OneNote is a great tool for note-taking, especially collaborative note-taking (see this handy Microsoft eBook for a load of great tips). But did you know that OneNote can actually do basic calculations and math problems for you in your notes, saving you the trouble of getting out a calculator? Read on for how to accomplish this trick and the math that is supported.
It’s a pretty simple process:
- Type the equation you want to calculate. For example, type 51+241+47 to calculate the sum of the numbers 51, 241, and 47, or SQRT(54) to calculate the square root of 54.
- After the equation, without typing a space, type an equal sign (=), and then press Spacebar. The answer will appear after the equal sign.
Here are some tips from Microsoft to make it work smoothly:
- Don’t use spaces in the equation. Type the numbers, operators, and functions as one single, continuous string of text.
- Function codes are not case-sensitive. For example, SQRT(3)=, sqrt(3)= or Sqrt(3)= will calculate the same answer.
- To create a new line after the answer, press Enter (instead of Spacebar) after the equal sign.
If you want only the answer in your notes, after it’s calculated, you can delete the equation that precedes it. The answer will stay in your notes.
OneNote supports addition (+), subtraction (-), multiplication (* or X), division (/), percent (%), exponentiation (^), factorial computation (!) as well as a bunch of other math and trigonometry functions. You can see the full list of those functions here.