Transcription
I'll show you everything you need to know to get started with OneNote and even some advanced tips so you'll be one step ahead of your colleagues or clients.
To start, let's get familiar with OneNote's interface, which is your gateway to organized, efficient note-taking. Let's walk through its layout to familiarize you with where everything is and how to navigate it.
OneNote's layout is designed with simplicity and functionality in mind. On the very left, you have your navigation pane, which is your main help for accessing different notebooks. Each notebook can be seen as a dedicated folder for a specific project or subject. Within a selected notebook, you'll see section tabs at the top or side, depending on your version. These tabs work like dividers in a binder, helping you categorize your notes into manageable chunks. A notebook for a project might have sections for steering committees, internal alignments, and team shore fixes. Under each section, there are pages. Think of pages as individual notes or documents. Here, you can jot down your thoughts, meeting notes, to-do lists, and more. You can easily add new pages and even sub-pages for detailed organization. And finally, the ribbon at the top houses all the tools and features you need to enhance your notes. From typing and handwriting tools to inserting images, files, and links, everything you need to make your notes more useful and dynamic is here.
Now, let's create your first notebook. This is where your OneNote journey begins. Open OneNote and look for the "Add Notebook" button that you access by going to File and New. You can select the location of the notebook, define its name, and create it. Let's name it "Project Management" for this example. This could be your central hub for anything related to managing your projects.
Right after creating your notebook, add sections to categorize your information. For project management, you might consider sections like "Meeting Notes," "Resources," and "Milestones." To add a section, click the plus tab next to existing section tabs or right-click in the section area and select "New Section." Name your section as per your requirement.
In each section, you can add pages to start taking notes. For instance, in the "Meeting Notes" section, click on "Add Page" on the right side, and a new page will appear, ready for you to start typing. Name it, for example, "Kickoff Meeting." By organizing your notebooks with sections and pages, you can keep your notes well-structured and easy to navigate. This foundational setup will make it simpler for you to find, reference, and expand on your notes as your projects or studies progress and get bigger and bigger.
But OneNote is not just a digital notebook; it's a powerful tool that can transform the way you capture and organize information. Let's explore some advanced note-taking skills that will elevate your OneNote experience.
OneNote caters to both traditional typing and freehand note-taking. Here's how you can make the most out of these two features. To type notes, simply click anywhere on the page and start typing. OneNote's flexible canvas means you're not restricted to linear note-taking; you can create boxes anywhere on the page, allowing for a free-form and dynamic layout.
If you prefer handwriting, especially on tablets or devices with stylus support, select the "Draw" tab in the ribbon, choose your preferred pen style and color, and start writing directly on the page. OneNote's ink technology makes it feel like writing on paper, perfect for brainstorming sessions or when you prefer a more personal touch to your notes.
To organize and find your notes effortlessly, you can use tags and categories. Adding tags to important items is super simple and can be done while typing your notes. For example, you can use a "To-Do" tag for action items or an "Important" tag for key points. To add a tag, select the text you want to tag, then choose a tag from the "Home" tab in the ribbon. To find all your tagged notes, use the "Tag Summary" pane that opens on the right when you click the "Find Tags" button. This lets you quickly locate all items tagged as "Important," "Question," or any custom tag that you've created across all your notebooks.
OneNote also allows you to embed almost anything in your notes, making it a comprehensive repository of information. To embed files, just drag and drop them directly onto a page or use the "Insert" tab to attach documents, PDFs, or other files. This is especially useful for keeping project documents or research papers at your fingertips. To add a link, simply copy and paste the URL into your notes or use the "Insert Link" option in the "Insert" tab. You can link to websites, videos, or even other pages within your notebooks.
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And now that you have created your first notebook and written some notes, it's time to collaborate, because OneNote isn't just a powerful tool for individual note-taking; it's also designed for working across teams. OneNote notebooks can be shared with anyone, making it a perfect platform for collaborative work.
So, here's how to share a notebook. First, you need to choose and open the notebook you want to share. Then, look for the "Share" button in the top right corner. The location might vary slightly depending on your OneNote version. You can invite people by entering their email addresses, or you can get a sharable link that anyone can use to access the notebook. When inviting by email, you can set permissions, allowing others to either view or edit the notebook. Once you've set the permissions, click "Share" or "Send" to invite your collaborators. Alternatively, you can just share a copy of the page you're currently on, which, however, does not allow for collaboration but just sharing a one-time copy.
Not only does OneNote allow you to share and send your notes or notebooks, but it also has a real-time collaboration feature that allows multiple users to work simultaneously on the same page. OneNote has real-time syncing ability, meaning that any changes made to a notebook by any user are automatically updated across all devices that have access to that notebook. And this feature is crucial for collaboration, as it allows all team members to have the latest information at all times. And even better, OneNote highlights changes made by others since your last visit, making it easier to track what's new or what has been modified in a shared notebook.
Here's how this works in practice. When you or someone else makes a change to a shared notebook, OneNote automatically syncs these changes across all devices connected through that notebook. This happens seamlessly in the background, requiring no manual intervention to update the notes. And by default, OneNote is set to sync automatically. However, if you need to manage your sync settings, you can do so by going to the "File" menu, selecting "Info," and then "View Sync Status." Here, you can manage synchronization settings for each notebook, including manual sync options if automatic sync is not preferred or if you feel that you might have a sync issue and changes are not updated.
