Question: I have an Excel spreadsheet with 3000 names that I would like to create folders for on my shared network drive. We need to keep files and other information for these people and would like to have the names stored in folders by As, Bs, etc. . Is there an easy way to do that?

Answer: There may be a procedure to do that, but I think a more efficient way to keep track of names and subsequent information for them would be to create a OneNote2010 notebook on a shared network drive. This is a perfect project to show the powerful capabilities of OneNote.

Create sections of the OneNote notebook with the Letters of the Alphabet and then create pages for each student. Within these pages you can create subpages which can hold files, notes, images, recording, etc. You can create this in just a few minutes by Importing the list from Excel into Outlook 2010 Contacts, and then select the “A” contacts and click OneNote in the ribbon. This will send the Contact information to OneNote pages. Do this for each section. See more detailed steps below:

1. In your Excel file, make sure your workbook contains only one worksheet with headings at the top. It is best to have headings Name and E-Mail for it to import correctly into Outlook.
2. Name your data range in Excel and save the file in 2003 (.xls) format.
3. Go to your Outlook contacts view and and right click on Contacts to create new folder – call it something like “Students”
4. Click File > Open > Import > Import from another program or file.
5. Verify that the names imported correctly into your Outlook Contacts.
6. Create a OneNote Notebook on your shared network drive.
7. Create sections for the letters of the Alphabet.
8. Go back to your Outlook contacts and select the names you wish to place in the A section (using Shift or Ctrl to select the names) and click OneNote in the ribbon and place in the appropriate notebook section. Continue this for each section of names. You could also select all Contacts and click OneNote, sending all names at once. Then create new pages for each letter of the alphabet and indent the contact pages by dragging slightly to the right, creating subpages.
9. You can now add notes, drawings, images, files, Outlook messages, appointments and even recordings into OneNote pages. You can also create lists or tags which you can search on.

Learn more about OneNote 2010 in our basics class coming up 4/22 from 1-3 p.m. which you can sign up for by going to www.unmc.edu/its/training.htm . You can find several other tutorials and resources on OneNote at Microsoft, including:

• The video at the bottom of this link gives a short overview of OneNote 2010. http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/onenote-help/getting-started-with-onenote-2010-HA010370233.aspx
• The demo on this link is a really good overview of how OneNote 2007 works. Even though there are a few differences in OneNote 2010, it is essential for learning the basics. http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/onenote-help/demo-onenote-2007-an-executives-best-practices-HA010234200.aspx?CTT=1

• This course shows new features in OneNote 2010. http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/onenote-help/overview-RZ101805102.aspx?CTT=1&section=1