An Excellent App for Notes
December 17, 2018
An Excellent App for Notes
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with OneNote
OneNote is used to capture notes throughout the whole organization. Many employees open multiple notebooks in OneNote so that they can share information between departments and so that they can segregate information appropriately. We use OneNote as a tool for capturing meeting notes, project information, account information, and just about anything a user wants to keep track of. With OneNote syncing across all of a user's devices, it opens up the ability for employees to look up information wherever they are and whenever they need it.
Now that we have deployed Office 365, the use of OneNote has increased as has the overall productivity of our employees. Not only are notes now on the cloud and no longer on individual computers, but it is much easier to share notes, restore them, and keep them up to date. I always have multiple notebooks open so that I can separate any personal notes from my business notes. I often find myself looking up information on my phone that I entered on my computer. This is extremely helpful in meetings and when I'm out of the office or on my own personal time.
Now that we have deployed Office 365, the use of OneNote has increased as has the overall productivity of our employees. Not only are notes now on the cloud and no longer on individual computers, but it is much easier to share notes, restore them, and keep them up to date. I always have multiple notebooks open so that I can separate any personal notes from my business notes. I often find myself looking up information on my phone that I entered on my computer. This is extremely helpful in meetings and when I'm out of the office or on my own personal time.
- OneNote synchronizes across platforms very quickly. I often find that notes entered, or updated, on my desktop are synchronized to my laptop and smartphone well before I ever open them up to access the information.
- OneNote has apps for just every major platform available. This includes Windows, iOS, and Android. The web app has plenty of features so you won't feel let down if you have to access your notebooks through a browser.
- The multimedia features of OneNote are wonderful. I can draw pictures, add sound bites, add videos, add files, and much more. This helps me capture the full context of a note, including any references that I might need, all within the note itself. I don't have to go outside of OneNote to find a video clip, logo, or soundbite.
- It is not always clear where your OneNote files are kept. I prefer to keep all my OneNote files in the cloud, but the actual location of those files in OneDrive can sometimes be a mystery. If I install OneNote on my home computer, I have to open up my work OneNote in the browser and then sync it to my PC. I'm not able to find and open the file in OneDrive through File Explorer.
- The ability to find notebooks that are shared with you is getting better, but it can sometimes be difficult to locate the right one. I often see duplicate notebooks and end up opening up the wrong one. Would be great if Microsoft only showed you links to notebooks that were actually available to you.
- Microsoft is shifting away from OneNote 2016 and moving people on to OneNote that comes native with Windows 10. The interface is different enough that I don't like it. I am staying with OneNote 2016 because of the ease of seeing multiple notebooks open at the same time and being able to get to the exact information I need quickly. If you don't like the native OneNote built into Windows 10, you won't like the future of OneNote.
- I have used OneNote to access critical information on my smartphone when I was nowhere near a computer. That has saved my butt several times.
- User's appreciate having a place to capture notes for themselves and the projects they are working on. It has increased productivity for the folks who take advantage of the application.
- Because some users are not organized, they end up creating multiple notebooks and storing information in many places. You need to provide adequate training to your users so they don't get out of control with their use of the tool
I tried using Evernote and it is an equally usable tool, however, I prefer the interface and capabilities of OneNote. OneNote seems much easier to use and understand. I think that may primarily be because OneNote is a Microsoft application and I am very used to using Microsoft applications such as Word, Excel, etc.
I also use OneNote to keep my grocery list. It does as good of a job as the grocery list applications out there, only I like the flexibility I have with OneNote and how I specifically do my shopping.
I also use OneNote to keep my grocery list. It does as good of a job as the grocery list applications out there, only I like the flexibility I have with OneNote and how I specifically do my shopping.