Outlook Notes

[CMM]

I did a search but couldn't find a definitive answer other than
"importing".... but is there a way for Outlook Notes to be automatically
kept in sync in some OneNote folder like Unfiled Notes.

 

[Josh Einstein]

No, no way for that. Outlook notes are lame as hell and that's coming from
an Outlook fan.

Use OneNote as your Outlook notes replacement. They suck. Totally.

 

[CMM]

No, no way for that. Outlook notes are lame as hell and that's coming from
an Outlook fan.

Use OneNote as your Outlook notes replacement. They suck. Totally.

I agree. I've been using them for years (and years and years).... they do
suck. But I still don't see why OneNote can't sync up with them and, say,
show them in the Unfiled notebook. For instance, my Outlook Notes
synchronize with my Yahoo account so I can access them from everywhere. But,
when I sync with my Windows Mobile smartphone, only OneNote notes are
supported (Outlook notes don't get synced without a 3rd party utility).

It's all a bit unesthetic and confusing. Outlook notes. OneNote notes. Vista
Sidebar notes. Big Frankenstein mess and hodgepodge of ideas MS throws out.

 

[Josh Einstein]

If you really really want I'll write an add-in that will *migrate* your
Outlook notes to OneNote. But syncing them would just keep a dead body on
life support.

 

[John Guin]

Not to steal Josh's thunder, but I already wrote the Outlook sticky notes
exporter:
http://blogs.msdn.com/descapa/archive/2007/02/14/export-your-outlook-notes-to-onenote.aspx

They don't keep in sync, so I also wrote another addin for Outlook that
opens OneNote whenever you navigate to the sticky notes folder in Outlook.
You can get it at
http://blogs.msdn.com/johnguin/archive/2007/04/16/4-16.aspx.

Let me know what you think.

 

[CMM]

If you really really want I'll write an add-in that will *migrate* your
Outlook notes to OneNote. But syncing them would just keep a dead body on
life support.

Thanks. But, that's alright. I'm a developer too. I could do it. I've
considered writing add-ins on both ends (Outlook and OneNote) to keep them
synced. I'm very familiar (expert) with Outlook's OM, but not really
OneNote's.... so I figured it's not worth the hassle. You're right about the
"life support" thing. Sometimes it's tough to let go.

I still think MS could be doing a whole heck of a better job of creating a
uniform, intuitive user experience with these hodgepodge of tools.

 

[John Guin]

CMM,

If you are serious about trying to keep OL and ON notes in sync, you may
want to check out the OneNote object model project we have at
www.codeplex.com/onom. ON doesn't have an object model like Outlook - we
expose and import/export API. The OM project is building a layer on top of
that API to make moving data into and out of OneNote easier.

 

[CMM]

Very interesting. Wow, OneNote is the first MS app I have seen in a long
long long without an exposed object model. There's no add-in possibilities?
VBA, .NET, nuthin'? Weird.
Thanks for the info and link. Good info!

 

[CMM]

Not to steal Josh's thunder, but I already wrote the Outlook sticky notes
exporter:
http://blogs.msdn.com/descapa/archive/2007/02/14/export-your-outlook-notes-to-onenote.aspx

They don't keep in sync, so I also wrote another addin for Outlook that
opens OneNote whenever you navigate to the sticky notes folder in Outlook.
You can get it at
http://blogs.msdn.com/johnguin/archive/2007/04/16/4-16.aspx.

Let me know what you think.

--
Thanks,
John Guin
OneNote Test Team
http://blogs.msdn.com/johnguin

Thanks John. I haven't looked at your solution yet, but I did pretty much
the same thing- quick and dirty- when I first decided to start using OneNote
but using Outlook's built-in VbaProject.OTM.... No COM or .NET add-in
necessary. Very simple (although Outlook's left-side Navigation Pane doesn't
flip back to the previous folder's although the rest of Outlook does...
seems like a bug to me):

'm_oMainExplorer set in the Application_MAPILogonComplete() event.

Private Sub m_oMainExplorer_FolderSwitch()

If m_oMainExplorer.CurrentFolder.FolderPath =
Application.GetNamespace("MAPI").GetDefaultFolder(olFolderNotes).FolderPath
Then
Shell "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\ONENOTE.EXE"
On Error Resume Next
If Not m_oLastFolder Is Nothing Then
Set m_oMainExplorer.CurrentFolder = m_oLastFolder
Else
Set m_oMainExplorer.CurrentFolder =
Application.GetNamespace("MAPI").GetDefaultFolder(olFolderInbox)
End If
On Error GoTo 0
Else
Set m_oLastFolder = m_oMainExplorer.CurrentFolder
End If

End Sub

I'll check out your exporter.

 

[Josh Einstein]

There isn't an automation model in the traditional sense but OneNote exposes
its data as XML that can be modified in nearly any way imaginable, including
putting invisible metadata in the notebooks.

It would be nice to get an in-process addin option with access to the
command bar and navigation (or better yet the ribbon when they get around to
it.)

Thanks for the link, John. I wasn't really looking forward to doing it
anyway.