OneNote for Mac. Troubleshooting Commonplace Book

[Guru]

Hey Everyone, 

Im just started setting up the commonplace book that Leo describes in his video: Creating the Ultimate Journal. Im already running into problems running Leos suggested program "OneNote" on my Mac and thought it would be valuable to share my process for others here. 

Leo suggests buying an old copy of OneNote. I looked for a standalone copy of Onenote 16 for mac and all I could find in my area (sweden) is Onenote as part of the Office package. So I just bought a copy of Office 2016 thinking that it would have offline functionality and local file storage. However, I just discovered that my investment of 32.34 EUR might have been misinformed. 

1. COST: First of all, I don't know if it was the case when Leo made the video, but Onenote is currently FREE to download from the app store. So theres no need to purchase it, at least in the beginning just to see if its right for you. You certainly dont have to buy Office just for Onenote. 

2.

OFFLINE STORAGE: Onenote was made available for Mac in 2014 and since then has been entirely based on cloud storage Microsofts "Onedrive". My research shows there was never a Onenote version for mac with local storage. You will always need to sign into your microsoft account to use the 2016/19 versions. 

Moving forwards: I have looked around for other programs that will work on Mac and haven't found anything that I want to try just yet. Searching Note programs leads to a wormhole of possibilities. Once you get picky about local storage, much of the language surrounding those programs is for those who understanding the coding behind it, which I don't. 

Running Windows On Mac: Leo mentions running windows on an apple device in his video about the ultimate journal. There are programs that allow you to run both simultaneously and this is what I am most likely going to try. Heres a guide to some programs that do it.  https://www.lifewire.com/run-windows-on-a-mac-4155303 

I like the idea of running Parallels so that I can always have OneNote open in the background and use it seamlessly. I have never attempted this before and am open to any advice about attempting this. It seems to me that this should work well, but I still want to contact the company to ask about the nitty gritty.

For example, 1. will the program files stored locally on my drive be backed up with time machine?

 2. Would there be any reason that this program combination isn't sustainable when I need to eventually switch to another computer in the future? 

After all the idea here is to create a robust and resilient personal database that be can add to and reference for the rest of our lives. Whatever we choose to create and store our commonplace books with should be as resilient as possible. 

 

 

[ajai]

Firstly, I would just ask this question:

Why in the world a mac user would purchase a mac, when ultimately you have to make it a windows machine, what for?

Yes there are advantages of a windows machine, but again there are advantages to our fucking-bloody-beautiful mac os too, with those timely updates with new packages, those are the perks we get for the worth spent along with other features.

I have been using and maintaining a commonplace workbook in ms-onenote for a long time now, and it's awesome as it saves and keeps the file temporarily (it's just that we don't get that "save" it happens by default) on local storage till you sync it, over cloud, now whether you sync it instantly or after a month it's there it's non volatile, and after all local storage is not something you can trust always, you never know about any mal function and file getting corrupt, cloud storage is the go-to thing going into the future, it's secure, fast, reliable and the shit can be accessed across the devices too.

Let's learn and try to adapt to the new technology of this day n age.

2 hours ago, Guru said:

I have looked around for other programs that will work on Mac and haven't found anything that I want to try just yet.

OneNote is best for computers, altho I use EverNote on mobile phone which is rather an android one, and evernote comes really handy especially when you are on the move and want to pen down your insights and epiphanies.

~mac user, hehe!!

 

Edited December 21, 2020 by ajai

[Leo Gura]

54 minutes ago, ajai said:

Why in the world a mac user would purchase a mac, when ultimately you have to make it a windows machine, what for?

I've always run Windows on my Macbook Air. Wouldn't even consider anything else.

But if you are a Mac person running MacOS, I suggest you find an commonplace book software that works on your desired platform. OneNote is awesome for Windows, but it's not the only game in town.

[Space]

@Guru A program called 'Outline' is a great alternative for Mac users. It's what I use and its worked great. Very similar layout and functionality to OneNote and it lets you save directly onto your hard drive.

[ajai]

I know 'bout ya Sir! 

