Pro Office for iPad: How to Be Productive with Office for iPad (2014)

Chapter 12. Taking Notes in OneNote

OneNote is a powerful app for recording, storing, and manipulating information. OneNote enables you to collect many different types of data, organize it to suit your needs, and share it with your other devices. OneNote runs on Windows, on the Mac, and on various devices including Windows Phone, Android devices, the iPhone, and the iPad. OneNote syncs with your account on OneDrive or on a SharePoint server, making it easy to sync your notebooks between your computers and devices.

Understanding How OneNote for iPad Works and What It Can and Cannot Do

The OneNote app for iPad brings OneNote’s powerful note-taking capabilities to the iPad. This is great news if you have an iPad, because you can use your iPad to browse your notes and update them. What’s not so good is that—at this writing, at least—OneNote for iPad has only a subset of the features that the Windows and Mac versions have.

Note If you’re just getting started with OneNote, you may want to look ahead to the section “Working with Notebooks, Sections, and Pages,” which explains terms such as “notebook,” “section,” and “section group.”

OneNote for iPad has several major limitations at this writing:

· Section groups: You cannot create or manage section groups on the iPad. You must use a desktop or web version of OneNote instead.

· Moving section groups between notebooks: You cannot move a section group from one notebook to another notebook. For this, you must use a desktop or web version of OneNote.

· Notebook storage: You must store all your OneNote notebooks in your OneDrive or SharePoint accounts. You cannot store notebooks directly on your iPad.

Because of these limitations, if you use OneNote on your PC or Mac, there’s a strong argument for using the computer to create the structure of your notebooks—especially the section groups, assuming you use them. Once a notebook’s basic structure is in place, you can use OneNote for iPad to enter information in the notebook, creating new sections and pages as needed. If you need to reorganize material in the notebook, such as moving pages from one section to another or creating a new section group, you’ll need to make that change on your computer and sync it back to your iPad.

That said, using OneNote only on your iPad is perfectly viable—but you’ll want to plan your notebooks carefully so that you don’t need to rearrange them.

Setting Up Your Notebooks

OneNote is essentially a database, but the interface looks like a physical notebook, the ring-binder kind of notebook to which you can add sections and pages wherever you need them.

Launching OneNote and Opening a Notebook

To launch OneNote, press the Home button and then tap the OneNote icon on the Home screen. The OneNote document management screen appears, and you can either create a new notebook or open an existing notebook.

To create a new notebook, follow these steps.

1. Tap the Notebooks tab in the left column (see Figure 12-1).

Figure 12-1. To create a new notebook, tap the Notebooks button in the left column of the file management screen, and then tap the Create Notebook button

2. Tap the Create Notebook button to display the Create Notebook dialog box (see Figure 12-2).

Figure 12-2. Type the name for the new notebook in the Create Notebook dialog box, and then tap the Create button

3. Type the name for the notebook in the Name box.

4. Tap the Create button.

To open an existing notebook, tap the Notebooks tab button, the Recent tab button, or the Open tab button, depending on how you want to navigate to the notebook. Then tap the notebook’s button.

Note If you get the message “Sync Error: Sign in to sync this notebook,” tap the Sign In button. The OneDrive dialog box opens. Type your Microsoft account name and password, and then tap the Sign In button.

Exploring the OneNote Interface

With a notebook open, you can explore the OneNote interface. If you’ve used OneNote on a desktop computer, you’ll no doubt get the hang of it quickly. Figure 12-3 shows the main elements of the OneNote interface:

· Ribbon tabs: Tap the Home tab button, the Insert tab button, or the View tab button to switch among the Ribbon tabs.

· Notebooks button: Tap this button to display the Notebooks pop-up menu, which gives you a quick way to switch among your notebooks.

· Section tabs: Tap the section tab for the section you want to see.

· Create a New Section button: Tap this button to create a new section after the last section in the current section group. (More on section groups in a minute.) You can then type the name for the new section.

