Jump to content

Evernote sub-folders


TCG1

Recommended Posts

Please can someone help me?  I want to make sub-folders within each note book - a similar hierarchy to that which I have in My Documents or Outlook, how can I do this?

Link to comment

Please can someone help me? I want to make sub-folders within each note book - a similar hierarchy to that which I have in My Documents or Outlook, how can I do this?

There are no sub notebooks in EN. This has been discussed at great length on the board already. Please use the search function. However, notebooks can be grouped into stacks. Again, if you need help on how to do that, please use the search function. You cannot make sub stacks.

In a nutshell, organizing notes in EN s done with stacks, notebooks, tags, keyword & descriptive titles. Once you have a large number of notes, this methodology is MUCH more effective than nested folders like on a hard drive.

Link to comment

thank you BnF - very helpful for new user.  Another Q: is it possible to set up a signature on the email sharing function?  Also will evernote remember email contacts for future reference?

Link to comment
  • 4 months later...
  • Level 5*

All I have ever used is the folders and subfolders.  I do not understading how to use stacks effectively and find it frustrating.  Help!

There are no folders or subfolders in Evernote. Here is what is available:

A note is the fundamental unit of your content.

Notebooks contain notes, and not other notebooks or stacks.

Stacks hold notebooks, and not notes or other stacks. Between this and the above rule, this means that Evernote expresses a hierarchy that has a maximum depth of 2.

Tags are labels that can be applied to notes. Multiple tags may be applied to a single note, and a tag can be applied to multiple notes. Tags do not contain anything, they just get applied to notes.

A note belongs to exactly one notebook, and may have multiple tags.

A notebook belongs to at most one stack.

Stacks are useful for organizing your notebook list. You can also search an entire stack, and in some clients, export an entire stack.

You can only have (currently) 250 notebooks, and 10,000 tags.

Notebooks are the fundamental unit of sharing (yes, you can "share" an individual note, in not quite the same way). You cannot share a stack at this time.

On desktop machines, you can create "local" notebooks that are not synced to the Evernote servers. Conversely, on mobile devices you can create "offline" notebooks that are maintained on your device at all times (notes in non-offline notebooks may need to be downloaded from the Evernote servers to access them).

Link to comment

Thank you for clearing it up.  The problem I am having adjusting to tags and the newer "simplistic" way of filling things is - I don't always remember the tags I used back when I created something.  A file structure helps me jog my memory.

 

I am finding Evernote to be very useful for simple things like recipes and general topics, but to be a one stop shop for organizing and archiving my life - I am better served with file tree structure.  I would likely pay for the premium service if EN would let me work the way I want to work rather than how they want me to work.

Link to comment

Thank you for clearing it up.  The problem I am having adjusting to tags and the newer "simplistic" way of filling things is - I don't always remember the tags I used back when I created something.  A file structure helps me jog my memory.

 

I am finding Evernote to be very useful for simple things like recipes and general topics, but to be a one stop shop for organizing and archiving my life - I am better served with file tree structure.  I would likely pay for the premium service if EN would let me work the way I want to work rather than how they want me to work.

 

 

There is a lot of discussion on the board about tags vs sub folders/notebooks. I suggest you use the search function & browse through some of the existing threads on the topic. It can be a bit daunting at first.  But really, using Evernote's powerful search engine combined with using stacks, notebooks, tags, descriptive titles & keywords is a much more flexible system than subfolders.  I know in many cases, I can find a note in Evernote in a matter of a few seconds.  OTOH, trying to find that note by digging around in subfolders would take 2-3 times as long.  And I have over 62,000 notes in my main account.

Link to comment
  • Level 5*

Thank you for clearing it up.  The problem I am having adjusting to tags and the newer "simplistic" way of filling things is - I don't always remember the tags I used back when I created something.  A file structure helps me jog my memory.

 

I am finding Evernote to be very useful for simple things like recipes and general topics, but to be a one stop shop for organizing and archiving my life - I am better served with file tree structure.  I would likely pay for the premium service if EN would let me work the way I want to work rather than how they want me to work.

Tags may also be ordered in trees; you should check this out.

Tags are also inherently more flexible for organization, since a note may have multiple tags.

Easy example: consider the notion of insurance. You might have medical insurance through work, auto insurance, dental insurance (say, not through work), etc. A simple tagging strategy comes to mind:

Tags : "Personal", "Work", "Insurance", "Medical", "Auto", "Dental"

For items relating to medical insurance: tag these with "Work", "Insurance", and "Medical"

For items relating to auto insurance: tag these with "Personal", "Insurance", and "Auto"

For items relating to dental insurance: tag these with "Personal", "Insurance", and "Dental"

Now you can, for example, find all notes relating to dental insurance with a search of "tag:Insurance tag:dental"

Or find all notes relating to any insurance with a search of "tag:Insurance"

Or find all notes relating to any work-related with a search of "tag:Insurance tag:Work"

But, oh wait. You change jobs to one that covers dental insurance. For the new job, tag items relating to dental insurance with "Work", "Insurance", and "Dental"

You can still find all notes relating to dental insurance with a search of "tag:Insurance tag:dental", but you can narrow it down to notes relating to personal dental insurance with a search of "tag:Insurance tag:dental tag:Personal"

Or find all notes relating to any personal insurance with a search of "tag:Insurance tag:Personal"

Hey, now you want to track automobile related information, maybe repairs. You already have a tag for cars, so just add a tag "Repair".

So now you can find all notes relating to car repair using a search of "tag:Auto tag:repair"

Or anything at all relating to your car using "tag:Auto"

But no, now your job gives you a car, and you need to track expenses relating to that. Hey, you're alreasy set; just tag those items with "Work" and "Auto"

OK, but now you want to track repairs on your home. Easy, add a "Home" (or "House") tag, and tag those notes accordingly.

