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(Archived) REQUEST: Formatting wish list


cjminott

Idea

Is anyone else finding they are having CONSTANT formatting issues with Evernote? For ALL versions?

Things such as:

  • List formatting, if I click to start a list (numbered or otherwise) it instead starts the list several lines above (Even if I have several hard returns or double spaced returns between the lines)
  • Weird/abrupt formatting changes. Many times if I have a list that isn't functioning properly I'll try backspacing to the previous line and then "returning" to make it a separate line to fix the list, and all of a sudden my text will be Several sizes larger and bold
  • Often when you select a different size or formatting for a peice of text (bold, underlined, etc.) it simply won't change.
    • This happens especially often on the iOS versions when you try to select "Heading" or other Theme Formats

    [*]Copying paste from anywhere else and pasting it into evernote causes all of these problems to be exponentially worse.

Not to be sarcastic, but if the Evernote text formatting code worked even half as good as the text box in this forum post I'd be happy. Anyone else having these issues?

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18 replies to this idea

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Also please have a look at the keyboard shortcuts (e.g. for text formatting, in-/decreasing font size) in the non-English Windows version, some of them don’t seem to work

If you want that to be noticed, especially by Evernote employees, you should post it on its own topic (if there isn't yet a conversation about it), since it seems its unrelated to everything else here.

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I've effectively given up trying to format plain text in Evernote*. I was spending hours just trying to get bulleted lists to function correctly, let alone hitting a return and having it bounce to the bottom of the note. Rather than endure this constant frustration, I typically end up copying/pasting what I want to clip into a new Word file, formatting there, then copying/pasting back into EN. Stupid method, but it works.

*Running EN 2.2.3 on Mac Pro running OS 10.5.8; EN 3.1.0 on iMac running OS 10.6; various EN plug-ins for Firefox, Safari, and Chrome on various Mac hardware; and EN app on iPhone 4GS.

Is this mostly on your Mac Pro running 2.2.3 or does it also happen on 3.1.0? We've made a lot of improvements since 2.2.3 but if you're editing/creating notes on an older version, it won't have the benefit of our newer improvements.

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  • Level 5*

I've effectively given up trying to format plain text in Evernote*. I was spending hours just trying to get bulleted lists to function correctly, let alone hitting a return and having it bounce to the bottom of the note. Rather than endure this constant frustration, I typically end up copying/pasting what I want to clip into a new Word file, formatting there, then copying/pasting back into EN. Stupid method, but it works.

*Running EN 2.2.3 on Mac Pro running OS 10.5.8; EN 3.1.0 on iMac running OS 10.6; various EN plug-ins for Firefox, Safari, and Chrome on various Mac hardware; and EN app on iPhone 4GS.

hi. the bullets can be rather frustrating. your workaround is a good one, but i think we are all hoping that evernote will be able to iron out the bugs sooner rather than later. for me, it is plain text (no formatting at all) that is still causing me problems. gremlins creep into the text and i get leaping lines, ghost lines, and funky fonts. i suspect the <p> and <div> tags, but i really cannot tell what is causing the issues. they are minor, but a source of irritation, especially when all i want is just plain text without any formatting at all. true plain text is at the top of my wish list.

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I've effectively given up trying to format plain text in Evernote*. I was spending hours just trying to get bulleted lists to function correctly, let alone hitting a return and having it bounce to the bottom of the note. Rather than endure this constant frustration, I typically end up copying/pasting what I want to clip into a new Word file, formatting there, then copying/pasting back into EN. Stupid method, but it works.

*Running EN 2.2.3 on Mac Pro running OS 10.5.8; EN 3.1.0 on iMac running OS 10.6; various EN plug-ins for Firefox, Safari, and Chrome on various Mac hardware; and EN app on iPhone 4GS.

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  • Level 5*

[MODERATOR]: I am reposting the OP's new thread direction here rather than starting a new thread. Title changed in accordance.

--------------------------

Following the discussion in the HELP: Text formatting issues across clients thread I’m taking up the suggestion to re-post little wish list for Evernote under its own topic (to general discussions because this applies to Win, Mac and iOS version). So here it goes:

  • Include one (or better: two, a monospace font, too) nice non-serif (“non-Windows”, ie. not Arial or something) base font in Windows and Mac (better yet all versions, iOS and I guess Android too) versions with same preconfigured base font sizes on both/all platforms
  • Clean up the “quick-access” font-menus on both Windows and Mac; the Windows version shows every font installed which makes it hard to use, the Mac version only shows a small selection but a very strange one (lots of “Windows” fonts, the only monospace font it Andale Mono?!)
  • A “style” (heading, subheading etc.) selector similar to the one in iOS across the board (but without strange paragraph paddings, please)
  • A true remove formatting option
  • An option for true plain-text notes including, and this is really important, support for (Multi-)Markdown
  • Also please have a look at the keyboard shortcuts (e.g. for text formatting, in-/decreasing font size) in the non-English Windows version, some of them don’t seem to work
  • TextExpander support on iOS

Thanks!

hi. it doesn't look like anyone has taken up the discussion on your suggestions, so i will throw in my opinions.