· Pages pane: This pane displays the list of pages in the current section. You can tap a page to display it.

· Add Page button: Tap this button to add a new page in the current section. You can then type the name for the new page.

· Search button: Tap this button to display the Search box, which enables you to search using keywords. You can search in the current section, in the current section group, in the current notebook, or in all your notebooks.

· Share button: Tap this button to display the Share pop-up panel, from which you can share the current notebook or the current page.

· Full-Screen button: Tap this button to hide the Section Tabs bar, the Ribbon, and the Pages pane so that you can focus on the current page. Tap the Exit Full Screen button, which replaces it, to reveal these interface elements again so that you can navigate among your notebooks, sections, and pages.

Figure 12-3. OneNote has a straightforward interface that enables you to navigate your notebooks quickly

Working with Notebooks, Sections, and Pages

To get the most out of OneNote, you’ll need to organize your notes effectively into notebooks, sections and section groups, and pages. The following list explains these items:

· Notebook: A notebook is a file that contains whatever data you want to keep together. Typically, you’ll want to populate each notebook with related data. For example, you might create a Work notebook, a Family notebook, and a Personal notebook.

· Sections: A section is a container within a notebook. For example, in your Work notebook, you might create sections such as Projects, Research, and Blue Sky. A section contains one or more pages (you’ll learn about pages in a moment).

· Section group: A section group is a container for organizing sections. For example, if your Work notebook contains many sections in the Projects section, you could divide them into section groups such as Active, On Hold, and Old.

Note You can create section groups only in the desktop and web versions of OneNote, not in OneNote for iPad.

· Page: A page is the item on which you put information, much like a physical page in a real notebook. But unlike a physical page, a page in OneNote can be as long as you need it to be, so you can take notes freely.

Looking Around in the Personal Notebook

If you’ve just launched OneNote for the first time, OneNote will have opened the Personal notebook that it creates for you. The Personal notebook is named using your first name and “Notebook”—for example, Jane’s Notebook—and contains a single tab called Quick Notes, which in turn contains a single page called Welcome to OneNote for iPad.

Read the Welcome to OneNote for iPad page, and then decide whether to keep it. If not, delete the page by sliding its button in the Pages pane to the left and then tapping the Delete button that appears. You can then use the Personal notebook for your notes.

Adding a Section to a Notebook

Sections are the tool you use to organize the pages in a notebook. You can create as many sections as you need, assign them easily identifiable names, and create pages within them.

To create a section, follow these steps.

1. Click the Create New Section button, the + button that appears to the right of the last section tab. OneNote adds a section after the last section, gives it a default name such as New Section 1, and adds an untitled page (a page with the default name Untitled Page) to it. OneNote selects the default section name so that you can change it (see Figure 12-4).

Figure 12-4. To create a new section, tap the + button after the last section tab, and then type the name

2. Type the name for the section, and then tap the Done button on the keyboard. OneNote selects the page title on the page so that you can enter that too.

3. Type the title for the page and then tap the Return button. OneNote places the insertion point in the default text container in the page so that you can start taking notes on the page.

Deleting a Section

To delete a section, follow these steps.

1. Tap the section’s tab to bring it to the front.

2. Tap the section’s tab to display the Edit menu.

3. Tap the Delete button on the Edit menu. A confirmation dialog box opens.

4. Tap the Delete button in the confirmation dialog box. OneNote deletes the section.

Renaming and Reorganizing Sections

To rename a section, double-tap its tab button, making OneNote select the current name. Alternatively, tap the sections tab to bring it to the front, tap again to display the Edit menu, and then tap the Rename button. You can then type the new name and tap the Done button on the keyboard to apply the name.

To move a section, follow these steps.

