Blog Post

Microsoft 365 Blog
3 MIN READ

You can do more with OneNote for the web and in Teams

chetnadas's avatar
chetnadas
Icon for Microsoft rankMicrosoft
Feb 09, 2022

We are happy to announce a set of upcoming features and improvements in OneNote for the web and in Teams to better serve millions of customers who have turned to these experiences for their notetaking needs over the last two years. We are also investing in making these experiences faster, more reliable, and on par with the OneNote desktop apps so users can confidently get their jobs done on whatever platform they prefer.

 

In this blog post, we'll cover updates on the following:

 

  1. New mode switcher (Rolled out)
  2. Improved copy/paste (Rolled out)
  3. Zoom in and zoom out (Rolled out)
  4. Set picture to background (Rolled out)
  5. Remember the last page you were on (Rolled out)
  6. Auto-inking with stylus (Rolled out)
  7. Re-size embedded web content as videos (Rolled out)
  8. Improved link sharing experience within Teams (Rolled out)

 

1. New Mode Switcher

 

We are introducing a new mode switcher for Teams and web platform like other Office web apps, such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to enable an easy switch between editing and viewing mode. This helps prevent accidental changes, and you get clear visual clues for read-only sections where you do not have edit permissions.

    New mode switcher: Switch between Editing, Viewing, and Open in Desktop App modes

 

2. Improved Copy/Paste

 

With the improved copy/paste experience, you can now easily paste rich content like tables and lists from external sources to a OneNote page without losing the source format. You can also paste from the context menu user interface (UI) in Teams and the Chrome browser using the Ctrl+Shift+V shortcut to paste text only.

     Paste and Paste Text Only options in context menu for OneNote in Teams

 

3. Zoom In and Zoom Out

 

You can zoom in to get a close-up view of a page or zoom out to see more of a page at a reduced size. You can select zoom levels on the Zoom dropdown under the View tab or use command shortcuts like Ctrl + / Ctrl - / Ctrl 0 (resets the zoom back to 100%) or pinch-zoom on a touchscreen device by moving two fingers towards or away from each other.

   Example of zoom in and zoom out menu

 

4. Set Picture As Background

 

You can now lock your pictures and printouts in place by right-clicking on any image and selecting the "Set Picture As Background" option. To turn the picture set as background off, click on the "Set Picture As Background" option again.

 

Example of the Set Picture As Background feature

 

5. Remember the Last Page You Were On

 

Every time you visit a notebook or switch to a different section, OneNote now remembers your most recently opened page and takes you directly there so you can always be in context!

 

6. Auto-Inking with Stylus

 

Inking on OneNote is as easy as using pen on paper. As soon as your stylus hits the canvas on a touch-enabled device, you can start drawing immediately. You can scroll and pan the page content by moving your finger across the screen. If you want to draw with your finger on a touch-enabled device, you can turn on the Draw with Touch feature on the Draw tab.

  Auto-inking menu: Use a stylus or draw with your finger

 

7. Re-size videos

 

You can now resize rich embedded web content, such as YouTube videos by selecting the video and dragging the corner handles.

 

Example of resizing a YouTube video

 

8. Improved Link Sharing Experience within Teams

 

This update makes it easier to share and view OneNote links inside a channel or chat in Teams.

 

As you begin to type a message with a OneNote link, Teams alerts you in case the message recipient does not have access to the file. You can then click on the file preview to manage file permissions easily without needing to leave the chat message.

 OneNote link sharing in Teams: Example notification when message recipient doesn't have access to the file

OneNote link sharing in Teams: Link Settings menu

 

Once the message is sent, users can open the shared OneNote link directly within Teams on their PC (coming soon to mobile). You also have the option to open the link in your OneNote app or in a browser.

  Open shared OneNote link options: Teams, OneNote desktop app, and Browser

 

To learn more about these and other new features in OneNote, check out this YouTube video:

 

 

Have feedback on OneNote? We’d love to hear from you! Follow OneNote Blog and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter for regular product updates.

 

Continue the conversation by joining us in the Microsoft 365 Tech Community! Whether you have product questions or just want to stay informed with the latest updates on new releases, tools, and blogs, Microsoft 365 Tech Community is your go-to resource to stay connected!

Updated Mar 30, 2022
Version 2.0
microsoft 365
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  • rs_oakford's avatar
    rs_oakford
    Iron Contributor
    Feb 10, 2022

    Thank you for posting about these updates related to OneNote, chetnadas .

    You mention at the end:

    Follow OneNote Blog

    However, I feel this https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-365-blog/bg-p/microsoft_365blog and https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/education-blog/bg-p/EducationBlog have more up-to-date information and note that the most recent post on the "OneNote Blog" is the article posted Monday 30 Sep 2019 by Jared Spataro :

     

    It would also be great to see these improvements listed on https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/roadmap?filters=OneNote 👍

  • SimonJHudson's avatar
    SimonJHudson
    Copper Contributor
    Feb 16, 2022

    Updates :white_heavy_check_mark:

     

    Web and Teams :white_heavy_check_mark:

     

    No Desktop client support :cross_mark:

    Bringing the desktop client features that power users rely on to web/Teams :cross_mark:

     

    We would love to see product parity rather than having to switch between multiple clients to use different features. We thought that was going to happen a couple of years ago. Still waiting.

    Until then the desktop client remains the first choice.

  • Juan_Manuel1095's avatar
    Juan_Manuel1095
    Copper Contributor
    Feb 16, 2022

    Although I feel excited about some features like, the pasting tables from excel, I'm sure that other math students, and engineering students like myself would enjoy and take advantage of some of this features in order of importance:

     

    1) having the infinite canvass feature as optional, I mean to have a set sizes of pages so it becomes easier for people to export pages to pdf for a defined size as letter or A4, and  end up with better organized notes. ( I ve seen this feature being asked in blogs, YouTube comments, reddit comments, even in Microsoft comments itself)

     

    2) dotted lines, and  dotted preset drawings like circles, squares, and being able to color those like in paint.(I also have seen this in reddit, YouTube, Microsoft forums and others)

     

    Those two features alone have kept me from using OneNote instead of pdf annotator, despite the fact that one note is the best note taking app ever, and way superior to pdf annotator in all other purposes but math. And that is why. Like me other people have been waiting anxiously to see those improvements in apps, so I wanted to let you know.

     

    Thanks for reading, have a good day!

     

  • Seanmc___'s avatar
    Seanmc___
    Brass Contributor
    Feb 10, 2022

    I like the new improvements! I am productive in Dark Mode? 🖤

  • Marie_Shipley's avatar
    Marie_Shipley
    Copper Contributor
    Feb 10, 2022

    I am a beginner, this software is the best and the Professionals, words cannot tell you how much OneNote has made my life(retired).  Thank you Microsoft and Professionals that share your knowledge to the beginners.