Microsoft OneNote
Note-taking software for tablet and conventional PCs
Microsoft OneNote
OneNote 2016 running on OS X
Developer(s) Microsoft
Initial release 19 November 2003; years ago
Stable release 2016 (16.0.4300.100 September 22, 2015; months ago
Operating system Microsoft Windows , [ X , [1] Android , [2] iOS ,
Windows Phone
Type Notetaking software
License Freeware[1][2][3][4]
Website [Link]
Microsoft OneNote is a computer program for free-form information gathering and multi-user
collaboration. It gathers users' notes (handwritten or typed), drawings, screen clippings and audio
commentaries. Notes can be shared with other OneNote users over the Internet or a network. OneNote
is available as a part of Microsoft Office and Windows 10 . It is also available as a free standalone
application for
Windows , OS X , Windows RT , Windows Phone , iOS and Android . [5] A web-based version of OneNote
is provided as part of OneDrive or Office Online and enables users to edit notes via a
web browser .
Overview
In OneNote, users can enter typed text via keyboard, create tables, and insert pictures. However, unlike
a word processor, users can write anywhere on a virtually unbounded document window by just clicking
there. Also, users do not need to explicitly save their work – OneNote saves data automatically as the
user works.
OneNote saves information in pages organized into sections within
notebooks . The interface provides an electronic version of a tabbed ring-binder, into which the user can
directly make notes and gather material from other applications . OneNote notebooks collect, organize,
and share possibly unpolished materials – as compared to
word processors and wikis, which usually target publishing in some way. The difference shows in certain
OneNote features and characteristics:
Pages can be arbitrarily large
Bitmap images can be inserted without loss of quality
There is no enforced uniform page layout or structure
Users can move pages within the binder and annotate them with a stylus or word-processing or drawing
tools. Users may add embedded multimedia recordings and web links .
While OneNote commonly runs on
laptops or desktop PCs, additional features support pen-enabled tablet computers, in environments
where pen,
audio , or video notes are more appropriate than an intensive use of
keyboard .
OneNote integrates search features and indexing into a free-form graphics and audio repository. It can
search images (e.g., screen captures, embedded document scans, photographs) for embedded text-
content. It also searches "electronic ink" annotations as text, and phonetically searches audio recordings
on a text key. It can replay audio concurrently with notes taken during the recording.
Its multi-user capability allows offline paragraph-level editing with later
synchronization and merging. This facilitates collaboration among
workgroups members who are not always online. More than one person can work on the same page at
the same time—using OneNote as a shared
whiteboard environment.
On March 17, 2014, Microsoft released the OneNote cloud service API that enables third-party
application developers to integrate the service into their apps. The API runs on Microsoft’s globally
available cloud, and sends data from applications into the user's OneDrive. While the service stores the
data in the OneNote notebook, it can also do things like running Optical Character Recognition on
images and rendering webpages as snapshot-images. [5][6]
Microsoft also announced a number of new features in OneNote that use the service API:
OneNote Clipper: It is a browser
bookmarklet that uses the OneNote service API and enables users to save a screenshot of a webpage to
OneNote along with the link. The text in the screenshot is made searchable using Optical Character
Recognition. [7]
Email to OneNote : It enables users to send emails to the address
me@[Link] from pre-specified email IDs to have the contents of the email saved to OneNote. [8]
File format
A OneNote Notebook is stored as a folder of "section" files that have the
.one extension. [9] Microsoft upgraded the file format twice after it introduced OneNote 2003—first in
OneNote 2007, then again in OneNote 2010. [10] OneNote 2003 files can be opened by both OneNote
2007 and OneNote 2010 in read-only mode, and subsequently upgraded to the later versions of the file
format. [11][12] OneNote 2010 can read and write OneNote 2007 file formats. It can also convert back
and forth between the 2010 and the 2007 formats. [12]
Microsoft has documented the OneNote file format. It is an open file format file that allows for the
storage of attachments such as pictures, video, etc. inside a single binary file. [9][13][14]
OneNote file format is also supported by Outline - note-taking app for iPad and Mac. Outline can open,
edit and save notebooks in OneNote file format.
Platform support
OneNote Mobile 2013 on Windows Phone 8
OneNote supports simultaneous editing of shared OneNote documents by multiple users when the
document is stored in a shared folder, OneDrive or
Dropbox . [15] OneNote supported
Windows Live Mesh for cloud-based storage and synchronization of OneNote files. OneNote clients,
including OneNote web app of Office Online , could view and edit them.
OneNote is also available for mobile phones. A mobile OneNote version is included in the Office Hub on
Windows Phone . This version supports notebooks stored locally on the phone, or synchronized with a
remote copy on OneDrive or SharePoint . Notes created by OneNote for Windows Phone 7 cannot be
opened with OneNote 2007. OneNote Mobile is also built into
Windows Mobile Professional 6.1 . OneNote Mobile for older Windows Mobile smartphones and pocket
PCs is included with OneNote 2007. OneNote is available on Symbian as part of Microsoft Apps.[16]
Microsoft has released a stand-alone OneNote app for iOS [17] and Android , which are each free for up
to 500 notes. Beyond 500 notes, a paid upgrade is available. On July 1, 2013, Microsoft released version
2 of its app for iPad, containing significantly updated features, to correspond more closely to those
available on the Windows platform. On August 19, 2014, Microsoft released Android for tablets that
includes handwriting support and touch-friendly navigation.
A Windows Store version of OneNote (formally known as OneNote MX) is available for Windows 8 and
RT , using
OneDrive as a storage place. It is optimized for use on tablets by implementing a unique radial context
menu and invoking operating system's tablet-specific functionality. [18]
On March 17, 2014, Microsoft released OneNote for Mac. It is compatible with Mac OS X 10.9 and above
and can be downloaded for free from the Mac App Store .[19] Microsoft also made OneNote 2013 for
Windows desktop available for free. OneNote for Windows and Mac are both based on a
freemium model. Premium features such as SharePoint support, version history and Outlook integration
were previously available only to Office 365 and Office 2013 customers, [5][20] but on February 13,
2015, Microsoft removed all feature restrictions from the programs, essentially making the program
completely free to use. [21]
Microsoft OneNote has become an integral part of Windows 10 and its mobile phone counterpart , with
features that bring the app more in line with its iPhone/iPad and Android counterparts.
Reviews
Christopher Dawson reviewed OneNote 2010, titling his favorable review "OneNote is Office 2010's killer
app in education". [22] He speculated that the app would be particularly useful as a tool for student
notetaking.
Version history
Microsoft OneNote 2010 with an open side note
All release dates pertain general availability . Release to manufacturing is usually two or three months in
advance.
Product release or event Release date[23]
First Public Announcement November 17, 2002
OneNote 2003 [24] November 19, 2003
OneNote 2007 [25] January 27, 2007
OneNote 2010 [26] July 15, 2010
OneNote 2013 [27] January 29, 2013
OneNote 2016 September 22, 2015
[28]