Author Topic: What's the future of OneNote? (Read 10423 times)

superboyac · « **on:** October 01, 2019, 11:13 AM »

I didn't want to ruin Iainb's nice onenote thread for this, so im starting this thread...

What's the deal? I was so annoyed to find out Onenote 2019 doesn't exist and they've replaced it with the eponymous "Onenote" that is not even a regular download, only a store download? But even beyond that, they have completely revamped the interface. Nothing wrong with it really, even some things are nice. It is quite different than the previous versions.

The BIGGEST PROBLEM is that it seems to not be able to open, import, export etc the previous notebooks the same way. I didn't experiment fully since I immediately ran to Onenote 2016 to make sure all my notes were safe. But it seems to demand you to sign into your MS account to work, and probably all your notes need to be synced or at least available for syncing. Very annoying.

There would be no problem if they didnt mess with the Open, Import, Export options. but they did of course.

So what does this mean? If this is the end of locally stored onenote files, then it's time i once again move to another program. Like Rightnote, which i already used pretty heavily until IAINB DEMANDED I USE ONENOTE!!!

lol

if rightnote could somehow mimic the whiteboard aspect of onenote, that would be great.

rgdot · « **Reply #1 on:** October 01, 2019, 03:31 PM »

FWIW DoogiePIM has 'Noteboard' which is close to OneNote, however there is no OneNote sync or mobile version

wraith808 · « **Reply #2 on:** October 01, 2019, 08:35 PM »

http://onenote-for-b.../onenote-office-2019

My notebooks are in the cloud, so I see them in the one note app (even though I'm still using 2016) and can sync between them.

And a big FU on the FAQ page

https://support.offi...3ed71a3c2103#bkmk_12

How do I access my local notebooks in OneNote for Windows 10?

In the latest versions of OneNote, your notebooks are stored in the cloud so you can access them from anywhere.

If you have any local notebooks, you can move them to OneDrive or SharePoint Online, so you can access your notes from anywhere. On-Premises SharePoint is also supported. To get started, simply open OneNote for Windows 10 and follow these instructions to move your notebooks to OneDrive. OneNote always keeps a copy of your notes cached on your device, so you can access them even if you’re offline.

We understand and respect that some people might not want any data stored in the cloud. For the vast majority of OneNote customers, however, having access to their notes on all their devices is a core part of the value of OneNote. We know that this means some of you might look for other solutions, and we understand. We have an open file format that other note-taking apps and developers can use to export notes from OneNote.

rgdot · « **Reply #3 on:** October 01, 2019, 09:14 PM »

In other words:
"You don't like the cloud then leave, we don't give a $#&%"

IainB · « **Reply #4 on:** October 02, 2019, 01:28 PM »

@rgdot:

In other words:
"You don't like the cloud then leave, we don't give a $#&%"

-rgdot (October 01, 2019, 09:14 PM)

Well, at least it's a rather clear statement of future OneNote direction from MS

- one that I hadn't seen before, but which apparently expressly excludes that sector of the market that wants/needs to hold its databases on local devices (PCs, laptops).
I wonder whether all of MS Office (i.e., not just OneNote) is being sunsetted in the same way? Not sure whether that idea would meet my requirements.
Another Q I have now: Why didn't MS sunset Microsoft Money in the same way (migrate to the Cloud)? They could have done, and the market was clearly headed in that direction.

In my OneNote experiments, I've migrated my Notebooks to the cloud, and it's been pretty much rock-solid stability and dependability for those Cloud-based Notebooks, and a real boon for when I move to using another laptop.
However, I'm now wondering whether I will in fact be able to revert and migrate my Notebooks back to the local device, or even use the backups locally that I have made along the way.
Just supposing: Maybe it's a "gotcha" - "Oh, didn't we tell you there's no going back?"

Google led the way when they introduced the Chromebook, Suddenly, there was another generically useful bunch of Cloud apps that didn't need an expensive DOS/Windows-based device, but was compatible with them anyway (because the Cloud apps are Agnostic in terms of OS dependency). Shock horror for MS.
So are MS heading in the same direction?

