OneNote's new feature on Windows makes selecting ink easier

Microsoft has introduced a new feature to NoteNote on Windows to make selecting a range of handwritten and drawn ink easier than what it used to be. OneNote’s new feature is what Microsoft calls an “Ink Selection multi-tap gesture” system that only requires a tap to select.

The new multi-tap gesture eliminates the need to use the Lasso Select tool to draw a freeform shape around ink strokes or objects to manipulate them. Instead, you can now simply tap ink with touch or a digital pen or a mouse and then expand the selection from a word to a line to a paragraph to the entire page. You can also clear the selected ink with just a tap outside of the selected range.

However, the Ink Selection multi-tap gesture is currently limited to OneNote Beta Channel users running Version 2402 (Build 17304.20000) or later. Also, this new ink-selection capability isn’t available on OneNote for Windows 10 app. The only to use the new gesture system right now is to become a OneNote Beta Channel user on Windows 11 or Windows 10 PCs.

In a blog post, Microsoft confirmed that the new ink gesture feature is rolling out to OneNote Beta Channel users in a phased manner. In other words, you might have to wait a couple of days more to see it in action on your PC, even if you’re running a Beta Channel user.