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Pens Grouping No Longer in the Draw Tab

BMartJP 0 Reputation points
2026-03-23T19:40:06.44+00:00

When I use OneNote, under the draw tab I used to have a bunch of different pens, that I had customized to my needs, I could quickly click on to change the color. Now when I go to the Draw tab, most of the other buttons, have the word descriptions next to them (Select, Lasso Select, Panning Hand...) but the pens grouping is replaced with a small "Ink Styles" icon. I tried to adjust it with the "Customize the Ribbon" option but I do not have the "Pens" group to add back in.

What it currently looks like:
User's image

In the "Customize The Ribbon" menu:

User's image

What it used to look like (from a different device):

User's image

And with the "Customize The Ribbon" menu:

User's image

I use OneNote to help present and teach with, so it is really useful to be able to quickly change pens, so I would like to be able to customize the pens that I have access to and quickly select between them. I don't know if it was a recent update that changed this, but the "Ink Styles" group is a lot less useful to me than the "Pens" group. I would like to know if there is a way to revert the change or at least have the "Pens" group added back in to the Customize the Ribbon options.

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneNote | For education | Windows
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  1. Ian-Ng 13,435 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-03-23T23:06:00.1566667+00:00

    Hi @BMartJP, 

    Thank you for reporting this behavior. The interface changes you are observing typically result from a recent Microsoft Office update that has modified the "Draw" tab and the "Pens" gallery layout. This reorganization which may include changes to tool grouping is a feature update rather than a user-configurable setting. 

    To address this, please consider the following steps: 

    1/ Identify your current build and environment 

    To determine if this behavior is specific to a particular update rollout, please verify your software environment: 

    • Office build: Navigate to File > Account within the affected application (Word, Excel, or PowerPoint) and document the Version, Build, and Update Channel. 
    • Operating system: Press Win + R, type winver, and press Enter to confirm your Windows version. 

    2/ Utilize new draw tab customization features 

    Modern Office builds often include enhanced customization options for the drawing ribbon. If available in your version, you may manage the layout by: 

    • Reordering Tools: Click and drag a pen tool to adjust its position. 
    • Removing Tools: Right-click (or long-press) a tool and select Delete. 
    • Adding Tools: Use the Add (+) icon to incorporate additional pen or highlighter presets. 

    3/ Restoring previous functionality 

    Please be advised that there is currently no native toggle within the application to revert to the legacy "Draw" tab grouping. The only definitive method to restore the previous UI is to perform a roll-back to an earlier Office build (typically managed via the Office Deployment Tool). Note, however, that subsequent automatic updates will likely reintroduce the new interface. 

    4/ Provide feedback to Microsoft 

    If this update negatively impacts your productivity, we recommend submitting a formal report. Go to File > Feedback within the application and include your build details, device type, and a screenshot. This ensures your concerns reach the product development team. 

    Should you have any further questions, please feel free to reach out. 

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

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  2. AI answer

    2026-03-23T19:40:20.89+00:00

    The Draw tab and inking experience in OneNote has been updated. The previous “Pens” group with multiple visible, customizable pens has been replaced by a more compact inking UI (such as the “Ink Styles” entry point and the Pen toolbar / Pen focused view). This is a design change, not a user‑configurable option, so the old “Pens” group cannot be restored through Customize the Ribbon, and it does not appear there as a group that can be added back.

    To get a more pen‑centric experience and quicker access to multiple pens, use the Pen focused view and its Pen toolbar:

    1. On the ribbon, select Draw > Full Page View (or select the Expand icon on the page).
    2. In Full Page View, enable Show Pen Toolbar if it is hidden.
    3. Use the Pen toolbar to:
      • Switch quickly between pens, highlighters, eraser, lasso, etc.
      • Customize pen color and thickness directly on the toolbar.
    4. If using a Surface pen, undocking the pen can automatically switch OneNote into Pen focused view. This behavior can be turned on or off under File > Options > Advanced (the Switch to focused inking when pen is undocked setting).

    This Pen focused view is the supported way to keep multiple customized pens readily available in the current OneNote design.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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