Microsoft OneNote 2007: getting started

Do you have slips of paper, sticky notes and printouts in stacks on your desk, in folders or pinned to your cubicle walls? Have you searched for an important note only to find it stuck to the back of another document?

Welcome to the "Microsoft OneNote 2007: getting started" demonstration. In this demo, you'll learn the basics of OneNote 2007 and see how it helps you organize and keep track of notes and other pieces of information—no paper or sticky notes required.

OneNote 2007 uses "notebooks," which are like folders on your computer. You can create "sections" within a notebook, similar to sub-folders.

Each section consists of one or more pages, each of which can contain notes, tables, pictures, videos, audio files and other components. Each component is stored in a "container." A container is simply a section of the page that is separate from others; for example, you can have a single page with containers for text, images, tables and so on.

Notebooks are displayed along the left side of the OneNote 2007 screen by default.

Section names appear as tabs across the top of the main work area.

This is a blank page, on which you'll see how to add a variety of containers.

You can type any label you want in this field, which is the page title.

To create a note, click anywhere on the page and begin typing. A note frame appears automatically, which is the note's container.

Now let's create a bulleted list using the text we just entered. First, highlight the text to include in the bulleted list.

Select Format, and then select Bullets from the main menu.

Select a bullet symbol in the Bullets pane.

OneNote creates a bulleted list.

To add to the list, press the Enter key after an item and then enter your text.

To create a nested list, highlight the text and then press the Tab key.

To convert the bulleted list to a numbered list, select the Numbering link in the right pane, and then choose a numbering format.

You can also nest a bulleted list within a numbered list by applying formatting. Highlight the text to be changed, click Bullets at the bottom of the pane located on the right, and then select the bullet symbol of your choice.

Now let's close the Bullets pane and see how to insert a simple table.

Select Table, and then select Insert Table from the main menu.

Select the number of columns and rows in the Insert Table dialog box, and then click OK.

Add text to each cell, pressing the Tab key to move between cells. You can also press Tab or Enter to add a new line to the table.

You can also easily insert a digital photo or clip art image. Click a blank area of the page.

From the main menu, select Insert, then Pictures and then From Files.

Select an image on your computer, and then click Insert. The image appears on your page.

Now let's insert a portion of a web page. With your desired web page open in the background, click a blank area of the OneNote page. Select Insert, and then Screen Clipping from the main menu.

OneNote displays the web page. Use the cross-shaped mouse pointer to highlight the content you want to include in your OneNote page.

The highlighted web content and web link appear on your OneNote page when you release the mouse.

In addition, you can use the OneNote built-in drawing tools to add simple diagrams to your page.

Select View, and then Drawing Toolbar from the main menu. The Drawing toolbar appears at the bottom of the page.

Select a drawing tool from the toolbar, and then draw the line or shape wherever you want on the OneNote page.

You can move any container (such as a note, table or picture) anywhere on the OneNote page by dragging the container's outline handle (or frame).

In addition, you can merge two or more containers. Just select one container, Shift-click another container, and then drag it into place.

The note and table are now in one container, and can be moved anywhere on the page as a group.

In this demonstration, you learned how to create notes and other essential components in Microsoft OneNote 2007. Close the demo's browser window to end the demonstration.