Main Area and Open Discussion > General Software Discussion
Microsoft OneNote - some experiential Tips & Tricks
superboyac:
I will soon experiment with Onenote again, based on some of IainB's ideas here. I am puzzled (fascianted?) by one comment...that he recommends getting training for it. This is interesting because I always saw it as a somewhat simple application, in the sense that I wish it did more. But it sure sounds like there is a lot under the hood that I haven't looked into. I am also more flexible with this stuff than I once was in my ultimate notetaker searching, and I'm willing to let certain things go now if I can actually have my notes in one spot.
20 years now I've been trying out notetakers. it never ends.
Angry Thinker:
2. Uses for OneNote: Certainly, as you suggest, my use of OneNote is for more than just as a Zettelkasten (card index) and always has been. I mean, of what use would a card index be to anyone in this day and age?
-IainB (December 17, 2015, 04:49 PM)
--- End quote ---
Thanks for your reply IainB, I understand your thinking. I would like to make 1 point: there are quite a few people out there who use a digital Zettelkasten purely as a card index system only. There are even some apps designed for that purpose only, notably (but not confined to) Daniel Luedecke's ZKN3 app.
I agree with you that OneNote is designed as an integrated PIM & KM, it seems to me that the author of that OneNote-Zettelkasten article uses as such and wanted to give it a try as a Zettelkasten too, because in the intro he says:
Much to my surprise OneNote surpassed my expectations, so a next step I wanted to take was to give OneNote a try as a Zettelkasten app too.
--- End quote ---
superboyac:
OK IainB, before I study this thread in more detail, let me ask you for some subjects that I'm interested in (in case it hasn't been covered in the earlier posts).
Do you think Onenote works well as a daily journal? Writing random subjects on a daily basis, searching through them...exporting them later, etc.?
How is the import/export capabilities? Does it get mangled? is it easy enough...exporting is more important. Retains formats, alignments, etc?
Printing and print previewing? How do you feel about it. it's ok from I can tell.
Searching in general? I think it's quite good, one of the strengths.
web clipping? how's the experience? Just in general, I never have liked any automated web clipping...either the way it creates new notes annoys me, or it doesn't work right, etc. I have eventually settled on copying the content manually (ctrl-c) and pasting it manually in the notetaker where the link gets added automatically. That's my sweet spot right now. Sometimes I do a new note per clip, but usually a bunch of clips go inside one note. I would have to have the ability to choose per instance.
IainB:
2. Uses for OneNote: Certainly, as you suggest, my use of OneNote is for more than just as a Zettelkasten (card index) and always has been. I mean, of what use would a card index be to anyone in this day and age?
-IainB (December 17, 2015, 04:49 PM)
--- End quote ---
Thanks for your reply IainB, I understand your thinking. I would like to make 1 point: there are quite a few people out there who use a digital Zettelkasten purely as a card index system only. There are even some apps designed for that purpose only, notably (but not confined to) Daniel Luedecke's ZKN3 app.
I agree with you that OneNote is designed as an integrated PIM & KM, it seems to me that the author of that OneNote-Zettelkasten article uses as such and wanted to give it a try as a Zettelkasten too, because in the intro he says:
Much to my surprise OneNote surpassed my expectations, so a next step I wanted to take was to give OneNote a try as a Zettelkasten app too.
--- End quote ---
-Angry Thinker (December 17, 2015, 11:54 PM)
--- End quote ---
Hahaha, sorry, my question "of what use would a card index be to anyone in this day and age?" was a rhetorical question. I did not intend to offend anyone who actually likes and wants to use card indexes - I mean, I think they were very useful tools, and Rolodexes too - but I had no idea that anyone actually still wanted to build and use them. I could be out of touch, I suppose... :-[
Yes, I do know there are some computerised applications that mimic a card index (or Zettelkasten) - I I referred to some - but I would probably consider those to be largely academic or purist applications with a different definition of "information" compared to my extended data set, and different requirements to my PIM needs as well, of course. I recall in the early Windows and Mac OSes, there were card index-type applications that I think came with the OS - and they were great - and I think that PackRat may have been one also. They are now obsolete, I presume.
Yes, that quote:
Much to my surprise OneNote surpassed my expectations, so a next step I wanted to take was to give OneNote a try as a Zettelkasten app too.
_______________________
--- End quote ---
- pretty much describes my initial position also and was what I meant by my having "blundered into" this experiment 7 or 8 years ago. I tried to explain that in the context of the penny dropping when I saw OneNote's wiki-like links and the potential of embedded hyperlinking.
Me:
"Ooh look! Hyperlinks and double square brackets does that does it? Hmm. Like a wiki ... like a Zettelkasten (card index) too, sort of... I wonder... (mumble, mumble)"
--- End quote ---
However, this is a digression from the discussion thread which is to discuss Microsoft OneNote experiential Tips & Tricks, not the merits or otherwise of the Zettelkasten (card index) concept or apps. etc. per se. Like I said above, Zettelkasten is a bit of a yawn, and there are plenty of other web sites where the acolytes of Zettelkasten may gather - and indeed do - to sagely consider the practical and philosophical aspects of their treasured subject of study, and at great length.
I have by this stage come to realise, of course, that I might properly be considered unworthy - or not worthy and lacking in sufficient understanding - to utter the term "Zettelkasten" in such a forum as this. I acknowledge that in my utter ignorance and careless youthful exuberance I mistakenly attempted to proffer some help, or something - some mere scrapings of imperfect knowledge - which might be of possible use to my fellows, and I regret having done so from such a depth of ignorance and having unwittingly risked blaspheming the dogma, angering the Old Ones and possibly even destabilising the orbit of the Sun about the flat earth and the balance of the turtles below the Earth. Verily, I shall don sackcloth and ashes for the next three months and self-flagellate with barbed wire on Mondays, and drink no tea on Fridays, and go walking in bare feet instead of my Nikes, as a wholly inadequate penance for my miserable sins, and thus beg forgiveness from the Old Ones.
Angry Thinker:
IainB, your insight and comments have been invaluable. You have absolutely nothing to reproach yourself, you are entitled to your opinion. I agree that the concept of a digital Zettelkasten is more applicable to academia, and also to authoring. In today's world a Zettelkasten is more likely to be a component of a complete PIM/KM system like you have. I also use OneNote as my PIM/KM system, but am always interested to see others' applications & opinions. Anyway, good to be able to spar constructively :Thmbsup:
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version