Sort Sections

Sort each section in current section group alphabetically by name or color

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Changelog

October 03, 2026 (B47435) - Onetastic ★
Added option to sort by color in addition to name

November 23, 2025 (09C556) - Onetastic ★
Updated to show up in context menus

December 11, 2022 (E75885) - Onetastic ★
Added menu for quick access to ascending/descending options

August 24, 2017 (15EC27) - Onetastic ★
Added option to sort all sections in a notebook rather than just the current section group

May 23, 2017 (3853AA) - Onetastic ★
Added ascending/descending options and updated to sort numerically if section names start with numbers like 1, 2 etc. This correctly puts a section named 10... after sections named 1... through 9...

June 20, 2016 (34ACAE) - Onetastic ★
Re-written with the new Macro Language to take advantage of cleaner syntax and performance improvements

These versions are no longer supported:

May 24, 2014 - Onetastic ★
Initial version

Comments

Mark G - 2026-06-02

Does this sort macro work on the free version? it tells me that i need to have a paid version to use this. but the google online search says that free version should sort.

perrydies - 2023-10-05

This works to sort the sections alphabetically on my personal computer. However, if I log in and check the same OneNote sections from any other machine (like an iPad, for example), the sections are scrambled.

Is there a fix for this issue?

I'm using OneNote for Microsoft 365 MSO (Version 2309 Build 16.0.16827.20130) 64-bit.

MOt - 2021-09-30

Worked like a charm on my 2016 OneNote - thank you for this!

Show more comments (37 more)

Dimo - 2020-09-15

Is it possible to update this macro, or create another macro, to sort sections by modified date? I have an older macro called "Sort Sections By Last Modified" that I'd love to continue using on my new laptop.

gerryco - 2019-10-06

I have a 'poetry' notebook. Each section is an author's name (first name, surname). Would it be possible to adapt this macro so that it sorts on the surname?

Omer Atay - 2018-01-09

Olivia: It stores for pages but not for sections or notebooks

Olivia - 2018-01-09

I had a similar question to Ellie's, but your answer to the first question puzzles me.
OneNote doesn't store original "created dates" - AT ALL?
That makes no sense, as the pages have "created dates".
I haven't even checked if that feature is even included for the notebooks, themselves.
Would that be included in a future update, I hope?

Ellie - 2018-01-07

Hi, Omar.
You have a great macro with expanded options in "Sort Pages By Date" - I love that one, too!  :)
Is it possible to add the sort by date option for sections or develop a new macro for that?
I have no idea how to do that and you seem to be the most prolific developer, here.  :)
I am trying to keep track of all the care giving agencies my mom has hired to care for my Grandmother.  As we do not hire alphabetically, I need to keep them in order by date so I can quickly get to the current agency when I need to take notes via a phone call, live meeting or email.
Thanks so much for your hard work.
Your macros are SO helpful to this OneNote addict!

Omer Atay - 2017-12-17

Ellie: OneNote only stores the last modified date of a section but not the created date. Therefore you cannot sort by created date.

Ellie - 2017-12-04

Can you add sort by date?
I really want the sections in a couple of my notebooks to be sorted by crated date, rather than a-z.
Thanks.

Omer Atay - 2017-08-24

emtbard: Updated this macro with an option to run it on all sections in the current notebook.

emtbard - 2017-08-23

Is it possible to sort the sections in all section groups? Currently, I have to click on each section group and then run the macro to sort the sections. It would be very helpful to be able to sort sections in all section groups at once.

Omer Atay - 2017-04-07

connor: I will contact you by e-mail to understand what is going on

connor - 2017-04-07

We're looking to utilize Onetastic Pro but we only want to go through with it if we know this section sort macro is completely working because it is the most important macro for how we're organizing our OneNote data. Thanks again.

connor - 2017-04-07

Sort macro is not working for OneNote 2016. It correctly sorts sections by name but overall the sections are out of alphabetical order. It randomly groups together some of the sections and sorts them correctly, and then randomly groups together another group of sections and sorts those alphabetically. Our overall list of sections is divided into 3 of these random groups and the groups get randomized every time the macro is run.