[Preety_India]

I have One Note downloaded on my phone since few months now. 

But I'm completely confused. Everytime I open it I'm apprehensive. 

My question is - where does the data really go? In my phone? Because that's exactly what I don't want. 

 

[Preety_India]

This was like the most important question for me. 

 

[ajai]

Thank-you! for suggestion Space, would love to get my hands onit.

Looks like it's free to download! Does the free version comes with all features enabled?

[Hello from Russia]

After running my commonplace book in Onenote for 3 years I switched to Obsidian, way more robust and flexible, yet requires learning some technical knowledge about Markdown format and a few other things

[Joel3102]

I use Onenote on my Mac just fine.

however I had to do some digging to find the 2016 version before it became shittier. Try this link which worked for me

https://onenote.uservoice.com/forums/327165-onenote-for-mac/suggestions/19829044-solution-to-getting-older-version-of-onenote-with

If you prefer this version just make sure you have auto update turned off 

[Preety_India]

How about Evernote? 

 

[herghly]

@Leo Gura Never understood why people buy a mac and install windows

[mmKay]

4 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

I've always run Windows on my Macbook Air. Wouldn't even consider anything else.

But if you are a Mac person running MacOS, I suggest you find an commonplace book software that works on your desired platform. OneNote is awesome for Windows, but it's not the only game in town.

Windows 7 ? I was really dissapointed with some aspects of windows 10 , like the heavy operating system. Pretty much impossible to use even for web browsing without an ssd. 

I considered switching to linux, but my non existant codeing skills and the linux ideology spamming in the comments of any linux video threw me off

[mmKay]

2 hours ago, herghly said:

@Leo Gura Never understood why people buy a mac and install windows

Well macbook is thinn as fucc and also can be charged with an usb c power bank which is great. If I was sitting on cash I'd definately do the same. 

[UnbornTao]

@Leo Gura Windows 10 good enough already?  

Edited December 22, 2020 by Arzola

[Leo Gura]

1 hour ago, mmKay said:

Windows 7 ? I was really dissapointed with some aspects of windows 10 , like the heavy operating system. Pretty much impossible to use even for web browsing without an ssd.

No, Win 8.1 modified to look like 7.

1 hour ago, Arzola said:

@Leo Gura Windows 10 good enough already?  

Win 10 is shite.

[Preety_India]

I'm gonna butcher my arm if anyone says windows 10 is good. 

 

[electroBeam]

9 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

I've always run Windows on my Macbook Air. Wouldn't even consider anything else.

bahahaha. That's the silliest strategy ever. Macbook Airs have VERY overly priced hardware. You could get macbook air specs from hp, dell, lenovo, heck build yourself for 50-75% of the price. The only reason why Macbook Airs are valuable in the first place is because you can't run Mac OS easily on any other computer. So Macbook Air is the way to go for Mac OS. Also The Mac operating system is specifically designed for Mac hardware, the kernels use specialized software to speed up the Mac OS so that it runs faster. This is a common Apple strategy, that's why iphones run way quicker then other phones that have better hardware.

Windows OS is agnostic, which means it cannot make those hardware optimizations. Macbook Airs only shine with Mac OS. Unless you're willing to forego overly priced hardware and operating system optimizations just for looks.

Edited December 22, 2020 by electroBeam

[Space]

8 hours ago, ajai said:

Thank-you! for suggestion Space, would love to get my hands onit.

Looks like it's free to download! Does the free version comes with all features enabled?

I think the free download is a trial, but then its around £28 for the full program. Definitely worth it imo. Give the trial a go and see if you like it.

[Leo Gura]

44 minutes ago, electroBeam said:

bahahaha. That's the silliest strategy ever. Macbook Airs have VERY overly priced hardware. You could get macbook air specs from hp, dell, lenovo, heck build yourself for 50-75% of the price.

None of those manufactures can design laptop hardware that beats a Macbook Air. The trackpads alone on Windows laptops are pure garbage.

Apple makes good hardware. Just their software ecosystem sucks.

I will happily play 50% more for a laptop if it has a great trackpad alone.