So, when you open a shared notebook, OneNote may highlight recent changes or display a notification indicating that updates have been made. This feature helps users quickly identify new content or modifications as of the last update. OneNote's desktop versions automatically show changes and do not allow disabling this feature directly. However, the visibility of these changes can be managed through the collaboration settings in shared environments or by reviewing shared notebook history. To mark all changes as read, you can generally navigate through the pages where changes have been made, and OneNote will automatically consider these changes as reviewed. Some versions of the notebook allow for more direct control over marking changes as read, but the exact method can depend on your version. However, usually, this feature can be found under "Review" tab.
Now, if you're using OneNote as your standard note-taking app, I assume that with a 99% probability, you will also be using other Microsoft apps or maybe even the whole Microsoft 365 suite. That's great because OneNote's true power shines not just in its standalone features but also in how seamlessly it integrates with those other apps. So, let's dive into some of the most useful integrations, particularly with Outlook and Microsoft Teams, which can significantly boost your productivity and collaboration.
OneNote integration with Outlook is a game-changer for managing meetings, emails, and tasks. Here's how you can leverage this integration. First, you can easily pull meeting details from Outlook into OneNote to prepare better meeting notes and without forgetting about a participant or the date of the meeting. To do that, go to the "Home" tab and select "Meeting Details." You'll see a list of your Outlook meetings, then choose the meeting you're preparing for, and OneNote will import the meeting details, including participants and agenda, into a new note.
Another great feature is to email notes directly from OneNote through Outlook. Select the notes you want to share, then click on "Email Page" in the "Home" tab. This opens a new email in Outlook with your note content ready to be sent.
And finally, you can create Outlook tasks in OneNote that sync with the task overview in Outlook. Simply highlight any line of text in your notes, right-click, and choose "Outlook Tasks." Select a due date, and it will appear in Outlook Tasks with a link back to your OneNote page.
And next to Outlook, OneNote integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Teams and turns it into a collaborative workspace for team projects. In particular, there are three ways I want to highlight how you can use both programs together. First, you can add OneNote to any Teams channel by clicking on the plus tab to add a new tab and select OneNote. You can choose to share an existing notebook or create a new one for the team. Once you've added OneNote to Teams, you can collaboratively work on your notes. Team members can access and edit the OneNote notebook directly within Teams, allowing for real-time collaboration during meetings, brainstorming sessions, or project planning.
And third, when scheduling a Teams meeting, you can choose to include a OneNote page for meeting notes. Attendees can then contribute to the note before, during, and after the meeting. You can do that within a new Teams meeting invite where you can select to "Add a channel to this meeting" just below the invitees if it's an internal meeting. If it's a meeting for a specific Teams channel, you can select this channel, which makes the meeting visible to all participants. Once the meeting is selected, go to the meeting invitation in the Teams calendar and open it. Look for the "Add a tab" button at the top of the meeting invitation window, and you might need to click into the meeting details to see this option. In the "Add a tab" window, find and select "OneNote." You will be prompted to choose a notebook and section. Here, you can either select an existing notebook and section where your meeting notes will reside, or you can create a new notebook or section specifically for this meeting and project. After selecting or creating your notebook and section, choose a specific page for this meeting or click "New page" to start fresh. Once selected, click "Save." The OneNote page will now be linked to your Teams meeting as a tab, making it accessible to all meeting participants.
Once you're comfortable with the basics of OneNote, it's time to look at some advanced tips and tricks. These strategies will help you streamline your workflow, find information faster, and customize OneNote to fit your personal or professional needs.
First, let's look at OneNote's search functionality that goes beyond simple keyword searches and allows you to find exactly what you need when you need it. You can use the search bar to conduct a global search across all your notebooks or narrow it down to specific notebooks, sections, or pages. Simply type your keywords or phrase and select where you want to search from the drop-down menu next to the search box.
If you're not looking for some specific keywords but, for example, for all your to-do items or important notes, you use the search function to find specific tags across your notebooks. Type the name of the tag in the search bar, and OneNote will display all notes with that tag. Sometimes, however, you might not remember a keyword or if you have added a to-do or any other tag into your notes. The only thing you remember is when you made a note. In that case, you can search by the date the note was created or last modified. This can be particularly useful for reviewing notes taken during meetings or specific projects.
Another great feature that OneNote offers is custom templates that save you time and help maintain consistency across your notes. To do so, start by creating a note that you want to use as a template. This could be a meeting note layout, project plan, or weekly planner. Once you're satisfied with the design, go to the "Insert" tab, choose "Page Templates," and then "Save current page as a template." Give your template a name, and you have your custom template ready to use. To use a template, go to the "Insert" tab, select "Page Templates," and choose your custom template from the list. This will create a new page based on your template for you to fill in.
And finally, let me show you some important keyboard shortcuts that will help you navigate through OneNote quicker and more efficiently. To create a new page, just click Ctrl+N. Within a text box, to start a new line below, you can click Ctrl+Enter. Having talked a lot about to-do tags, you can not only create them by using the buttons on top but also the shortcut Ctrl+1. To search your notes real quick, click Ctrl+E. And open a new OneNote window with Ctrl+M. If you have a lot of notes and sections, you might need to switch between them. To quickly switch between sections, click Ctrl and G.
So, in the last part of this video, I've talked about some advanced tips and features in OneNote. If you want to know even more and become a real power user, watch this video now where I share 14 must-know OneNote tips and tricks that will further boost your efficiency.