(1) i would love to have more fonts on the mac.

(2) i disagree about limiting the fonts. i don't find the windows one confusing at all.

(3) personally, i am not especially keen on the headings, but it has been requested before.

(4) this would be great, because for some reason i still have formatting gremlins in stripped notes. related to this, select-all and change font family/text size often fails to work properly. no big deal if it is plain text, but when you have note links, you get stuck with a motley crew of fonts.

(5) no support for multi-markdown needed in my opinion, unless it could be implemented with a minimum of effort. i'd use it for sure, but it's kind of a geeky thing, and for the main user base, it would go un-used.

(6) i haven't noticed problems with the keyboard shortcuts, but i will keep my eyes peeled.

(7) text expander wouldn't hurt, but there are so very, very many improvements that need to be made in ios. this seems like icing on the cake.

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  • Level 5*

[MODERATOR]: I am reposting the OP's new thread direction here rather than starting a new thread. Title changed in accordance.

--------------------------

Following the discussion in the HELP: Text formatting issues across clients thread I’m taking up the suggestion to re-post little wish list for Evernote under its own topic (to general discussions because this applies to Win, Mac and iOS version). So here it goes:

  • Include one (or better: two, a monospace font, too) nice non-serif (“non-Windows”, ie. not Arial or something) base font in Windows and Mac (better yet all versions, iOS and I guess Android too) versions with same preconfigured base font sizes on both/all platforms
  • Clean up the “quick-access” font-menus on both Windows and Mac; the Windows version shows every font installed which makes it hard to use, the Mac version only shows a small selection but a very strange one (lots of “Windows” fonts, the only monospace font it Andale Mono?!)
  • A “style” (heading, subheading etc.) selector similar to the one in iOS across the board (but without strange paragraph paddings, please)
  • A true remove formatting option
  • An option for true plain-text notes including, and this is really important, support for (Multi-)Markdown
  • Also please have a look at the keyboard shortcuts (e.g. for text formatting, in-/decreasing font size) in the non-English Windows version, some of them don’t seem to work
  • TextExpander support on iOS

Thanks!

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  • Level 5*

I’m struggling with this, too. Even with the newest versions across all iOS, Mac and Windows I’m running into annoying formatting inconsistencies between the three time and time again.

. . .

So here’s a little wish list:

. . .

bogenschlag, thanks for your post. It is the best first post that I have seen in a very long time.

You provide an excellent summary/overview to a fundamental Evernote issue, as well as suggesting specific remedies.

IMO, Evernote would do well to take a step back and look at the big picture with respect to formatting of rich text. It seems that they are so buried in the details of each EN client that maybe they are missing some design/implementation issues that apply across all EN Clients.

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  • Level 5*

I’m struggling with this, too. Even with the newest versions across all iOS, Mac and Windows I’m running into annoying formatting inconsistencies between the three time and time again. For example setting headings on iOS renders these with 24pt on Windows and 32 on the Mac despite the fact that I’ve set a 12pt base font both on Windows and Mac. Also these headings (from iOS) seem to come with a paragraph padding that neither the Windows nor the Mac version offer tools to control (or reliably remove). An the convert to plain-text option (cmd-shift-f on the Mac, “In reinen Text umwandeln” in the German lang file, don’t know what it’s called in English) doesn’t really seem to do that and, at least for me, works in strange and unpredictable ways instead.

So here’s a little wish list:

  • Include one (or better: two, a monospace font, too) nice non-serif (non-Windows) base font in Windows and Mac (better yet all, iOS and I guess Android too) versions with same preconfigured base font sizes on both/all platforms
  • Clean up the “quick-access” font-menus on both Windows and Mac; the Windows version shows every font installed which makes it hard to use, the Mac version only shows a small selection but a very strange one (lots of “Windows” fonts, the only monospace font it Andale Mono?!)
  • A “style” (heading, subheading etc.) selector similar to the one in iOS across the board (but without strange paragraph paddings, please)
  • A true remove formatting option
  • An option for true plain-text notes including, and this is really important, support for (Multi-)Markdown
  • Also please have a look at the keyboard shortcuts (e.g. for text formatting, in-/decreasing font size) in the non-English Windows version, some of them don’t seem to work

Thanks!

hi. welcome to the forums!

unfortunately, formatting is inconsistent, and there are quirks even within clients (ios and mac seem to have the most issues for me). it is frustrating, especially when you primarily take plain text notes and still run into problems. sometimes a note gets so messy (some hidden gremlins in the enml) that it is just better to run everything through a text program (or use formatmatch) and start a new note.

