OneNote Part Two

Today I’m going to talk about the following things:

• Custom Tags
• Microsoft Mathematics Addin
• Notebook sharing using Windows Live Account
• MobileNoter for iPhone and iPad

Custom Tags

One of the most important reasons for me to move to a Tablet PC was so that I can quickly, easily and more efficiently manage my study notes. OneNote’s Tag feature allows you to tag various types of information from “Things to Read” to “Questions” and “To Do”. Best of all OneNote allows you to customize and create your own tags, including their names, highlighter colour, font style and an icon. As well as this, you can assign “Ctrl + Number” shortcuts to quickly tag information.

The tags you choose to use entirely depend on what you intend to use OneNote for, and if you’re a student, your field of study will influence what tags you require. Below is a screenshot of mine.

Further still, OneNote provides a fantastic feature called “Find Tags” which searches your notebooks for a specific type of tag and lists the information that has been tagged using it. You can then create a summary page of these tags for a quick overview of them. This will be especially useful for me as I will be able to tag formulae and definitions and then generate a summary page of these with one click. In the past I’ve spent days during revision going through my written notes, rewriting these on my own summary sheets so this will save me lots of time in the futures.

Microsoft Mathematics Add-In

Over the weekend I stumbled across a fantastic new OneNote Add-in. The Microsoft Mathematics Add-in is the perfect tool for students in Mathematic, Science or Engineering fields. It allows you to perform calculations, draw graphs and solve equations. With this easy to use but feature rich tool, you’ll no longer have to sketch graphs or spend time checking your calculations and I’m sure I’ll be using this tool a lot over the rest of my time at University.

Click here for more information and to download the add-in

Notebook Sharing Using Windows Live Account

Although I already plan to use Dropbox to synchronize my notebooks and other files between my computers and other devices, I will also be using my Windows Live Account to share my notebooks. This feature is easy to setup once you have a Windows Live Account by using the Backstage View in OneNote 2010 (Clicking “File”). After typing in your Live Account information, OneNote will sync your notebooks to your account, allowing you to quickly access them using the new Office 2010 Web version of OneNote as well as providing an easy way to share your notebooks with other Live Account users.

Using this feature will also provide peace of mind in case one of your other backup and sync methods such as Dropbox fails.

MobileNoter for iPhone and iPad

If you’re lucky enough to own an iPhone or iPad you’ll probably be interested in this app. MobileNoter allows you to synchronize your OneNote notebooks to these devices for viewing and editing. This is perfect for those who won’t always have their Tablet PC with them but want to have access to their notebooks.

MobileNoter comes in two versions, either a Cloud edition ($1.25/month) that synchronizes over your mobile network or a WiFi edition($15 one off fee) that uses your WiFi network. I’ve chosen the WiFi edition as I don’t plan on using OneNote on my iPhone and iPad on the go too often, and therefore syncing my notebooks once I’ve finished updating them on my Tablet PC will suffice.

MobileNoter is easy to install and use and is currently the best option available for OneNote users requiring access on their Apple devices. Click here for more information.

Next time I plan on talking about specific features of OneNote including links, custom stationery and templates, Outlook integration and linked notes, so stay tuned.