Microsoft has released a new set of updates on its OneNote app for the iPhone, iPad and Mac, building upon Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella's emphasis on cross-platform development.
The updates include crucial additions to Microsoft's flagship note-taking app for Apple devices, which now provides users with more advanced tools for taking notes and allows them to sync between Apple and Windows devices.
"We want to make sure OneNote is available for everyone on every platform," says David Rasmussen, Microsoft's group program manager for OneNote. "If someone has a Windows PC and an iPhone, or vice versa, we don't want to have a barrier to usage."
Among the prominent updates include allowing Apple users to insert Office files and PDF files into OneNote. Previously, only Windows users can drag and drop files such as a Microsoft document, an Excel spreadsheet or a PowerPoint presentation into OneNote and open the file right from the app itself. Users can also now view PDF files in printout view to make annotating more convenient.
Microsoft now also allows Apple users to view documents in password-protected notebooks created on a Windows-based device, a feature that limited Apple users' ability to view and edit notes created on devices other than their iPhone, iPad or Mac.
To round out the updates, Microsoft now lets users move elements within a page or a notebook, use the copy-paste function in rich text format and send notes in PDF format or via Apple's Mail app.
The updates for OneNote for iOS and OS X come independent of Microsoft's updates for its Windows-based OneNote app. Last week, the company also introduced OneNote for Amazon Kindle Fire and Amazon Fire Phone, expanding Microsoft's cross-platform products beyond its suite of Office for iPad productivity apps and Enterprise Mobility Suite. The OneNote app is also available for Android smartphones, though Microsoft does not currently carry a version for Android tablets.
But Microsoft isn't only introducing new products; it is also responding to customer requests for new features quickly. When users complained about the lack of advanced features in OneNote for Mac shortly after the app was introduced earlier this year, Microsoft promptly responded with a slew of updates in May before this latest host of new features added Tuesday.
However, Microsoft is still passing up on upgrading one of its biggest cross-platform products, that is, Office for Mac. While Windows users subscribed to Office 365 can use Office 2013, Apple users are stuck with Office 2011, which was introduced way back in 2010.
