Microsoft began asking for suggestions to improve its OneNote note-taking app on Thursday, a strategy it has successfully employed with its Xbox game console.
Microsoft launched two OneNote forums: one for users, the other for developers. On both, users can make their own suggestions for improvements and fixes or vote up ideas others have made.
“If your suggestion matches an existing one, you can vote for it—you get 10 votes to distribute as you please, and if we fulfill a suggestion you voted for, you’ll get those votes back. Otherwise, you can submit a new suggestion along with a detailed description,” Microsoft said in a blog post announcing the new changes.
Microsoft OneNote for Windows 8.
At press time, the top request (with just 12 votes) was a “check off” read-only mode within To Do lists. “Often when I use OneNote on my phone as a shopping list, I hit the text rather than check box, and then I end up in edit mode,” the suggestions reads.
Although not as high-profile as say, PowerPoint or Word, OneNote has quietly grown to become a top-tier Microsoft Office app. Company executives called it out as the flagship app for the recent launch of the Surface Pro 3, for example, highlighting its ability to begin taking notes without going through the usual unlock process.
A month ago, Microsoft unveiled Xbox Feedback, a similar site where gamers and developers could suggest new features for the Xbox One and Xbox 360 consoles. There, users contributed dozens of suggestions for new features, like running Xbox Music in the background (a capability that Windows Phone has). Microsoft obviously hopes to capture a similar level of interest for OneNote.