Incidentally, I came across this today: (might be of use, but it's just migrating to another Cloud-only system)

evimsync
Sync Evernote notes with IMAP, Import Evernote to Onenote
EvImSync is a simple tool to sync notes between Evernote and GMail Evernote2Onenote is a tool to import Evernote notes to OneNote.

wraith808 · « **Reply #5 on:** October 02, 2019, 10:50 PM »

OneNote 2016 is not being sunsetted, and is the recommended path if you want to keep your local notebooks, and is available for download if you have O365. It's just a strongly worded suggestion at this point.

sphere · « **Reply #6 on:** October 08, 2019, 01:17 PM »

I'm equally frustrated with the move to make Onenote a web app.
While not sure how effective it will be, I encourage everyone to let Microsoft know. Not sure the best way to do that. The Uservoice???

superboyac · « **Reply #7 on:** October 08, 2019, 01:37 PM »

I'm equally frustrated with the move to make Onenote a web app.
While not sure how effective it will be, I encourage everyone to let Microsoft know. Not sure the best way to do that. The Uservoice???

-sphere (October 08, 2019, 01:17 PM)

I like MS and their products have changed my life for the better. But when it comes to listening to user requests and successfully implementing them, they are almost silent on that end. I never thought they would do this to Onenote, which was the one application they did that was done almost perfectly top to bottom, and people thought of it that way.
Just one example....MS Word and styles. Styles are a hugely fundamental aspect of MS word, and very powerful. In 30 years, it seems they have not even in a minor way changed any of those features, which are klunky at best, and some bugs which are terrifying from an end-user perspective, have not been fixed in DECADES!! There was/is the Onetastic plugins available...ALL of those features could easily make its way to the core functionality of one note. You'd need like less than 5 developers to do stuff like that. Very basic, awesome productivity tools...the kind MS will NEVER EVER implement in any of their applications for some reason.

more ranting...
things like Dark Themes. This takes MS 6+ years to roll out, in a very limited way. Even on Android, after several years of gaining popularity, android is FINALLY rolling it out as a core feature. I have always been frustrated with this large corporation stinginess on rolling out features. And I get their reasoning around it, where they want to focus on the majority of end users, who are not like us super poweruser nitpicky OCD crazies....but to me all that means is hide it somewhere in some "Advanced Options" section and be done with it. Doesn't meant dont EVER implement nice features.

and then, this is why you cherish guys like the Rightnote dude, who seems to implement every cool feature that he possibly can. Very rare. I remember when people were trying to move from evernote to rightnote, this guy (smartly) very quickly created a very nice importing/syncing feature, that cant have been simple. For MS or a big company to do that...i feel like they would NEVER do something like that to be honest.

sphere · « **Reply #8 on:** October 08, 2019, 02:50 PM »

I don't think anybody is going to disagree with you. I have no idea how Microsoft makes its decisions. It seems like for a while each year they would come out with another office suite with very little in the way of improvements. It was helpful when there is something that was flashy. I remember being resistant to the ribbon to begin with, but when similar menu options were adopted a program such as Adobe acrobat, I saw their merits. Microsoft was somewhat slow to get on the SAAS bandwagon. I considered that a blessing. It is seeming harder and harder to find companies and even open source communities who are working on desktop suite applications.

I realize that they might not listen, but I still think it is worth shouting

superboyac · « **Reply #9 on:** October 08, 2019, 05:17 PM »

I don't think anybody is going to disagree with you. I have no idea how Microsoft makes its decisions. It seems like for a while each year they would come out with another office suite with very little in the way of improvements. It was helpful when there is something that was flashy. I remember being resistant to the ribbon to begin with, but when similar menu options were adopted a program such as Adobe acrobat, I saw their merits. Microsoft was somewhat slow to get on the SAAS bandwagon. I considered that a blessing. It is seeming harder and harder to find companies and even open source communities who are working on desktop suite applications.

I realize that they might not listen, but I still think it is worth shouting
-sphere (October 08, 2019, 02:50 PM)

it's business decisions. its strategy and doesn't have much to do with bugs or complaints (other than security issues). I've actually asked for the reasoning and the answers go like....
i asked why sharepoint installation is so crazy? they said its because it is deliberatly not meant for end-users to install. its supposed to be like a thing MS installs for you or certified MS people install it. this is how they strategize. if it were very easy to install for everyone, they would lose the enterprise feeling of it. if you could download sharepoint and go next next next finish....it wouldnt feel very enterprisy. lol.

sphere · « **Reply #10 on:** June 03, 2021, 03:09 PM »

I am looking for people's thoughts about where Onenote has gone since this post in the fall of 2019? I have a relative who has asked for help learning how to use OneNote and ot jas rekindled my interest.

