Using Microsoft OneNote 2010 with Other Programs : A Quick Note About Interface Differences, OneNote Integration with Windows

10/19/2012 5:49:24 PM

1. A Quick Note About Interface Differences

OneNote 2010 comes in two different versions—the standalone edition that includes only the OneNote program, and the version that is included with all editions of the Microsoft Office 2010 suite. Office includes other programs such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint, among others.

Technically speaking, the two versions of OneNote are identical, but certain features will click on and off, depending on the other programs you have installed, which version of Microsoft Windows you are using, and what kind of computer you have. Some of these differences are more obvious than others.

For example, Figure 1 shows what the right half of the Home tab on the OneNote ribbon looks like when no other Office programs are present.

Figure 1. If you’re using OneNote 2010 with no other Office programs installed on your computer, here’s what the contents of the Home tab look like at the far right of the ribbon. A lonely E-mail Page button appears as the only command in the ribbon group titled Mail.

Figure 2 shows how the same area of the Home tab on the OneNote ribbon appears when Microsoft Outlook 2010 is detected.

Figure 2. When OneNote 2010 detects Outlook 2010, the contents of the Home tab at the far right of the ribbon change slightly. The ribbon group that was called Mail is renamed to Outlook and the lonely E-mail Page button is now accompanied by two additional command buttons. Likewise, the appearance of some ribbon tabs in Outlook 2010 will change when Outlook detects OneNote.

Subtle differences in appearance and functionality can also occur if you’re using OneNote or Office on an older version of Microsoft Windows, such as Windows XP or Windows Vista, or if you’re using OneNote or Office on a computer that offers handwriting, drawing, or Multi-Touch capabilities.

Windows Vista included its own e-mail client, called Windows Mail, which was the successor to Outlook Express on Windows XP. On Windows 7, the newest operating system in the Windows family, clicking the E-mail Page button in OneNote does nothing because the built-in functionality was removed. This wasn’t an oversight but a deliberate decision due to the ever-increasing rise in popularity of web-based mail programs. It’s an interesting example of how different flavors and versions of software, when used together, can exceed or fall short of our individual expectations.

2. OneNote Integration with Windows

No matter what version of Windows you’re using, installing OneNote 2010 adds a useful feature called the Send to OneNote print driver.

A device driver is a software program that allows your operating system or a software program to “talk” to a device connected to your computer, such as a printer or a scanner. The OneNote print driver can intercept the information other programs send to your printer and, instead of committing the information to paper and ink, print it out electronically on a OneNote page instead.

The Send to OneNote print driver works the same way, just in the opposite direction. Instead of importing printed content from other programs into OneNote, the Send to OneNote print driver lets you “push” information from other programs to OneNote. It also lets you use the quick filing dialog box to select the exact destination in your notebook where you want the printout to appear.

Printing from Any Windows Program to OneNote

To print to a page in OneNote instead of a page in your printer, do the following:

1.	In the program you want to print from, click the Print command.
2.	In the Print options that your program displays, select the Send to OneNote 2010 print driver (see Figure 3). Figure 3. In any Windows program, selecting the Send to OneNote 2010 print driver as your “printer” will print out the pages from your program to a new page in OneNote instead of using ink and paper on your real printer. This lets you capture important information without wasting paper or having to worry about finding the information again. OneNote’s search features can instantly find information in your printouts.
3.	Select any other options you want, such as page range, and then click Print.
4.	In the Select Location in OneNote dialog box that appears, click to select the notebook section where you want the page with the printout to be added and then click OK.

Different Windows programs have different-looking Print options. In most cases, clicking the Print command on a menu or ribbon-type interface will display a screen or dialog box where you can temporarily override your default printer. If you want to always print to OneNote, you can make the OneNote print driver your default printer. In Windows Control Panel, open Devices and Printers (Windows 7) or Printers (Windows Vista). In the list of printers and print drivers, right-click the Send to OneNote 2010 icon and then click Set as Default Printer (see Figure 4 ). Now all of your print jobs will automatically go to OneNote, unless you override this choice for specific print jobs by selecting your real printer in the Print dialog box.

Figure 4. In Windows Control Panel, your list of available printers includes the Send to OneNote 2010 print driver. The green check mark over the icon of your real printer indicates what Windows uses as your default printing choice. If you make the Send to OneNote 2010 print driver your default printer, all of your printouts will be sent to their own OneNote pages. You can still choose to use your real printer whenever you need to print something on a sheet of paper.

You can right-click a printout when it appears in OneNote and click Copy Text from this Page of the Printout (or Copy Text from All Pages of the Printout) whenever you want to use the text for editing in your notes. If you have picture search enabled, OneNote will also find words in printouts when you search for them. These features are another benefit of printing to OneNote instead of to paper.

Using the OneNote Screen Clipper and Launcher in the Windows Notification Area

Figure 5. The OneNote Screen Clipper and Launcher icon as it appears when displayed in the notification area of the Windows taskbar. When the icon is visible here, the keyboard shortcut combinations shown next to the commands on the shortcut menu provide instant access to those commands, even when OneNote 2010 isn’t running.

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