OneNote Mobile gives you instant access to your Microsoft OneNote 2010 notebooks on SkyDrive. To get started, all you need is a Microsoft account.
Notebooks that you already have on SkyDrive appear as soon as you sign in to the app using an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. If you don’t have notebooks, a new notebook called “Personal (Web)” is automatically created for you and you can start taking notes right away.
The free download can be used to sync up to 500 notes with your device. After this limit, you will no longer be able to edit notes and will be asked to upgrade.
In this article
Why do I need a Microsoft account?
A Microsoft account is an email address for signing in to Microsoft services, such as SkyDrive. Because OneNote Mobile syncs notebooks to SkyDrive, you must first sign in with a Microsoft account.
If you have any of the following accounts, you already have a Microsoft account that you can use to sign in to OneNote Mobile:
- Hotmail (example@hotmail.com or example@live.com)
- Your own email address that is registered as a Microsoft account
- Messenger
- SkyDrive
- MSN
- Zune Pass
- Xbox LIVE
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How do I sign up?
You can register any email address—such as a Gmail or Yahoo account—as a Microsoft account, or you can get a new hotmail.com or live.com email address. Both options are available on the sign up screen. Tap here and follow the instructions.
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What’s new in version 1.3?
We appreciate your feedback and we’re listening. This version has a new tabbed design, improvements to app performance, and updates including:
- Available for iPad
- Ability to view tables
- Paid upgrade after 500 notes
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How do I use OneNote Mobile?
OneNote Mobile works with SkyDrive to sync your notebooks to an iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad. This means that any notebook that you want to access from your device must be located on SkyDrive.
There are three ways to do this:
- Create your notebooks on SkyDrive using the OneNote Web App
- Use OneNote 2010 on your Windows computer to share your notebooks to SkyDrive
- Sign in to OneNote Mobile and a new notebook called “Personal (Web)” is automatically created for you
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I have OneNote 2010 notebooks on my computer. How can I use them with OneNote Mobile?
On your Windows computer, do the following:
- Start OneNote 2010 and open the notebook that you want to use with OneNote Mobile.
- Click the Share tab.
- Click Share This Notebook.
- Under Share On, select Web. You will need to sign in to SkyDrive if you haven’t already.
- Under Web Location, select the folder for the notebook.
- Click Share Notebook.
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I have notes in OneNote Mobile. How can I access them from my computer?
Notes taken with OneNote Mobile are automatically synced with your SkyDrive account and can be accessed using the Web browser on your PC or Mac.
- From your computer, open www.skydrive.com and sign in with your Microsoft account.
- Find the notebook you want and click to open it in the OneNote Web App. If you can’t find the notes you’re looking for, check the Personal (Web) notebook where unfiled notes are saved.
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I have one or more notebooks on SkyDrive. Do I need to do anything else?
No. Just sign in to OneNote Mobile to sync with your SkyDrive account. Your notebooks are immediately available in the app.
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I don’t yet have any notebooks. Can I still use OneNote Mobile?
Yes. Just sign in to OneNote Mobile and a notebook called “Personal (Web)” is automatically created for you on SkyDrive.
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What are “Personal (Web)” and “Unfiled Notes”?
“Personal (Web)” is a special notebook that is automatically created when you first sign in to your SkyDrive account. “Unfiled Notes” is a section in that notebook. OneNote uses both of these to properly sync your notes to SkyDrive. For this reason, neither the “Personal (Web)” notebook nor its “Unfiled Notes” section should be deleted or renamed.
To move an unfiled note to a different notebook or section, use OneNote 2010 or the OneNote Web App on SkyDrive.
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How do I file or move notes?
To organize notes, use either Microsoft OneNote 2010 on your Windows computer, or use the OneNote Web App in your Web browser on your PC or Mac to access your notes on SkyDrive.
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How do I delete or create a new notebook or section?
To do this, use either Microsoft OneNote 2010 on your Windows computer or use the OneNote Web App in your Web browser on your PC or Mac to access your notes on SkyDrive.
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How can I change the color of my notebooks and section?
To change the color of a notebook, on your Windows computer, do the following:
- In OneNote 2010, right-click the notebook’s icon on the Navigation Bar, and then click Properties.
- Under Color, click the Color drop-down menu, and then click the new color you want.
- Sync the notebook with SkyDrive. The new notebook color will appear the next time you open the notebook from OneNote Mobile.
To change the color of a section, on your Windows computer, do the following:
- In OneNote 2010, right-click the section tab whose color you want to change, click Section Color, and then click the new color you want.
- Sync the notebook with SkyDrive. The new section color will appear the next time you open its notebook from OneNote Mobile.
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Some items from my notebook are missing. What’s wrong?
Notebooks that are created on SkyDrive using the OneNote Web App or on your computer using OneNote 2010 might include elements that will not display in OneNote Mobile.
These items include:
- Text formatting
- Clickable links
- Audio and video clips
- Numbered list
- Tags (other than the “To Do” checkbox tag)
- Embedded or inserted files and file printouts
- Math equations
- Ink drawings and handwriting
In addition, the following features are not yet available in OneNote Mobile:
- Selecting a full page
- Syncing with notebooks on SharePoint
- Creating, deleting or renaming notebooks
- Organizing sections or pages
- Viewing or editing password protected notebooks
- Editing tables
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Can I sync my notes using only Wi-Fi networks?
Yes. If you prefer not to use your data plan to sync notes, you can choose to sync only when a Wi-Fi network is available.
- On your device, tap
.
- Tap
and then turn on Sync on Wi-Fi Only.
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Why don’t I see my shared notebooks?
Notebooks that others have shared with you on SkyDrive are not automatically visible.
To view them, do the following:
- On the Notebooks tab, tap
.
- Tap Notebook Settings and then turn on the shared notebooks that you want to see in OneNote Mobile.
If the notebook still doesn’t appear, ask the person who is sharing the notebook with you to sign in to SkyDrive and make sure to share the folder that contains the notebook. If only the notebook is shared, it won’t appear on your device.
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How do I sync my notes with SkyDrive?
Syncing automatically happens when you move between notes and sections. For example, if you type a new note and then tap backwards to the sections view, the new note syncs with SkyDrive.
To sync all notes and sections, and any new notebooks on SkyDrive, do the following:
- On the Notebooks tab, tap .
- Tap Sync Now.
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Why am I asked to upgrade?
The free download of OneNote Mobile can be used to sync up to 500 notes with your device. After this limit, you will no longer be able to edit notes and will be asked to upgrade. To upgrade, do the following:
- On the Notebooks tab, tap .
- Tap Upgrade.
Here are some ways to reduce the number of notes syncing to your device:
- Delete notebooks or sections from SkyDrive (except the “Personal (Web)” notebook and “Unfiled Notes” section)
- Delete notes from your device
- Sync fewer notebooks by turning them off in Notebook Settings
When you’re finished, tap , and tap Sync Now.
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Can’t find your answer?
Please visit the Microsoft Answers forum, where other users post about OneNote. The forum is monitored by the OneNote team, who regularly answers questions there.
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