Review of the Onetastic Add-in for Microsoft OneNote

A free tool to enhance Microsoft's notetaking program

Onetastic Add-in Find and Replace for OneNote
Onetastic Add-in Find and Replace for OneNote.

Onetastic is a free add-in for Microsoft OneNote 2010 or later. This optional download adds new menus, macros, and organizational features right into OneNote.

As you may know, many add-ins are created by third parties. This one was created and is managed by Microsoft developer Omer Atay as an independent venture.

Macroland, OneCalendar, Image Tools, and More

Onetastic brings in multiple features, but some of them are optional. For example, users can opt into a site called Macroland to take advantage of specialized macros.

If you are not a fan of macros, Onetastic still offers plenty for you. Among its major features is one that can actually be downloaded independently: OneCalendar. While OneNote includes a calendar, this one has more flexibility.

You can also find tools that OneNote does not have but which you are likely used to in programs such as Excel or Word. For example, the Onetastic tool that is similar to Find and Replace (not included in the core OneNote program at the time of this writing) comes in pretty handy.

Image tools offer more options for all those images you may clip on the go and more.

Sorting also gets a boost with this add-in. You can:

  • Sort pages by date
  • Sort sections and notebooks by name
  • Sort lists by name or numerical rank
  • Sort paragraphs numerically and alphabetically
  • Sort tables numerically or alphabetically

Pros of the Onetastic Add-In

Our personal favorite in this add-in is the ability to copy and paste text from an image. Since we clip a lot of pictures for reference, this has come in handy many times.

We have enjoyed the versatility of this app. Customization is particularly important for organizational apps because everyone's preferences run differently. For example, we liked that we could select Settings to have this add-in's tool show on its own menu tab rather than its default position on the Home tab. 

In particular, we have also become an avid fan of OneCalendar. As mentioned, it is nice that this one feature can be downloaded as a stand-alone, meaning you can download just this even if you don't need the rest of the Onetastic add-in.

Cons of the Onetastic Add-In

This add-in is for desktop use rather than mobile, which is understandable since most users don't need all these tools while on the go. It would be a nice extra if this was possible. At the time of this writing, Onetastic is only available for Windows.

We have not run into any other major cons while using this add-in, but some users may wonder why so many new menus are added. Since we are such a fan of the functional customization in this app, it would be even better if the visual interface can be customized so as to not include tools we don't use as often. We tend to like a bit more simplicity. We mention this because the add-in brings in more than a dozen additional tools on the Macros tab. This is not a huge drawback, however.

Updates

App developers continue to release updates to Onetastic, which you can review on the official changelog. For example, you will see that a lot of work has been done to add more languages, as well as to troubleshoot crash issues and such.

You will also see updates to new features, helping to ensure you know about the latest and greatest features of this app. 

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