OneNote Mobile: Tabs...?

[Ben]

OneNote Mobile seems to be geared for users of OneNote Desktop and not
really anyone else. It's a great product, but would be much better if the
client for my WM5 Smartphone Edition device weren't so 'bare-bones'...
Things that should be in there:

Tabs... I get that I can only have one section of the notebook that
syncs -- but being able to utilize tabs and organize the info on my device
with tabs would be much better than the current way it works. I can only
have 1 tab and sync pages on it.

Editing... cut 'n paste, highlight and apply formatting... should be part of
the OS, but isn't. Other applications have implemented these capabilities,
so it's possible -- should really be part of the OneNote.

More thought should be given to including features aimed at users who
utilize the notes more on their devices, with some referring-to and editing
of the info on their desktops.

 

[Erik Sojka (MVP)]

Are you using the latest beta version? B2TR has most of the editing
features you're looking for, but the product is still somewhat barebones.

The focus of ONM is indeed on it being a companion application for the full
desktop version of ON. That's been the development focus, and it took a
bit of effort to get ONM to this point and on as many platforms as it is.

Other than experimenting with the beta version, I don't even know if you
can get a copy of ONM if you haven't purchased ON2007.

 

[Ben]

It's a beta version that I downloaded not so long ago, and if those editing
features I've been looking for are there, I can't find them... ie:

-- I can turn bold on, type some stuff, and turn bold off; how do I
highlight existing text and apply bold to it?
-- How do I organize info using tabs? (tried creating sub-notes, but those
don't sync at all)
-- Where is cut 'n paste? Not in any of my menus...

You stated most of the these features are there, I don't see any of them --
where are they? How do I perform each of these functions?

 

[Patrick Schmid [MVP]]

I suggest you file your suggestions via
http://connect.microsoft.com/onenote
You won't see any changes though for years probably, as OneNote 2007 has
now been released (currently only to MSDN, TechNet and Volume License
customers).

Patrick Schmid [OneNote MVP]
--------------
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[Patrick Schmid [MVP]]

Other than experimenting with the beta version, I don't even know if
you

can get a copy of ONM if you haven't purchased ON2007.

You can download the trial versions starting December 1.

Patrick Schmid [OneNote MVP]
--------------
http://pschmid.net
***
Office 2007 Beta 2 Technical Refresh (B2TR):
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[Jonathan]

Try the page(s) at this location and see if any of your questions are
answered. This url came from a post 11/2/2006 by Dan Escapa, a Microsoft
employee who has his own (highly recommended reading) blog about OneNote.
Here is the page of information about OneNote Mobile
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/onenote/HA101956221033.aspx?pid=CH100627681033

See also comments made in his own blog about OneNote Mobil by Chris Prately,
until last week head of the whole OneNote development and launch.

I hope OneNote's Mobile5.0 functionality is worth it. I just ordered a Dell
WinMobile 5.0 pda to allow me to try it and it wasn't real cheap. I have been
a Palm user for a while and give up a battle-worn T3.

 

[Erik Sojka (MVP)]

What version of ON 2007 are you running? Beta 2 or the update to that -
Beta 2 TR?

Remember that ONM is installed from within ON, and the version of ONM is
dependent on the version of ON.

 

[Ben]

Which version are you saying these features work in, and, in the version
you're saying they work in... could you explain how to use them? You
haven't done that yet, only said they're available. At this point I'm
wondering if you actually know what you're talking about...

 

[Erik Sojka (MVP)]

If you're running the version of ONM which comes with B2TR (which you
haven't answered or confirmed) the clipboard features are right there on
the "Menu" menu.

As far as applying formatting to existing text, it would depend on if
your device has a stylus. I honestly don't know either way if a pure
phone-only device has this capability. My Dell Axim x50v is a
conventional non-phone PDA and ONM on WM5 has the ability to select text
with the stylus and apply formatting in ONM. My Treo700W (a full PDA
with phone capabilities) also has a stylus. There doesn't seem to be
anything inherent in the ONM gui to allow for this.

Which device do you have? (Answering the follow-up questions posed to
you will indeed get you closer to answer. Trust me. I know what I"m
talking about

 

[Ben]

B2TR... Though I can't find that clipboard, or a way to paste to/from it --
maybe you're not familiar with the smarthphone version and are referring to
PPC...?

I have a T-Mobile Dash, no touchscreen -- but I found that if the cursor was
in the middle of a word and I selected bold, it does the word -- no way for
a phrase, just a word at a time.

It doesn't matter though, as I uninstalled it. It's a great idea, but a few
versions away from being useful -- maybe when some people who use mobile
devices become part of the programming team or something, it'll be more
intuitive.

