Posts tagged Tools
OneNote DROE AutoHotkey Tool
Dec 12th
As promised in my previous post on “Bending OneNote and Outlook to Fit my GTD System“, here is the tool I use to drive my DROE (Daily Record of Events) in OneNote. This is a configurable tool built using AutoHotkey. Note that the tool is a compiled executable, so you do not need AutoHotkey installed to use it.
What the DROE tool does is give you a handy shortcut to quickly open OneNote, jump to the top of your Daily Record of Events (DROE) page, insert a time stamp, and begin capturing thoughts before they slip out of your head. The tool replaces the standard Sidenote shortcut (Win-N) with the new function. You can still open OneNote in full/normal mode using Win-Shift-N.
There are also some additional features included in >> READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY >>
OneNote and Outlook Task Synchronization
Dec 2nd
I had a few questions come up related to how the task synchronization works between OneNote 2007 and Outlook. This is actually one of the best features that was added in OneNote 2007, as I noted in my post on “EverNote vs. OneNote“. The task synchronization feature, however, is still pretty new and can be easily broken. If you want to know how to synch without getting sunk, read on… (Ok, bad pun, sorry for that.)
The screenshot below shows a typical project in OneNote (from my OneNote Project Template). You can see that some tasks have a dark red flag, and some have a faded red flag. The faded red flag either means that the due date is farther out, or that OneNote hasn’t found the task in Outlook yet to determine the due date. Sometimes it just takes OneNote a minute or two to search Outlook and those pale flags turn back into dark red. Other times (such as when a task is moved to another folder or deleted in Outlook), OneNote never finds the task.
So how is OneNote finding those tasks in Outlook? Although I’m not an expert on the inner workings of OneNote, I did some snooping into >> READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY >>
OneNote GTD Project Template
Nov 20th
After my post on “Bending OneNote and Outlook to Fit my GTD System” I got a few requests to share the actual project template file. You can download the file here: OneNote Project Template File
NOTE: I make no guarantees related to this file or its suitability for any particular purpose. If your computer implodes, or your cat dies, I won’t be able to help you.
Here are some instructions to install the template: >> READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY >>
Bending OneNote and Outlook to Fit my GTD System
Nov 17th
I am now using Microsoft OneNote 2007 as part of my GTD (Getting Things Done) system. I talked about this a bit before in my post on EverNote vs. OneNote. My approach is a bit different than Rob describes in his 7Breaths blog. Where Rob tends to use OneNote as the hub of his system, I use the Outlook task list. I am really only using OneNote for three purposes:
- Capturing daily notes on the fly for future processing,
- managing projects, and
- storage of reference material.
I am not living inside OneNote throughout the day. Instead, I use Microsoft Outlook to manage my task lists (by context). Rather than pushing stuff from Outlook into OneNote, I am capturing and storing stuff in OneNote, then pushing it to Outlook during my weekly reviews. OneNote serves as an inbox and as a storage location for project information and reference material.
Here is my OneNote landscape (see screenshot below). One of the first things you’ll notice is that there is not a lot of complicated structure or oodles of tabs. It’s fairly clean and uncluttered. Everything is in a single notebook labeled “2007″. I deleted all of the sample tabs and pages that come with the OneNote install. The primary tabs/sections in my OneNote GTD system are: @DOING, @PROJECTS, @FOLLOW_UP, and @DONE.
In my world, things are either done or they’re not done. Stuff in the first three tabs is “not done”, and stuff in the “@DONE” section is “done”. My approach is >> READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY >>
EverNote vs. OneNote
Oct 12th
UPDATE July 2008: Since writing this post in October 2007, some important things have changed on the EverNote side. I’m currently evaluating the EverNote 3 beta and will let you know how things turn out. The original post is below…
Okay, let’s have it out! What tool is best for capturing and organizing notes? For a long time I used nothing but Notepad, plus some hand-crafted AutoHotkey scripts. As I got further into my GTD implementation, I wanted something that fit that methodology better and also integrated well with Microsoft Outlook. By the way, this post probably reeks of Procrastivity, but let’s indulge for a bit.
I canvassed the field multiple multiple times. I installed and uninstalled many a tool on my poor tired laptop, probably making a mess of my registry. There were two tools that I kept coming back to: EverNote and OneNote. Eventually those were the only tools left. For several months I used both tools simultaneously, going back and forth between the two trying to find that one reason that would tip the scales. That one reason never came. Both tools had some great features, and each tool also had several painful shortcomings. To help force the decision, I did what any self-respecting anal-retentive manager would do: I made a list!
The list below represents those features that were important to me for my system along with Low/Medium/High priorities. Where there were major shortcomings, I tried my best to find a work-around as if I had already decided to select that tool and make it work.
|
Feature |
Pri |
EverNote 2.1 |
OneNote 2007 |
| Text Recognition |
H |
Yes, but doesn’t allow you to copy/select text | Yes, and text can be easily extracted |
| Handwriting Recognition (image, not digital ink) |
H |
Yes, but uses a “shotgun” word approach and doesn’t allow you to copy/extract text. | No. |
| Auto Import |
H |
Very nice import of text and images just by dropping to folder. | No. I wish OneNote had this. I even tried some of the currently available “PowerToys” and no such luck. There are some command line tricks you can do, but these are very awkward. |
| PDF Import/ Export |
M |
No, EverNote basically doesn’t handle PDFs. You have to just add a link to the file (as an icon). I got around this somewhat with a Ghostscript command file I wrote to extract JPEGs from the PDF and automatically send them to EverNote. | Yes. You have to install the iFilter from Adobe, but after that you have options to import, export, email, etc. |
| Web Clipping from IE and Firefox |
H |
Yes – fast and accurate with links to original; clip and forget. | Poor – Formats somewhat mangled, Firefox is via 3rd party extension, slow & distracting (you have to watch OneNote open, splash screen and all) |
| Easily create Outlook tasks from Notes |
H |
No, manual process | Yes, very easy to create. Some issues where tasks get out of sync (if you move task to another folder) |
| Send note via email |
L |
Yes, although notes are more of a screen shot (not editable) format | Yes, but included function is weak (sends as OneNote attachment). Can get add-on that sends via PDF. |
| On-Screen editing of notes |
H |
Very limited. Cannot draw or float text over images. When inserting something everything else moves around. | Yes, excellent capability here. Also includes a lot of the standard editing & drawing tools ala Microsoft Word. |
| Easy to learn & use GUI |
M |
I know that scroll tape is their “thing”, but it’s awkward. The notes list is nice for quickly jumping to notes. You can only view one note at a time in full screen, and usually the link/source info is not available in that view. | Editor and layout is very easy if you’re familiar with Office products. The layers of notebooks and sections and tabs and pages feel a bit cluttered. |
| Tagging/ Categories |
M |
Yes, Excellent – ability to tag notes, define rules for automatic tags, and search via tag intersection panel | Very weak and poorly implemented. Only manual tags, no good tag hierarchy. The search function doesn’t filter, instead creates awkward page with copy of tagged items not linked back to original items. |
| Cost |
H |
FREE! As long as you don’t want handwriting recognition (which isn’t ready for primetime anyway) or sync multiple databases. | Fairly expensive… $75 (standard license) on Amazon.com. I saw some better deals on eBay ($55-60) if you’re willing to deal with smaller companies or individuals. Microsoft does, however, offer a free 60-day trial. |
| Built in Search |
H |
Yes, also like the fact that it starts to filter as soon as you type | Yes |
| Support for Desktop Search |
H |
No. Big minus here. No way to quickly get to all that useful data. I think they are adding Google Desktop Search capability in v2.2 however. | Yes – Works well with Windows Desktop Search. Should support Google Desktop Search too but I haven’t tested it. |
| Ability to link to notes from other places |
M |
Yes | Yes |
| Speed |
H |
Generally not an issue – fairly lightweight and fast. Occasional hangs, but pretty rare. | This was a big problem on my Dell Latitude D610. By the time it opened and loaded the page, I almost forgot what I was going to jot down. Not really an issue on my shiny new D630. |
So which one did I finally pick? Well, I >> READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY >>
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