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Microsoft OneNote is a fabulous, yet often over-looked program. In this post I am going to highlight a number of the features and uses of OneNote.

1. Organize your "stuff."

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

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

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

It is possible to create Microsoft Outlook tasks directly from OneNote and vice versa. You can even send info backwards and forwards between OneNote and Microsoft word, as well.

OneNote synchs with mobile devices in order to access OneNote from anywhere. It is possible to send pictures or text from wherever you are directly to OneNote and ensure that you never forget or lose that valuable piece of information.

2. Tag and search.

OneNote includes a powerful search function that allows you find the thing you need quickly and painlessly. You can actually search by tag; however, if you want to find something you didn't tag, it is simple to search by word or phrase.

Tags are a great way to keep track and discover your important messages, notes and to-dos. The tags are also customizable, so that you can change, create or delete tags at whim.

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

3. Set your privacy settings.

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

Want to share a note 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 e-mail.

Want to keep a notebook, page or section for your eyes only? No problem. It is simple to create password protected sections or notebooks to make sure privacy. Take into account, 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 like a "sticky note" where you can jot down snippets of information, ideas or things you want to remember without needing to keep OneNote open all the time. Side Note is unobtrusive and hides under your other windows until you need it.

You can use it to accomplish a quick "drag & drop" for website links during studies, type in a quick note to yourself as a reminder, or use would be to keep your to-do list in a safe place that will not get lost! All the details is automatically added to the unfiled notes portion of OneNote so that you can organize later.

5. Other features.

A fun thing that you can do is create page templates to improve 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 can use OneNote are endless. The trick is to use OneNote and its own features in a way that best serves you. To get your ideas flowing, though, I'll let you know a little about how I Use OneNote.

Each client (and potential client) gets his or her password protected notebook. Each section contains all the projects and pertinent information linked to that client. When ever I've a brainstorming session or telephone call with a client, all the notes, ideas and suggestions get sorted into 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 related to training and continuing education, a notebook of my wish list and vision board, a miscellaneous notebook for stuff that doesn't match other notebooks and some other kinds of notebooks.