See, the idea is to use tags to build up a vocabulary for describing your notes. Since tags can be used in combination with each other, you have considerable flexibility.

Link to comment
  • 1 month later...

But why force us to use one system over another? Wouldn't it be better to let the user decide what structuring system he/she wants to use and have just both options available,

 

I mean it's not really hard to program and would meet a lot of people's top priority wish list, since everything else is beautiflly crafted and no other app could come close to Evernote in terms of everything else but the structuring dogma.

 

 

Why this absolute dogmatic "NO SUBFOLDERS!!!!!! FOR HEAVENS SAKE, NOOOOOO!" are you all mad or have a special hate against subfolders? I hope not and we can really have both options and make the best use of both methodologies and not force the user one system that just isn't compatible with the way their specific brains works :)

Link to comment
  • Level 5*

But why force us to use one system over another? Wouldn't it be better to let the user decide what structuring system he/she wants to use and have just both options available,

 

I mean it's not really hard to program and would meet a lot of people's top priority wish list, since everything else is beautiflly crafted and no other app could come close to Evernote in terms of everything else but the structuring dogma.

 

 

Why this absolute dogmatic "NO SUBFOLDERS!!!!!! FOR HEAVENS SAKE, NOOOOOO!" are you all mad or have a special hate against subfolders? I hope not and we can really have both options and make the best use of both methodologies and not force the user one system that just isn't compatible with the way their specific brains works :)

You'll find no disagreement from me. And, I don't think anyone here is disagreeing either. It is a common suggestion dating back to the early days of the app. The fact is that Evernote has a long history of not adopting sub-notebooks, so I would say it is unlikely to ever happen. That's why everyone keeps suggesting solutions using the existing tools. It's not an attempt to assimilate you into the borg collective, They just want to help you make the app work for your use case. Sub-notebooks, for better or worse, are not an option.

Link to comment

But why force us to use one system over another? Wouldn't it be better to let the user decide what structuring system he/she wants to use and have just both options available,

 

I mean it's not really hard to program and would meet a lot of people's top priority wish list, since everything else is beautiflly crafted and no other app could come close to Evernote in terms of everything else but the structuring dogma.

 

 

Why this absolute dogmatic "NO SUBFOLDERS!!!!!! FOR HEAVENS SAKE, NOOOOOO!" are you all mad or have a special hate against subfolders? I hope not and we can really have both options and make the best use of both methodologies and not force the user one system that just isn't compatible with the way their specific brains works :)

First, no one is forcing you to use Evernote.

Second, there is no way for you to know how hard (or not) adding subnotebooks would be. Evernote is multiplatform & strives to work well & similarly across all platforms it lives on.  Often, it's best to KISS.  (Keep it simple...)

 

Third, tags definitely can replicate a sub notebook/sub folder system.  You do have to be a bit open minded about a new idea to get it.  But once you do, it's really very easy.

 

If having sub-notebooks is a deal breaker for you, then I suggest you look for an app that better suits your needs. There is already quite a lot of existing information on this board on how to use tags for this purpose.  Please use the search function, if you're interested.

 

Good luck.

Link to comment
  • Level 5*

Why this absolute dogmatic "NO SUBFOLDERS!!!!!! FOR HEAVENS SAKE, NOOOOOO!" are you all mad or have a special hate against subfolders? I hope not and we can really have both options and make the best use of both methodologies and not force the user one system that just isn't compatible with the way their specific brains works :)

The choice is Evernote's. They've been pretty firm on it, for quite a while, for whatever reason (my personal guess is "Gmail doesn't have them, why do we need them?", but it may not be related to GMail at all). In any case, we here deal with the Evernote that exists, not the Evernote that some people want it to be: we can't plan on specific features being added in any known timeframe, so we work with what we have. As it happens, the current system works well for me. I use minimal notebooks (only when I need to, in most cases, as when I need to share a notebook, or designate a set of notes that should be available offline on my mobile devices), a simple tagging scheme (~200 tags, lightly organized), and not much more.

But the thing of it is, your brain is *already* compatible with tagging. If you use adjectives, you use tags. If you categorize, you use tags. The fact of the matter is that we *do not* organize the world using strict hierarchies. We can't. Hierarchies partition the world, but the world is too complex and varied to be held by a single hierarchy. Tags offer the ability to build hierarchies (note that they could be more strongly supported in Evernote) that cut across single/simple hierarchies.

This is really not that hard, it's just a matter of getting used to thinking that way. And somewhere, somehow, you already do...

Link to comment

The choice is Evernote's. They've been pretty firm on it, for quite a while, for whatever reason (my personal guess is "Gmail doesn't have them, why do we need them?", but it may not be related to GMail at all). In any case, we here deal with the Evernote that exists, not the Evernote that some people want it to be: we can't plan on specific features being added in any known timeframe, so we work with what we have. As it happens, the current system works well for me. I use minimal notebooks (only when I need to, in most cases, as when I need to share a notebook, or designate a set of notes that should be available offline on my mobile devices), a simple tagging scheme (~200 tags, lightly organized), and not much more.

But the thing of it is, your brain is *already* compatible with tagging. If you use adjectives, you use tags. If you categorize, you use tags. The fact of the matter is that we *do not* organize the world using strict hierarchies. We can't. Hierarchies partition the world, but the world is too complex and varied to be held by a single hierarchy. Tags offer the ability to build hierarchies (note that they could be more strongly supported in Evernote) that cut across single/simple hierarchies.

