OneNote is a powerful note-taking app with several built-in features. The new version of OneNote looks more promising with dark mode and Sticky Notes integration working flawlessly. PDFs and everything you can do with them is an often overlooked feature.
Contents1. Import PDF to OneNote2. Annotate PDF in OneNote3. Export PDF4. OneNote PDF to text with OCR5. Search PDF in OneNote6. Listen to a PDF or image in OneNoteA note for everything
Although most users attach PDFs to relevant notes in OneNote, they don't use it to its full potential. I've compiled a list of some handy OneNote PDF tips and tricks that will help you be even more productive.
Let's start.
There are two easy ways to add a PDF file to a OneNote note. You can either drag and drop it wherever you want or use the File option under the Insert tab.
You will now see three options, which are self-explanatory. You can upload to OneDrive and insert a link. Or you can directly attach the PDF file, which means it will be saved in OneNote. You can also insert a printout which will add an image for each page of the PDF file.
If you don't use OneDrive, attaching the file is a better option. Otherwise, save to OneDrive, which will allow you to directly access the PDF file without having to go through OneNote repeatedly. It will also reduce load times as you might end up attaching too many PDFs.
On your smartphone, you tap the Attach button again and choose a file from your local drive or any cloud storage app.
Before you can annotate a PDF file, you must add it to OneNote, but as a printout. Check the point above for how to do this. OneNote will scan the PDF and create an image that you can then annotate as you wish. There is also a separate button for printing under Insert.
OneNote will take some time to process depending on the size of the PDF. Once done, it will create a shortcut to the original PDF file above the virtual print. You can now use all the tools on the Draw tab to annotate.
Draw circles, arrows and even shapes. If you're using a Surface Pro or a smartphone, you can use the pen or your finger to write and draw respectively. Use the Ink to Shape button to transform handwritten circles and other shapes into perfection. The conversion was smooth and perfectly done with all images and text looking crisp and clear.
Well, that's a disappointment. You can import PDF files into OneNote and turn them into images for annotating. But, there is no way yet to export them as PDF files. You can right-click and select Save As option to save the image file.
On the plus side, all your annotations will remain intact. Several people have asked Microsoft to develop this feature, and maybe they will. For now, try this online PNG to PDF converter which works but with varying degrees of success.
The OneNote app comes with a powerful OCR reader that can read text from images. You can easily extract this text and paste it separately as well.
Simply right-click on the image and select Copy Text from Image. According to the Microsoft support page, there is another option called Copy text from all pages in printout, but it was not available on my OneNote version. This will copy all the text from the imported PDF file in image format.
You cannot directly search for text in PDF files in OneNote. You will need to import it first using the print option. Only then can OneNote search for text in image files.
However, I have seen mixed results. When there is a single occurrence of a phrase, OneNote finds it quickly. But when I searched for the phrase "the S quadrant," OneNote ended up highlighting many other closely related phrases. Still, I could find the file and note where to look, so that's something.
OneNote's OCR capabilities are truly powerful, and this is all the more evident from the Immersive Reader feature. Open the note where the image or printout of the PDF is saved and click Immersive Reader under the View tab.
This may take a while depending on how many pages we are talking about. When scanning is complete, a new full-screen window will open where you can listen to the entire PDF file in distraction-free mode.
Some useful settings are available, such as speed, font type, size and color, and translation.
OneNote is a powerful note-taking app and Microsoft is working on developing new features for it. The 2016 version will soon be retired and all new features will be integrated into the new universal OneNote app. So I recommend you to use the same to save, scan and annotate PDF files.
Then: Looking for more OneNote features? Click the link below to immediately discover 11 useful OneNote tips and tricks.
