How to Take Notes on Your Notebook (Computer)

Interesting... I bought a cheap tablet (9$) from DealExtreme but... it's chinese only...

How much should I expect to pay for one of these?

According to this -> http://calebschmerge.googlepages.com/IMGP0323.JPG

It seems to be a little "big". Are there smaller tablets?

Thanks

Also is this "Bamboo" or "Bamboo Fun"? What are the differences?

 

I use Corel WordPerfect, and it offers a few imaging options (I can draw maps or diagrams as part of my notes) and good formatting. I like the professional look.

 

That tablet is about the smallest size on the market, and I don't imagine that you would really want something much smaller. For a tablet like that expect to pay $70-$90. That is a bamboo, not a bamboo fun. The bamboo fun primarily adds extra software (and cost). See the Wacom website for more.

 

Hi and sorry to barge into this conversation...

I read not only the OP, which I found very interesting, I then also looked up the WACOM products.

This is actually very topical in my particular case at the moment.

I need a device on which I could write meeting notes (only occasionally some drawings) - say over a 4-5 hour period and which I could, after the meetings (at the end of the day), transfer onto my laptop. What I would like to do is to avoid carting my laptop around as often as I do currently.

I saw the WACOM Bamboo, which looked very good. But I have two questions:

First, I am assuming the Bamboo needs to be tethered to the laptop (which should optimally run Vista for its handwriting recognition capabilities). This would mean carting the laptop around also whereever I would want to use the Bamboo. Am I correct in this?

Secondly, I dont think the Bamboo has any sort of storage capability...or, does it?

And, if the Bamboo does not have these capabilities are there any other products that can help me with my note taking at work etc?

Thanks

 

I also have another question (request actually). I haven't started college yet (I'll start this october, and I bought my XPS M1530, received yesterday, for that).

You said you used Oneone and the Wacom tablet to take notes.

Do you have any screenshot of a example of a mixed text/handwriting note you can show? I'd like to see an example, because I've never used a laptop to take notes before (actually it's my first laptop).

Thanks

 

The bamboo is just an input device - so you need the computer to be there to use it, it can't store any data on its own (just like you can't type on a keyboard then plug it in and have all you typed appear). One thing you can look at instead is the Logitech iO2 writing system (or similar products). With those you write on "normal" paper, then later attach the pen to the computer and it inputs all the data.

 

Does this show what you want to see?

 

Yes, thanks. Now I have some questions.

When you write something in the tablet, it is added automatically to the OneNote page, or how is it?. For example, there's an arrow from the "actual text" to the "handwritten text". How did you drew it so accurately?

Thanks! It seems really useful. It's a shame here in my country it is strange to see students taking notes with laptops in class and those who do are usually called, "oh! he's a nerd!"

 

There are two ways to set the drivers for the Wacom tablet. The first is so that it operates like a mouse - you put the pen on the tablet - drag it around, then pick it up and move it so that you can keep going. The second method (my preference) is to set the tablet so that each point on the tablet is linked to a point on the screen. So, if you put the pen in the bottom right of the tablet, the cursor is in the bottom right of the screen. If you go immediately to the top left of the tablet, you are in the top left of the screen. For writing, this is much more natural. Now, that said, in OneNote, I select a "pen" then so long as the mouse button is pressed, it draws ink on the page in OneNote. When you touch the pen to the tablet it acts as a click. So, you draw on the tablet and it appears on the screen. Does that help/make sense?

 

OK. Thanks.

Seems a pity though doesn't it? The Bamboo would have been a perfect device to carry into a meeting/ lecture/ class....make notes - not more than say 50-75MB, save it on a card and transfer onto the laptop!

Is there any device aside from the Logitech and other similar writing devices that can do this?

Thanks and regards

 

i start school again in june. i heard u can dl text books online, i wanted to take notes in class and still didnt have that part figured out until now...yo, i feel real ready. thanx for the info, i dont feel as lost now.

 

Just another screen shot for someone that was interested.

 

Where is this "treat as drawing" button?

 

Onenote looks uber when its filled up like yours. :]

P.S. NICE HANDWRITING Can Onenote read it as text?

 

ok, thats with a notebook pen or something rite, no way you did that with a mouse,i would die.

 

Read his sig, "Wacom Bamboo"

 

*google is my friend..*

 

Nice thing, but my classes are extremely fast,so switching beetween pen and keyboard would make me lose valuable explanations.
However in slower type classes,sounds like an awesome idea!

 

If OneNote can read my garbage handwriting, then yes, i'm sure it can read his.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned OneNote's tagging feature. What I have used it for is to make "Flash Cards."

I tag Definitions in my notes using "Ctrl+5" and I tag important snippets with "Ctrl+4." As time for review comes around, I can use OneNote's search feature and search all texts tagged as "Definitions." I get a huge list and I can just scroll through the list and review them. You can also save the search results. As I learn them, I can click on the tag and it puts a check mark by them, marking them as complete. Thus my search results narrow down to just the definitions I have not mastered yet.