1. Tap the section’s tab to bring it to the front.

2. Tap the section’s tab again to display the Edit menu.

3. Tap the Move button on the Edit menu. The Move this section to a new notebook dialog box opens (see Figure 12-5).

Figure 12-5. In the Move this section to a new notebook dialog box, tap the notebook to which you want to move the section

4. Tap the notebook to which you want to move the section.

Working with Section Groups

If you use OneNote for Windows, OneNote for Mac, or the web version of OneNote, you can create section group to organize the sections in your notebooks. A section group appears as a button on the Section Tabs bar bearing a symbol showing two tabs, as for the Current section group you can see in Figure 12-6.

Figure 12-6. Tap a section group’s button on the Section Tabs bar to open the section group

Tap the section group’s button to display the section tabs in the group (see Figure 12-7). You can then tap the section tab for the section you want to view, and tap the button in the pages pane for the page you want to open. When you’re ready to close the section group, tap the curling up-arrow button to the right of the section group’s name.

Figure 12-7. With the section group open, tap the tab you want to display. To close the section group, tap the up-arrow button

Adding Pages

Inside a section, you can add the pages you need and create notes on them. This section shows you the main moves for working with pages.

Creating a New Blank Page

To create a new blank page, follow these steps.

1. On the Section Bar, tap the section tab for the section in which you want to create the page.

2. Tap the Add Page button at the top of the Pages pane. OneNote adds a new page, gives it the default name Untitled Page, and places the insertion point in the page’s title area so that you can rename it.

3. Type the title for the page and then tap the Return button. OneNote places the insertion point in the default text container in the page so that you can start taking notes on the page. The text container appears only when you start entering content in it.

Renaming a Page

To rename a page, first tap its button in the Pages pane to display it. Then tap the title at the top of the open page and either edit the exiting name or simply delete the existing name and type the new name.

Moving a Page

Often, you’ll need to move a page to a different position in a notebook. To do so, follow these steps.

1. On the Section Bar, tap the tab for the section that contains the page you want to move.

2. In the Pages pane, tap the Edit button to switch to Edit mode.

3. Tap the radio button for the page you want to move. The buttons on the bar at the top of the Pages pane become enabled (see Figure 12-8).

Figure 12-8. With the Pages pane in Edit mode, select the page you want to move, and then tap the Move button

4. Tap the Move button to display the Move this page to a new section dialog box (see Figure 12-9).

Figure 12-9. In the Move this page to a new section dialog box, tap the section where you want the page to go

5. Tap the section where you want the page to go.

Note To move the page up or down the list of pages, drag it by the drag handle on the right of it button in Edit mode. You can also delete the page by tapping the Delete button, make it a subpage by tapping the Demote button, or (if it is a subpage) promote it to a page by tapping the Promote button.

Working with Subpages

OneNote enables you to add one or more subpages to a page. Subpages are useful when a page grows so long that it becomes hard to navigate. You can make the page shorter by moving some of the information into one or more subpages attached to the page.

To create a subpage, follow these steps.

1. On the Section Bar, tap the tab for the section you want to create the new page in.

2. In the Pages pane, tap the page you want to add the subpage to.

3. Tap the Add Page button to create a new page.

4. Type the name for the new page.

5. Tap the Edit button in the Pages pane to switch to Edit mode.

6. Tap the radio button for the page you want to turn into a subpage.

7. Tap the Demote button on the bar at the top of the Pages pane.

8. Tap the Done button.

A subpage appears as a button with an indented name in the Pages pane. To display the subpage, simply tap its button.

Navigating from Page to Page

You can quickly navigate from page to page by tapping the appropriate page button in the Pages pane. You can reach any page quickly and easily by opening the notebook, opening the section group (if there is one), opening the section, and then opening the page.

1. Tap the Notebooks button on the Section Tabs bar to display the Notebooks pane, and then tap the notebook.

2. If the section is in a section group, tap the section group’s name to display the section tabs that the group contains.

3. Tap the section tab to open the section.

4. In the Pages pane, tap the page to display it.

Entering Notes on a Page

On the pages you create in your notebooks, you can store a wide variety of information. Let’s start with a quick overview of all the types of information that you can enter. You’ll then dig into how to work with each type of information.

