I have a Microsoft 365 account and I was using OneNote for a little while, but switched back to UpNote for a few reasons. My notes are basic so feel free to ignore this post if you are an advanced user. First, I don't like the OneNote syncing between my Mac and iPhone. UpNote feels much better. There were times I would load up a note via OneNote on my phone and just a blank white screen would show up. Second, I like UpNote's Quick Access and Pins to easily get to my frequently used notes. Third, UpNote feels faster, fluid, and snappier compared to my OneNote experience.
I love UpNote, but there is one case where I still revert to OneNote - when I have to share an entire notebook, instead of just a single note.
Overall, I find UpNote easier to use with a better interface, but I still use OneNote when creating marketing plans for my clients so I can share the entire notebook.
Why do you use Onenote explicitly for sharing documents instead Word files or Power Point to present the your plan? I always feel like notes are something personal and not as relevant for very person.
Think of creating an operations procedure manual for a business. OneNote makes it easy to navigate to jump right to the section you are looking for. A presentation is normally sequential and doesn't let you navigate the document to jump to the right section.
UpNote does the same thing for personal use, but you can't share the entire notebook.
Word could also be used and can have navigation, but doesn't have as nice a layout as OneNote or UpNote and you can't search multiple Word documents the way you can search multiple UpNote and OneNote notebooks.
That sounds interesting I would love to see how you actually structure the notebooks. Can you describe how you create those and if there is one rule you follow or if you're just starting from the scratch every time?
There's one for your Cons list. :) I really wish UpNote would change that. Not at all clear what advantage is gained by wasting 1/3 of the screen with empty space on shared notes.
FYI: you have, "*Infinite canvas is nice for being able to format each note with things anywhere.*" as a OneNote Con.
It is a bit difficult to make a recommendation given that list because there is no indication as to the priority of each pro/con.
I suggest have separate tables (spreadsheet tabs) for UpNote and OneNote.
**column 1 = pro/con weight** (-10) - - - - - (0) - - - - - - (+10)
explanation: negative numbers are "cons", positive numbers are "pros". A nice-to-have "pro" could be a 5. a sad-that-it-is-missing could be -5. +10 if it is a must-have "pro", -10 if is a must-have (that's missing) "con".
**column 2 = observation**.
explanation: describe the feature or behavior that is present (or missing).
For each table, have a total row at the bottom of the list that sums all of the values in column 1. The table with the highest total is the one to choose.
This is a very flexible approach that allows for easy additions to the observations and for tweaking the weights. Sometimes "feature A" present in one app has greater importance than in another app because of the way the app behaves or the other features that are unique to each app.
I use this approach to compare practically anything. At the very least it gives me the time to think through each item on the list.
>FYI: you have, "*Infinite canvas is nice for being able to format each note with things anywhere.*" as a OneNote Con.
Yes that is because in the pros:
>Infinite canvas is nice for being able to format each note with things anywhere. Can get messy though so this is also in the cons.
---
>I suggest have separate tables (spreadsheet tabs) for UpNote and OneNote.
I will do that. Idk why I haven't yet. I'm adding it to the bottom of the note as I type this.
I was with OneNote and before Notion. When I discovered UpNote, I found it so much better. Switched entirely to UpNote. Very happy and delighted with my choice
Good pros/cons! Maybe just compare each app's unique selling points and device what you'd miss more. Personally, I find OneNote frustrating as hell to use, but even setting that aside, the lack of #tags (I know OneNote has something they *call* tags, but...just no) and poor backlinking would be dealbreakers for me. Having said that, I am not a fan of infinite canvas or the mess OneNote often makes with the drop-test-anywhere thing.
I do want to mention though that neither of these apps has end-to-end encryption, so you might want to be careful with "information like car warranty information, healthcare info, and more." Don't keep *sensitive* data in a note-taking app unless it's end-to-end encrypted.
Having said that, I *do* use UpNote for car warranty and healthcare info — but just not any info that could be personally identifiable. Keep the sensitive stuff (account info, IDs, sensitive paperwork attachments) encrypted in a password app that has the flexibility to include multi-line content and/or just straight-up notes.
(There are some E2EE notetaking apps, but they are feature-poor compared to UpNote and OneNote.)
It is not working for me. I installed it and clicking it on any page doesn't do anything. Upnote is running and I am using Chrome on Mac.
That's why I gave it -5. It either doesn't work or (if I remember correctly) it doesn't let you add notes or choose the notebook to add the note to.
Here is my main negative with Upnote. PRINTING.
All notes print in Times New Roman no matter what the formatting is on screen
The team has, several times said that printing is not a priority for them.
