Office OneNote 2003

OneNote 2003 is a new program in the MicrosoftOffice System that enables you to capture, organize, and reuse your notes onlaptop computers, desktop computers, or Tablet PCs. It gives you one place tostore all your notes and the freedom to work with them how you want. OneNote2003 also helps you capture information in multiple ways and then organize anduse it according to your needs. OneNote 2003 combines the freedom and flexibility of paper notes with theefficiency and power of digital organizational tools, enabling you to work withyour notes and information more productively.

Personal information managers such as Outlook 2003 let you make and store notes, but OneNote 2003 is more sophisticated. Notes are organised into folders, with each folder having pages, sub-pages and tabbed sections. Each note can contain text, images and audio recordings, and you can add user-definable flags indicating such things as to-do tasks or questions for follow-up. Outlining is built-in, so you can show and hide different levels. On the Tablet PC there is full support for handwriting, with the option to convert it to text, or you can create free-form drawings on any kind of PC. Notes can be shared on a network or emailed to others. There is no OneNote viewer, but by default OneNote documents get sent both in native format and as HTML, which makes for a bulky email but should ensure readability.

The best feature of OneNote 2003 is synchronisation with audio recordings. Go to a meeting, set OneNote 2003 to record, and take notes in the normal way. When you review the notes, you can jump to the exact spot in the audio for each note. It's a great time saver. OneNote 2003 is an innovative application that works best on a Tablet but is also useful for note addicts on ordinary PCs. --Tim Anderson

There are two modest issues to be aware of. First is that the OneNote database (i.e. where all your scribblings live) can get quite big depending on how you use OneNote. You will need a fairly up-to-date PC with sufficient RAM. I feel that Microsoft's stated system requirements are at best optimistic. Second is you do want to back this up (just like everthing else) onto separate media.


OneNote - Only Note   May 8, 2005
 8 out of 9 found this review helpful

OneNote is a phenomenal piece of software. As a part-time, postgraduate, doctoral student, where time is at a premium, I have found in Microsoft OneNote a program which saves me precious hours of time which used to be spent collating, highlighting and remembering what's where in my notes. Setting up flags (which are the organisational heart of the data management) is a snap; highlighting is simple; searching is wonderful, as the program searches both typescript and handwriting selectively in a single document, a page, a section, a folder - or even the whole notebook.And all this in one program.
I have only had the software a couple of months and already I feel comfortable and at home with it. It is so intuitive to use and so well put together - and it works seamlessly with the rest of Microsoft Office. The tutorial package is excellent, the available online training is actually helpful. The program is robust too. It has never displayed even the slightest bug. Indeed, this program is so good that on the back of my experience I bought a Tablet PC which came with it already installed, so that I can now literally write my notes straight into OneNote, where they are easily organised, stay organised, and yet can easily be searched. Reports and papers are very straightforward to produce.
So impressed have I been with OneNote that I have started to use it to expand its use into my fulltime professional work taking notes at meetings and organising my to-do lists. I just wish it integrated with my Palm PDA; but that may come.
If like me you're a student or someone who takes lots of notes and needs to stay organised, when time is of the essence, then OneNote is for you. Buy it; you won't regret it.


Lecture Notes Solution!!   February 8, 2004
 32 out of 32 found this review helpful

I prefer storing notes and documents on the computer, but I had a problem when attempting to store the myriad scribblings garnered during many university lectures. I hate typing notes in lectures, as I can never seem to keep up with the lecturer, and especially when the only program I had that was suitable was MS Word. I received this program as a gift, and was slightly bemused as I had never heard of it. But, 3 lectures later, I was singing it's praises. It's fantastic, letting you have a new section for each module, and then pages within for each section/lecture/topic. I am chronically unorganised, and with this program I didn't have to worry about losing bits of paper with vitally important scribbled notes on. Another very good feature with this program is a very overlooked one - the ability to doodle and draw pretty pictures, a vitally important feature for those looooong, never-ending lectures.
Of course, there are some features that are only available on tablet PC's, which most students won't have, but I have found if you team a laptop with a cheap graphics tablet then, hey presto, handwritten notes without much expense.
This program is a must for students - organises itself, comes in pretty colours, doodle-friendly, and you'll never lose those notes from that lecture that you know are around here somewhere...


Does the business   February 7, 2004
 53 out of 53 found this review helpful

I first tried OneNote as a trial with Office 2003 Pro. Before installation I wasn't sure I had a need for it but now I wouldn't want to be without it. It really has made a difference both in terms of business productivity and personal organisation. I find its drag and drop approach simple to use meaning I return to the program time and time again. Sure there is other software out there that could achieve the same but it just wouldn't let you do it so quickly or easily. Little touches make the difference: your notebook is saved automatically at intervals and on exit ensuring you can get on with your work, OneNote will add a hyperlink when you incorporate data from the net so you don't lose your source, you can create Outlook tasks within this program and flag and view your important data (for example, to do items) in a variety of ways.

Once I started using OneNote I knew it would help on a business level; what I have found most surprising is the amount I use it personally. Not just for 'sticky' type notes (as you would in Outlook) but in terms of planning and drawing together information, ideas and pictures from a variety of sources.

It is ideal for those who prefer to work with a paper notebook 'feel' (as opposed to page upon page of linear text) but want the functionality offered by computer applications such as search, sort and voice recording. Its great for mindmapping and if you write creatively this is a good place to keep those ideas and images that can crop up at any time. I imagine it would be a good journal space too.

No 'must-have' extra kit is required: I don't use a tablet pc and would say it isn't essential to get the most out of this software. I do input drawings and writing via a graphics tablet at times but at others just use a keyboard and mouse.

OneNote has its own file format but it's no problem if people you want to share with don't have a copy of the software; pages can also be saved for view in a browser (or, if you have already got PDF creation software, you can of course distribute in this format).

If you're still undecided there's a tour and online trial at the Microsoft office site.


Onenote 2003   November 15, 2003
 13 out of 16 found this review helpful

First look: Microsoft OneNote 2003
By Alex Burton

Faced with information overload? You're not alone; it's a problem that many knowledge workers face today. Effectively managing a raging river of incoming e-mails, reports, meeting notes, discussions with coworkers and more is can be very challenging.

What's needed is a unified approach to managing all of this information and knowledge. That's the thinking behind Microsoft's new personal information management program, OneNote 2003.

OneNote functions like a digital notebook, enabling you to capture, store, manipulate and manage a surprising array of content and knowledge with great ease. Based on my experience of using a beta version of OneNote during the last two weeks, I think that Microsoft has really done its homework in designing this program. The power and flexibility it gives you to gather and arrange information is very impressive.