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Data Synchronization
By default, OneNote keeps a copy of the notebook on the local drive and syncs changes to the shared notebook automatically when changes are made. You can specify how you want to sync changes:
- Automatically whenever changes are made
- Only when you click Sync Now
To access the synchronization features, click File > Info > View Sync Status. If you're working in a shared notebook, you can refresh it by clicking File > Info > View Sync Status and selecting Sync Now on the Shared Notebook Synchronization form.
While I was working on the scenario for this article, I discovered that the sync functionality isn't always immediate when multiple users have the same notebook open at the same time.
When Jen made changes, they would indeed sync to the shared notebook. However, there was a lag in time before Tara saw the changes. I noticed that if Jen made a change in a section or page that Tara was working on, the synchronization was almost immediate. However, if Jen added a new section, it didn't synchronize immediately, and Tara had to explicitly synchronize in order to see it.
This may have been an issue with the beta version. Note that the speed of synchronization for notebooks shared on a network or the Web is dependent on factors such as network latency and the availability of a reliable Internet connection.
That concludes our tour of the OneNote 2010 sharing features. As you can see from Tara and Jen's experience, OneNote 2010 is an excellent tool that enables multiple users to collaborate and share ideas and information. You may want to consider it for your next team project.
Dianne Siebold is a writer and software developer specializing in Microsoft technologies. She has worked for a number of Microsoft partners writing enterprise applications. Currently, she works for Microsoft writing developer documentation in the Dynamics product group. Reach her by e-mail at dsiebold@earthlink.net.