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The Drawing and Writing Tools command in Microsoft Office OneNote 2003 lets you use any pointing device, such as a mouse, drawing pad stylus, or a Tablet PC (Tablet PC: A computer that runs Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. With a Tablet PC, you can write directly on the screen by using a tablet pen and use the pen to perform mouse functions. Also known as a tablet computer.) pen to place free-form notes, such as drawings and writing, directly on the page.

Note  Some of the features or functionality described in this topic are available only if you have installed Microsoft Office OneNote 2003 Service Pack 1. To learn more about the service pack and how to download it, see Service pack features in OneNote 2003.

When you draw on the page, the ink is placed in a drawing canvas. By default, a drawing canvas automatically expands to accommodate additional ink when you add ink to an existing drawing. If the ink that you add is an inch or more away from an existing drawing canvas, OneNote creates a new drawing canvas, which signifies a new drawing. You can also combine two or more separate drawings into a single drawing, so that you can move them around on the page as a single unit.

On a Tablet PC, handwritten note containers are classified as ink groups. If ink groups are visible, OneNote uses different visual cues to let you know whether your writing is considered a drawing— ink that is a graphical element on the page— or handwriting— ink that can be converted to typewritten text.

When you run OneNote on a Tablet PC, handwriting can be recognized and converted into typewritten text. Handwriting recognition is specific to the language of your operating system. For information about handwriting recognition and system support for other languages, visit the Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition Web site.

Ink that is classified as handwriting is indicated by a shaded area that expands as you write and suggests where to wrap a paragraph to the next line.

Like typewritten notes, handwritten notes and drawings appear in note containers that can be moved anywhere on the page.

You can search your handwritten notes the same way that you can search your typed notes. Using OneNote on a Tablet PC also lets you format handwriting in various ways, including indenting paragraphs, highlighting, font color, and bulleted and numbered lists.