Understanding Which Types of Information You Can Save in OneNote

The following list explains the types of information you can save in a OneNote notebook:

· Text: You can store any amount of text, either leaving it plain or formatting it using styles or direct formatting.

· Tables: You can create either simple tables (ones with a regular structure) or complex tables (ones that include other tables nested inside cells). Your tables can include text, pictures, and other objects.

Note Using the Windows version of OneNote, you can also insert several other types of information. These include: screen clippings (which are useful for quickly capturing information from sources such as web pages as well as for documenting computer procedures); document printouts from Office apps; scanner printouts; video from your PC’s video camera; and equations including binomials, Fourier series equations, and quadratic equations. You can also attach many types of files to a OneNote notebook to make that file available with the notebook. The Mac version of OneNote also enables you to enter equations.

· Pictures: You can add pictures to your notebooks and position them as needed.

· Photos: You can take photos with your iPad’s camera and insert them directly into your notebooks.

· Hyperlinks: You can insert a hyperlink to a web page or another URL, such as a hyperlink to start an e-mail message to a specific address.

Adding Text to a Page

To add text to a page, simply tap the point on the page where you want to start entering the text. OneNote adds a container for the text where you tap. When you start entering the text, the container appears, and the text appears inside it.

You can enter text by typing it or by pasting it from the clipboard. To paste text, tap and hold the appropriate point in the container or on the page until the Edit menu appears, and then tap the Paste button.

Each container works like a mini document, and you can format the text much as you would in Word:

· Apply a style: The quick way to apply formatting consistently is to use the styles in the Styles pop-up menu on the Home tab of the Ribbon. Figure 12-10 shows the Styles pop-up menu open for applying a style. OneNote gives you a Page Title style for the page title, Heading 1 through Heading 6 styles for headings, a Citation style, a Quote style, a Code style, and a Normal style for everything else.

Figure 12-10. The quick way to apply formatting is to use the Styles pop-up menu on the Home tab of the Ribbon

Tip Use styles wherever possible when formatting text-based notes. When you export notes to Word, the text keeps the styles, and you can snap in a different set of formatting in moments by attaching a different template to the resulting Word document.

· Apply direct formatting: You can apply direct formatting (such as bold, italic, or highlighting) by using the controls at the left end of the Home tab of the Ribbon. For example, to change the font, select the text, tap the Fonts button, and then tap the font on the Fonts pop-up menu.

Adding Graphics to a Page

To illustrate your notes, you can quickly add one or more graphics to a page. You can either insert a graphic using the technique explained in Chapter 2 or insert a photo that you take with one of the iPad’s cameras.

Inserting a Photo

You can insert a photo in a OneNote document either to illustrate the document (as you might do in the other apps) or as a way of capturing information quickly and effortlessly. Because photos can play these two roles, inserting a photo in a OneNote document works differently than in the other apps. OneNote enables you to crop a photo, straighten or skew it, and manipulate its background.

As usual, start by tapping the Insert tab of the Ribbon and then tapping the Pictures button. On the Photos pop-up panel, tap the photo collection that contains the photo, and then tap the photo you want to insert.

Taking Photos of Documents or Whiteboards with Office Lens

OneNote for iPad includes a feature called Office Lens that helps you to add readable photos of hard-copy documents or whiteboards to your notebooks. Instead of needing a scanner to capture a hard-copy document precisely, you can take a photograph of the document with your iPad’s camera, use Office Lens to straighten out any distortions, and add the result to a notebook. Similarly, you can take a photo of a whiteboard, straighten and crop it, and insert it in a notebook. This can be a great way of noting down complete information that you would otherwise be unable to grab quickly.

Here’s how to take a photo of a document or a whiteboard with Office Lens.

