Conflict resolution

[mikecox11 0]

I'm confused about about "Confliciting Changes".

I've tried searching for answers that would explain this feature but keep coming up blank.

There seems to be a plethora of resources but I don't seem able to find the trees for the forest.

Is there a single manual or something where I can just read about Everhotes features and how to use them? To learn, for example, what "Conflicting Changes" are and how to deal with them?

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

I'm confused about about "Confliciting Changes".

I've tried searching for answers that would explain this feature but keep coming up blank.

There seems to be a plethora of resources but I don't seem able to find the trees for the forest.

Is there a single manual or something where I can just read about Everhotes features and how to use them? To learn, for example, what "Conflicting Changes" are and how to deal with them?

Hi. Welcome to the forums!

I think we could use a lot more documentation, and I think Evernote is working on it, but we just don't have it yet. The Knowledge Base is generally useful, but specifics tend to be wrong these days (outdated), so I recommend starting there (http://evernote.com/getting_started/#5), but not blindly trusting it. I'd say that it is more or less correct in this case, but we had some freakish conflicting notes appearing within notes for a while (I have a few of these), and I haven't been able to determine if this was a new feature (surely, it must be) or a bug (a really strange one if it is). Unfortunately, no documentation on it... The phenomenon seems to be in remission (?), so maybe that won't be an issue for you. And, of course, the details of the syncing aren't spelled out in the KB, so I'd recommend some trial and error to get a sense of what is happening.

[JMichaelTX 4,117]

The Knowledge Base is generally useful, but specifics tend to be wrong these days (outdated), so I recommend starting there (https://support.ever...note-sync-works), but not blindly trusting it. I'd say that it is more or less correct in this case, but we had some freakish conflicting notes appearing within notes for a while (I have a few of these), and I haven't been able to determine if this was a new feature (surely, it must be) or a bug (a really strange one if it is). Unfortunately, no documentation on it... The phenomenon seems to be in remission (?), so maybe that won't be an issue for you. And, of course, the details of the syncing aren't spelled out in the KB, so I'd recommend some trial and error to get a sense of what is happening.

Frankly, this is appalling.

It should be extremely obvious to all, especially Evernote, how very important it is to have a robust, well thought out, well documented, syncing and conflict resolution design when you have a system like Evernote that can receive changes from multiple devices/clients.

The chief benefit of Evernote is that it is supposed to work across many devices. This benefit is being highly mitigated by this sync/conflict resolution issue.

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

The Knowledge Base is generally useful, but specifics tend to be wrong these days (outdated), so I recommend starting there (https://support.ever...note-sync-works), but not blindly trusting it. I'd say that it is more or less correct in this case, but we had some freakish conflicting notes appearing within notes for a while (I have a few of these), and I haven't been able to determine if this was a new feature (surely, it must be) or a bug (a really strange one if it is). Unfortunately, no documentation on it... The phenomenon seems to be in remission (?), so maybe that won't be an issue for you. And, of course, the details of the syncing aren't spelled out in the KB, so I'd recommend some trial and error to get a sense of what is happening.

Frankly, this is appalling.

It should be extremely obvious to all, especially Evernote, how very important it is to have a robust, well thought out, well documented, syncing and conflict resolution design when you have a system like Evernote that can receive changes from multiple devices/clients.

The chief benefit of Evernote is that it is supposed to work across many devices. This benefit is being highly mitigated by this sync/conflict resolution issue.

?

It is robust. It is well-thought out. It is not well-documented. This has been an issue for a long time, as the link in your signature suggests. If we had the documentation we want/need, then you wouldn't be making those tables! I don't know if it is appalling. It's actually not terribly uncommon for apps.

In this case, the problem is what Evernote does -- it is our external brain, not just a .99 game we'll play with our kids, so it is really important for us to have that knowledge. I hope it is coming soon!

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

It's a darned shame when they migrated to the new message board, that they didn't migrate the sections for the no-longer-supported versions. In a way, I understand. BUT...there was a plethora of info that was there... Anyway, here it is direct from Evernote. Luckily, I had screen capped it...