Were there any “gotchas’” like ones you used the cloud you were not allowed to save the files locally?

I would be interested in being able to store notebooks locally.
I am correct that is still possible without any issues with Onenote 2016?
Is that possible with OneNote for Win10 (the webapp)
If a file is stored locally, can you transfer it to another system, and open it with another version of OneNote be it 2016 or OneNote for Win 10?

How does working offline work? Does Onenote just cache the files locally somehow?
Are you required to login to Microsoft? If you are not using the cloud services?

I believe that Onenote can run OCR on different types of images that are put in notebooks. Is this done locally or is it done in the cloud.

An earlier version of Onenote (Onenote 2010 or Onenote 2013) used to index audio files. I have not been able to get that to work in Onenote 2016. It did not work well in the previous version, but it was able to search for things that otherwise would not have been searched for.

I have a copy of OneNote 2016. I have not used it a lot, but it appears you can save locally. If I want to save to the cloud Office asks me to set up an account. Onenote for Win 10 requires you to sign in I believe.

My primary use case is taking notes where have the audio synced with the notes would be extremely helpful. I am also interested in being able to import pdf/power point documents and annotate them. There are not many alternatives that can do that live. I also realize that onenote is extremely powerful, and able to deal with many different types of digital media.

Would appreciate people’s take on the matter.

https://answers.micr...32-bab5-090a5f6b42e8

Tuxman · « **Reply #11 on:** June 03, 2021, 03:35 PM »

I still use OneNote. I would have to check which version it is.

Dormouse · « **Reply #12 on:** June 03, 2021, 05:50 PM »

I used to know the answers to some of the questions. I'd use both the 2016 version (all the old functions + Onetastic macros) and the latest version (for better cross-platform & mobile access). Couldn't answer the questions when I saw them, because, it seemed to me, that the best answer was to stop using OneNote, which is what I have clearly done.

I always had a love/hate relationship with it anyway.

My guess is that they had a strategy. Then they changed it. Then they modified their stance, a bit. For now.
Next there will be another strategy.
I think their problem is that OneNote is a large and complex program that few Office customers use. And the free cross-platform giveaway has probably not gained huge traction, but those users will make only simple demands of it.
But those customers who do use the complexity are often very keen indeed.
afaics, it will either die, be killed, mutate into something different and simpler, or will become an add-on to Word.
(The last mightn't be okay if they did it properly - first time for everything - option for better file management for some files via a ON database, more tools, and a couple of different views.)

wraith808 · « **Reply #13 on:** June 03, 2021, 10:02 PM »

I have to use it for work, and use it for marking up some forms that I use for personal work, and it appears to store the notebooks offline and sync them if you are connected. I don't know if it is manually transferrable- I've never done it that way, preferring to just download it from OneDrive.

BGM · « **Reply #14 on:** June 03, 2021, 10:23 PM »

I have the Office365 version - the latest, really (comes with everything else). I've tinkered with it a bit, but never could bring myself to use it. I could never get past it's wanting to create a textbox every I placed the cursor in empty space. That, plus a bunch of usability features are lacking (IMHO) and it uses that awful ribbon invention. I avoid using Microsoft Office if I can help it.

Dormouse · « **Reply #15 on:** June 04, 2021, 04:28 AM »

irc 365 saves notebook on OneDrive
In 2016, using the same account, you can access the cloud file and then save it locally.

sphere · « **Reply #16 on:** June 04, 2021, 06:24 PM »

I still use OneNote. I would have to check which version it is.
-Tuxman (June 03, 2021, 03:35 PM)

Thanks. Knowing you use it is helpful.

I have to use it for work, and use it for marking up some forms that I use for personal work, and it appears to store the notebooks offline and sync them if you are connected. I don't know if it is manually transferrable- I've never done it that way, preferring to just download it from OneDrive.
-wraith808 (June 03, 2021, 10:02 PM)

Thanks… when making things up, are you using pdf forms or other forms?

