Simplify taking meeting notes using native OneNote/Outlook integration

This isn’t new functionality of OneNote/Outlook but I’ve just re-discovered it. I’d been using the ‘modern’ OneNote (Win 10 App that you could get from Windows Store). This once represented the future of OneNote until Microsoft changed direction and re-stated that future investment would be in the original desktop version of OneNote. I’ve now taken the time to revert back to the Desktop version of OneNote and loving the features the app version had been missing.

One feature that’s immediately useful is taking meeting notes in OneNote. First thing I do is open up OneNote and create a new page (in the right Notebook/Section) – then rather than trying to remember who I’m meeting with and how to spell their names I can simply use the Meeting Details button and select any of the meeting I have on my calendar for today (or navigate and pick from other days)

Once you select a meeting, the OneNote page is automatically populated for you in a standard way for every meeting by using the contents of the meeting in your Outlook calendar.

The page title is set to the email subject, the meeting date/time and location and a link back to the Outlook meeting are automatically captured. And the bit I love most is that all the participants are captured automatically – not only that but take a close look at that participant list, it lets you just check off who is actually in attendance, simple yet brilliant.

There’s even more goodness hidden away. The Invitation Message is collapsed, but you can simply click expand to see the full detail of the meeting invite which will often contain an agenda and the link to join the meeting (if it’s an online meeting)

The relationship between the OneNote page and the Outlook Meeting is also visible from Outlook. If I open the meeting from Outlook, I can now use the Meeting Notes button to have OneNote launched and open the related OneNote page.

None of this is particularly new or novel features of OneNote or Outlook but having rediscovered it this week it has already made my work life that little bit easier.