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s137/sh/d2104b77-a448-40af-a0c1-7d128a3ac837/a9e944cfd256c17521e5e93205148a65

[mikecox11 0]

Anyway, here it is direct from Evernote. Luckily, I had screen capped it...

https://www.evernote...1e5e93205148a65

And Lucky for me, thanks!

I find it odd that there has been no documentation; it being a key feature of the programing process.

I don't know about singing, but it's definately become an integral part of my life as well. I'm migrating out of Google's Documantation/Drive feature because I find Evernote much easier to work with.

Now I have to sort out why I didn't get an email notifation about this response; I've checked the appropriate box and my email is correct.

[JMiller 0]

I had to quit using the desktop client because I got a few of these. I got tired of having to remember to press the sync button after every change of a note.

I now use the web client only unless i have to alter a encrypted note which the web client will not allow me to enter the password.

Evernote is showing it's age.

[HCTCPurchasingDept 3]

There has got to be a better way to resolve these conflicts than to just create a duplicate note and place it in a separate notebook.

In Google Docs, you can work on a shared document at the same time that other people work with it. Everything changed is seen by all parties in real-time.

I do not know what would be involved to implement that in EN, but when a co-worker is working with a conflicted note without realizing it and wondering why no one else can see the changes she has made, EN should take "note".

I have setup each of our clients to update at 15 minute intervals instead of the 30 minute default which has helped. It is at best, a work around, not a fix.

 

Here is an option: On the mobile side, this fix might be hard, but on the desktop client, that generally has a 24/7 high speed internet connection, why not send a signal to the client that a shared note is open by someone else (include their name or user id) and at least give us a warning before we change it.

EN already puts a little icon in the upper right corner when a note has been changed but not synced. Why not broadcast this information to all the other users if and when they attempt to edit a specific note. I don't know how much of a bandwidth increase this would cause on EN's servers if any but it would at least be a beginning.

 

I guess at this point, I would just like something to tell me that I am about to create a conflict before it happens.

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

There has got to be a better way to resolve these conflicts than to just create a duplicate note and place it in a separate notebook.

In Google Docs, you can work on a shared document at the same time that other people work with it. Everything changed is seen by all parties in real-time.

I do not know what would be involved to implement that in EN, but when a co-worker is working with a conflicted note without realizing it and wondering why no one else can see the changes she has made, EN should take "note".

I have setup each of our clients to update at 15 minute intervals instead of the 30 minute default which has helped. It is at best, a work around, not a fix.

 

Here is an option: On the mobile side, this fix might be hard, but on the desktop client, that generally has a 24/7 high speed internet connection, why not send a signal to the client that a shared note is open by someone else (include their name or user id) and at least give us a warning before we change it.

EN already puts a little icon in the upper right corner when a note has been changed but not synced. Why not broadcast this information to all the other users if and when they attempt to edit a specific note. I don't know how much of a bandwidth increase this would cause on EN's servers if any but it would at least be a beginning.

 

I guess at this point, I would just like something to tell me that I am about to create a conflict before it happens.

Hi. Good ideas, but (this is just my opinion) I think this is extremely unlikely to happen. Evernote is explicitly structured to sync at regular intervals instead of syncing immediately, and I think they would have to rethink the whole endeavor to get real-time syncing implemented. The problem (as I see it) is that Evernote began as an "anti-social" app that was about you, and sharing was not supposed to be something you did real-time working on notes together, but a way for you to (for example) let people know what kinds of wines you have been tasting, etc. I agree that it is a problem, but real-time syncing is no simple thing. It is actually pretty amazing what Google has done to get it working reliably.

I could be wrong! However, this is my impression of where things stand. My advice would be to treat notes in shared notebooks more as repositories of information to read and/or add notes to, but not a place where you edit the notes inside unless you make rules for others like "only edit notes that I have marked with this tag," or "only edit notes that you have authored."

