OneNote PDF Page Stitcher

Creating Single-Page PDFs from OneNote: A Simple Solution

Microsoft OneNote is a fantastic tool for note-taking, brainstorming, and organizing information. However, one common frustration many users face is exporting their notes as PDFs. By default, OneNote creates paginated PDFs, meaning your long, flowing notes get broken up into multiple pages, often with repetitive headers or footers. This can disrupt the reading experience and make sharing less convenient. This free, browser-based tool is here to help!

The OneNote PDF Export Challenge

When you have a long OneNote page filled with notes, diagrams, and images, you ideally want to share or archive it as a single, continuously scrollable PDF. Unfortunately, OneNote's built-in PDF export functionality (both "File > Export" and "Print to PDF") divides the content into standard paper sizes (like A4 or Letter). This process often introduces unwanted page breaks and can duplicate parts of your OneNote page's "virtual" header or footer content at the top and bottom of each PDF page.

How to Export Your OneNote Page to PDF

Before using this tool, you first need to get your OneNote notes into a PDF format. Here are the common ways:

1. Using "File > Export" (Desktop App):
   • Open your OneNote desktop application.
   • Navigate to the page you want to export.
   • Go to File > Export.
   • Under "1. Export Current:", choose Page.
   • Under "2. Select Format:", choose PDF (*.pdf).
   • Click Export and save your file.
2. Using "Print to PDF" (Desktop App or OneNote for Windows 10):
   • Open the OneNote page.
   • Go to File > Print (or click the "..." menu then Print in OneNote for Windows 10).
   • In the printer selection dropdown, choose Microsoft Print to PDF.
   • Adjust page orientation or paper size if needed (though "Letter" or "A4" portrait is typical).
   • Click Print and save your file.
3. OneNote Online:
   • Open your notebook in OneNote for the web.
   • Navigate to the page.
   • Go to File > Print.
   • Choose "Save as PDF" or "Microsoft Print to PDF" as the destination in your browser's print dialog.

No matter which method you use, you'll end up with a multi-page PDF if your OneNote page is longer than a standard paper size.

Common Workarounds (and their limitations)

Over the years, OneNote users have sought various solutions to this pagination problem. Some common approaches found in forums include:

• Manual Copy-Pasting: Copying content from OneNote and pasting it into Microsoft Word or another word processor, then saving as PDF. Limitation: This is very time-consuming for long notes, often breaks complex formatting, and images might not transfer well.
• Third-Party PDF Editing Software: Using tools like Adobe Acrobat Pro or other PDF editors to manually delete headers/footers and merge pages. Limitation: These tools can be expensive, have a learning curve, and the manual process is still tedious. Free PDF editors might add watermarks or have limited functionality.
• Using "Send to Word": OneNote has a "Send to Word" option. Limitation: Similar to copy-pasting, formatting can be an issue, and it adds an extra step.
• Taking Screenshots and Stitching: Some users resort to taking multiple screenshots and manually stitching them in an image editor. Limitation: Extremely laborious, results in a non-selectable image-based PDF, and quality can suffer.

While these methods can work, they are often cumbersome and don't provide a quick, clean solution.

Introducing the "OneNote PDF Page Stitcher" - A Better Way

This tool, the "OneNote PDF Page Stitcher," is designed to solve this problem simply and efficiently, right in your browser. It's a free utility built to help you convert those paginated OneNote PDF exports into a single, continuous, scrollable page.

How it works: When OneNote exports to a paginated PDF, it often repeats a small portion of the content at the top and bottom of each new page (acting like a header and footer from the "infinite" OneNote canvas). This tool is pre-configured with default trim values (Top: 36 points, Bottom: 72 points) that are typically effective for these OneNote-generated overlaps. It intelligently removes these overlapping sections from each page and then seamlessly stitches the remaining content together.

Benefits of using this tool:

• Free & Easy to Use: No software to install, no fees. Just upload and download.
• Client-Side Processing: Your PDF is processed directly in your web browser. Your files are not uploaded to any server, ensuring your data privacy.
• Preserves Content Flow: Creates a single, long PDF that's perfect for reading, sharing, or archiving your complete OneNote thoughts without disruptive page breaks.
• Optimized for OneNote: The default settings are tailored for the common export behavior of OneNote.
• Customizable: If the defaults aren't perfect for your specific PDF (perhaps due to custom page sizes or unique content), the "Advanced Settings" allow you to fine-tune the trim amounts.

How to Use This Tool

1. Export from OneNote: First, export your desired OneNote page as a PDF file using one of the methods described in the "How to Export Your OneNote Page to PDF" section above.
2. Upload to this Tool: Click the "Choose File" / "Upload your OneNote PDF" area on this webpage and select the PDF you just exported from OneNote.
3. Review Quick Preview: A stitched preview of the first 3 pages of your PDF will automatically appear. This uses the default trim settings (Top: 36pts, Bottom: 72pts) optimized for OneNote. You can use the zoom slider to get a closer look. This preview helps you quickly see if the default stitching works well for your document.
4. (Optional) Fine-Tune with Advanced Settings:
   • If the stitched preview doesn't look quite right (e.g., too much or too little content is trimmed, or there's still a visible seam), click the "Advanced Settings" button.
   • Here, you can adjust the "Trim from Top" and "Trim from Bottom" values. Remember, "Trim from Top" applies to pages 2 onwards, and "Trim from Bottom" applies to pages 1 up to the second-to-last page. You can also disable top trimming if needed.
   • After changing values, click the "Refresh Stitched Preview" button within the Advanced Settings to see how your changes affect the 3-page preview.
5. Create & Download Your Stitched PDF: Once you're happy with the stitched preview (either with defaults or after fine-tuning), click the "Create & Download Stitched PDF" button. Your browser will then process all pages of the PDF and download the final, single-page version.

A Note on This Tool

This "OneNote PDF Page Stitcher" was created to address a common frustration for OneNote users. It's a free, client-side utility. We hope it makes managing and sharing your OneNote notes a little bit easier!