OneNote for authors

[Tracy]

hello,

i am an author and recently heard of this software while looking for a
tablet laptop. i read a lot of info on microsoft's web site for this
software but can't figure out if what i would like to use it for is
possible, so i'm hoping someone here can tell me.

i'd like to be able to have one document for each chapter. i'd like to write
the chapter by hand on the tablet and have it converted to text, preferably
a ms word document.
is there an option to start a new paragraph?
i won't mind having to change the margins or font once it's in ms word.

is this possible?
any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
thank you.


Tracy
* * * * * * * * * *

 

[EMRhelp.org]

hello,

i am an author and recently heard of this software while looking for a
tablet laptop. i read a lot of info on microsoft's web site for this
software but can't figure out if what i would like to use it for is
possible, so i'm hoping someone here can tell me.

i'd like to be able to have one document for each chapter. i'd like to write
the chapter by hand on the tablet and have it converted to text, preferably
a ms word document.
is there an option to start a new paragraph?
i won't mind having to change the margins or font once it's in ms word.

is this possible?
any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
thank you.

Tracy
* * * * * * * * * *

1) Do you have a Tablet PC ?
2) Did you know there is a 60 day free Trial of OneNote ?
3) The writing to Text conversion is unlikely to be good enough not to
be a hassle ?
4) Can you type ?
5) Why not try Dragon Naturally Speaking 9 (it works well).

I guess it depends on when and how you are going to do your writing.
It's not all that pleasing looking at a computer screen ... use paper
and then dictate it

6) Windows Vista is supposed to be pretty good with speech.
7) Windows Vista handwriting recognition is supposed to be quite
better than Windows XP Tablet Edition (never tested by me yet).
8) What might work for you is Googy TwoNote (google it). OneNote's
strength is not really long pages (which I presume 1 chapter would
likely get pretty long). What might be OK is inking in TwoNote or
Journal when you have to ink (? are you on a train/bus ?).
9) Paper is good, don't forget that.

This really really depends on your exact situation where you are going
to do your writing. My suggestion is that if at all possible use a
keyboard or paper !

 

[Scoop]

I would agree with the stuff EMRhelp suggested, but only because it was
on-target, not because it specifically answered your questions directly.

Like you, I do a lot of writing. I spent over 20 years as a writer --
journalist, writer, reporter, and editor -- now I do a lot of freelancing, as
well as writing for non-profit entities.

Using OneNote can be a great help, but why would you want to write the stuff
manually? Sure, jotting notes is good for keeping things fresh in your mind,
which is why I carry 3"x5" index cards in my pocket, along with a pen. You
never know when a great idea will strike -- and you never want to miss that
once-in-a-lifetime chance to seize that one nugget of truth.

This is where you insert EMRhelp's reply.

If you watch the video MS has on the OneNote page, you will see you can
dictate (especially using Vista). Using Vista, in fact, you can have the
computer "type" for you. That's a cool feature, but for me, I can type much
faster than Vista can listen and type, so for me, keyboarding everything is
the way to go. Even Drag NaturallySpeaking is too slow for me.

Using OneNote, though, is like using a loose-leaf binder. It can be for
hand-written notes (why?!), or typed notes. I have several OneNote notebooks
for writing -- and each one is broken down with its own dividers -- just like
a looseleaf binder. Think of the looseleaf binder as one in which you slip
printed pages into for storage. Or think of it as a book-in-progress. If
you want to write each chapter, that's fine, too. Just save each one with a
different tab -- or whatever setup you want. Perhaps you want each chapter as
a separate OneNote notebook. You will see many notebooks open in OneNote --
and if you have 10 chapters, it's possible that you'd see all the chapters
open at once.

My suggestion is to download the trial copy -- or, for the shelf price of
OneNote, buy a copy and write it off on your taxes as a business expense --
and figure out how it works best for you.

When you're done writing, export it to an MS Word document, PDF, or whatever
format works for you.

 

[EMRhelp.org]

Scoop, if you type in OneNote, you should use Word instead.
Whatever function you are likely to use in OneNote as a writer, I
highly suspect Word would do a better job.

OneNote has INK, but I'd use cue cards like you do instead.

Get a Hipster PDA - http://www.43folders.com/2004/09/03/introducing-the-hipster-pda/

 

[Grant Robertson]

Using OneNote can be a great help, but why would you want to write the stuff
manually?

