OneNote is the One

By Ryan Teeter © 2004

If you have used Microsoft's OneNote note-taking program before, you know that it is the most robust yet simple-to-use solution for everything from scribbles to books. For those who haven't, you are missing out on one of the greatest productivity-boosting programs of this decade for business and academic studies.

As a college student, I find OneNote an invaluable tool to help me study and keep track of all my work without carrying around bulky spiral notebooks or searching endlessly for a particular note or important fact.

Favorite Updates

In 2004, Microsoft released an update for OneNote. This update improves several areas of the program and includes many commonly-requested additions, like the ability to add titles to sub-pages in sections and multiple eraser modes.

The OneNote taskbar icon not only lets you instantly pull up a side note in the program, but now gives you one-click access to make custom screen clippings of virtually anything and automatically paste it into an OneNote side note. Those who take screen clippings often will find this a very valuable feature. When you click the button, the screen fades allowing you to have precise control and lets you see exactly what you are copying as you drag your pen (or mouse) around the object.

One of the update's most visible features is the ability to use stationary on new pages. While a new page defaults to the standard college rule, the new page tab in OneNote now has an arrow that allows you to specify what type of page you want and keeps a list of your most recent templates. Microsoft includes template for lecture notes and business meetings in the update and you can download more from http://office.microsoft.com/templates.

The eraser now defaults to be a natural eraser, erasing what you want rather than whole lines. This setting can be changed however and there are four sizes or modes to choose from.

My favorite feature, however, is the ability to run shared notebook sessions. Like popular digital whiteboards that are found on the Internet, a user can share his or her OneNote with another student or colleague or group of friends, and everyone can work together as a team to expound on an idea or plan a presentation. The OneNote update makes working as a team fun and easy!

Improvements in the ability to record audio lecture notes or a movie from a digital video camera or copy Web content or add an Outlook appointment make OneNote the ultimate information repository. OneNote is the program that ties it all together and makes any learning experience the best it can be!

Conclusion

As I was moving out to an apartment, I sighed as I looked at the boxes upon boxes of three-ring binders and note cards from high school that I thought might be useful some day, but at the time simply took up a lot of closet space. In contrast, when I finish college, I will be able to store all of my notes and projects and books and side notes on one five-inch CD (okay, maybe DVD!). I only wish I had had OneNote when I was in high school…