Getting OneNote Screen Clipping Shortcut to Work on Windows 8.1 and Windows 10

Undoubtedly, OneNote is one of the most useful applications in Microsoft Office. Using OneNote, you can quickly do screen grabs of anything you see on your screen.

By default, Windows Key + S is the hotkey combination for the OneNote screen clipping feature.

However, with the release of Windows 8.1 and later, the same hotkey combination is taken up by the Windows’ own Search functionality which makes it unavailable for the OneNote counterpart.

This article shows you how to resolve this conflict by assigning a different hotkey to the OneNote screen clipping functionality.

Assigning Windows Key + A as the OneNote Screen Clipping Hotkey

To fix this issue, we will assign Windows Key + A as the hotkey combination for the OneNote Screen Clipping functionality.  We will use the Registry Editor to accomplish this.

1. On Windows 8.1, press Windows Key + R. Then, type Regedt32.exe in Run dialog box and hit Enter to launch the Registry Editor.

2. In Registry Editor, navigate to the following location:

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\OneNote\Options\Other

   NOTE: The instruction here refers to Office 2013 which has a version number 15.0. If you’re using Office 2010, replace 15.0 with 14.0. If you’re using Office 2007, replace 15.0 with 12.0.

3. In the right pane of this location, create a new DWORD (32-bit) by Right-clicking -> New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value.

   Replace “New Value #1” with ScreenClippingShortcutKey.

4. After the new DWORD is created, double-click on ScreenClippingShortcutKey to modify its value.
5. In the “Value data” field, with the Base Hexadecimal radio button selected, put in 41. This will set the hotkey combination to Windows Key + A. Click OK to confirm the changes.

6. Reboot your computer.
7. After rebooting, you will be able to activate the OneNote Screen Clipping functionality by pressing Windows Key + A.  Enjoy!