How to Change the Default Page Color in OneNote

OneNote gives you more control over your workspace than most people realize — including the ability to change the background color of your pages. Whether you're color-coding notebooks by subject, reducing eye strain with a darker background, or just personalizing your note-taking environment, adjusting page color is a straightforward feature with a few important nuances depending on which version of OneNote you're using.

Why Page Color Matters in OneNote

Page color in OneNote isn't purely cosmetic. Many users set specific colors to:

• Visually separate different types of notes (meeting notes vs. research vs. personal)
• Reduce eye strain by switching away from the default bright white
• Improve focus by using softer or darker backgrounds during long sessions
• Mirror physical notebooks, where colored pages help with quick visual navigation

The default page color in OneNote is white. You can change it on a page-by-page basis, but — and this is the important part — there is no universal "set all new pages to this color" option in most versions of OneNote. Understanding that limitation upfront saves a lot of frustration.

OneNote Versions: Why This Matters First 🖥️

Before diving into steps, it's worth knowing that two distinct versions of OneNote exist and behave differently:

The desktop version (part of Microsoft 365 or Office 2019/2021) has the most complete page color toolset. The Windows app and mobile versions offer reduced functionality.

How to Change Page Color in OneNote for Windows (Desktop/Microsoft 365)

This is the most fully featured version and the one most commonly referenced in guides.

1. Open your notebook and navigate to the page you want to change.
2. Click the View tab in the top ribbon.
3. Select Page Color from the Page Setup group.
4. A color palette will appear with preset options — choose any color, or select No Color to return to white.

The color change applies only to the current page. To apply a color to multiple pages, you need to repeat this process for each one individually.

Rule lines are also available in this same View menu. You can combine a page color with ruled or grid lines — useful for handwritten notes or structured layouts.

How to Change Page Color in the OneNote Windows App (Free Version)

The free Microsoft Store version of OneNote has a more limited interface.

1. Open the page you want to change.
2. Click View in the top menu.
3. Look for Page Color — in some builds this appears directly; in others it may be under additional settings.

If you don't see a Page Color option, your version may not support it. Microsoft has been slowly expanding features in the free app, but it still lags behind the desktop version in customization depth.

How to Change Page Color in OneNote for Mac

1. Open your notebook and go to the target page.
2. Click View in the menu bar.
3. Select Page Color.
4. Choose from the available color options.

Mac users generally have access to a solid range of preset colors, though the custom color picker found in some desktop Windows builds may not be present.

How to Change Page Color on Mobile (iOS and Android) 📱

OneNote's mobile apps currently offer very limited page color control. In most versions, you can't directly set or change page background color from within the app. Pages created on desktop with a color applied will display that color on mobile, but changing it from mobile is not reliably supported.

If page color is important to your workflow, managing it from a desktop or laptop is the practical approach.

The "Default Color" Problem: What You Can and Can't Do

Here's where users often get tripped up: OneNote does not have a native setting to change the default page color for all new pages. Each new page always starts white unless you manually change it.

Workarounds that some users rely on:

• Section templates — In the desktop version, you can save a page with your preferred color as a template, then set it as the default for a section. New pages in that section will inherit the color. This is found under Insert > Page Templates > Page Templates > Save current page as a template > Set as default template for new pages in the current section.
• Manual workflow — Some users simply change color as the first step whenever they create a new page.
• Copying pages — Duplicating a pre-colored page is faster than starting fresh each time.

The section template approach is the closest thing to a true default color setting, but it's section-specific, not notebook-wide or application-wide.

Factors That Affect Your Experience

The right approach depends on several things specific to your setup:

• Which version of OneNote you're running — desktop, app, or mobile determines what's available
• Whether you're on Microsoft 365 — subscription users have access to more features and more frequent updates
• How your notes are organized — section-level templates work well if your notebook structure is consistent
• Whether you sync across devices — colors set on desktop display on mobile, but you may not be able to edit them there

Someone using OneNote exclusively on a Microsoft 365-connected desktop has a very different experience from someone working primarily on a tablet or using the free Windows app. The gap between those setups is meaningful enough that the same steps won't apply equally across both.