OneNote 2013 Ditches Feature Restrictions For Personal Users

In 2014, Microsoft made its OneNote 2013 note-taking software free for personal use, something that was well received but not without its restrictions. To do away with those restrictions, you'd have to get a paid edition, something that Microsoft has decided to do away with entirely. From now on, OneNote 2013 will have a bunch of those previously restricted features available on the free edition (for personal users, obviously), something Microsoft said is in response to user requests received over past months.

As of now, the free edition of OneNote 2013 has some additional previously restricted features. Users can password protect sections to keep their notes private for example, a particularly handy feature for those who keep sensitive data stored. There's also page history for reverting to past editions of a page.

Also convenient for those who prefer to store more than just text, the free edition now allows for video and audio recordings, as well as the related audio search, which scans for a search term in both videos and audio notes. Embedded files in general are also available — you can embed other files in a notebook.

As always, users can tie their OneNote to their OneDrive account to access and store their notebooks. The software is available for both Windows 7 and Windows 8; the restrictions removal took effect today. Check out the timeline below for additional Microsoft news.

SOURCE: Office Blogs