This is really not that hard, it's just a matter of getting used to thinking that way. And somewhere, somehow, you already do...

I've always thought your "red, round, rubber ball toy" example was perfect.  And it probably still is (IMO) for those struggling with the lack of sub-whatevers.  But this one is a close second.

Link to comment
  • Level 5*

I've always thought your "red, round, rubber ball toy" example was perfect.  And it probably still is (IMO) for those struggling with the lack of sub-whatevers.  But this one is a close second.

Thank you. There's plenty of examples to demonstrate the usefulness (and familiarity) of the tag concept; I just make 'em up as I go. That's not to say that hierarchies don't have their uses -- and I've long felt that having better support for Evernote's tag hierarchies would be awesome -- but tags work well enough for me, so well that I don't miss notebook hierarchies.
Link to comment

learn from Mendeley... Please allow us to sort notes in folders and subfolders (treeview like)

the same note could be associated to multiple folders and subfolders..

tags are horrible..

see attached image as example..

mendeley.JPG (http://discussion.evernote.com/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_rel_module=post&attach_id=6592)

thanks¡¡¡

 

Tags are not horrible.  Tags are very effective & if you think outside the box & give them a try, I think you'll find them to work better than nested folders/notebooks.   If you're wanting to use Evernote, you should resign yourself to the fact that there are & may never be sub-notebooks.  If this is a deal breaker for you, then you should find another app that better suits your needs.  Like maybe Mendeley...

Link to comment

But why force us to use one system over another? Wouldn't it be better to let the user decide what structuring system he/she wants to use and have just both options available,

 

I mean it's not really hard to program and would meet a lot of people's top priority wish list, since everything else is beautiflly crafted and no other app could come close to Evernote in terms of everything else but the structuring dogma.

 

 

Why this absolute dogmatic "NO SUBFOLDERS!!!!!! FOR HEAVENS SAKE, NOOOOOO!" are you all mad or have a special hate against subfolders? I hope not and we can really have both options and make the best use of both methodologies and not force the user one system that just isn't compatible with the way their specific brains works :)

Doesn't the "folder" metaphor used by Windows and Mac OSs also "force" users into one system? (the exception being the introduction of tags with Mac OS X 10.9). For the most part the operating systems are not conducive to a more "flat" file management system, you are really compelled into using a more hierarchical approach. Using a flat approach in the conventional OS file system requires considerable workarounds and is kind of clunky. 

 

On the other hand, Evernote is the opposite. trying to create multi-level hierarchies is difficult but flat is easy. If we want to blame Evernote for 'forcing' users into flat, we should also blame Microsoft and Apple (though Apple less and less with 10.9) for forcing us into hierarchies. 

Link to comment

Doesn't the "folder" metaphor used by Windows and Mac OSs also "force" users into one system? (the exception being the introduction of tags with Mac OS X 10.9). For the most part the operating systems are not conducive to a more "flat" file management system, you are really compelled into using a more hierarchical approach. Using a flat approach in the conventional OS file system requires considerable workarounds and is kind of clunky. 

 

On the other hand, Evernote is the opposite. trying to create multi-level hierarchies is difficult but flat is easy. If we want to blame Evernote for 'forcing' users into flat, we should also blame Microsoft and Apple (though Apple less and less with 10.9) for forcing us into hierarchies. 

 

 

 

if you want to WORK  and UNDERSTAND you have to organize... so you HAVE TO use a hierarchical approach...

read any book of wathever topic you want and discover by yourself that it has an index.. an order... a hierarchical approach...

if you just want to play or make cooking recipes there's no prob with the tags...

Link to comment

 

Doesn't the "folder" metaphor used by Windows and Mac OSs also "force" users into one system? (the exception being the introduction of tags with Mac OS X 10.9). For the most part the operating systems are not conducive to a more "flat" file management system, you are really compelled into using a more hierarchical approach. Using a flat approach in the conventional OS file system requires considerable workarounds and is kind of clunky. 

 

On the other hand, Evernote is the opposite. trying to create multi-level hierarchies is difficult but flat is easy. If we want to blame Evernote for 'forcing' users into flat, we should also blame Microsoft and Apple (though Apple less and less with 10.9) for forcing us into hierarchies. 

 

 

 

if you want to WORK  and UNDERSTAND you have to organize... so you HAVE TO use a hierarchical approach...

read any book of wathever topic you want and discover by yourself that it has an index.. an order... a hierarchical approach...

if you just want to play or make cooking recipes there's no prob with the tags...

 

I don't agree and I don't think you can make these assumptions. There is nothing handed down from some transcendental external source that says the only effective way to organize is mutually exclusive hierarchies. There are many ways data can be organized effectively. A method based on mutually exclusive hierarchical categories/folders is one way, a system based on non-mutually exclusive "tags" is another. 

There are serious advantages and disadvantages to both methods. 

 

 

I also think you can express your opinion (a preference for hierarchy) without being judgemental (trivializing people who prefer "flat" systems as just "playing").

Link to comment

if you want to WORK  and UNDERSTAND you have to organize... so you HAVE TO use a hierarchical approach...

read any book of wathever topic you want and discover by yourself that it has an index.. an order... a hierarchical approach...

if you just want to play or make cooking recipes there's no prob with the tags...

Ironically, your example is an example in favor of tags.  An index is like using tags. You want to find the section of a book on vi editor commands (cooking recipes are a very small portion of my 62,000+ notes), you don't want to go to the table of contents & work your way down by looking for the chapter that might contain the info you're looking for. Instead, you go to the index...

