(Archived) Newby's Guide to Navigating around Evernote

[xenophile 0]

I am new to Evernote, but not to dozens of other Window's software.

 

Evernote looks like a terrific product.  I wish I could say the same for its getting-around Help function.  Here is a simple example.  I want to synch with my Gmail account.  Easy, right?  Evernote can now connect directly with Gmail.  How do I do that?  Again should be easy.  First I find the Help button.  What?  Where is it?  Can’t get it from any search box.  Okay I find it under my login name (really?).  I ask it how to Connect With Gmail.  It tells me to first log in to Evernote.  That’s easy as I am already logged in.  But I humor it by logging in again the way it tells me, in case how I log in matters.  What next? Well, to quote Evernote Help:

1. Click the "Settings" link at the top of the page.
2. Choose "Connected services" from the options on the left.
3. Click the "Connect" button next to the Google logo.
4. Bingo!

Unfortunately there is no “setting at the top of the page” so I look under various stones and buttons and unexpectably find an “Account Settings” button (under my name again). Don’t whine, I tell myself, just do it!  But the only thing the Account Settings option tells me how to do is to buy the Premium Service.  But I soldier on: the Help instructions now tell me I must ‘Choose "Connected services" from the options on the left’.  Oh?  There is no ‘Connected services’ button anywhere on the page.  Maybe I am on the wrong page?  Well that would be a bad start for the HELP text because I am currently reading the instructions which don’t refer to any other page.  I would love to ‘Click the "Connect" button next to the Google logo’, but I am nowhere near a Google Logo.  And so it goes.  A great product for saving time has just cost me over an hour (I didn’t tell you that I also looked in many other places besides where it told me to look).  All I know is how to buy the Premium version because that’s everywhere and seems to be the only thing that is described clearly.  Now if you are all so smart why can’t you just tell me how to use this great new feature that allows me to connect with Gmail?

[Metrodon 2,184]

Evernote's documentation isn't great but it is getting better.

 

To connect with Google - login to your account on evernote.com and then follow the instructions you have. It's pretty easy.

[xenophile 0]

Thanks for a very nice illustration of the recursive nature of this whole instruction process.  Your message says, in effect, "do what you said can't be done because the relevant buttons never appear".  I'll try again, but this was just a sample of several things I have tried to find out on my first day on Evernote and they all ended like the example and your reply  -- just before executing the first step which invariably says to do something to an option that never appears.  The biggest nuisance in help instructions (on any system) is being told to click on X when getting X to appear is more than half the problem. 

 

Thanks anyway.

[Metrodon 2,184]

Are you logged into evernote.com in your browser? Or are you using a windows or mac client?

[xenophile 0]

Sorry for last posting -- it would not let me post the screen capture "You aren't permitted to upload this kind of file".  Catch 22!

Now I am logged in to Evernote through Firefox (21).  Right now I got there by using your URL http://discussion.evernote.com/topic/38961-newbys-guide-to-navigating-around-evernote/?view=getnewpost

The resulting screen contains nothing like a "settings" link or a "connected services" link or a "connect" button.  I will try to attach the screen capture by translating it to PDF. As you can see it is no help to using the instructions -- at least not without something more.

 

Thanks for your patience.

EvernoteScreen.pdf

[Metrodon 2,184]

OK, you are using the Windows client.

 

To connect to gmail you need to login to the web client.

 

Go to www.evernote.com and click on web sign in in the top right hand corner and then sign in.

 

Click on the dropdown arrow in the top right hand corner next to your name and then follow the instructions that you have.

 

As far as I'm aware you can't complete the connection with the Windows client so you have to login to the web.

[xenophile 0]

Thanks.  I found the missing links in the HELP page on the column of links on the left.  I am now connected to Gmail -- we'll see what that brings.