Switch from Microsoft OneNote to Google Workspace

Learn the differences between Microsoft OneNote and Google Workspace and get best practices for collaboration at work or school.

Comparison at a glance

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In OneNote...

In Google Workspace...*

Create a note or list

Create notes or lists in Tasks or Docs

Open Tasks

You can add tasks to the side panel in some Google Workspace apps.

Go to Gmail , Calendar , Chat , Drive , or a file in Google Docs , Sheets , or Slides .
- Important:If you can't see Tasks app, click the arrow in the bottom right of the screen to expand the panel.
On the right, click Tasks.

Tip:In Gmail spaces, you can create, assign, edit, complete, and delete group tasks .

Create detailed notes or lists in Docs

On your computer, open a Google Docs , Sheets , Slides , Forms or Vids home screen.
Click Create.

You can also:

Organize or group notes in a notebook

Organize or group notes in a shared drive

Step 1: Create a shared drive

Open Google Drive .
On the left, click Shared drives.
Shared drives are available only if your organization supports them. For help, contact your administrator .
At the top, click New .
Enter a name and click Create.

For details, see Set up a shared drive .

Step 2: Add folders to a shared drive

On the left, click a shared drive or existing folder.
Click New Folder.
Enter a folder name and click Create.

Note: Any subfolders you create must have the same permission as the top-level folder.

Step 3: Add notes to a folder in a shared drive

Requires at least Contributoraccess

Any files you add are owned by the team. If you leave the shared drive, your files remain.

On the left, click a shared drive.
Drag an existing file (that you own*) from your computer or from My Drive into a shared drive. Or, at the top of Drive, click Newand choose an option:
- To create a file, select the file type you want to create, such as Google Docs.
- To upload a file, click File upload. Navigate to the file and open it.
Double-click a file to open and edit it.

*If you don't own the file but have Editoraccess in Drive, you can move it to a shared drive if your administrator has allowed this option.

Note:To store and access files on your desktop, use Google Drive for desktop. For details, see What can you do with Drive for desktop .

Share and collaborate on a notebook stored in OneDrive

Share and collaborate on notes in Docs

Share notes in Docs

Select the file you want to share.
Click Shareor Share.
Enter the email address or Google group you want to share with.
To decide what role people will have on your file, select Viewer, Commenter, or Editor.
If your account is eligible, you can add an expiration date for access .
Choose to notify people.
- If you want to notify people that you shared an item with them, check the box next to Notify people. If you notify people, each email address you enter will be included in the email.
- If you don't want to notify people, uncheck the box.
Click Sendor Share.

Add comments and assign action items in Docs

In Docs , Sheets , or Slides , select the text you'd like to comment on.
Click Add comment.
Enter your comment in the box.
(Optional) To direct your task or comment to a specific person, enter a plus sign (+) followed by their email address. You can add as many people as you want. Each person will get an email with your comment and a link to the file.
(Optional) To assign the comment to a specific person, check the Assign tobox.
Click Commentor Assign.

Note: If a file reaches the maximum number of comments, you can make a copy of the file without copying over any comments.

Add drawings or images to a note

Add drawings or images to notes in Docs

In Docs , from the Insertmenu, select Imageor Drawing.

Convert handwriting to text in OneNote

Convert handwriting to editable text

Use your smartphone to scan or photograph the handwriting.
Save the file as a PDF or an image file, such as JPEP or PNG.
Go to the Drive app and upload the scanned document.
On your computer, open Drive and right-click the uploaded file.
Select Open with Google Docsto edit the scanned handwriting.

Create an Outlook task from OneNote

Create a task from Docs

In Docs , highlight the text that you want to make a task. Right-click and select Copy.
In the sidebar at right, click Tasks.
Click Add a task.
Click Edit details.
Right-click Enter titleand paste the text you copied.
Do any of the following options:
- Add details about your task.
- Change the list this task belongs to.
- Add a due date for your task, which also adds the task to Calendar.
- Add subtasks.
Click the Back arrow.

You can access tasks from Docs, Gmail, Calendar, Sheets, or Slides.

Categorize notes with tags

Categorize notes with folders in Drive

In Drive , navigate to where you want to add the folder.
Click New Folder.
Name the folder as a category.
Click Create.
In Docs , save notes to a category folder.

Search OneNote

Search Drive

Search for Docs notes in Drive

In the Drive search box, enter your search text.
Choose from a suggestion or press Enterto see all results.
(Optional) To narrow your search, click the Down arrow and choose an option. For example, you can narrow the type to documents.

* Note: The instructions in this guide are primarily web only. Get switching information for mobile devices .

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