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The problem with OneNote is that its file format is proprietary (though documented). I have random notes that are 20 years old. Notes I take today need to be readable 20 years from now. Will OneNote be around 20 years from now? I prefer to store my notes in plain text because it is guaranteed to be readable decades from now.



Do you intend to restore today's backup of your OneNote files with a copy of OneNote 2039? It might work or might not.

But if you keep using OneNote for the next 20 years, I can guarantee that it won't suddenly implode and suddently make all your notes unreadable by anything else.

Also the format is open and documented: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_OneNote#File_format


You can export an entire notebook, or individual notes to PDF. PDF is easily converted to text so there is one way to archive.

I had stopped using Apple Notes because the format was a proprietary binary format with no export feature. When I found an app to export as text I went back to using Notes.




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