 

Again, maybe if you simply took a breath, stepped back & reviewed some of the many existing threads on the topic, you'll see tags are much more flexible.  The more notes you have the more effective tags are, rather than sub notebooks/folders. 

Link to comment

 

if you want to WORK  and UNDERSTAND you have to organize... so you HAVE TO use a hierarchical approach...

read any book of wathever topic you want and discover by yourself that it has an index.. an order... a hierarchical approach...

if you just want to play or make cooking recipes there's no prob with the tags...

Ironically, your example is an example in favor of tags.  An index is like using tags. You want to find the section of a book on vi editor commands (cooking recipes are a very small portion of my 62,000+ notes), you don't want to go to the table of contents & work your way down by looking for the chapter that might contain the info you're looking for. Instead, you go to the index...

 

Again, maybe if you simply took a breath, stepped back & reviewed some of the many existing threads on the topic, you'll see tags are much more flexible.  The more notes you have the more effective tags are, rather than sub notebooks/folders. 

 

 

the difference between an index, the sub-folders and the tags is that the logical relation between the components of an index or sub-folders does exist in reality... you can SEE the tree...

the index of a book is a page that is composed of atoms, and the information is there. I don't have to memorize anything...

the sub-foldrs is the same... the information is there, in the form of bits... I don't have to memorize anything and anyone can interpret it...

it doesn't matter if you don't use the index or sub-folder... I will not loose the idea if I forget something..

 

the logical relation between the tags is static and only exist in your mind...

 

or perhaps what we are asking is a middle point: a treeview or visual map of the tasks...

also this format is a good possibility..

http://a.freshbrain.com/solvr/

Link to comment

Tags are no more or less real than an index. 

 

Indexes are not infallible either. For example, lets say you have Chicken and Vegetable Noodle Soup in a cookbook. Where should that be in the index?

Chicken?

Soup?

Chicken and Vegetable Noodle Soup?

Weeknight Meals?

 

Each of those are relatively reasonable places to put "Chicken and Vegetable Noodle Soup" in an index and the exact location would have been decided at the discretion of the author or editor, not the reader. That means a reader would have to check each of these headings in order to find Chicken and Veg Noodle Soup. The association between the index location and content exists only in the mind of the editor or author doesn't it? Or do you see every index entry as handed down from "nature", some clear objective, singular index location that cannot be debated?

 

How is your critique of tags any different except that the tags are created at your discretion and not the discretion of an author or editor that is not you? 

Link to comment

I disagree. Many abstract ideas do not fit nicely into distinct mutually exclusive categories. Most of the time "abstract" and "general" come along with "fuzzy" and "messy" which is usually highly incompatible with any notion of hierarchy or "mutually exclusive".

 

Lets take this example from the real world of academia:

An article about Actor-Network Theory that uses the specific case of farming scallops in France. Lets say I need to find a place to put my reading notes on that paper. 

 

Where does this belong? Actor-Network Theory is a theory broadly applied to a great many topics. So we put it in the Actor-Network Theory folder. 

 

But wait... it uses scallop farming. So should I put this in the "Food Studies" folder? It might fit into a "food studies" paper I might write in the future. 

 

But wait once more, this paper also discusses issues around nonhuman agency. That's another broad concept that I might want to address, so I should put it in the folder with the rest of the "nonhuman agency" articles. 

 

But wait... This is also part of the broader Science and Technology Studies field, so I could put it in the STS folder. 

 

But wait... this is also potentially helpful in thinking about Animal Studies... 

 

But wait... This is also about a particular method of social scientific inquiry (Doing research with Actor-Network Theory). So... this goes in my methods folder?

 

So what do I do? What does my heirarchical structure look like?

 

STS>Actor-Network Theory

STS>Actor-Network Theory>Methods

STS>Actor-Network Theory>Food

STS>Actor-Network Theory>Animal Studies

STS>Nonhuman Agency

Food Studies>Actor-Network Theory

Animal Studies>Actor-Network Theory

Methods>Actor-Network Theory

 

So we have notes on an academic article that addresses a relatively wide range of ideas at a relatively high level of abstraction. I can only put it in ONE location. Which one do I choose?

 

If I'm writing a Food Studies oriented paper, I might not think to look in STS>Actor-Network Theory>Methods so that's a bummer. 

Likewise, if I'm writing about nonhuman agency, I might not think to look in Food Studies>Actor-Network Theory 

 

However, if we remove the criteria of mutual exclusivity, we have a lot more flexibility in where I put those reading notes. 

Notebook: academic literature

Tags: ANT, STS, Food Studies, Nonhuman, Method

 

So, when I write my Food Studies paper and I want to find my notes on relevant literature, I might look to my Food Studies tag, and BAM there would be my notes on this paper and many others. 

 

But next I am writing a paper on method in science and technology studies. Perhaps I look in either the STS tag or the Method tag. Either way, this paper will also appear. 

 

Even better, what if I have some outlines or writing notes about any of these topics? Perhaps I have a few paragraphs about nonhuman agency from a paper I wrote a while back.

If that is filed away in a folder:

Documents>Academics>Manuscripts>Drafts>random nonuman paper

It might take me a while to find it, if I find it at all. I filed it away there last year or two years ago, after all. 

 

In a non-mutually exclusive world that might also get the Nonhuman tag. So lets say I just want to look at ANYTHING that is tagged Nonhuman, not just my reading notes, then that fragment of writing (filed in a different notebook for whatever project it was a part of) will also appear. Yippee! A head start on my current paper. 

