Microsoft Improves OneNote on iOS, Mac

Microsoft today launched updates to its OneNote app for iPhone, iPad and Mac, adding support for iOS 8 file and print-out insertion, section password management, page arrangement, and SharePoint Server integration. The features that are now available on each vary a bit by platform.

Here's what's new.

Add files from cloud storage (iOS 8 only). Microsoft previously added support for iOS Share extensibility and in this release it is taking advantage of new iOS 8 functionality that makes it easy to insert file attachments and printouts you've stored in the cloud without even leaving OneNote. It works with any cloud storage service you've configured for use in iOS.

Manage section passwords and unlock, optionally with Touch ID. OneNote for Windows users have been able to lock sections with passwords for years, and while you could unlock those sections on iOS or Mac previously, you could never password lock them on Apple's platforms. Now you can, and if you have a Touch ID-based iOS device (iPhone 5S, iPhone 6/6 Plus, iPad Air 2 or iPad mini 3), you can use that sensor to slipstream the unlock process too.

Move and rearrange pages (iPhone only). Already available elsewhere, now you can move and rearrange your notebook pages on the iPhone too: Just tap the Edit button in a section and you'll be able to reorder pages, move them to another section, or create subpages.

Open SharePoint Server notebooks (Mac only). If you're using OneNote on a Mac—and, pro tip, check it out to get a preview of what Office 16 will look like on Mac—you can now open OneNote notebooks that are stored in on-premises SharePoint Server. (In addition to OneDrive, SharePoint Online or OneDrive for Business, of course.)

And more. These app updates also include bug fixes, of course, but also a few minor other changes, like improvements to how OneNote looks on the bigger screens of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, Microsoft says.