I got the idea from a tutorial off the Microsoft's site. I highly recommend people check out the tutorials as they have tutorials that cater not only to beginners but also intermediate users and advanced users.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/training/FX100565001033.aspx

 

Ah your integral sign looks sooooooooooooo much better than mine lol. Mine just looks like an S .

Back on topic, is the wacom bamboo the only tablet you would recommend?

 

That is the one I would recommend. You can look for some others, but Wacom is just generally considered to be the best, and they have pretty darn good prices in my opinion.

 

I have studied mathematics at university, and after deciding that I wanted to store all my notes on my laptop, decided the easiest way was to write notes on paper (in landscape format, rather than portrait) and initially scanned these photos onto the laptop, but after a while I got sick of that and just took a photo using my digital camera, and used Windows picture viewer to view the notes. After a while I realised that I could do the same with books, so I photographed them as well, no need for heavy books anymore.

OneNote is great, within N clicks you have access to about 40*(5^N) pages. However, it can be really difficult to undo errors. I suggest people backup/copy the whole OneNote heirarchy once a day if possible, even to a temp directory. OneNote employs cacheing so if you want to go back, do the following:

backup/copy the most recent set of files, even if you want to go back

in onenote, delete all notebooks on the left hand side

close onenote

copy the old files over to the onenote directory

doubleclick the files in Windows Explorer

check that any new stuff is not there.

 

CalebSchmerge I need some help.

I have a cheap chinese tablet (9$ >.<) with the software in Chinese, and I've been able to configure it to use it as a mouse.

But now, how do I use it like a "Tablet PC"?

I mean, it's a mouse, but if I want to write something I have to select "Draw" and then "click" the tablet and move around, and repeat everytime I want to draw something (I have to keep it "clicked").

Is there any special option in One Note??

Thanks

 

I'm not sure I fully understand the question here. When I want to write with my tablet I just touch the pen to the tablet and go to town. In OneNote the program recognizes that I am using a tablet and knows to use the tablet as a pen. I would start by looking at the drivers you are using and seeing if there are some better drivers out there.

 

Oh, my software only let me use it as a mouse, so I have to "use is as a mouse", I mean, click and drag the pointer...

What software are you using? This tablet doesn't have any newer drivers.

 

The software I use is OneNote, the drivers I use are for my Wacom tablet.

 

I just want to thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed and well-organized guide. A lot of this stuff is common sense for most, but nonetheless, this information is invaluable. Thank you again, Caleb.

 

Just glad to be a help.

 

Really great tutorial Caleb

 

i don't know if this was mentioned, but onenote autosaves automatcially after every stroke/keypress

 

I don't think I did mention that in this guide - thanks for bringing it up. That is one nice feature.

 

my lecture notes are usually in /pptx/pdf format....it would be cool to be able to link notes to a particular slide (in pptx) or page (in pdf). any apps to do such stuff?

 

You can use Acrobat Professional to embed links into a PDF file. This includes links between documents (but make sure they are in the same folder to avoid path issues).

John

 

oh thanks john...im actually using foxit! to read pdf. but good to know abt the acrobat pro.

 

There is also a program called PDF Revu that will allow for inking of a PDF document, as well as other annotations. Thats what I use on my tablet for many different things.

 

hi, great article, it has inspired me to buy a pen tablet for taking notes in lectures... guess i'll need a laptop as well!

However, i am not too sure on which tablet would be the best. I've been on the wacom website and looked at bamboo and their wireless tabets. Apart from the obvious difference of one operating using bluetooth, what is the difference? has anybody had any experience with both?

I think my needs would be,
a fair bit of note taking (in handwriting)
doodling
drawing charts/diagrams
using pen as an alternative to mouse as a pointer for all applications (surfing web, use in cad packages, powerpoint etc)
oh and price in the region of £100 - £150

wireless would be preferred. Im don't know too much about the different versions or even what to expect from any of them really. The clintiq and pl series sound like they would not be too good for general use.

sorry, i haven't read all the posts so not sure if this question has come up.

cheers

 

If you don't have a laptop computer yet, I would take a very serious look at a tablet PC. they are much more affordable now than ever, and more capable for the tasks you have.

 

Nice guide! I'm diffidently going to use your advice to try and get my professor to let me use my laptop in class .

 

this is such a great way to do notes. I am about to continue 2nd semester of school in EE... my question is in terms of making corrections after you have transcribed a note or a diagram how easy is it? you know it would be wonderful if you made a small video demonstration as you can see the thread, though 2 years old, still kicking and alive.. please consider making a video and posting it on youtube.(use of the wacom +laptop+onenote, how to make edits after you have handwritten(forexample underlying), or a diagram (make different connection, erase etc)...specifically interested how you find specifically the location of where you want to make the edit on your wacom and how difficult is it to coordinate your eyes with your hands while looking at the laptop screen)... this is such a life saver. sorry about the long post... one last quesiton, Do i have to have VISTA to actually have onenote be able to recognize the handwriting on the wacom as ink text? is vista the only one supporting ink text with onenote(saw it in one of the posts)... great great thread and I did read all 14 pages.