Microsoft OneNote

What Is Microsoft OneNote?

The Microsoft OneNote is a versatile digital notebook app that helps us maintain all our notes, tasks, research work, and different types of information in one place. While it helps prepare MoMs and lists, one can embed Excel, audio, and video files and use them for real-time collaboration with other online users.

OneNote is helpful as it lets users easily organize, print, share, search, and quickly locate critical data. The best part is that since OneNote is an online tool, users can easily access it, even on mobile devices.

If you have Microsoft Office Suit installed on your system, OneNote will be a part of the package. However, OneNote for Mac and online versions are also available. Also, you can download it to use it on your system.

What Is The Function Of Microsoft OneNote? 

The functions of Microsoft OneNote are as follows:

• You can prepare quick, handy notes, design plans, and record audio clips.
• You can group your notes into different sections and rearrange them anywhere on the pages.
• OneNote makes sharing notebooks with other users for collaboration straightforwardly.
• You can search for specific notes and embedded items by typing the concerned phrase in the Search bar.
• You do not need to manually save and sync the notes you updated in the note-making app. Instead, it does it automatically. Thus, you may access your notes from any device.
• Multiple users can work on a page at the same time.
• The digital notebook can look for annotations as text. Also, it can extract text from images and documents.
• The OneNote application can replay audio and notes taken while recording.
• Microsoft OneNote can display webpages as snapshot pictures.

Microsoft OneNote Features

The Microsoft OneNote features are the following:

• Notebooks: You can prepare digital notebooks to maintain your projects, research, and plans in an organized manner.
• Sections & Pages: You can arrange data hierarchically in various sections and pages for easy navigation.
• Tags & Labels: You may use the Tag option to categorize and track specific content hassle-free.
• Web Clipper: You can clip web pages and illustrations
• into your notebooks.
• Shareable Links: You can create links for each section and share them with other users to provide them access to the specific data quickly.
• Ink & Drawings: OneNote’s stylus option helps prepare handwritten notes and sketches on the pages, similar to putting your thoughts onto paper with a pen. While you can interpret diagrams, it helps to write down ideas quickly.
• Audio Recording: Microsoft OneNote has an audio recording option to record audio and textual content, such as office meetings. You can replay the audio recording and sync it with your minutes of meeting notes.
• Mathematical Equations: OneNote features LaTeX-based typing mathematical equation options, which you can utilize the mathematical options, symbols, and equations to convert, solve, and graph mathematical expressions.
• Templates: Try the pre-designed and customizable page templates in OneNote. They ensure uniformity across all the pages.
• Real-Time Collab: Microsoft OneNote lets you and your teammates work on a project together. All stakeholders can simultaneously edit the digital notebook, which saves considerable time.
• Integration with MS Teams and Office 365: The digital notebook integrates with Microsoft Teams and other Office 365 applications. You can link the notebooks directly into Teams, which ensures you have your notes when you and your team collaborate.
• Cloud Synchronization: The notes you enter into your OneNote app get automatically saved to your OneDrive account. When you switch to your other mobile device and access OneNote, your notes are saved and synced.
• Offline Mode: Assume you do not have internet access. However, you must make quick notes and write down ideating thoughts. Then, using OneNote is an excellent option, as it syncs up and updates your offline work once you are online.

Please note that the functions and features are similar to those of Microsoft OneNote online and Mac.

Microsoft OneNote Shortcuts

This section will show some of the most frequently used keyboard shortcuts in OneNote for Windows. However, if you have OneNote for Mac, or as an Office Universal App, or you are using the web version, the shortcuts will vary accordingly.

How To Use Microsoft OneNote?

The steps to use Microsoft OneNote are as follows:

Step 1: If you have Microsoft Office Suit installed on your system, enter OneNote in the Windows search box.

Next, click the appropriate OneNote app option to open the application.

We will see five tabs in the ribbon: Home, Insert, Draw, View, and Help.

Home Tab

The Home tab contains options to undo and redo the changes, the Clipboard option to cut, copy, and paste data, and options to format content facets such as fonts, bold, and italics.

Furthermore, you can bullet, number, align, and tag content. Next, you may apply the appropriate heading setting to your data to make it more presentable.

Insert Tab

The Insert tab has the options for undoing and redoing changes. Next, you can insert tables, files, pictures, videos, hyperlinks, record audio, symbols, equations, stickers, and mathematical expressions, and prepare meeting details.

You can also insert printouts from PDF. However, you must use the Microsoft OneNote online version for specific file types.

Draw Tab

The undo and redo options are available in this tab as well.

Next, while you can enter text or select an object to update and insert or remove extra spaces, you can make Lasso selections to choose the required content on the active page.