 

So, if you think that a mutually exclusive hierarchical structure is better for organizing abstract, general ideas, I think you are incorrect. It may be perfectly acceptable for organizing that sort of thing, but it is certainly not ideal or better or the best

Link to comment

 

 

if you want to WORK  and UNDERSTAND you have to organize... so you HAVE TO use a hierarchical approach...

read any book of wathever topic you want and discover by yourself that it has an index.. an order... a hierarchical approach...

if you just want to play or make cooking recipes there's no prob with the tags...

Ironically, your example is an example in favor of tags.  An index is like using tags. You want to find the section of a book on vi editor commands (cooking recipes are a very small portion of my 62,000+ notes), you don't want to go to the table of contents & work your way down by looking for the chapter that might contain the info you're looking for. Instead, you go to the index...

 

Again, maybe if you simply took a breath, stepped back & reviewed some of the many existing threads on the topic, you'll see tags are much more flexible.  The more notes you have the more effective tags are, rather than sub notebooks/folders. 

 

 

the difference between an index, the sub-folders and the tags is that the logical relation between the components of an index or sub-folders does exist in reality... you can SEE the tree...

the index of a book is a page that is composed of atoms, and the information is there. I don't have to memorize anything...

the sub-foldrs is the same... the information is there, in the form of bits... I don't have to memorize anything and anyone can interpret it...

it doesn't matter if you don't use the index or sub-folder... I will not loose the idea if I forget something..

 

the logical relation between the tags is static and only exist in your mind...

 

or perhaps what we are asking is a middle point: a treeview or visual map of the tasks...

also this format is a good possibility..

http://a.freshbrain.com/solvr/

 

 

 

Once again, if you're so set on sub-whatevers, rather than continuing to rally for them in Evernote (b/c none of your use cases/arguments are new), you would be better served to use one of the examples you keep throwing up.

 

Good luck.

Link to comment

I disagree. Many abstract ideas do not fit nicely into distinct mutually exclusive categories. Most of the time "abstract" and "general" come along with "fuzzy" and "messy" which is usually highly incompatible with any notion of hierarchy or "mutually exclusive".

 

Lets take this example from the real world of academia:

An article about Actor-Network Theory that uses the specific case of farming scallops in France. Lets say I need to find a place to put my reading notes on that paper. 

 

Where does this belong? Actor-Network Theory is a theory broadly applied to a great many topics. So we put it in the Actor-Network Theory folder. 

 

But wait... it uses scallop farming. So should I put this in the "Food Studies" folder? It might fit into a "food studies" paper I might write in the future. 

 

But wait once more, this paper also discusses issues around nonhuman agency. That's another broad concept that I might want to address, so I should put it in the folder with the rest of the "nonhuman agency" articles. 

 

But wait... This is also part of the broader Science and Technology Studies field, so I could put it in the STS folder. 

 

But wait... This is also about a particular method of social scientific inquiry (Doing research with Actor-Network Theory). So... this goes in my methods folder?

 

So what do I do? What does my heirarchical structure look like?

 

STS>Actor-Network Theory

STS>Actor-Network Theory>Methods

STS>Actor-Network Theory>Food

STS>Nonhuman Agency

Food Studies>Actor-Network Theory

Methods>Actor-Network Theory

 

So we have an academic article that addresses a relatively wide range of ideas at a relatively high level of abstraction. I can only put it in ONE location. Which one do I choose?

 

If I'm writing a Food Studies oriented paper, I might not think to look in STS>Actor-Network Theory>Methods so that's a bummer. 

Likewise, if I'm writing about nonhuman agency, I might not think to look in Food Studies>Actor-Network Theory 

 

However, if we remove the criteria of mutual exclusivity, we have a lot more flexibility in where I put those reading notes. 

Notebook: academic literature

Tags: ANT, STS, Food Studies, Nonhuman, Method

 

So, when I write my Food Studies paper and I want to find my notes on relevant literature, I might look to my Food Studies tag, and BAM there would be my notes on this paper and many others. 

 

But next I am writing a paper on method in science and technology studies. Perhaps I look in either the STS tag or the Method tag. Either way, this paper will also appear. 

 

So, if you think that a mutually exclusive hierarchical structure is better for organizing abstract, general ideas, I think you are incorrect. It may be perfectly acceptable for organizing that sort of thing, but it is certainly not ideal or better or the best

 

EXACTLY¡¡¡

for example in Mendely there's no mutually exclusive hierarchical structure...

and we can work with a lovely treeview...

 

if you analyze the format of the treeview in Mendeley, you can realize that you can attach the same 1 (one) article to all the folders and subfolders that you wish...

there's one central folder and then you attach your article with trhe sub-folders...

please see the pic

 

mendeley.JPG (http://discussion.evernote.com/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_rel_module=post&attach_id=6592)

Link to comment

As a user of a similar reference manager, I know how this works.

 

This uses the metaphor of "folders' but is really an application of the principle of Tags. To take my previous example further, lets think of the hierarchy we can produce:

We have two "top levels", either the "all notes" or the specific notebook "academic literature". So this forms our "central folder". 

We can then navigate down the hierarchy using tags. Lets say we narrow our search to just the "academic literature" notebook for this example. 

Lets search this for anything with:

STS

So I get any reading notes that have STS as one of their tags. But lets say I want to think about nonhuman agency in science and tech studies. 

Lets search then for:

Tag:STS tag:nonhuman

 

Ok, another example:

I want reading notes on food studies literature:

Tag:"food studies"

But I have a section that outlines Actor-Network Theory's contribution to food studies, so:

tag:ANT tag:"Food Studies"

 

So we have several ad hoc hierarchies:

 

Academic Literature>STS

Academic Literature>STS>nonhuman

Academic Literature>Food Studies

Academic Literature>Food Studies>ANT

 

 

Now, what I am thinking is that what you are REALLY asking for is not for the ability to create hierarchies, because that already exists, but rather the ability to visualize them?

