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Microsoft OneNote is a fabulous, yet often over-looked program. In this posting I will highlight a few of the features and uses of OneNote.

1. Organize your "stuff."

The core strength of OneNote is its ability to help you get and stay organized. You will love you can store, tag and manipulate almost anything, such as for example pictures, text, digital handwriting and also voice.

One of the best reasons for having OneNote is that you could write anywhere on a full page and/or move each note box anywhere on a full page. Not only that, but you can drag and drop whole pages, sections and also notebooks.

It is very an easy task to take screenshots of websites or documents. The only caveat is that the screenshot is automatically saved as an unfiled note instead of right to the page you are currently working on. (It isn't a really big thing though - you can move it to where you will need it to be.)

You can create Microsoft Outlook tasks directly from OneNote and vice versa. Also you can send info backwards and forwards between OneNote and Microsoft word, aswell.

OneNote synchs with cellular devices so that you can access OneNote from anywhere. Additional info can send pictures or text from wherever you're directly to OneNote and ensure that you remember or lose that valuable piece of information.

2. Tag and search.

OneNote has a powerful search function which allows you find what you need quickly and painlessly. You can easily search by tag; however, if you want to find something you didn't tag, you can actually search by word or phrase.

Tags are a smart way to keep track and find your important messages, notes and to-dos. The tags may also be customizable, to help you change, create or delete tags at whim.

You can also create a summary page of all your tagged notes to keep them organized and easy to get at. You'll love this! By developing a summary page of most your tagged notes, you'll be able to see all of your tagged items at once.

3. Set your privacy settings.

Working on a group projects with clients, associates or other groups? No issue. OneNote lets you store notebooks in a shared location or SharePoint site, so everyone has usage of the notebook at the same time. Every time someone adds, takes away or modifies the notebook at all, it is immediately and automatically updated for everyone.

Want to share an email page with someone who does not have OneNote? No problem. You can easily email an email page directly from OneNote. The note is either sent being an html attachment or submitted the body of the email.

Want to keep a notebook, page or section for your eyes only? check here . You can easily create password protected sections or notebooks to ensure privacy. Bear in mind, though, in the event that you forget or lose your password Microsoft can not retrieve it. So write the password down and keep it in a safe place, just is case!

4. Side note.

Another handy feature of OneNote is "Side Note." Side Note acts such as a "sticky note" where one can write down snippets of information, ideas or things you want to remember without needing to keep OneNote open at all times. Side Note is unobtrusive and hides under your other windows until you need it.

You can use it to do a quick "drag & drop" for website links during research projects, type in a quick note to yourself as a reminder, or use is to keep your to-do list in a safe place that wont get lost! All the information is automatically added to the unfiled notes portion of OneNote for you to organize later.

5. Other features.

A fun thing that you can do is create page templates to change the look and feel of your notebooks or to develop a customized template to suit your needs.

Other features include automatic save and back up of your notes, basic calculator functions, ability to create drawing and tables, insert files as printouts, and the ability to attach files to your notes.

6. Ideas for use.

The ways you may use OneNote are endless. The secret is to use OneNote and its features in a way that best serves you. To really get your ideas flowing, though, I'll tell you a little about how I TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OneNote.

Each client (and potential client) gets his / her password protected notebook. Each section contains all of the projects and pertinent information related to that client. When ever I've a brainstorming session or telephone call with a client, all of the notes, ideas and suggestions get sorted in to the appropriate section or page.

I likewise have notebooks for marketing, writing (ideas & drafts of articles, blogs, ebooks, etc.), resources to look at or remember, a notebook for private personal use, a notebook linked to training and continuing education, a notebook of my wish list and vision board, a miscellaneous notebook for items that doesn't match other notebooks and some other kinds of notebooks.