1. Tap the point on the page at which you want to insert the photo of the document or whiteboard.

2. Tap the Insert tab on the Ribbon to display its controls.

3. Tap the Camera button to display the Camera screen.

4. At the bottom of the screen, tap Whiteboard, Photo, or Document to specify how you want Office Lens to process what you’re photographing.

Note Tap Whiteboard on the Camera screen to reduce glare and shadows. Tap Document to optimize the color balance for a grayscale document. Tap Photo if you’re taking a photo of graphical subjects or a graphical document.

5. Line up the photo as best you can (see Figure 12-11) and tap the shutter release.

Figure 12-11. To photograph a whiteboard or a document, tap Whiteboard or Document at the bottom of the screen, and then tap the shutter release

6. In the preview that appears (see Figure 12-12), you can tap the Crop button and adjust the cropping by dragging the handles.

Figure 12-12. Adjust the cropping and skewing as needed to produce a readable document, and then tap the check mark to insert the result in your notebook

7. Tap the check mark to insert the photo in your notebook.

SWITCHING BETWEEN OFFICE LENS AND THE CAMERA APP

If you want to use the iPad’s Camera app to insert pictures in your OneNote notebooks instead of using Office Lens, you must turn off the Office Lens feature in the Settings app. You then need to restart OneNote to make it notice the change. Follow these steps.

1. In OneNote, tap the Back button at the left end of the Ribbon to display the Notebooks list.

2. Tap the Sync All button in the upper-right corner to sync all your changes.

3. Double-press the Home button to display the app-switching screen.

4. Drag or swipe the OneNote thumbnail up off the list of apps to close OneNote.

5. Press the Home button to display the Home screen.

6. Tap the Settings icon to open the Settings app.

7. In the left column, tap the OneNote icon to display the OneNote screen.

8. Tap the Camera Setting button to display the Camera Setting screen.

9. Set the Use Office Lens switch to the Off position.

10.Press the Home button to display the Home screen.

11.Tap the OneNote icon to launch OneNote again.

Creating Tables

A table is often an easy way to record information in an organized fashion. OneNote makes it easy to create tables on the pages of your notebooks.

To create a table, you use the Insert tab of the Ribbon as usual. The process is a little different from that in the other Office apps.

1. Tap the place on the page where you want to insert the table.

2. Tap the Insert button on the Ribbon to display the Insert tab.

3. Tap the Table button. OneNote inserts a two-row-by-two-column table in the container where you tapped. The Table tab appears on the Ribbon, displaying controls for manipulating tables (see Figure 12-13).

Figure 12-13. After using the Insert Table command on the Ribbon to insert a two-row-by-two-column table, open the Insert pop-up panel and add extra rows or columns as needed

4. Change the table as needed by tapping the Insert button and then tapping the appropriate button on the Insert pop-up panel: Rows Above, Rows Below, Columns Left, or Columns Right.

Note You can also delete rows or columns from the table by tapping in your target row or column, tapping the Delete button on the Table tab of the Ribbon to display the Delete pop-up panel, and then tapping the Rows button or the Columns button, as needed. To delete the whole table, tap the Delete button and then tap the Table button on the Delete pop-up panel.

CREATING A TABLE QUICKLY USING A HARDWARE KEYBOARD

If you’re using a hardware keyboard connected to your iPad, you can also create a table quickly by simply typing in a container. Follow these steps.

1. Tap the appropriate point on the page to place the insertion point.

2. Type the text for the first cell as regular text within the container.

3. Press Tab. OneNote automatically inserts the table with two cells, positioning the insertion point so that you can type the second cell.

4. Type the second cell’s contents.

5. Press Tab again to create another cell.

6. When you end the first row, press Enter.

7. You can then press Tab to move from cell to cell. Also press Tab to move to the next row when the insertion point is in the last cell in a row.

When you want to end the table, press Enter twice in succession.

Applying Tags

OneNote enables you to add tags to your notes to help you categorize them. For example, you can apply the Phone Number tag to any phone number so that you can locate it more easily, apply the Web Site to Visit tag to a web site you want to look up, or apply the Important tag or the Critical tag to vital information.