one solution i have found that works pretty well is to set my mac preferences to (courier new 14) and use templates whenever possible. andale mono (as far as i know) doesn't exist on windows. courier new is universal (except for ios, which interprets it as some sans-serif font like arial). i have a bunch of templates for my most common notes, and i just copy paste when i need a new one.

the problem? well, don't use colors, bold, or anything else. if you do, then when you copy/paste on the ipad to make a new note using the template (you cannot just copy a note) the formatting will be all messed up, and you have very little control over things. no font control. no color control. one day, all of my notes were in red, because i foolishly colored something red while using the mac. *sigh*

i am sure they are working on it, though! so, there is hope :)

in the meantime, as much as possible, i recommend sticking to simple stuff without styles: courier new and plain text.

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I’m struggling with this, too. Even with the newest versions across all iOS, Mac and Windows I’m running into annoying formatting inconsistencies between the three time and time again. For example setting headings on iOS renders these with 24pt on Windows and 32 on the Mac despite the fact that I’ve set a 12pt base font both on Windows and Mac. Also these headings (from iOS) seem to come with a paragraph padding that neither the Windows nor the Mac version offer tools to control (or reliably remove). An the convert to plain-text option (cmd-shift-f on the Mac, “In reinen Text umwandeln” in the German lang file, don’t know what it’s called in English) doesn’t really seem to do that and, at least for me, works in strange and unpredictable ways instead.

So here’s a little wish list:

  • Include one (or better: two, a monospace font, too) nice non-serif (non-Windows) base font in Windows and Mac (better yet all, iOS and I guess Android too) versions with same preconfigured base font sizes on both/all platforms
  • Clean up the “quick-access” font-menus on both Windows and Mac; the Windows version shows every font installed which makes it hard to use, the Mac version only shows a small selection but a very strange one (lots of “Windows” fonts, the only monospace font it Andale Mono?!)
  • A “style” (heading, subheading etc.) selector similar to the one in iOS across the board (but without strange paragraph paddings, please)
  • A true remove formatting option
  • An option for true plain-text notes including, and this is really important, support for (Multi-)Markdown
  • Also please have a look at the keyboard shortcuts (e.g. for text formatting, in-/decreasing font size) in the non-English Windows version, some of them don’t seem to work

Thanks!

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I have a similar problem any time I either clip or paste from the web. when I want to type additional notes into the Note, I cannot figure out how to simplify my text to be your basic text. It always seems to retain formatting elements from the original website. Even using "simplify formatting" doesn't seem to make a difference.

There are two issues here.

The first is with clipping. Currently, the Mac client doesn't allow for the insertion of non-formatted text above a clipped note. (The Windows client does allow this.) The only way to get non-formatted text above a clipped page is to remember to add some text (which can be dummy text that you later edit) in the clipper comment field. If you forget to do that or choose not to do that before clipping, you'll have to clip again to get non-formatted text above the clipping. Or, only slightly less annoying, you can merge another note with the clipped note. Just make sure that the non-clipped note is above the clipped note in the list/snippet/thumbnail view, since (also unlike the Windows client, which does this too better) the Mac client doesn't let you choose which note goes on top.

The second issue is how to get formatting-free text anywhere. Try FormatMatch. I've been recommending it left and right ever since another user here recommended it. Before I used FormatMatch, I hated Evernote's lack of a plain-text option. Now Evernote's shortcoming isn't an issue for me, since FormatMatch easily removes any formatting I want removed.

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I have a similar problem any time I either clip or paste from the web. when I want to type additional notes into the Note, I cannot figure out how to simplify my text to be your basic text. It always seems to retain formatting elements from the original website. Even using "simplify formatting" doesn't seem to make a difference.

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I am having a similar issue on my PC using IE 9. When I type notes, the toolbar somehow disappears. So I can't select the bullet items, or bold face, etc. The annoying fix is to save the note then edit. But it just keeps disappearing.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Actually I take that back, talked to the Web team and they're aware of the issue. Should have a fix shortly

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I am having a similar issue on my PC using IE 9. When I type notes, the toolbar somehow disappears. So I can't select the bullet items, or bold face, etc. The annoying fix is to save the note then edit. But it just keeps disappearing.

Any ideas?

Thanks

I think you're issue is something different. But perhaps you're using the Web Client? (This is the Mac Forum). Either way, for specific help I suggest opening a support ticket

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I am having a similar issue on my PC using IE 9. When I type notes, the toolbar somehow disappears. So I can't select the bullet items, or bold face, etc. The annoying fix is to save the note then edit. But it just keeps disappearing.

Any ideas?

Thanks

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I use it across Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad fairly regularly. Perhaps the issues you're seeing are iOS specific? Not 100% sure what you meant by across all versions... our latest iOS release solved pretty much all of the issues I was running into.

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