Furthermore, you can use the different pen types to enter content on the active page and update content according to your requirements. Also, you may insert shapes and ink into shapes and texts and update mathematical expressions on the current page.

View Tab

This tab includes options to open OneNote in a new window and read the current page content with audio. Next, you can zoom in and out the content to suit your needs. Also, you can set the required page settings, such as width, color, and ruler lines.

Furthermore, you can translate your active page content if any information is in another language. You can also check the accessibility of the content in terms of its aesthetics. Next, you may replay specific information and hide authors to suit your needs.

Help Tab

You may use the options in this tab to seek the required help and find out what is new in OneNote to utilize the tool more effectively.

Moreover, the arrows on the window’s top-left corner enable one to jump between pages. Next, a few icons are on the ribbon’s top-right corner. You can verify the active page sync status and feeds, instruct OneNote to perform specific actions, check notifications, and share the notebook with other users via email.

Next, the three dots show the printing and setting options. You can check the privacy, accounts, and trust center settings here.

Let us examine the different ways of using OneNote effectively.

Step 1: Click the Navigation option on the left of the page to view the navigation pane.

We can view the active notebook with the list of sections and pages.

Each notebook contains sections, and each section includes pages.

Step 2: We can click the down arrow against the active notebook name and click the More Notebooks option to explore more notebooks.

Next, the Choose notebooks to open window opens, where we can click the required notebook from the list. Otherwise, click the Add account option to add a new account.

The Microsoft Sign-in window opens to proceed with the new account creation step and create a new notebook. You must provide your email, phone, or Skype ID here and click Next. After that, enter the password and click done to complete the action.

Step 3: Click the Add section option at the bottom of the screen to create a new section.

Next, we shall see the newly created section tab below the existing section, which we can rename as depicted below. Also, we can right-click the tab to view the various options to manage the specific section, such as renaming, deleting, changing its color, moving or copying, and pinning it.

The newly created section will, by default, show an untitled page.

Step 4: Click the Add page option at the bottom of the window to create a new page in the current section.

We shall see the newly created page tab below the default page in the active section.

Step 5: Right-click the page we aim to rename, and click the Rename Page option from the popup menu.

Next, rename the page to fit our requirements.

Furthermore, the popup menu has a few more options to manage the pages, such as renaming, deleting, moving, copying, copying the link to the page, and pinning it.

Alternatively, we can enter the required page name at the top in the work area of the specific page.

Step 6: We can enter the content on a page and format the content using the tools as depicted below.

Here, we type the MoM of a meeting.

Next, we press Enter to move to the following line and choose the bullet option from the Home tab.

We update the bullet points.

Next, we use the Bold option in the Home tab to make specific text bold.

After that, we can select the first bullet point and highlight it using the Highlight option in the Home tab.

Next, click the Insert tab to access the Table option.

We see a set of boxes from which we can choose the required number of boxes to create a table in the current page.

Now, we can update the table according to the requirements.

Next, we will enter a hyperlink in the sheet, for which we shall use the Link option in the Insert tab.

The Text to display window opens, where we update the link details.

Click Insert to view the link on the active page.

Please note: These steps apply to Microsoft OneNote online and Mac.

Reasons To Use Microsoft OneNote

The reasons to use OneNote, whether it is the OneNote for Mac or online, are as follows:

• It is an excellent application for project management. You can maintain aspects such as project scope, tasks, and milestone statuses in one place in an organized way.
• The tool is perfect for recording audio at meetings and preparing minutes of meetings quickly.
• The interface is simple and in line with other MS Office tools. So, it is easy for users to start using the tool to suit their requirements.
• You can password-protect specific parts of the notes you wish to avoid sharing with your colleagues due to security issues.

Conclusion

Microsoft OneNote is the most appropriate tool for maintaining your notes in an organized manner so that you can work on your tasks hassle-free.

Its user-friendly interface and functionalities help one with requirements like noting quick thoughts and managing a project smartly.

FAQs

What is the difference between Microsoft Word and OneNote?

The difference between Microsoft Word and OneNote is that the former finds application when preparing formatted documents, and the latter is primarily helpful for note-taking.

Is Microsoft OneNote free or paid?

Microsoft OneNote has both free and paid versions. While the free version has all the regular features, the paid option includes additional features like Ink Replay and AI Math Assistant.

What are the best ways of using OneNote?

The best ways of using OneNote are as follows:

• Organize your content periodically using OneNote’s features to ensure the information remains helpful.
• Utilize OneNote with the Outlook Calendar Reminders to enhance its purpose.
• Archive the completed task data instead of deleting it to ensure you do not lose the information.