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Converting Handwritten Notes to Text in OneNote

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You can use Microsoft OneNote to convert handwritten notes to text. First, you will need to upload an image of your handwritten note to OneDrive. This article will cover how to upload an image to OneNote and then convert that handwritten note to text.

Inserting a Picture into OneNote

Windows

 How to insert a picture from a photo album:

  1. In OneNote, click anywhere on the page where you want to insert a picture.

  2. Select "Insert", then select "Pictures".

  3. Select "Choose From File".

  4. Find and click the picture you want to add, and choose "Open".

iOS

Insert a picture from a photo album


  1. On any page, tap where you want to insert a picture so that the on-screen keyboard appears, and then select the Camera icon on the toolbar that appears.

  2. On the menu that appears, choose "From Library" (If prompted to allow OneNote to access the pictures on your iPhone, tap "OK")

  3. On the menu that appears, select "All Photos" (or any other album containing the picture you want to insert).

  4. Choose the picture that you want to insert, and then select "Done". The picture will be inserted.

  5. To insert the picture in your notes, select "Done" in the lower right corner.

    • To cancel inserting the picture, select the Close "X" button in the upper left corner, and then select "Discard".

    • After the picture is inserted, you can remove it later. Press and hold the picture until the selection handles appear, and then release. On the toolbar, select "Delete".

Insert a photo with your iPhone’s camera

  1. On any page, choose where you want to insert a photo so that the keyboard appears, and then select the Camera icon on the toolbar that appears.

  2. On the menu that appears, choose "Take Picture".

    If prompted to allow OneNote to access the camera on your iPhone, select "OK".

  3. Office Lens will open. Office Lens is the camera built into OneNote for iPad and iPhone that lets you take pictures of whiteboards or printed documents, then enhances your photo by cropping, sharpening, and straightening it, so it looks almost like a scanned image.

  4. Depending on what you’re capturing, select "Whiteboard", "Photo", or "Document" at the bottom of the screen, and then select the purple button to take the photo.

  5. To insert the photo in your notes, select "Done" in the lower right corner.

    • To cancel inserting the picture, select the Close "X" button in the upper left corner, and then slect "Discard". Select the purple button again to take a new photo or select the Close "X" button to go back to your notebook.

    • After the picture is inserted, you can remove it later. Press and hold the picture until the selection handles appear, and then release. On the toolbar, select "Delete".

Converting Handwriting to Text

OneNote includes a handy conversion tool so you can change handwritten text into typed text. This is useful if you want to share your handwritten notes in a more legible format with other people.

To convert handwriting to text, do the following:

  1. When you are in your note, select the "Draw" tab in the toolbar.

  2. In the Draw tab, choose the "Lasso Select" button.

  3. On the page, drag a selection over the handwriting you want to convert.

  4. In the Draw tab, choose "Ink to Text".

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