I’ve been an Office user for a long time, but didn’t start playing around with OneNote until Office 2007 was released. If you’re like me, you love to research just about everything that pops into your head: new technology, recipes, how-to’s, etc. OneNote is a neat little program that lets you organize all those neat links/articles/pictures/movies/etc that you find on the web into one searchable spot. It’s well-suited for a Tablet-PC, but make no mistake it is just as powerful on a desktop/laptop!
OneNote uses the concept of “Notebooks” (similar to the the concept of a multi-subject paper notebook like we all used in school) to organize just about anything. Each Notebook has different tabs (across the top) to break down your notebook into main subjects, and then each tab allows a number of “Pages” to be added (shown on the right). Each page contains the content you wish to save in the Notebook.
What is that content? Anything! You can literally embed documents, web content, lists, videos, pictures, and free-form drawings (just to name a few) into your Notebook. You can tag the content, share it with others, and even export it as an interactive website. Also, content in your OneNote notebooks is searchable, so you can easily find what you’re looking for.
Here are a few things I’ve done with OneNote:
- Project Tracking – One Tab for every room in my house, and one sheet to contain everything for each project in that room (materials list, how-to’s, photos, etc).
- Recipes – One Tab for each Category (Appetizers, Drinks, Dinners, Desserts) and one sheet for each recipe.
- Research – One Tab per Item (Computer, Grill, Car, Etc) and one sheet for each model of that item.
If you’re interested in finding new ways to keep yourself organized, OneNote is definitely worth a look. If you’re hesitant, or want to wait for a new version, it appears Microsoft will be including OneNote in every version of Office 2010!
Some great sites to visit for more information:
- Get a copy at the Microsoft Office OneNote Home Page
- Lots of Tips & Hints at I Heart OneNote
- Chris Pratley published a nice list of hints/tips for using OneNote on his blog.
If you would like help setting up OneNote or exploring its features, feel free to Contact Me!
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