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Last post Author Topic: Microsoft OneNote - some experiential Tips & Tricks  (Read 189130 times)

sphere

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Re: Microsoft OneNote - some experiential Tips & Tricks
« Reply #200 on: October 03, 2019, 03:34 PM »
Apologies if my post took this thread in a different direction.  I see there is a new thread (linked above) .  I will endeavor to limit future post in this thread to tips and tricks  :Thmbsup:

IainB

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Various news reports are indicating that MS (MicroSoft) are pulling away from the idea of going Cloud-only with ON, and are now consolidating the latest versions of ON in the Desktop software.
In line with that, they have recently released an update to MS Office (including ON 2016).
One really useful (for me) feature of the forthcoming updates to be rolled out between now and year's end is Dark Mode:
Notes:
  • Dark Mode for OneNote 2016 is being gradually rolled out to customers during November and December of 2019. To ensure that you always receive the latest features as they become available, enable automatic Office updates. To do this, click File > Account, and then click the Update Options button.

  • Dark Mode is compatible with OneNote 2016 version 16.0.12130 or later. To see which version you’re using, open OneNote 2016, click File > Account, and then note the information shown under About OneNote. You can also click the About OneNote button for more information.

  • If you’re using OneNote at work or at school, your organization’s IT policies may affect if and when you can use this feature. Please contact your IT administrator for more information.
- Turn Dark Mode on or off in OneNote
This could be very good ergonomic news for those ON users who may be visually impaired. Dark Mode looks superb and really easy on the eyes. Pity it's not been rolled out to my ON version yet. Can't wait to try it out.

I really dislike OneNote's visual ergonomics - to me it looks all "glary" and fuzzy. This is due to gradually progressive clouding of my vision - sort of premature cataracts - plus what's called Fuchs endothelial dystrophy. It's not genetic and has been creeping on for years now, all apparently/probably brought on by my having been hit by acute and severe snowblindness when I was 16 and on a high altitude expedition over the Swiss alps. I'd lifted my snowgoggles onto my forehead as they were steaming up, I was sweating so much. It didn't seem too dazzling to me as we were in a freezing cloud. For about an hour our party of about 20 was in this freezing cloud, moving slowly, no stamping, silently and carefully, spread out 2 meters apart in single file, skins on the skis, following in each other's tracks as we traversed along a ridge metres above a huge avalanche slope, in snow conditions which meant the slope could be about to collapse. We were relieved when we got safely clear and laughed at each other's faces, with our ski hats, eyelashes, nostrils and eyebrows festooned with ice crystals formed from our sweat, tears and the steam of our exhaled breath.
However, at high altitudes where the actinic rays are very strong, it was a long enough exposure to do my eyes in. On the descent, my vision became fuzzy at first, and then over dinner in our hostel, my peripheral vision started to go and then I went temporarily partially blind. Very sore eyes too. We'd already the day before had 4 casualties with broken legs (very difficult snow conditions for skiers) within 10 minutes as we made the descent to the Grande St Bernard monastery (our destination for that night), so I was just one more, but luckier casualty.
As an aside:
Spoiler
I was delighted when I later learned that the little worm we had as an expeditions master (a house tutor who also taught economics and from whom we prefects had to protect the junior boys from his perving them in the showers and their dormitories) held it against me that I hadn't successfully completed that expedition. Anything that annoyed the detestable worm was a singular success in my book and only served as an incremental marginal increase to my enjoyment of life. The fact that it was I who happened to have been the source of his displeasure was an unexpected and added bonus that almost made the snowblindness seem to have been all worthwhile. So, to mark this achievement, we held a celebratory afternoon tea in the prefects' room, making peanut butter sandwiches with lashings of Heros black cherry jam, and tea and coffee heavily laced with brandy...and there was also some wine. One of us got horribly drunk and this idjut had to be carried by his fellow prefects to the showers, where he was undressed, left in an icy cold shower for 5 minutes, dried off and carried up to his attic room that he shared with one other boy and where they left him for 15 minutes or so, sat by the open window, to vomit up the contents of his stomach onto the roof tiles. When the flow and bile had stopped, they then carefully cleaned him up, put him to bed naked but wrapped warmly in blankets and excused his absence at dinner by telling the housemaster that he had been ill and gone to bed (which was true). Who was this individual? My lips are sealed, but I do know that he will never forget the experience as he was fully aware of what was going on most of the time and he was horrified and frightened by what he experienced - being shut inside his head aware and observing his total disengagement of motor control - so much so that he vowed never to get drunk like that again. He never forgot the kindness of his fellow prefects. It had been a sobering experience.


The "glary" ON interface apparently looks that way (glary) to me (is perceived that way by me) because of semi-opaque particles in the lens causing intraocular dispersion/refraction of the unpolarised light coming from the light source (the LCD screen). The result is a lot of optical "noise" falling on the retina making the main image indistinct. I can see better at night (less noise) than I can on a sunny day. My eyesight would be pretty good otherwise.
« Last Edit: November 22, 2019, 12:51 PM by IainB »

Dormouse

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Re: Microsoft OneNote - some experiential Tips & Tricks
« Reply #202 on: November 23, 2019, 02:19 PM »
Various news reports are indicating that MS (MicroSoft) are pulling away from the idea of going Cloud-only with ON, and are now consolidating the latest versions of ON in the Desktop software.
That sounds like good news.

I really dislike OneNote's visual ergonomics - to me it looks all "glary" and fuzzy.

I have a major problem with glare. Monitors especially. Even light levels all round work best. I gave up on dark modes. Too often they retained a light glaring panel. White text on black background can also glare.

My best, but inconvenient, solution has been to set Windows up in reverse colour mode. Tried all the others, but this works best. And then set up my most regular programs with medium dark backgrounds (reddish brown works best for me) and off-white, cream or yellow/orange text.

I still have to limit how long I work at a monitor for.

Photos are a problem. I either have to look at those on a phone or tablet (being smaller, the glare problem is much smaller too) or switch reverse colour mode off temporarily. Occasionally switch a website into reverse colour mode on chrome so that I can see the photos without changing anything else.

I can manage with the ON interface as is - white text on black background for me - but it's not ideal.

IainB

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Re: Microsoft OneNote - some experiential Tips & Tricks
« Reply #203 on: November 28, 2019, 05:53 PM »
@Dormouse: Wow. You have my sympathies. Not sure I could cope with using Windows set up in reverse colour mode, though I have experimented with it.

I keep hammering on about "ergonomics" and "visual perspective", or similar, but unless developers have studied optics, visual perception and ergonomics, or have personally experienced any sight disabilities or vision difficulty, they don't have a clue - don't understand what all the fuss is about. They seem to think that using pretty colours and Helvetica font, or something, "looks nice" and will fix it all (I'm exaggerating, of course). One exception would seem to be the developer for the BazQux feed-reader  :Thmbsup:, who seems to really understand the issues and has already done something about it.
For example:

29_1600x900_478793E0.pngMicrosoft OneNote - some experiential Tips & Tricks
« Last Edit: November 29, 2019, 08:56 PM by IainB »