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Microsoft is taking a little detour from Windows before students head back to class and workers return from their summer vacations. Microsoft has turned its attention to Apple users with updates to the company’s note-taking app, OneNote.
Available now, the new versions of Microsoft OneNote for Mac, iPad and iPhone offer expanded cloud storage, file support and security options. Notably, the new apps now link to OneDrive for Business, allowing users to more seamlessly incorporate note-taking into their Office 365 environments.
“You can now open, sync, and create personal or shared project or class notebooks on OneDrive for Business,” announced Microsoft’s OneNote team in a blog post.
OneDrive for Business is Microsoft’s cloud storage service for companies and organizations. The company recently increased the offering’s base storage capacity from 25GB to 1TB per user.
Despite Microsoft’s aim to accommodate “dual user” scenarios (work and personal), the new apps can put work first. If users are only employing OneNote at school or work, the company claims to have “made it easier for you to get started with OneNote by directly signing in with your organizational account upon opening OneNote,” wrote the company’s bloggers.
On the security front, notes that have been password-protected on the Windows version of the software can now be unlocked using the Apple versions.
“Simply navigate to the section and enter your password to access your private notes,” instructed the company. After reviewing or editing, OneNote can automatically lock the affected sections after a few moments unless users lock them manually.
OneNote for Mac and iOS users also gains the ability to view and insert attachments into their notes. “For example, on a Mac, you can drag and drop a PowerPoint deck or a Word document into your notes, as an attachment, and then view it in the OS built-in, Quick Look, or in the app itself,” explained Microsoft.
OneNote boasts better iOS integration. On the iPhone and iPad, pictures and documents received in the Mail or other apps can be transferred to users’ notebooks using the new “Open in OneNote” option.
Other enhancements include the ability to reorder or move items, allowing people to better organize their notebooks, particularly in multi-user environments. “This is especially handy when you’re sharing notebooks with colleagues or students and new content is added by others in different locations of your shared notebook,” said the company.
On the Mac, a new option enables users to place the contents they wish to share within the body of an email, joining the ability to send notes as PDF attachments. Lastly, the apps feature copy and paste improvements. “If you are doing some research for a project at home, school or work, you can now copy formatted content from Websites or other apps and paste in to your notes on any of your devices,” said Microsoft.