MS onenote and its functions

Microsoft OneNote was designed by Microsoft to let users create notes that can have texts, pictures, various shapes and tables, and freehand drawings. It is different from a  word processor in the sense that OneNote has features of a digitally expansive document which a user can access anywhere on any device with their Microsoft login credentials and create a new note window in their accounts. Microsoft OneNote doesn’t require the user to manually save the data every time as it is done automatically with every edit made to that particular note file.

In OneNote, the information is saved in pages which can be organized into sections within the notebook. You can also have multiple notebooks in your OneNote account. Microsoft designed this application  as a digital equivalent of a tabbed ring binder in which a user can make notes, edit them endlessly and also link the notes with other applications. Microsoft OneNote notebooks are mostly made to make and organize data as notes for mostly unpublished informal data one has to store, while all the word processors before were targeted towards formal documents and their publishing in one way or another. 

MS office suite

Microsoft Onenote is a comparatively newer edition to the renowned and much used MS office suite.

The MS suite of programs are a set of productivity tools designed by Microsoft to function efficiently in a workspace or academic atmosphere and sometimes for personal use. The popularity of MS office suite is such that  almost every person who uses a computer or any digital device directly or indirectly uses one of these applications/ tools included in the MS office suite 

Some of the popular tools of MS office suite includes 

• a word processing tool called Microsoft word
• a spreadsheet program used in data analysis and storage by many enterprises called Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft PowerPoint is used for creating presentations with a lot of preset themes and features
• For managing and organizing emails and also calendar management, Microsoft Outlook is used
• Microsoft Access is a database management program which is generally linked with a number of programming softwares to analyze and manage data
• And finally Microsoft OneNote which is a note taking app used by academics, professionals for managing their informal data and assignments. 

Onenote

Microsoft Onenote is a note taking tool of the MS office suite. It is used to store more comprehensive and informal data by an individual in student or a professional capacity. The files/ notebooks made with Onenote are stored with the extension .one currently which has been upgraded twice by the parent company Microsoft in the past.

Distinct features

Some of the features of using Microsoft Onenote are:

1. Organization of notes with easily accessible editing in any part of the notebook, its section or subsection
2. The option of highlight is also available to mark important information and make it stand out.
3. Aside from typing, One note allows you to write or draw using a stylus or simply your own finger to get the handwritten notes but again with easily editable access.
4. In addition to simple text and using a stylus to insert ink, Onenote allows its user to record and insert audio notes, link to online video links and also add a number of files.
5. The edits made are saved automatically and saves the hassle of remembering to save a file every time.
6. One of the best features of any digital notebook including Onenote is that it allows the user to share a notebook with anyone else while also maintaining their own notebook at the same time which is impossible to do with a physical notebook. It is a multi-user application.

Various updates in subsequent versions

There are both availability of free and paid versions of Microsoft Onenote applications with some small and big differences. MS Onenote can be accessed online as a website and also can be installed as an application or both in multiple devices by a single user.

Popularity

With the advent of online learning and different digital platforms making learning accessible to everyone in a cost efficient manner, various people now get the opportunity to gain a number of skills and knowledge online. Onenote has been one of the most popular choice of note taking applications by everyone for their own private endeavors and also for students enrolled in formal educational courses.

Onenote is also popular with working professionals to maintain the information on their day to day learning and work and also used to note down work related targets for the immediate future in order to maintain efficiency.

Comparison with other note taking applications

MS word is one of the oldest and most successful word processors that a majority of people use but it is designed for a more formal approach of making text documents which can be research papers, assignments, reports and books. Microsoft Onenote on the other hand is designed for users for taking more comprehensive and informal notes which don’t fit a standard theme. It is for everyone and can be used as a digital form of the traditional notebook. 

Some of the other popular note taking applications available in the digital space are Evernote, Notion, Notability and Bear.    

Conclusion

Microsoft onenote is one of the most popularly used digital note taking applications. It is part of the MS office suite, the productivity tool set of Microsoft used by almost everyone using any digital device. Some of the other tools of MS office suite are MS Word, MS Excel, MS Access and MS Outlook which all serve different functions but can be linked together. Microsoft Onenote can have text, free style writing and drawing, audio notes, pictures, graphs and tables. It can also have videos linked from the internet which makes it a comprehensive tool for storing unconstrained information. There are two current versions of Onenote, one of which is exclusively for Windows 10. The popularity of Onenote has increased in the last few years when people have diverted from the traditional word processing applications and resorted to note taking applications for personal professional use. Some of the other popular note taking applications are Notability, Evernote and Notion but none compare to the popularity and usage of MS Onenote.