Leave a Review Microsoft OneNote
Great for iPad, but missing features
I rely on one note a lot, especially across platforms. Most of my remote work is done on my iPad though, and it bums me out that there are certain features missing on the iPad version of the app that are included in the free Windows 10/11 version on the desktop. In particular I hope that we get functionality with the Apple Pencil, especially ink to text. It exists in the windows version of the app, but bizarrely enough not on the iPad, despite there being settings for the Apple Pencil.
Also, and this is more of a general thing. Custom tags don’t seem to carry over from the desktop version, which sort of locks me out of using them since I switch back and forth between the two devices quite frequently. I’d like to organize everything by custom tags, but if I can’t search by them or create them on my iPad, then what’s the point? 🥲
Otherwise, great app, not sure what I’d do without it. 😅Show lessCosmicHoward
Good but ONE MAJOR PROBLEM- CANT RECOVER A DELETED NOTEBOOK FROM IPHONE
I have been using this app for many years now for pretty much anything and everything— it has also been my journal for 5 years and got me through a devastating loss when my boyfriend passed away 5 years ago. The other day I realized many of my notes were not syncing and in an attempt to fix the issue I deleted the entire notebook from my iPhone with one click. I thought nothing of this because I assumed it could easily be restored. Apparently that was not the case. I am very upset that Microsoft office OneNote would not make it more difficult to delete a notebook if it is permanent and can’t ever be recovered again. I was in a hurry and just wanted to resolve the problem and all those years of my heart and soul and journey to recovery after loss are FOREVER LOST.
Please Microsoft One Note Support: PLEASE FIX THIS FOR US. I don’t want to see someone else go through the pain and stress it causes to lose something so important. I had no idea that clicking that button meant I would never again get to recover my notebook. I thought it would be just like an app on the phone. Something that can be deleted and brought back to life to get rid of the glitches.
ATTN MS ONE NOTE SUPPORT TEAM:
If there is any way that you know how to recover this I would appreciate if you could reach out to me to walk me through the process. It would mean the world to me!Show lessjmsteig
Needs improvement
When you do highlighting or drawing to underline some thing if you go back and modify anything that occurred prior to that then do you highlighting or the drawing ends up moving and not staying with the item that you were highlighting. Likewise when you highlight something it would be nice if it would sense that you were trying to highlight an item and that it would put a nice highlighted straight line on the item, thus as you draw your finger across the word or words, it would simply be a starting point and ending point but the rest would be controlled by the program and be a perfectly straight line. Another thing is that it’s difficult to get to the beginning of a line because it is up against the edge of your cell phone screen. Unfortunately the screen moves because it thinks that you are trying to flip the page back to a different page, that is not the case, you are simply trying to start at the beginning of the line. These things need improvementShow lessMyTwoBitsWorth
LOVE
I am an iPhone user who first used OneNote at work using Microsoft. I loved the organization of it better than the systems I’d used before. I then migrated my notes from elsewhere. I recently got a tablet and stylus and OneNote has really leveled up in functionality.
Now I use OneNote and Apple notes exclusively. Two of my favorite recent uses:
1. I was watching a master therapist working on a training film with friends. There was a transcript for the video. I uploaded that into a note in my experiential family therapy section. Then I got to sit back and enjoy, and take notes directly on the transcript without feeling like I also needed to pause to write out some key sentences I would have wished I could quote if not having the transcript. That thing you get to do with a paper copy: doodle, highlight, jot words and phrases, exclamation points. All there. But no various notebooks to carry around and make sure not to forget when coming to an event like that.
2. I draw tarot cards most mornings as part of a daily/devotional practice. I did this before the iPad and Apple Pencil, but I wrote notes in a paper notebook. NOW with those tools and OneNote, I can hold up the tablet, snap a picture of my spread, and write notes directly around the image of the cards. Because of this, I notice I am learning the card associations more quickly.Show lessECoopr
My Main NoteTaking App
My favourite part about OneNote is that it is easily accessible on all platforms. It has an easy to use interface, spell check, styles and other essential features from any Microsoft Office product. I enjoy the ribbons, the to change the backgrounds between black, lined and grids. I love taking notes on my iPad, then adding more to the notes on my Mac. Although Mac continuity features supplement the copy and paste between the two devices, I still love being able to edit my notes on both apps.
Sadly, that’s where my love for OneNote ends. The UI is slow to update, there are still many glitches in OneNote. For instance, if I try to write with my Apple Pencil where there is text or an image, the page jumps around. This makes annotating notes and PDFs in OneNote difficult. Another feature that has been missing in OneNote is the addition of a dot-grid background, isometric background, or custom backgrounds. Sadly, OneNote is often slow to update and catchup on features present in other apps. I’d still recommend OneNote as one of the best free options for NoteTaking apps, but I would strongly recommend looking at some of the other NoteTaking apps available for purchase.Show lessTommythetrain
A nice one stop note app that can do a lot but somethings could be better refined.
