Microsoft gives OneNote boatloads of new designs and features

After teasing that OneNote will just be one single app by merging OneNote and OneNote for Windows 10 apps, Microsoft is finally testing the app with its new designs and features. The new design changes are now accessible for beta testers, and one of the first things you’ll notice is how everything about the new OneNote design makes the app more aesthetically fit with Windows 11.

In relation to that, the new OneNote adopts some of the notable effects and details of Office and Windows 11 to match them. For instance, the new unread indicator complements the entire Office design, while the general app window of OneNote uses the Mica effect, which is also on Windows 11 desktop wallpaper and theme. In addition, there will be a new ribbon option, which is in the middle of having the full height of it and hiding the ribbon. 

In general, the appearance of new OneNote designs looks modern. There are also some changes in the small details of the app, including its corners (now rounded), animations, navigation panes, full-screen mode, section tabs, notebook dropdown, and page list.

These changes, of course, won’t just focus on changing the appearance of OneNote. Microsoft will also include some new features that can improve the experience of OneNote users. One is the upcoming page sorting feature that will help users organize their pages in different ways – alphabetically, creation date, and date modified. The insert picture feature from the camera app of Windows is also available for the testers to try now.

The changes also include the updated draw tab with tools like Ink to shape, Ink to text, and Ruler, which are all inspired by Word, Excel, and PowerPoint tools. Microsoft is hoping to make OneNote a “pen-first experience,” so you can also expect a pen focus view and add ink replay features in the future. Nonetheless, OneNote already has support for the Surface Slim Pen 2, so you can already enjoy the tactile signal effects on the app.

On the other hand, it is important to note that not all features mentioned above are already available. Nonetheless, the changes will be coming soon, along with the plan of Windows to bring the features of OneNote for Windows 10 to the new main OneNote app.