I hated using OneNote on Android until a tiny adjustment changed everything - Android Police
A tiny OneNote setting transformed my Android note-taking: the Floatie
For years, OneNote on Android felt slow and distracting compared to the desktop. Opening the app, hunting for the right notebook, and switching away from what I was doing killed quick ideas. That changed the moment I enabled OneNote Floatie—a small, movable edge handle that opens a compact, on‑top note window from any screen.
Why mobile note-taking often fails
- App switching breaks focus and invites distraction
- Extra taps to find the right notebook slow capture
- No keyboard shortcuts like on desktop
What is OneNote Floatie (and how to enable it)
- Open OneNote on Android > Settings > toggle “OneNote floatie”
- A slim purple handle appears on the edge of your screen (you can drag it up or down)
- Tap it to open a lightweight note window without leaving your current app
Why Floatie changes everything
- Instant capture from any app: jot thoughts without context switching
- Stays out of the way: reposition the handle so it doesn’t block content
- Fast save and return: Save closes the window and you’re right back where you were
Power features that boost productivity
- Screenshot + OCR: Use the camera icon to take a screenshot and extract text instantly—perfect for quotes in PDFs or apps (like Instagram) that block selection
- Document and business card scanning: Office Lens detects edges, flattens scans, and saves them cleanly
- Sticky Notes integration: New captures go straight to Sticky Notes for later triage
Real-world use cases
- Capture a line from a long-form PDF without breaking flow
- Grab text from non-selectable screens using OCR, then copy or save
- Scan business cards or documents on the spot and keep them organized
Workflow tips and limitations
- Weekly cleanup: Move Sticky Notes into permanent OneNote notebooks on desktop in minutes
- Microsoft removed the option to save directly to a specific notebook on mobile—currently, Floatie saves to Sticky Notes only
- Wish list: smoother open/close animations for an even more polished feel
Bottom line: the essential OneNote Android adjustment
The best productivity upgrades are simple. Turning on OneNote Floatie eliminates friction, keeps you in the moment, and makes Android note-taking fast, focused, and reliable—even on busy days. If your ideas are dying in the gap between apps, this ten-second tweak is the fix.