Besides all that, it's buggy. Some notes didn't sync, and if I added a
picture to a note on the desktop, it created a 2nd note on the device by
adding 001 to the name, an empty note except for the picture that was added
on the desktop (on the desktop, the picture remained as part of the original
note). Pictures added on the device sync'd properly to the desktop (if they
sync'd).

The desktop version seems much more developed than the smartphone version --
needs work, thanks though.

 

[Ben M. Schorr - MVP]

Aloha Ben,

B2TR... Though I can't find that clipboard, or a way to paste to/from
it -- maybe you're not familiar with the smarthphone version and are
referring to PPC...?

Probably so - the SmartPhone is a more limited device than the PPC and is
the primary reason why there is no ink support in this version.

It doesn't matter though, as I uninstalled it. It's a great idea, but
a few versions away from being useful -- maybe when some people who
use mobile devices become part of the programming team or something,
it'll be more intuitive.

Actually it was led by the mobile devices team. But it is a v1 product and
will undoubtedly improve in future versions.

Besides all that, it's buggy.

Yeah, well, it is a beta. Buggy is par for the course.

Some notes didn't sync, and if I added
a picture to a note on the desktop, it created a 2nd note on the
device by adding 001 to the name, an empty note except for the picture
that was added on the desktop (on the desktop, the picture remained as
part of the original note). Pictures added on the device sync'd
properly to the desktop (if they sync'd).

Interesting -- I don't think I saw any of that behavior, but then I'm running
it on a PPC so perhaps that was the difference.

The desktop version seems much more developed than the smartphone
version

Naturally - the Desktop version is both on a far more capable platform and
is a v2 product.



-Ben-
Ben M. Schorr - MVP
Roland Schorr & Tower
http://www.rolandschorr.com
Microsoft OneNote FAQ: http://www.factplace.com/onenotefaq.htm

 

[Ben]

Of course the desktop client is more capable, as with any other desktop
version of a smartphone product. The point is that the smartphone client
feels as if it were quickly put together by someone who wouldn't be using
it, it just doesn't work very well. As with most things Microsoft, it'll
probably be useable in it's 3rd version

 

[Patrick Schmid [MVP]]

The quickly put together is about right
See http://blogs.msdn.com/chris_pratley/archive/2005/11/21/494990.aspx

Patrick Schmid [OneNote MVP]
--------------
http://pschmid.net
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Office 2007 Beta 2 Technical Refresh (B2TR):
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OneNote 2007: http://pschmid.net/office2007/onenote
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[Ben M. Schorr - MVP]

Aloha Ben,

I guess it depends entirely upon at what point it becomes "usable" for you.
It's usable for me now, but I don't ask it to do very much. I use
it for quick note-taking and occasionally capturing a photograph. Less commonly
I'll copy a page of notes to it from one of my regular notebooks so that
I can have that notebook with me on the road.

Could it do a lot more? Sure, and v2 will no doubt. But it's still a nice
improvement over what we had before.

-Ben-
Ben M. Schorr - MVP
Roland Schorr & Tower
http://www.rolandschorr.com
Microsoft OneNote FAQ: http://www.factplace.com/onenotefaq.htm

 

[Erik Sojka (MVP)]

B2TR... Though I can't find that clipboard, or a way to paste to/from
it -- maybe you're not familiar with the smarthphone version and are
referring to PPC...?

Does your device have two menus at the bottom of the screen, as in Figure
4 of the screenshot here?
http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/articles.php?action=expand,48979

In that screenshot, there are "Done" and "Menu" buttons.

When I click into the "Menu" button when editing a note, there are "Cut",
"Copy", and "Paste" options in the middle of the menu.

I have a T-Mobile Dash, no touchscreen -- but I found that if the
cursor was in the middle of a word and I selected bold, it does the
word -- no way for a phrase, just a word at a time.

Can you select text in Pocket Word when using this device?

 

[Erik Sojka (MVP)]

Thanks for having my back

Does he know what he's talking about? MVP. Need I say more?

 

[Rainald Taesler]

Ben shared these words of wisdom:

At
this point I'm wondering if you actually know what you're talking
about...

No need to behave insulting!

Rainald

 

[Paul]

The quickly put together is about right
See http://blogs.msdn.com/chris_pratley/archive/2005/11/21/494990.aspx

Thanks for the link, Patrick!

That's GREAT! I'm using ON 07 B2TR and I sync up with my Treo 700wx (WM5).
I didn't know that the synchronization was both ways. I'm too use to the old
"copied Pocket PC Notes". Pity about the tags - it sure would be handy for
To Do Lists.