A great app that seamlessly syncs between devices, stores a lot of different file types and makes note taking a breeze. However, there are few things I would love to see in this app that would take it to next level.
List of expected features is as follows:
1) Pinning note/chapters on top for ease of access, currently its has to be through finding the notebook/section/ sub section / Page. Which is distracting if you are actively working on a certain section and need a quick access.
2) Ability to hyperlink other pages/notes for definition, details etc. and ability to have a quick preview of those notes without leaving the current note.
3) The ability to select page size for notes, this is particularly important if the notes ever needs to be printed of shared as PDF. The current infinitely extending page is great for brainstorming but makes it a pain to print or share the idea through other apps like an email.
4) The lack of inline support for latex modes (How difficult is it to make a latex text box that compiles into a beautiful math equations) makes note taking of math equations a pain.
Apple Pencil can only be used after selecting draw mode (its been years since this app is on iOS, is that apple not allowing this feature or developer not implementing?)Show lessAmit-sangwan
Changed to 5 star, thank you very much for the prompt fix
(For iPad) New Review: Wow, within 1-2 patches after my first review, not only was the very niche issue fixed immediately but the new animation slaps. I had a sneaking feeling that Office support would be speedy, but wow. Thank you for giving me a fantastic reason to continue buying MSFT shares. Old Review: I appreciate all the work that has gone into making OneNote a native-like iPad work and I use it everyday at work. My only quip is that the “lost connection” notification at the top of a notebook scrolls the rest of the notebook page down, decimating whatever poor letter I was writing with the Apple Pencil at the time and then predictably again when I regain connection. For a few seconds at a time, I lose connection at least 20 times per hour while tethering from an iPad2021 & iPhone 12. I am glad the notification lets me know my notes may not be saving, but it would be fantastic if it did not interrupt writing or stylus input. Thank you.Show less182630362919-
Apple Pencil Stroke, Search Feature, and Pages!!!
I love OneNote BUT it needs some extra work to make it perfect. I use it for all of my classes as an undergrad student in college. I’m currently on an iPad Pro with a 2nd gen Apple pencil.
My biggest issue is that with the Apple pencil the calligraphy feature automatically turns on mid note taking depending how much pressure or how I hold the pencil. PLEASE MAKE A TOGGLE FEATURE TO TURN THIS OFF!!!! I hate when the writing looks bigger sometimes and normal other times. Next, please make an option to make the page printer size so I can print my notes! I love being able to free form note taking but not always!!! Same goes for importing documents and PDFs — please make it option where it fills the entire screen rather than just pasting on top of the page. Lastly, the SEARCH FEATURE needs to be able to search more than one word and the option to click through like ANY other CTRL+F/CMD+F feature. These simple fixes would be life changing for me as a student.Show lessLeanneIPHONE
Great App!!
I honestly didn’t like it at first, but I have grown to like it. Some features that people will want is an audio recording function to play back lectures. Notability does a great job at that, Some improvements for example is one note is the lag between writing and typing. It just doesn’t feel smooth sometimes. Also, lag and exporting of images is not good. I want to move images freely, spin them around, zoom in and out without any hassle. Last thing, is the paging of it. *IMPORTANT TO HIGHLIGHT*-The paging of one note is weird that I wish it is like notability and good notes 5 like page 1, 2, etc of page breaks. Then, show the pages like 1-10 on the side that I can find, instead of me scrolling down to find that particular page. **IMPORTANT TO HIGHLIGHT*-The “endless page” feature is a pain to deal with then being a perk. The pages never end or break like notability. Especially when I need to export pdf’s or print one note notes. When I go print the pages as review to see physically the format is messed up. I hope one note fixes this issue. Also, split screen should apply to OneNote like notability and goodnotes. There should be rulers, or the straight lines or straight shapes feature. If one note has the same features as one note it surely will be the greatest note-taking app. The syncing is amazing though.Show lessDvu12
Good, but missing features…
As an iPad Pro user, the iPad app is good, but missing key features that collectively make the App far less efficient and useful. All of these missing features pertain to the draw function. On Desktop, you can convert Ink to Text and Ink to Math. On the iPad OS version, you can only convert Ink to Shapes, which, for the business professional, is entirely useless. It is my understanding that the Ink to Text feature has been the number one (by far) requested feature for the iPad OS version of OneNote for YEARS, yet Microsoft has yet to add this functionality. Why?? The Desktop version is fantastic, as it offers essentially every functionality you could ever need or want in a digital notebook, and that’s why it has historically reigned supreme to its competitors. It’s absurd to have to use the Apple Notes app, which offers Ink to Text functionality, then copy over the converted text into OneNote… Why can’t Microsoft afford the same plethora of features offered on Desktop on mobile??Show lesssgf36