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

Hi. Good ideas, but (this is just my opinion) I think this is extremely unlikely to happen. Evernote is explicitly structured to sync at regular intervals instead of syncing immediately, and I think they would have to rethink the whole endeavor to get real-time syncing implemented.

Which would definitely impact upload used, which is the entire basis for monitoring/charging for Evernote usage.  And yes, IIRC, Dave even stated back in the day that Evernote was geared toward being a personal app, not an app for collaboration. 

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

WRT Evernote & collaboration, at least as of December 2010:

 

Phil neglected to mention that our last company sold enterprise cryptography software to huge organizations like federal government agencies and multinational companies. That meant we spent a lot of time flying around in suits with enterprise sales guys working on commission, to sit through tedious meetings in stuffy conference rooms for a 9-18 month sales cycle to close 7-figure contracts. I even moved to Washington DC for two years since it was easier than flying every week.

So we know what it means to build a business that sells to "the enterprise," but we have no desire (or need) to turn Evernote into that kind of business. We'd rather just build great software that individuals can grab and use for free for a few months, and then pay us a small amount (directly) when they feel like Premium fits their needs. Sponsored Accounts are just a small billing option for one person to pay the subscription charges for other Premium accounts.

There may be another post by Dave that is more specific about it being a "personal" service (at least at that time). But either it was not migrated to the new message board or else I can't find it.

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

I think you can find a lot of stuff out there about the "anti-social" and "personal" nature of Evernote in the first few years, but I get the sense that the focus is changing. I suppose that's obvious from the Twitter, Facebook, sharing, and other features we see nowadays.

Le Web Interview with Phil Libin, CEO of Evernote. Interview with Phil Libin in a Google Hangout. 55:00. 

[jdpenafiel 0]

Whenever I create or edit a note on my iMac, next time I try to access it through my iPhone it displays the note contents (i.e. pictures, videos, text) like a thousand times.  For example, this morning I started working on a vacation planing note, adding maps and directions and pictures etc., spent like one hour, then tried to access the note through my iPhone, didn't see the progress, then tried to open the note back on my iMac, and it was gone, lost work.  

 

Now I'm working on my notes as a word document...

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

Whenever I create or edit a note on my iMac, next time I try to access it through my iPhone it displays the note contents (i.e. pictures, videos, text) like a thousand times.  For example, this morning I started working on a vacation planing note, adding maps and directions and pictures etc., spent like one hour, then tried to access the note through my iPhone, didn't see the progress, then tried to open the note back on my iMac, and it was gone, lost work.  

 

Now I'm working on my notes as a word document...

Hi. Welcome to the forums. I've read your post a couple of times, and to my eyes, it looks like you are describing notes that display many times and ones that are lost. Both behaviors sound very odd to me, and are certainly not what you ought to be seeing, so I would recommend contacting customer support. See the link in my signature. They may be able to retrieve your lost work as well.

[Daniel Serodio 2]

It'd a lot easier to solve conflicts if there was some way of comparing two notes (a "diff" utility).

[jacksonadams 0]

This is still very, very much an issue and I can't believe it is still completely unaddressed.

I can't even begin to tell the hours and edits I've wasted because of my assumption that an app designed to share documents between devices has no real conflict resolution or diff kind of utility. I am careful to sync when I'm done with a change, and sync before I start editing, and yet time after time after time this fails to work... it simply adds a conflict and appends the entire version to the same note. ("great, I'll just manually merge this myself!")

[jefito 5,589]

This is still very, very much an issue and I can't believe it is still completely unaddressed.

I can't even begin to tell the hours and edits I've wasted because of my assumption that an app designed to share documents between devices has no real conflict resolution or diff kind of utility. I am careful to sync when I'm done with a change, and sync before I start editing, and yet time after time after time this fails to work... it simply adds a conflict and appends the entire version to the same note. ("great, I'll just manually merge this myself!")

