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"Insert link to file"- where did this go?

I'm an attorney, and I created a great litigation and trial-management system using only OneNote.  We put it to use in a large "mass action" case with over fifty plaintiffs and tens of thousands of exhibits.  The system allowed us to completely outmaneuver the plaintiffs at trial, and we were able to line up exhibits, deposition citations, and both direct and cross examination questions from a single program.   We all credit a great deal of our defense verdict to the system.

The key feature that let us build the various pages for trial quickly was the ability to drag and drop exhibit pdfs into the onenote pages as links to files.  Due to the sheer volume of exhibits, as well as the ease of using tables, links were far more effective than inserting the files directly, and certainly more effective than inserting printouts. 

With OneNote 2013, this mission-critical feature appears to be missing.  I can only insert the file, or insert a printout.  I don't want to do either- I want to insert a link.  I know that I can insert links using the manual "insert link" function, but that is slower and more error prone than the simplicity of the previous versions.  Am I missing a key option to trigger?  Or is this a missing feature from OneNote 2013?  If the latter, I suspect we will stick with 2010....
 

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Unfortunately this feature is missing from OneNote 2013. I will pass this request to the team and see if we can bring it back.


Having said that, what can we do to make this easier? One way to accomplish can be:

  1. Shift + right click on the file
  2. Choose Copy as Path
  3. Go to OneNote, Insert > Link
  4. Paste it to address

Another way could be to insert a shortcut:

  1. Right click on the file
  2. Choose Create Shortcut. This will create a shortcut to the file
  3. Inserted the shortcut into OneNote as a file.
  4. Double clicking on it will open the original file.

I know both are not as simple as the original feature and sound backwards. Sorry, as I said I will check with the team.

 

 

Omer Atay
Principal Software Engineering Manager - OneNote

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Thank you for the prompt response.  I'm glad to hear you are going to ask about this missing feature.  It's a big one to me, and I suspect to others as well. 

I do have an issue with your first workaround.  When you hit "copy as path" for a file, there are quotes that are automatically inserted.  Pasting the path with quotes is not recognized by OneNote as a valid address- the quotes must be removed manually.  I have yet to figure out how to remove the quotes from the default "copy as path" option. 

Again, though, thank you for your help. 

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I was frustrated by this too. However, the link to the original document still seems to be maintained. When I insert the file by 'attach file', I can open the original document (not a static one) by right clicking and selecting 'open original'. Works great for me. There is also the option of 'copy link to original'. I hope it helps you!

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True... but it seems to fork/duplicate the document.  If you open an embedded file and look at the location of it - you'll find it is in a temporary folder.  This is terrible - because if I want to update the file - I have to be careful to scoot back to the original, and not update the embedded copy.

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If you really want to retain the original (why ?) you shouldn't use embedded files.

Bernd

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Precisely... I want the 'insert link to file' functionality back that was in the previous version of OneNote.

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I agree !

Bernd

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Right clicking the document and selecting 'open original' doesn't open an embedded copy for me - it opens the document in its original linked location (not a temporary folder) and I can update the original accordingly. 

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I know, that's the way it works ..

Bernd

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Unfortunately this feature is missing from OneNote 2013. I will pass this request to the team and see if we can bring it back.


Having said that, what can we do to make this easier? One way to accomplish can be:

  1. Shift + right click on the file
  2. Choose Copy as Path
  3. Go to OneNote, Insert > Link
  4. Paste it to address

Another way could be to insert a shortcut:

  1. Right click on the file
  2. Choose Create Shortcut. This will create a shortcut to the file
  3. Inserted the shortcut into OneNote as a file.
  4. Double clicking on it will open the original file.

I know both are not as simple as the original feature and sound backwards. Sorry, as I said I will check with the team.

 

 

Hello Omer,

As you can see, I'm not the only person with this concern.  It's been a bit over three months- any news as to whether this functionality will return?  I have been sufficiently frustrated with the cumbersome and time consuming work arounds that I'm considering returning to 2010. 

Note: I apparently used a different login for my original posting. 

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Last updated April 14, 2025 Views 25,285 Applies to: