How to access and edit OneNote notebooks over the web

In a previous posting on voato,  I talked through all the new features of OneNote 2010. One of the main issues I criticised was not having the ability to access a notebook online which was a big deficiency when compared against Evernote.  However,  I’m pleased to report that this is now supported and provides some great functionality.  In this post I tell you how to access your OneNote notebook via the web.

We’ll use the OneNote Guide as an example to demonstrate how easy it is to share any notebook online.  We’re also going to make use of the Microsoft Office Online Web Apps and SkyDrive.  You’ll first need to create yourself a Windows Live SkyDrive and Office Web Apps user ID.  If you already have a .NET Passport / Windows Live account then you have everything you need.

Share Your OneNote notebook.

Open up your notebook in OneNote 2010 and select File > Share.  This will take you to the screen below.

Looking at the section  “3. Web Location” above, if you already have a SkyDrive account you simply need to Click Sign In. Otherwise follow the Sign-Up process to create an account.  After you Click Sign-In you’ll be asked to enter your Windows Live ID credentials.

Once you’re authenticated, OneNote will display the list of folders for your account so choose the location to share your notebook. It’s best to choose “Documents”.

Select the folder your want for the share and then click Share Notebook. Wait a few moments and depending on the size of the notebook you’ll be shown the following dialog.   Click Yes to email a link and your favourite email client will open with a pre-prepared couple of links.

One of those links will enable you to open the notebook in OneNote and the other using a Web Browser.

Edit your OneNote notebook using a browser

Simply copy and past the http URL into a web browser and enter your login credentials when asked.  Your OneNote document will open using Microsoft Office Web Apps.    This will allow you full control over your OneNote notebook on the web. Any changes you make will automatically be synced with your “local” copy of the notebook.  I found that some larger OneNote notebooks took several minutes to synchronise with the web when they are first shared, so don’t be surprised of not all the content appears straight away.  Patience.

Down the left hand side of the browser window you have access to all your sections and pages.  You may find that some pages display the yellow warning banner at the top saying “This page contains items that cannot be displayed in OneNote Web App”.   This usually occurs if you’ve used the Draw functions in OneNote to create lines and shapes which aren’t part of an image.

Now, if you make a change to the OneNote notebook using the browser,  wait a few moments and the change should be automatically updated in your local version as if by magic. We found that you have to click onto another tab or page before the syncing in triggered.   Once you make any change,  the green synchronisation icon next to the notepad name will begin to spin. Once the synchronisation has completed, a small green tick appears next to the icon. This also works if you make a change in the OneNote client application.

Finally,  you might want to create yourself a desktop icon with a link to the OneNote Web Application. To do this,  copy the HTTP URL from the email you prepared earlier and then follow the instructions here.