Real-time Collaboration in OneNote 2003

Microsoft overhauled OneNote 2003,
adding real-time document sharing and SharePoint integration to its
popular note-taking application.

The software giant released a
preview version
of OneNote 2003 SP1, adding a slew of tweaks that suggest
the product will be marketed to corporate clients.

Microsoft Group Program Manager Chris Pratley, who announced the service
pack on his Weblog,
said his team worked with several corporate customers to revamp
OneNote as a group collaboration tool.

“Shared folders, SharePoint
integration, real-time sharing, etc. are all inspired by working with our
‘rapid adopter’ corporate customers,” Pratley said. “Some of
these [customers] were questioning the value of OneNote [for] their
organizations at first, but now they are enthusiastically embracing it
thanks to SP1.”

With the addition of real-time note sharing and shared sessions, OneNote
2003 has evolved into a “very powerful” tool that can be used to speed up
corporate meetings, Pratley said.

OneNote 2003, released alongside the Office 2003 productivity suite,
allows users to capture, organize and reuse their notes electronically on
laptops, desktops and Tablet PCs.

OneNote 2003 SP1 also offers real-time, peer-to-peer, multi-user sessions;
the ability to share panes and folders with others; password-protection of
sessions and tighter integration with Outlook to allow users to create
contacts and appointments.

Additional new features include Video Recording and linked notes, as well as
the ability to copy text, ink or voice from Pocket PCs or SmartPhones.