I have the Office365 version - the latest, really (comes with everything else). I've tinkered with it a bit, but never could bring myself to use it. I could never get past it's wanting to create a textbox every I placed the cursor in empty space. That, plus a bunch of usability features are lacking (IMHO) and it uses that awful ribbon invention. I avoid using Microsoft Office if I can help it.
-BGM (June 03, 2021, 10:23 PM)

Would love to hear what usability features you feel are missing and where you might be getting those features if you are using another software.

sphere · « **Reply #17 on:** June 04, 2021, 06:25 PM »

I used to know the answers to some of the questions. I'd use both the 2016 version (all the old functions + Onetastic macros) and the latest version (for better cross-platform & mobile access). Couldn't answer the questions when I saw them, because, it seemed to me, that the best answer was to stop using OneNote, which is what I have clearly done.

I always had a love/hate relationship with it anyway.
-Dormouse (June 03, 2021, 05:50 PM)

I used it back in 2009 or 2013 and it really was pretty amazing at the time. At the time it was the , least known but still a very powerful app. If I were to decide to use it, my use case would be similar. I need to be able to choose what I put on the cloud, and frankly, I do not want to pay to the volumes of data I work with online if I do not need to.

My guess is that they had a strategy. Then they changed it. Then they modified their stance, a bit. For now.
Next there will be another strategy.
I think their problem is that OneNote is a large and complex program that few Office customers use. And the free cross-platform giveaway has probably not gained huge traction, but those users will make only simple demands of it.
But those customers who do use the complexity are often very keen indeed.
afaics, it will either die, be killed, mutate into something different and simpler, or will become an add-on to Word.
(The last mightn't be okay if they did it properly - first time for everything - option for better file management for some files via a ON database, more tools, and a couple of different views.)
-Dormouse (June 03, 2021, 05:50 PM)

MS is pushing pretty hard for people to use 365, and I think One Note is used to entice people into the platform. They also push the use of teams for collaboration. Onenote also is an alternative for many Evernote enthusiast. It can be an “everything” bucket with OCR and pretty good search. I think the decision to attempt to kill of the desktop version was to get people dependent on their cloud services and one they are there, they can sell other services. I do not want it to die, I just want to be able to use the desktop app and store information locally.

irc 365 saves notebook on OneDrive
In 2016, using the same account, you can access the cloud file and then save it locally.
-Dormouse (June 04, 2021, 04:28 AM)

Thank you.

wraith808 · « **Reply #18 on:** June 04, 2021, 08:23 PM »

Thanks… when making things up, are you using pdf forms or other forms?
-sphere (June 04, 2021, 06:24 PM)

It's scanned paper forms for reports and such. Works really well for it- one of the things that many find annoying (the fact that the page is nothing but elements) works really well for random forms as you just have to click where the field is and start writing or typing.

sphere · « **Reply #19 on:** June 05, 2021, 10:36 AM »

It's scanned paper forms for reports and such. Works really well for it- one of the things that many find annoying (the fact that the page is nothing but elements) works really well for random forms as you just have to click where the field is and start writing or typing.
-wraith808 (June 04, 2021, 08:23 PM)

I see. I could see that working. Are you actually typing into the pdf forms fields?

wraith808 · « **Reply #20 on:** June 05, 2021, 04:03 PM »

irc 365 saves notebook on OneDrive
In 2016, using the same account, you can access the cloud file and then save it locally.
-Dormouse (June 04, 2021, 04:28 AM)

Well, it's not quite that clearcut. They've changed OneNote 2016 to be OneNote for Desktop. They have a OneNote app on the Windows 10 store and that one doesn't know anything about local notebooks. I think they've changed directions and are not getting rid of the desktop version.

From the help:

Our product names for OneNote on Windows have recently changed. Throughout this article, “OneNote” now refers to the Windows desktop version (previously called “OneNote 2016”), and “OneNote for Windows 10” refers to the Microsoft Store app that’s available only on Windows 10.

I guess this is in response to all of the feedback (blowback) they received about their decision to do away with local notebooks.

I see. I could see that working. Are you actually typing into the pdf forms fields?
-sphere (June 05, 2021, 10:36 AM)

I'm usually using ink. Sometimes I'll use callouts and type in those to notate things.