Link to comment

yes...

that's the point...

I think that what everybody ask is just to visualize the hierachy...

 

It's certainly NOT what I want in a program like Evernote. The reason I use Evernote is precisely because it doesn't rely on an outdated metaphor of folders. For a change, I can actually find and use things rather than spend all my time looking for things. I'm not saying that Evernote's approach is the right one for you. But, as has been noted in this thread, you may want to look at the possibilities of Evernote with a more open mind. 

 

Best of luck. 

Link to comment
  • Level 5*

yes...

that's the point...

I think that what everybody ask is just to visualize the hierachy...

In the same way that I don't need to visualize the Internet (remember the early days of Yahoo?), I don't need to visualize my notes in a hierarchy. Because there *is* no simple hierarchy to my notes, and probably not yours, either.

Link to comment

I too am unclear as to why visualization, specifically, is terribly helpful. But I guess that isn't a great argument against it.. Though I don't agree there's a strong argument for it either.

However I think such a visual representation can be confusing. The current implementation makes clear that there is only ONE INSTANCE of an object with various attributes added (tags). To visualize it the way many reference managers do, and how you are describing can be misleading, giving the impression that there are many instances do the same object, or duplicates in multiple locations, when really there is only the one. This is conceptually rather complex, and also inaccurate, and could be challenging for many users to understand.

If you have a piece of paper, it is easy to think of tags as sticky notes attached to that one piece of paper. A single paper can have as many sticky notes as you want. Conceptually that makes sense. But using folders and this faux hierarchy is more like opening your filing cabinet and pulling out a folder and finding that piece of paper. Then you pull out a different folder only to find that SAME piece of paper, and then a third folder again with that same piece of paper. How can that paper exist in three places simultaneously? This is conceptually convoluted compared to a single piece of paper to which three sticky notes as been applied, isn't it?

Link to comment
  • Level 5*

But Ted Williams was better!!! :) (New England born & bred here)

 

Actually, I think that that's an apt metaphor for this type of discussion -- it can be interesting to talk about, but it's all opinion: nobody's right and everybody's right...

Link to comment
  • Level 5

I'm watching the ping pong.

Wether we want visualization or not, it's already there no?

 

Poolento, your Mendelay post looks just like my Evernote.

But not with folders.  I usually leave those collapsed.  I even tried to live with one, but the "system" grew to need a few, and then the 3rd party integration blew the count way up.  But in the end, I can ignore virtually all of them.

 

But do embrace tags.

 

Your tag tree in the sidebar can be nested however you want it.

It has in fact very little point to do so other than for visualizing and grouping.

There's no parentage or inheritance granted.  Just visual structure.

But you can make Evernote look EXACTLY like Mendeley

 

With tags, a note can live in multiple places in the hierarchy.

Moreover I find it useful to add hierarchy in the tag names themselves.

Both for logical grouping, but also for the benefit of Evernotes autocomplete.

 

If I'm going to put something in a project, or a list, or categorise by client, vendor, or context.

The tag starts with a special nomemclature character.

 

If it's a priority it's a number, if it's a context it's an @.

Most other things start with a .

 

Say it's client related.

I don't have to remember all my client names to tag it.

I just type .Client and Evernote brings up all those tags/existing clients, alpha sorted.  I just pick .Client.Bob from the list.

 

To put something in a project, it doesn't matter how "nested" the tags are, I can drill down and reduce the selection as I type and the autocompleted list of existing tags reduces.

 

.Project

.Project.Reading

.Project.Reading.Home

.Project.Reading.Work

 

Those are single tags.  I have many hundreds, but only have to remember a symbol and the first few characters.  The selection list guides me into completion based on the existing tags.

 

If you broke that into separate tags, they could be spread all over the tag list.  And when you're tagging it would take 3 tags to categorize something as a reading project for home.  Plus you're in a rush trying to remember was that house or home, or personal?

 

  • With one system you can have things as visually nested as you want
  • But also at the same time see it in a linear list, grouped by arbitrary like kind (if you haven't taken the time to nest them visually).
  • And support categorizing the same note in all the places relevant. Something we can't do with folders in EN.
Link to comment
  • Level 5

I think another way to say what I'm trying to say is if you step back a decade, compute power was limited.

You were most of the compute power.

If you wanted to find something, it was up to you to make sure there was a logical folder framework to put things in.

And if you wanted to find it, you'd browse through your logical system.

 

Evernote continues to use compute power to index things so we can skip a lot of the effort of putting things into a system and yet still find them through clever indexing and autocomplete suggestions in the Search.

To stick with a folder mentality wastes our productivity time, and doesn't make use of the tools Evernote offers.

If we fail to use the search skills that Evernote offers, it seems to me one could almost do the same task with a set of folders in Dropbox.

 

Evernote is plenty good at finding things without any structure help.  Too good maybe.

I use a tag structure to laser focus the find, and filter down the results, or sometimes to contextualize the search results.

 

Example, for a little while, on the GTD bent, I tried just tons of apps.  Most are really good at letting you create a logical framework to hang things on.

But the maintenance of that framework, and the tediousness of filling in all the metadata fields, and tags, and nested whatevers was tremendously time sapping.

 

In the end I came back to Evernote because, though I chaff in some areas of sparseness, it excels at finding stuff I need wether I had the time to minimally tag the stuff or not, and the getting stuff done things are right next to the reference info I need to get the stuff done.

 

The users I find that have the hardest time wearing Evernote, are the ones who hold out the longest from using the innovative search features which lets Evernote do the thinking and finding for you.