I wouldn't say that it's "completely" unaddressed: http://discussion.evernote.com/topic/57046-evernote-for-windows-540-beta-2/. But it doesn't look like actual note content is being handled just yet.

[ckclark 0]

I am a novice.  I ran into the conflicting edits issue yesterday and it makes it hard for me to reconstruct proper data for a note I had been editing daily.  Is the best practice to always just enter new notes?

[jefito 5,589]

I am a novice.  I ran into the conflicting edits issue yesterday and it makes it hard for me to reconstruct proper data for a note I had been editing daily.  Is the best practice to always just enter new notes?

It is best practice to make sure that your notes are properly synced before editing.

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

This is still very, very much an issue and I can't believe it is still completely unaddressed.

I can't even begin to tell the hours and edits I've wasted because of my assumption that an app designed to share documents between devices has no real conflict resolution or diff kind of utility. I am careful to sync when I'm done with a change, and sync before I start editing, and yet time after time after time this fails to work... it simply adds a conflict and appends the entire version to the same note. ("great, I'll just manually merge this myself!")

I use EN on three devices & as long as I sync down before changing anything, then sync changes up, I do not get conflicting notes.

I am a novice.  I ran into the conflicting edits issue yesterday and it makes it hard for me to reconstruct proper data for a note I had been editing daily.  Is the best practice to always just enter new notes?

Best practice is...

https://discussion.evernote.com/topic/20092-not-very-happy-right-now/?p=101095

[swallace111 6]

I am getting a ton of conflict issues since the last release...rarely got them before.  adding a note and syncing up and syncing down to the other devices before I can change a note and then doing it again after a change seems to be a little bit of a burden

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

I am getting a ton of conflict issues since the last release...rarely got them before.  adding a note and syncing up and syncing down to the other devices before I can change a note and then doing it again after a change seems to be a little bit of a burden

 

Note conflicts have nothing to do with the software version & everything to do with making sure you follow the sync "rules" each time you move between devices.  (Sync all changes down before making changes to notes, make your changes, then sync all changes up to the EN servers before leaving that computer/device).  If that's too much of a burden for you, then you will continue to get conflicting notes.

 

To clarify, you don't have to sync changes down to ALL devices/computers, just the one you're using at the time.  IOW, if I change something on my iPhone, I need to sync that change up to the EN servers before leaving my iPhone.  When I move to my desktop computer, I need to sync (down) before making changes to existing notes.  But I don't have to sync my iPad until I get ready to make changes from there.

[jeanmiele 32]

Dear Evernote team,

 

I love Evernote. (Mostly.) And I have a request. Some feedback. A complaint.

 

It's long past the time you guys got it together in terms of how conflicts are handled. The current system is fatally flawed. A second copy of my note inside the note is not helpful. It's just annoying. Take a look into how Notespark (now defunct) used to handle conflicts. Conflicting items were placed inside the same note line-by-line, side-by-side, so you could see the conflict, choose the resolution and modify it - and move on. With all but the simplest notes of just a line or two (and most are not), the current system is all but useless. Adobe (and they're far from perfect, btw) has a programmer policy that they call JDI, or "just do it" - where they prioritize fixable issues, and fix them. JDI with this conflicting conflict thing. The current system has to go. Please. I'm begging you.

[KathyDavie 1]

How do I view conflicting changes. I have three notebooks that claim I have conflicting changes but when I click on them, it only shows me one note. How am I supposed to know what the conflict is?

[JMichaelTX 4,117]

Evernote is NOT helpful in identifying the differences between conflicting Notes.

The only way I know to do this is to export each Note to separate ENEX or HTML files, and then use a file compare app.

For the Mac, I have  used and like DeltaWalker.

 

I know, it's a PITA. 

 

How do I view conflicting changes. I have three notebooks that claim I have conflicting changes but when I click on them, it only shows me one note. How am I supposed to know what the conflict is?

[DonDree 5]

ok it's a year and a half later. Has this issue been addressed and fixed? You can't just say there's a conflict and not indicate what part of the note is different. Have you implemented a diff display yet?