How Microsoft Onenote Can Help your SMB

OneNote is a tool that comes with Microsoft Office, though you can also get standalone versions as well. It’s available for Mac and Android as well. Windows 10 comes with a limited version of OneNote. If you want access to all of its diverse features, however, you’re better off using the full version that comes with Office.

In the digital age, it’s common for people to save information in databases or spreadsheets. Many items, however, are more easily managed in notepads. OneNote is useful for a wide variety of purposes, from keeping track of homework assignments and shopping lists to compiling research for a book. Microsoft announced an upgrade of OneNote in May 2017 that introduced several new features and upgrades. The following are some of the ways this powerful software can help make you more productive and efficient.

Notebooks, Pages, and Sections

OneNote is primarily a tool for taking notes. The key to using it effectively, though, is to properly organize your notes so you can easily access them. Otherwise, it’s easy to end up with endless pages of unrelated ideas, appointments, expenses, and random doodlings. Fortunately, OneNote is set up to make it easy to categorize and keep track of everything.

You start with a Notebook, which you can then divided into pages and sections. When you create new sections, they appear as tabs at the top of the page. It’s up to you how you want to organize your notebooks. If all of your material is on one main topic, you might stick to a single Notebook and divide it into sections. On the other hand, if you take notes on many diverse topics, it’s usually easier to create additional Notebooks for clarity.

Useful Features to Increase Productivity

Here are some of the features that help you get more out of OneNote:

• Tags – Tagging words and phrases helps you keep track of everything. This way, if you forget where you put something you can simply search for it by tag.
• Share Notebooks With Sharepoint Team Sites – Sharepoint is a useful Microsoft platform for teams. When you create a team site, everyone can collaborate using OneNote notebooks.
• Clippings – You can OneNote Web Clipper, a browser extension that lets you clip a screenshot, part of a page, or article to a Notebook. This is very useful for doing research and saving items you come across anywhere online.
• Importing and Exporting – Today, it’s typical to access information from many platforms and devices. OneNote lets you import items from apps such as IFTTT, Office Lens Paper, and Genius Scan. You can also export content to Word documents, Excel documents, or PDF files.
• Save Audio and Video Content – There’s no need to limit yourself to text when taking notes. Information online is increasingly in other formats, such as podcasts, videos, and images. Under options, enable Audio and Video.
• Office Lens – This app lets you scan documents, posters, business cards, receipts, and handwritten notes and save them to OneNote.
• Ink to Text – Another cool feature is the ability to convert your handwritten notes into text. If you use a stylus on a tablet, for example, you can jot down your thoughts and save them into a Notebook. If you prefer scribbling on a piece of paper, you can always scan it (easy if you have Office Lens) and place it in a Notebook.
• OneDrive Integration – You can sync OneNote to Microsoft OneDrive and have a safe place to store items in the cloud. OneDrive provides lots of free storage but you can always buy more if you need it.

The Onetastic Add-on

The Onetastic add-on helps you get even more out of OneNote. Onetastic is only available for the desktop program and not the Windows 10 app. The basic version is free but there’s also a paid upgrade. Here are some of the best free and paid features of this tool.

• Crop and rotate images and select text.
• Download up to 20 Macros and use them up to 500 times. Macros are useful apps that you can download at Macroland. They allow you to perform all kinds of functions such as search & highlight, word count, increase font size, autofill, and lots of others.
• Pin favorites to your desktop.
• Custom styles.
• One Calendar – This is a useful tool that lets you view OneNote in calendar mode.

The pro version, which currently sells for $15, lets you download unlimited macros (that are available at the time of purchase) and a year of updates. You also have unlimited execution of macros. With the pro version, you can activate the license on two PCs rather than only one.

Train Yourself to Get the Most Out of OneNote 

OneNote is a lot more than a mere notepad. It’s a diverse and constantly-evolving application that lets you save items from almost anywhere. It helps you save time, get more efficient, and ensures you don’t lose track of new ideas and information. How much you gain from it really depends on your efforts and how many of its features you use.

At first, you may need to remind yourself to take advantage of its many capabilities. For example, if you use the Office Lens app, you’ll probably start noticing all kinds of items to scan for later use. With the browser extension, keep in mind that you can save practically anything you see on the web to OneNote. Businesses thrive on new ideas, organization, and efficiency. OneNote is a tool that helps you improve in all of these areas.

Contact us today to learn about our services and solutions, and how we can help you make your business be more productive.