Draw and sketch notes on a page

OneNote lets you draw, sketch, or write notes with a your finger, a pen, or even a mouse. You can also choose from a shapes gallery instead of drawing freehand.

Newer versionsOffice 2007

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To draw and sketch on a standard computer

1. Click the Draw tab.

2. Click any of the pens or highlighters on the ribbon, and then use the mouse to draw or sketch notes on the page.

3. To cancel drawing mode, press the Esc key on your keyboard, or click the Type button on the Draw tab.

To draw and sketch on a touch-capable computer or device

1. Tap the Draw tab.

2. Tap Draw with Touch, tap any of the pens or highlighters shown on the ribbon, and then use your finger or a stylus to draw or sketch on the page.

   Tips: 

   • If your touch-capable device has a small screen, click or tap the Touch/Mouse Mode button on the Quick Access Toolbar, and then click Touch. This puts more space between the commands, so it's easier to tap with your finger. You can turn this mode off when you're done drawing.

   • If your computer has a touch screen, you can also take handwritten notes and convert them to text.

3. To cancel drawing mode, press the Esc key on your keyboard, or click the Type button on the Draw tab.

To draw a shape

1. Click or tap the Draw tab, select an item in the Shapes gallery, and then drag your mouse or finger on the page to draw the shape.

2. While the shape is selected, you can drag it to resize it or move it to a different place on the page.

3. To view additional drawing choices, click or tap the More arrow in the lower-right corner of the Shapes gallery, and then select a shape from the menu that appears.

4. To cancel drawing mode, press the Esc key on your keyboard, or click the Type button on the Draw tab.

To draw several shapes in a row

1. Click or tap the Draw tab, and then click the More arrow in the lower-right corner of the Shapes gallery.

2. On the menu that appears, click Lock Drawing Mode.

   OneNote will remain in drawing mode you toggle out of it.

3. Select an item in the Shapes list, and then click and drag on the page to draw the shape you want. Repeat this step for as many additional shapes you want.

4. To cancel drawing mode, press the Esc key on your keyboard, or click the Type button on the Draw tab.

To remove shapes or notes you've drawn

• Click Draw > Eraser, and erase the notes.

• You can also select the notes or shapes and press the Delete key on your keyboard.

Writing tools in Microsoft Office OneNote 2007 let you use any pointing device, such as a drawing pad stylus, a Tablet PC pen, or even your mouse, to add handwritten text or freehand drawings to your notes.

In this article

• Show or hide the writing and drawing toolbars

• Write or draw notes

• Customize the pen

• Convert handwriting to text

Show or hide the writing and drawing toolbars

1. On the View menu, point to Toolbars, and then do any of the following:

   • Click Drawing Tools.

   • Click My Pens.

   • Click Writing Tools.

Note: By default, the Drawing Tools and My Pens toolbars are docked below and to the left of the application window. To move these toolbars to a new location, click and drag the move handle on a docked toolbar, or the title bar on a floating toolbar.

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Write or draw notes

1. To select a particular pen width and color, on the Writing Tools toolbar, click Pen , or click the arrow next to Pen .

2. With the Tablet PC pen or your mouse, draw or write notes directly on the surface of the page.

   • To add more space to the page, click Insert Extra Writing Space on the Writing Tools toolbar, position the pointer where you want to add space, and then drag the arrow in the direction indicated by the pointer.

   • To delete ink strokes, click Eraser on the Writing Tools toolbar, and then drag the pointer across the ink. To stop erasing ink, click Eraser again. The Stroke eraser can remove an entire stroke of ink with a single tap or click. It is especially useful for removing or correcting handwriting strokes.

   • To select ink, click Type/Selection Tool on the Writing Tools toolbar, and then drag the cursor or double-tap to select the word.

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Customize the pen

1. On the Writing Tools toolbar, click the arrow next to Pen , and then, on the shortcut menu, click the felt-tip pen or highlighter that you want to customize.

   OneNote includes eight felt-tip pens and four highlighters. Customizing pens does not add new selections to the list of available pens. For each pen you customize, the original selection is replaced with the options that you specify.

2. Click the arrow next to the Pen button again, and then click Customize Current Pen.

3. In the Customize Current Pen dialog box, do any of the following:

   • In the Pen name box, type a new name for the current pen.

   • In the Pen color list, click a new color for the current pen.

   • In the Pen thickness (mm) list, enter a new stroke size (in millimeters) for the current pen.

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Convert handwriting to text

You can convert your handwritten notes into typewritten text. Handwriting recognition is specific to the language of your operating system.

1. Select the page, note container, or word that you want to convert by doing one of the following:

   • To select a page of handwritten notes, tap or click the page tab for the active page.

   • To select a note container, tap or click the top edge of the container.

   • To select individual words, tap or click Type/Selection Tool on the Writing Tools toolbar, and then drag the cursor over the word or double-tap the word.

2. On the Tools menu, tap or click Convert Handwriting to Text.

3. If a word is converted incorrectly, tap or click Type/Selection Tool on the Writing Tools toolbar, tap or click the incorrectly converted word, and then do one of the following:

   • If your Tablet PC is running Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, tap or click the arrow next to the alternate list symbol , and then on the shortcut menu, tap or click an alternate word.

   • If your Tablet PC is running Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005, right-click a converted word, and then on the shortcut menu, tap or click an alternate word.

     Note: If the correct word is not included on the shortcut menu, you must either rewrite the word, undo the conversion, or use the Tablet PC Input Panel or the keyboard to re-enter the word. If you have a keyboard available, it may be easiest to retype incorrectly converted text or press F7 to correct misspelled words.

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