Evernote isn't an organizational religion.  It excels at simply storing and simply finding.  But you have to let it do it.

 

If you turn everything off, hide all the optional panels and things, ignore the v5 stuff, what have you got?  An old school time sucking system of il-fitting data boxes, that has nothing left to productively help you.

 

For me, when it comes to Evernote features... bring it.  I'll use it.

 

Turn it all on and use the c.r.a.p out of the search field.

 

ScreenClip.png?resizeSmall&width=832

Link to comment
  • 2 months later...

I love Evernote for many features but as useful tags are in my everyday workflow I would love to have many levels substacks or subfolders capacity. This is so important to me that if I would find an alternative to EN with such feature I would switch in a heartbeat

Link to comment

Ridiculous to think that Evernote has not added subfolders....

 

Stacks is NOT A SUBSTITUTE.

Stacks is useful.

But its hard to remember what alias you used for every single related file. Stacks should be a supplement not a replacement for folders.

 

I love evernote. Especially my elephant in my menu bar. But I personally use OneNote to store organised notes. I use evernote as an intermediary program. I use it to store photos from phone or from elephant to other applications such as word, one note etc.

Its really a pity that it has no logical organisational capabilities.

Link to comment

Ridiculous to think that Evernote has not added subfolders....

 

Stacks is NOT A SUBSTITUTE.

Stacks is useful.

But its hard to remember what alias you used for every single related file. Stacks should be a supplement not a replacement for folders.

 

I love evernote. Especially my elephant in my menu bar. But I personally use OneNote to store organised notes. I use evernote as an intermediary program. I use it to store photos from phone or from elephant to other applications such as word, one note etc.

Its really a pity that it has no logical organisational capabilities.

 

 

It's not ridiculous.  It's actually quite genius.  Maybe you should try thinking outside the box.  Lots of threads on this topic.  But in the end, if sub folders are a deal breaker for you, then so be it & you need to find another app that better suits your needs. Good luck.

Link to comment

 

 

 

 

It's not ridiculous.  It's actually quite genius.  Maybe you should try thinking outside the box.  Lots of threads on this topic.  But in the end, if sub folders are a deal breaker for you, then so be it & you need to find another app that better suits your needs. Good luck.

 

 

 

Maybe you should be more open minded. I appreciate the search capabilities. The addition of folders however won't hurt anyone.  Its basically an extra button or 2 depending how they organise it. If you don't want to use them don't. Im just giving my feedback. Ultimately its for the management team to decide. 

Link to comment

Maybe you should be more open minded. I appreciate the search capabilities. The addition of folders however won't hurt anyone.  Its basically an extra button or 2 depending how they organise it. If you don't want to use them don't. Im just giving my feedback. Ultimately its for the management team to decide.

Um...sorry, but I'm pretty sure adding sub folders is a whole lot more than "basically an extra button or 2".

Link to comment

 

Maybe you should be more open minded. I appreciate the search capabilities. The addition of folders however won't hurt anyone.  Its basically an extra button or 2 depending how they organise it. If you don't want to use them don't. Im just giving my feedback. Ultimately its for the management team to decide.

Um...sorry, but I'm pretty sure adding sub folders is a whole lot more than "basically an extra button or 2".

 

 

It is actually literally One button..... You add a subfolder... Other buttons and subsequent subfolders can be added once you open your first tab... 

 

After opening your first tab surely their will be more buttons.... But if you never want to open any tabs... There will only be one button..

 

There is already a workbook feature.... And its ONE button...... 

There is a lot of ways to plan it.... But It CAN be completely uninvasive to users that don't want to use the feature.

There are numerous features of evernote I don't use. Their existence does not bother me. Infact I like it incase I may one day use them.

Link to comment

 

It is actually literally One button..... You add a subfolder... Other buttons and subsequent subfolders can be added once you open your first tab... 

 

After opening your first tab surely their will be more buttons.... But if you never want to open any tabs... There will only be one button..

 

There is already a workbook feature.... And its ONE button...... 

There is a lot of ways to plan it.... But It CAN be completely uninvasive to users that don't want to use the feature.

There are numerous features of evernote I don't use. Their existence does not bother me. Infact I like it incase I may one day use them.

Um...yeah...ok.

Link to comment

 

 

Um...yeah...ok.

 

Im glad you concede.

My reply was sarcastic.

 

 

I know that ;) And mine was to get on your nerves ;) I obviously succeeded. Have a good day!

Link to comment

Um...yeah...ok.

 

Im glad you concede.

My reply was sarcastic.

 

I know that ;) And mine was to get on your nerves ;) I obviously succeeded. Have a good day!

No, you didn't succeed on getting on my nerves. Only in making me realize how clearly little you understand about coding.

Link to comment

 

 

 

 

Um...yeah...ok.

 

Im glad you concede.

My reply was sarcastic.

 

I know that ;) And mine was to get on your nerves ;) I obviously succeeded. Have a good day!

No, you didn't succeed on getting on my nerves. Only in making me realize how clearly little you understand about coding.

 

Problem with coders is they think they understand what the consumer wants simply because they can code. There is a disjoint between the act of coding and the reason you are coding for. Obviously you haven't created anything worthwhile, or anything that anyone actually needs.

 

Get over yourself blondie

Link to comment

 

 

I know that ;) And mine was to get on your nerves ;) I obviously succeeded. Have a good day!

 

 

I thought you had to be at least 13 to post here?

 

Her sarcasm preceding my post was childish to say the least. A childish reply to a childish post.

You would think a Moderator on a forum could show a little more professionalism.

Link to comment
  • 1 month later...
  • 4 months later...

