This week's How-To is one that I have found extremely useful for keeping your Outlook 2007 appointments and OneNote 2007 notes organized. Like many, I have used Outlook for managing my calendar, and OneNote for keeping my notes organized. I never considered joining the two. When I first used OneNote to record audio on OneNote some years ago, I was WOW'ed at how effective this could make my meeting time. Needless to say OneNote changed not only my effectiveness in meetings and such, but solidified my commitment to tablet PC technology in my life. Sorry, I digress. Linking my appointments with my notes is not quite that significant, but it really does help me to keep my notes (and recordings, etc inside my notes) organized and allow me to find them easily when I need them.

GBM How-To Series #2 : Linking to OneNote Meeting notes in Outlook 2007.

This How-To is pretty short and sweet.

UPDATE: Before linking your appointment to OneNote, BE SURE TO SAVE THE APPOINTMENT. I found that every time that I clicked "Meeting Notes" it was taking me to a new OneNote page. That's because I had not saved the appointment BEFORE moving the OneNote page. Thanks to OneNote Guru Chris Pratley for the clarification.

"You don't have to click the "Link to Outlook" link to establish the connection. That isn't "Create link to Outlook", it is "follow link to Outlook". It will work all the time, as you can see if after you do step 1 you go back to Outlook and click "Meeting Notes" again - you are just taken to the page. The link actually points directly to the Outlook item by its guid ("serial number") and is placed there when you click the button in Outlook.

Effectively there is *always" a page in your notes about each meeting because if you click the Meeting Notes button, that page will be found if it exists or it will get created (much like in a wiki where a page is created if one doesn't exist if you simply make a link to it.) We couldn't get in a feature to tell you in Outlook if notes have already been taken for the meeting."

1. Right-click on the appointment and select the Meeting Notes option at the bottom, or open the appointment and select the Meeting Notes button.  This automatically creates a new un-filed OneNote document to store your meeting minutes, notes, etc.

2. Assuming you have saved your appointment BEFORE opening the linked OneNote page, the link is now complete and you can organize the page as you like.  Once the un-filed page is created, click on the Link to Outlook Item that appears in the body of our note page. The Outlook appointment that is to be associated with your notes will open and you simply click the Save and Close button on the appointment. This establishes the link between the appointment in Outlook, and the notes in Onenote. Now, take you notes as you normally would.

You can now organize your OneNote page, section, or notebook however you like. In the future rather than remembering where you filed the associated notes, simply go to your Outlook calendar, open the appointment and click Meeting Notes or simply right-click the appointment and select Meeting Notes, and there you are.

Tips and Notes:

• Remember to click the "Link to Outlook Item" in OneNote and save the appointment in Outlook to establish the link. UPDATE: The key here is to SAVE THE APPOINTMENT BEFORE you start you meeting notes.
• Before taking notes, try to organize your OneNote notebook before the meeting or lecture.
• Try to start each new OneNote meeting or lecture on a new page, and make sure the date is correct on each page. You may find that the sequence of content in the lecture or meeting may become important.

• Develop a system of abbreviations and symbols you can use wherever possible.
• Leave blank spaces. Blank space can be you friend. This allows you to add comments or indicate questions for later. Change pen colors to indicate follow-up items.
• Make your notes as brief as possible. Try not to use a sentences when you can use a phrase, or use a phrase when you can use a single word.
• Highlight any unfamiliar concepts or words you don't understand. You can always go back and look them up later.
• Click Here for more information on Microsoft OneNote 2007
• Download the OneNote 2007 Trial Version
• Click Here for more information on Microsoft Outlook 2007 and the Microsoft Office 2007 suite
• Download the Microsoft Office 2007 Trial Version