entire active notebook.^4^

Submit the SHA-3 feature request

In the current OneNote app for Windows, select Support → Feedback and request:

SHA-256/SHA-3 manifests for manual and automatic backups.
Scheduled integrity verification with mismatch reporting.
Signed or tamper-evident manifests.
Per-section audit history and a supported restore point.
Administrator-configurable retention and repository destinations.

Microsoft documents the in-app feedback channel as the route for requesting OneNote features.^5^

References