Note At this writing, OneNote for iPad provides a list of preset tags but doesn’t let you create custom tags. In OneNote for Windows, however, you can create custom tags, which enables you to tag your notes exactly the way you need them.

To apply a tag, follow these steps.

1. Tap the item you want to tag. For example, tap the page title to apply the tag to the page as a whole, or tap a text container or a photo.

2. If the Home tab of the Ribbon isn’t displayed, tap the Home tab to display it.

3. Tap the Tags button to display the Tag pop-up panel (see Figure 12-14).

Figure 12-14. You can tag an item by selecting it, opening the Tag pop-up panel, and then tapping the tag you want to apply

4. Tap the tag you want to apply. The tag’s symbol appears to the left of the item.

Using the Find Feature

OneNote includes a Find feature that enables you to search your notebooks for specific text. You can search the current section, the current section group, the current notebook, or all your notebooks. Unlike the Find features in Word and Excel, the Find feature in OneNote does not include Replace functionality.

Follow these steps to use Find.

1. If you want to restrict the search to a particular notebook, section, or section group, open that notebook and make the appropriate section or section group active.

2. Tap the Search icon (the magnifying glass) near the right end of the Ribbon to display the Find bar (see Figure 12-15).

Figure 12-15. Tap the Options button and choose options for Find

3. Tap the Options button (the cog icon) at the left end of the Find and Replace bar to display the Options pop-up panel, and then tap the button for where you want to search: This Section, This Section Group, This Notebook, or All Notebooks.

4. Tap the Find box and type the text for which you want to search. OneNote searches automatically as you type the search text and displays the Search Results pop-up panel (see Figure 12-16).

Figure 12-16. In the Search Results pop-up panel, tap the search result you want to view

5. Tap the search result you want to view. OneNote displays that page. The Search Results pop-up panel remains open, so you can tap another result if need be.

6. When you find what you are searching for, tap the page to hide the Find bar again.

Sharing Your Notes with Others

OneNote enables you to share your notes with other people in three ways:

· E-mail a link to a notebook: You can choose whether the recipient can view and edit the shared notebook or just view it without being able to edit it.

· E-mail a page from the notebook: This capability is great when you need to share one page of notes. You don’t need to export the page to a separate document first—you can send it directly from the OneNote interface.

· Copy the link to a notebook: You can create a link that enables the recipient to view and edit the shared notebook or just view it but not edit it. Copying the link works in a similar way to e-mailing a link, but you can send the link in other ways, such as via Messages or via Skype.

To access these commands, open the notebook you want to share or that contains the page you want to e-mail. Then tap the Share button toward the right end of the Ribbon and tap the appropriate button—Email as Link, Email Page, or Copy Link—on the Share pop-up panel (see Figure 12-17).

Figure 12-17. To share the current notebook or e-mail the current page, open the Share pop-up panel and tap the appropriate button

If you tap the Email as Link button or the Copy as Link button, the Email as Link pop-up panel (see Figure 12-18) or the Copy as Link pop-up panel appears. Tap the View Only button or the View and Edit button, as needed.

Figure 12-18. To share the current notebook or e-mail the current page, open the Share pop-up panel and tap the appropriate button

After you tap the View Only button or the View and Edit button on the Email as Link pop-up panel, Mail opens with the skeleton of an e-mail message created. Similarly, when you tap the Email Page button, Mail creates a new message with the page attached. Fill in the recipient, add any text needed, and then tap

Summary

In this chapter, you learned how to use OneNote on the iPad to collect data, organize it in the way you prefer, and share it among your computers and devices. You now know your way around OneNote’s notebooks, sections, and pages; you know how to add pages and enter notes on them; and you can share your note pages and notebooks with others.

This is the end of the book. I hope it has helped you to get your work—or play—done with the Office for iPad apps. If you have suggestions for improving the book in future editions, do send them to the publisher.