Omer Atay - 2016-12-23

snsokstan: Send an e-mail to support@getonetastic.com and we can look into it

snsokstan - 2016-12-23

Just left a message about sort not working. Forgot to mention running OneNote 2016 under Windows 10. I wonder if I should use OneNote 2013 instead.

snsokstan - 2016-12-23

I've just exported a huge notebook from Evernote to OneNote. I've got many dozens of sections to sort. This sort macro just moves a few sections around but doesn't sort them all at once. Not sure what I am doing wrong.

Thanks

Omer Atay - 2016-12-01

Matt L: OneNote doesn't keep the created date of sections.

Matt L - 2016-12-01

Do you have a sort sections feature that will sort based on Date created? Each of my sections titled based on date

Omer Atay - 2016-11-09

ctaylor1485: Do you have a firewall that is perhaps preventing Onetastic to access the website during installation?

ctaylor1485 - 2016-11-09

When I try to install the add ons for sorting...I get either an "access denied" or "The system cannot locate the resource specified" after I click "yes" on the "Do you want to continue" prompt. I have Onetastic installed.

Omer Atay - 2016-11-06

Matt: Send a screenshot to support@getonetastic.com and we will follow up

Matt - 2016-11-04

I get an error when installing saying "Not Found"

Omer Atay - 2016-10-06

LMW: Did you get a dialog box that says "this will install Sort Sections macro [OK]" when you double clicked the downloaded file?

LMW - 2016-10-06

I want to sort the Sections in alphabetical order.
I downloaded the Sort Sections file. When it was done downloading, I double clicked the downloaded file. However, the sort section macro buttons don't appear in my OneNote 2016 menu. - ?

I use Windows 10 & OneNote 2016.

Omer Atay - 2016-09-21

LMW: Can you send a screenshot to support@getonetastic.com?

LMW - 2016-09-21

I downloaded the Sort Sections file. When it was done downloading, I double clicked the downloaded file. However, the sort section macro buttons don't appear in my OneNote 2016 menu. - ?

Omer Atay - 2016-09-21

Chase: What exactly doesn't work? Can you explain?

Chase - 2016-09-21

This doesn't seem to work for me in Onenote 2016 and windows 10 either - too bad!

Paul - 2016-07-24

Ditto Denis comment: this macro doesn't work in the latest OneNote 2016 64-bit and Onetastic. Hope it gets updated soon. Otherwise, great work!

Denis - 2016-07-22

It does not work with OneNote 2016 32 bit and Windows 10 64 bit. No macros available

D-Rock - 2015-12-16

Disregard, I had a typo in a few of my sections which I incorrectly read as not sorting correctly.

It is working now! Brilliant, thank you!

D-Rock - 2015-12-16

When attempting to use the sort section it doesn't work.  A gray box looks like it pulls up for a fraction of a section (too fast to read) and then nothing happens.

This is for a corporate computer which I had an admin grant access to download the OneTastic Add-On.

What might be causing this?  Steps to fix?

Thank you so much!

wasjack - 2015-12-16

*go to Home,

wasjack - 2015-12-16

Awesome. Thanks Omer! All my sections are set up in a tidy fashion. I really appreciate this free macro.
By the way, here is the procedure that worked for me:
1. Close OneNote 2013.
2. Download and install Onetastic.
3. Start OneNote.
4. Download and install the Sort Sections macro.
5. To run it in OneNote 2013, select the Notebook whose sections you want to sort, then got to Home, and then over to the right, choose Sort, Sort Sections.
Works like a charm! If there are sections you want to keep at the top of the list, just rename them and put "00" in front of the name.

Kai - 2015-06-26

The sort function works with numbers and letters but not with Dates!!!!

Peterp - 2015-04-27

Hi
Can a flag be set so that ALL items within a Section Group can be sorted? Currently only sections are sorted not section Groups.

jestephens - 2014-12-04

Wow, I've been looking for this feature for YEARS. Admittedly only within OneNote itself though. I'm in sales and have each customer as a section, Alphabetical order will help me find the right section much faster. Thank you!

Sgrounds1 - 2014-06-23

When I run this macro, I get an error that says the macro is empty.

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Sort Sections

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