How to Get Started with Aspose.Note FOSS for Python

aspose-note for Python is a free, MIT-licensed library for reading, writing, and converting Microsoft OneNote .one files — no Microsoft Office required, no native extensions, pure Python from PyPI.

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Install the Package

Install from PyPI with pip:

pip install aspose-note>=26.3.2

Verify the install loaded correctly:

from aspose.note import Document
print("aspose-note is ready.")

Step 2: Import Required Classes

Import the modules you need for loading documents, traversing nodes, and saving:

from aspose.note import Document, Page, Outline, RichText, SaveFormat

Step 3: Load a OneNote File

Pass a file path to Document to load any supported OneNote format. Use the FileFormat property to check which variant was detected:

from aspose.note import Document

doc = Document("notebook.one")
print(f"Format : {doc.FileFormat}")
print(f"Pages  : {len(list(doc))}")

Step 4: Traverse Pages and Read Text

Use GetChildNodes() to retrieve all Page nodes, then drill down to RichText leaf nodes to read the actual text content:

from aspose.note import Document, Page, RichText

doc = Document("notebook.one")
for page in doc.GetChildNodes(Page):
    if page.Title and page.Title.TitleText:
        print(f"Page: {page.Title.TitleText}")
    for rt in page.GetChildNodes(RichText):
        text = "".join(rt)
        if text.strip():
            print(f"  {text[:120]}")

Step 5: Export to PDF

Document.Save() accepts SaveFormat.Pdf to write a PDF. The export runs entirely in-process without any external renderer:

import io
from aspose.note import Document, SaveFormat

doc = Document("notebook.one")

# Save to a file
doc.Save("output.pdf", SaveFormat.Pdf)

# Save to an in-memory buffer
buf = io.BytesIO()
doc.Save(buf, SaveFormat.Pdf)
print(f"PDF bytes: {len(buf.getvalue())}")

Common Issues and Fixes

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'aspose' The package is not installed in the active Python environment. Run pip install aspose-note in the same virtual environment you are using to run your script. Confirm with pip show aspose-note.

FileNotFoundError when calling Document("path") The path you passed does not exist or uses the wrong separator. Use pathlib.Path to construct paths portably:

from pathlib import Path
from aspose.note import Document

doc = Document(str(Path("folder") / "notebook.one"))

GetChildNodes() returns an empty list Ensure you are calling GetChildNodes(Page) on the Document root — not on a Page node — when you expect page-level children. Each level of the tree only returns its own direct descendants of the specified type.

PDF output is blank or missing content The PDF renderer reads RichText nodes. If the file contains only images or attached files with no RichText nodes, the PDF pages will be empty. Inspect the document tree to verify that RichText nodes are present and contain text.

page.Title is None Not every page has a title. Always guard: if page.Title and page.Title.TitleText: ... before accessing the title text to avoid AttributeError.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does aspose-note require Microsoft Office?

No. The library reads and writes the OneNote binary format natively in pure Python without any dependency on Microsoft Office, COM automation, or Windows APIs.

Which Python versions are supported?

Python 3.10 or later. The package runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, Docker containers, and serverless functions.

Is the library free for commercial use?

Yes. It is released under the MIT License. You may use, modify, and redistribute it for any purpose, including commercial applications.

Can I write new OneNote files from scratch?

Yes. Build a document using Document(), add Page nodes via AppendChildLast(), attach Outline and RichText children, and save to a .one file or export to PDF with Document.Save().

Can I save to formats other than PDF and OneNote?

The current 26.3.2 release supports writing to OneNote .one format and PDF only. Export to PNG, HTML, or other formats is not available in this FOSS edition.