OneNote is getting a new Full Page or Pen only view that gives more space for digital pen users to draw, write or scribble. And there’s a little bonus for Surface pen owners but the naming is a little confused.
The new “pen focused” view has the main elements of the Draw ribbon, page selector but mostly space for the OneNote page itself.
The pen toolbar has the key options; Undo, redo, Text mode, Lasso, Eraser and pens (scrollable left/right to see more).
Change to another page from the pull-down selector.
The little ‘pen’ icon at right hide/shows the pen toolbar.
The last double-arrow icon returns to Normal view.
Clicking on the top bar reveals the full ribbon temporarily.
Right-click on any pen icon to see more options; Modify Tools, Move Left/Right, Add another Pen, Delete Pen. The same options as on the Draw ribbon.
Activate the pen-focused view from Draw | Full Page View at far right of the ribbon or press F11. The same button is on the View menu.
Though the Draw tab and Pen toolbar are intended for digital pens, they also work with a mouse or touch-pad. That’s how we played Tic-Tac-Toe above <g>
Surface Pen
The Full Page View can appear automatically when a Surface Pen is undocked.
“Switch to focused inking when the pen is undocked”
Despite the label, this option only works for Surface Pens (not others) and even then, only when the pen has a dock with the Surface computer.
Press the Surface Pen button
A separate but related announcement from Microsoft … clicking the button on a Surface Pen will open a new Quick Note but conditions apply.
Three different names – confusion?
Microsoft … a little consistency of labelling would be nice. This new view has three different names depending on where you look.
- Pen Focused View (Microsoft blog about the feature)
- Full Page View (in OneNote app itself)
- Focused inking (OneNote Settings)
Who gets it?
Currently the Insiders/Beta versions of OneNote 365 for Windows v2210 build 15724.10000 or later.
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