I have been using computers since the first Radio Shack Model-1 but I
still think better and more freely in handwriting. When I am handwriting,
I don't worry so much about if I am spelling it right or punctuation. I
don't have to worry about where the keys are and I don't have to look one
place and do something with my hands in another place. This may be easy
with lots of practice but it is still not as easy as just writing it
down. I definitely do write slower in handwriting but it seems to be at
just the right pace to match how fast I think of what I want to write. I
have far fewer pauses where I have to stop and think of what I want to
write. So, if I already know exactly what I want to write then it can be
faster in typing. But if I am thinking as I write, then it can go more
smoothly if I hand write it.

I know that OneNote's voice or handwriting to text conversion isn't
perfect. But my typing isn't perfect either. If I were to just type
without fixing the errors then it would be much worse than either voice
or handwriting to text conversion. At least the latter always spells the
words correctly.

Usually, if what I have written is of a personal or creative nature, I
will not convert it directly to text. I will copy it to another page and
convert that to text. Throwing away the original handwritten version is
like throwing away the core of my original creativity. Sometimes, I like
to look back over things in my own handwriting. It can bring my mind back
to where it was when I originally wrote the material much better than
just looking at converted text. I do admit that it is nearly impossible
to edit something I wrote in handwriting. I just forget about that and
pretend I wrote it in ink on paper. But, in OneNote, I can search for
words in that handwriting and easily copy parts of it and use them
elsewhere.

 

[Grant Robertson]

i'd like to write the chapter by hand on the tablet and have it
converted to text, preferably a ms word document.

Really, the best way to "convert" something from OneNote to Word is to
just copy and paste it. I use OneNote to work up my outlines and original
thoughts. Then I copy what I need over to Word to finalize the document.

is there an option to start a new paragraph?

Unfortunately, no. You can skip down a couple of lines when handwriting
but OneNote doesn't always get the clue. Plus, it seems to dynamically
decide where carriage returns belong within handwriting and changes them
around sometimes. Lines that were correctly in separate paragraphs one
day could suddenly be in the same paragraph tomorrow, especially if you
edit anything around them. Take it from someone who has been fighting
this issue for years - and who has written an article about about using
handwriting in ON 2003 - you are much better off accepting the fact that
OneNote has no clue as to the structure of your handwriting. It won't
know where paragraphs start and end, it won't know whether something is
indented or not. So don't expect to do any REAL outlining in OneNote. You
can write out something that looks like an outline but to OneNote it is
just a bunch of words in rows. That is as smart as it gets on this issue.
Microsoft's video demos will try to make it look as if you can do this
but they are either very carefully crafted or are simply faked.

All of this being said, I still use OneNote extensively for all my
thought organizing. I just accept the fact that it can only do so much.

i won't mind having to change the margins or font once it's in ms word.

When you copy and paste text over from OneNote expect to only be
transferring the text. One of the biggest mistakes people make when they
start to use OneNote is to attempt to use OneNote to FORMAT their
document. OneNote is for organizing things, not formatting them. Yes, you
can change the font of text but I recommend against it. OneNote doesn't
really even understand the concept of margins. Each block of text is
whatever width you set it to by dragging the edges. It can be positioned
anywhere you want, even three feet over to the right. Think of a OneNote
page as just an infinite sheet of paper that automatically expands in any
direction to make space for whatever you put on it. Don't think of it as
a document. Think of it as a place to stick thoughts or information that
you can easily get back to and you will get the best use out of it.

 

[Scoop]

EMRhelp, thanks for telling me how I "should" do stuff. I've been writing
professionally for more than 28 years. I write, using pen (or pencil, crayon,
etc.) on paper, matchbook covers, or napkins. I write using any tool that
does the job for me.

Frankly, Word is NOT a tool I want to use for the majority of the writing I
do, as it adds code that is not recognized in other programs, or that simply
adds garbage to the final product.

A lot of my writing is actually done in Notepad++ then dumped into
QuarkXPress or InDesign, depending on the project I am working on, then saved
to OneNote for my historical reference. See, Word is NOT a tool I want to use
at all.

Thanks for the link to the hipster PDA. My Franklin Planner does fine,
though. < http://snipurl.com/1e5v5 >

 

[Scoop]

Seems you and I started out about the same time. I got a TRaSh-80 brand new
back in the day.

Have fun!