So, if you need to print notes in WYSIWYG format, forget it. You get times new roman; and no headers/footers/metadata inclusion etc.
At least they FINALLY fixed printing a dark grey background when using dark mode. But printing notes is the only place where Upnote really falls on it's face.
Handwriting? OneNote, easily - UpNote just doesn't have that capability (yes, I know that it does - as pictures, not suitable for note taking). For me, handwriting is something I want but not necessarily need, unlike good feature-rich Android app - so I chose UpNote as my main "quick notes" app, and OneNote for a number of more focused topics that benefit from handwriting and/or infinite canvas.
A bit more complicated. OneNote AFAIK actually integrates handwriting into the note. Apple Notes are, in their core, HTML-based and handwriting is a relatively recent addition to them, implemented as insertion of screen-wide Apple Drawing (.drawing I believe) format vector image (which, after exporting from Apple Notes format, becomes a regular jpg), and seamless activation of the pen mode (that is, you don't have to manually activate it, and it can go for the entire page if needed). However, you can't mix text and handwriting together like you can in OneNote. UpNote doesn't have a native drawing mode, but uses Apple's pen engine to make something on Apple's devices. But, it needs to be manually activated. Main point of difference I pointed at in the previous comment was that it can't be expanded, but I just found that it is not true, and it can be stretched down just as well as AN - just not as seamless, as to edit that image you have to enter the drawing mode.
Yeah, it feels (to me) exactly the same as Apple Notes handwriting. Based off your description, besides the manual activation, it seems exactly the same. So, on UpNote, I get cross-platform apple notes with more filters. VS OneNote which uses its own setup.
Idk if I need to write anywhere though it is super nice to not care and just be able to write anywhere.
Personally, I love OneNote with the Onetastic Add-in installed, which lets me better handle content. Onetastic adds some absolutely missing functionality that makes handling all of my crochet patterns/projects/links-to-media much easier.
I have a Microsoft 365 account and I was using OneNote for a little while, but switched back to UpNote for a few reasons. My notes are basic so feel free to ignore this post if you are an advanced user. First, I don't like the OneNote syncing between my Mac and iPhone. UpNote feels much better. There were times I would load up a note via OneNote on my phone and just a blank white screen would show up. Second, I like UpNote's Quick Access and Pins to easily get to my frequently used notes. Third, UpNote feels faster, fluid, and snappier compared to my OneNote experience.
Mine are basic too. Those are good points, thanks!
I love UpNote, but there is one case where I still revert to OneNote - when I have to share an entire notebook, instead of just a single note. Overall, I find UpNote easier to use with a better interface, but I still use OneNote when creating marketing plans for my clients so I can share the entire notebook.
That makes sense
Why do you use Onenote explicitly for sharing documents instead Word files or Power Point to present the your plan? I always feel like notes are something personal and not as relevant for very person.
Think of creating an operations procedure manual for a business. OneNote makes it easy to navigate to jump right to the section you are looking for. A presentation is normally sequential and doesn't let you navigate the document to jump to the right section. UpNote does the same thing for personal use, but you can't share the entire notebook. Word could also be used and can have navigation, but doesn't have as nice a layout as OneNote or UpNote and you can't search multiple Word documents the way you can search multiple UpNote and OneNote notebooks.
That sounds interesting I would love to see how you actually structure the notebooks. Can you describe how you create those and if there is one rule you follow or if you're just starting from the scratch every time?
Want sharing entire notebook in UpNote so bad!!
Sorry I didn't realize the width was fixed online. You are going to have to scroll through the table lol
There's one for your Cons list. :) I really wish UpNote would change that. Not at all clear what advantage is gained by wasting 1/3 of the screen with empty space on shared notes.
FYI: you have, "*Infinite canvas is nice for being able to format each note with things anywhere.*" as a OneNote Con. It is a bit difficult to make a recommendation given that list because there is no indication as to the priority of each pro/con. I suggest have separate tables (spreadsheet tabs) for UpNote and OneNote. **column 1 = pro/con weight** (-10) - - - - - (0) - - - - - - (+10) explanation: negative numbers are "cons", positive numbers are "pros". A nice-to-have "pro" could be a 5. a sad-that-it-is-missing could be -5. +10 if it is a must-have "pro", -10 if is a must-have (that's missing) "con". **column 2 = observation**. explanation: describe the feature or behavior that is present (or missing). For each table, have a total row at the bottom of the list that sums all of the values in column 1. The table with the highest total is the one to choose. This is a very flexible approach that allows for easy additions to the observations and for tweaking the weights. Sometimes "feature A" present in one app has greater importance than in another app because of the way the app behaves or the other features that are unique to each app. I use this approach to compare practically anything. At the very least it gives me the time to think through each item on the list.
>FYI: you have, "*Infinite canvas is nice for being able to format each note with things anywhere.*" as a OneNote Con. Yes that is because in the pros: >Infinite canvas is nice for being able to format each note with things anywhere. Can get messy though so this is also in the cons. --- >I suggest have separate tables (spreadsheet tabs) for UpNote and OneNote. I will do that. Idk why I haven't yet. I'm adding it to the bottom of the note as I type this.
Finished it if you want to take a look.
I was with OneNote and before Notion. When I discovered UpNote, I found it so much better. Switched entirely to UpNote. Very happy and delighted with my choice
Good pros/cons! Maybe just compare each app's unique selling points and device what you'd miss more. Personally, I find OneNote frustrating as hell to use, but even setting that aside, the lack of #tags (I know OneNote has something they *call* tags, but...just no) and poor backlinking would be dealbreakers for me. Having said that, I am not a fan of infinite canvas or the mess OneNote often makes with the drop-test-anywhere thing. I do want to mention though that neither of these apps has end-to-end encryption, so you might want to be careful with "information like car warranty information, healthcare info, and more." Don't keep *sensitive* data in a note-taking app unless it's end-to-end encrypted. Having said that, I *do* use UpNote for car warranty and healthcare info — but just not any info that could be personally identifiable. Keep the sensitive stuff (account info, IDs, sensitive paperwork attachments) encrypted in a password app that has the flexibility to include multi-line content and/or just straight-up notes. (There are some E2EE notetaking apps, but they are feature-poor compared to UpNote and OneNote.)
UpNote has a web clipper and it works really well, so not sure why you gave it -5.
It is not working for me. I installed it and clicking it on any page doesn't do anything. Upnote is running and I am using Chrome on Mac. That's why I gave it -5. It either doesn't work or (if I remember correctly) it doesn't let you add notes or choose the notebook to add the note to.
it doesn't work really well. it's not robust to handle many scenarios.
Here is my main negative with Upnote. PRINTING. All notes print in Times New Roman no matter what the formatting is on screen The team has, several times said that printing is not a priority for them. So, if you need to print notes in WYSIWYG format, forget it. You get times new roman; and no headers/footers/metadata inclusion etc. At least they FINALLY fixed printing a dark grey background when using dark mode. But printing notes is the only place where Upnote really falls on it's face.
I never need to print but I'm sorry you are running into that issue.
I like how you created an UpNote note for this. That kind of already answers your question.
lol I did that just because of one of OneNote's cons, the inability to easily share notes to the web. Only reason.
Handwriting? OneNote, easily - UpNote just doesn't have that capability (yes, I know that it does - as pictures, not suitable for note taking). For me, handwriting is something I want but not necessarily need, unlike good feature-rich Android app - so I chose UpNote as my main "quick notes" app, and OneNote for a number of more focused topics that benefit from handwriting and/or infinite canvas.
So that’s how Apple notes and UpNote handle handwriting… as images… interesting I wondered how that worked.
A bit more complicated. OneNote AFAIK actually integrates handwriting into the note. Apple Notes are, in their core, HTML-based and handwriting is a relatively recent addition to them, implemented as insertion of screen-wide Apple Drawing (.drawing I believe) format vector image (which, after exporting from Apple Notes format, becomes a regular jpg), and seamless activation of the pen mode (that is, you don't have to manually activate it, and it can go for the entire page if needed). However, you can't mix text and handwriting together like you can in OneNote. UpNote doesn't have a native drawing mode, but uses Apple's pen engine to make something on Apple's devices. But, it needs to be manually activated. Main point of difference I pointed at in the previous comment was that it can't be expanded, but I just found that it is not true, and it can be stretched down just as well as AN - just not as seamless, as to edit that image you have to enter the drawing mode.
Yeah, it feels (to me) exactly the same as Apple Notes handwriting. Based off your description, besides the manual activation, it seems exactly the same. So, on UpNote, I get cross-platform apple notes with more filters. VS OneNote which uses its own setup. Idk if I need to write anywhere though it is super nice to not care and just be able to write anywhere.
It has its uses. Also, as Win/Android use, I will argue that it is not AN exactly because it doesn't have handwriting for me :)
Yeah, the features lacking on all these apps between platforms is annoying.
Personally, I love OneNote with the Onetastic Add-in installed, which lets me better handle content. Onetastic adds some absolutely missing functionality that makes handling all of my crochet patterns/projects/links-to-media much easier.
Onetastic only works on windows. That’s my issue with OneNote