Following the ongoing fussy between coders who seem to think that non-coders (i.e. "Paying Customers") are worthless and non-coders who seem to think that coding is all drag n drop, there is this one, little point: You are both right and you are both wrong.

 

The reason for tags is to create an index for yourself. HOWEVER in order to do that effectively, you need to know up front that you are doing that. I will point out that there are people who ONLY write indices- that is how rarefied a thought process it is. Like coding... But by the time people have figured this out the list of tags is completely out of control. Hence the request for a sub folder kind of effect.

If one uses evernote for everything, the sub folder idea is very attractive. Let me give you concrete examples:

 

Field of Interest one: FOODS

So I want to be able to group by regional cuisine, holidays menus, general information, and garden variety recipes. I can't DO this because Evernote thinks that tags are sufficient and They. Are. Not. eg.:

Persian 

Asian

North American

Thanksgiving

Norooz

Shopping

Baking

Why? Second interest: GENEALOGY

So I want to be able to group by geographic region, last name, altered last names, and investigations. I can't DO this because Evernote thinks that tags are sufficient and They. Are. Not. eg.:

Scotland

Italy

Holmes County

Smith

Ward

Elliott

Livingston Investigation

 

Why? Last interest: CRIMINAL LAW

So I want to be able to group by statue, name of crime, appeals cases from different districts, those controlling and those not.  I can't DO this because Evernote thinks that tags are sufficient and They. Are. Not. eg.:

2912.12(A) 

DUI

9th Dist.

5th Dist

Supremes

 

Why? Because the "index", the alpha list of tags, now looks something like:

 

2912.12(A)  5th Dist 9th Dist. Asian Baking Chardon DUI Elliott Holmes County Italy Livingston Investigation Norooz North American Persian  Scotland Shopping Smith Supremes Thanksgiving Ward

 

Not. Remotely. Helpful. So that is why, dear superior and arrogant coders TAGS DON'T WORK.

But, whining, sulky, and insulting non-coders, here's this one little thing you can do:

Think.

 

Solution A- very bad- use different accounts for different major topics. This cripples the effectiveness of Evernote except on a computer with different browser profiles open at the same time. So what DOES work?

 

You can use leading characters in the NAMES of your notebooks AND tags to create the effect of an expanded, hierarchical index. If you use:

dot, star, underscore, & dash, for instance, and so forth, this will create list in this order:

 

**

*

--

-

...

..

.

__

_

 

You can do the same with tags.

 

So both in the list of tags and the list of notebooks you have like grouped with like. See? Prombel (sic) solved.

 

Now, all of that being said, I have less than no use for tags. They are a waste of time as near as I can tell for exactly this reason. I stopped using them ages ago. Why? Because- get this: You can search for stuff. Wild, huh?

Maybe if people spent a little bit more time trying to solve a problem rather than proving that they and their opinions and experiences are superior to others', well...

Link to comment

Following the ongoing fussy between coders who seem to think that non-coders (i.e. "Paying Customers") are worthless and non-coders who seem to think that coding is all drag n drop, there is this one, little point: You are both right and you are both wrong.

The reason for tags is to create an index for yourself. HOWEVER in order to do that effectively, you need to know up front that you are doing that. I will point out that there are people who ONLY write indices- that is how rarefied a thought process it is. Like coding... But by the time people have figured this out the list of tags is completely out of control. Hence the request for a sub folder kind of effect.

If one uses evernote for everything, the sub folder idea is very attractive. Let me give you concrete examples:

Field of Interest one: FOODS

So I want to be able to group by regional cuisine, holidays menus, general information, and garden variety recipes. I can't DO this because Evernote thinks that tags are sufficient and They. Are. Not. eg.:

Persian

Asian

North American

Thanksgiving

Norooz

Shopping

Baking

Why? Second interest: GENEALOGY

So I want to be able to group by geographic region, last name, altered last names, and investigations. I can't DO this because Evernote thinks that tags are sufficient and They. Are. Not. eg.:

Scotland

Italy

Holmes County

Smith

Ward

Elliott

Livingston Investigation

Why? Last interest: CRIMINAL LAW

So I want to be able to group by statue, name of crime, appeals cases from different districts, those controlling and those not. I can't DO this because Evernote thinks that tags are sufficient and They. Are. Not. eg.:

2912.12(A)

DUI

9th Dist.

5th Dist

Supremes

Why? Because the "index", the alpha list of tags, now looks something like:

2912.12(A) 5th Dist 9th Dist. Asian Baking Chardon DUI Elliott Holmes County Italy Livingston Investigation Norooz North American Persian Scotland Shopping Smith Supremes Thanksgiving Ward

Not. Remotely. Helpful. So that is why, dear superior and arrogant coders TAGS DON'T WORK.

But, whining, sulky, and insulting non-coders, here's this one little thing you can do:

Think.

Solution A- very bad- use different accounts for different major topics. This cripples the effectiveness of Evernote except on a computer with different browser profiles open at the same time. So what DOES work?

You can use leading characters in the NAMES of your notebooks AND tags to create the effect of an expanded, hierarchical index. If you use:

dot, star, underscore, & dash, for instance, and so forth, this will create list in this order:

**

*

--

-

...

..

.

__

_

You can do the same with tags.

So both in the list of tags and the list of notebooks you have like grouped with like. See? Prombel (sic) solved.

Now, all of that being said, I have less than no use for tags. They are a waste of time as near as I can tell for exactly this reason. I stopped using them ages ago. Why? Because- get this: You can search for stuff. Wild, huh?

Maybe if people spent a little bit more time trying to solve a problem rather than proving that they and their opinions and experiences are superior to others', well...

Nothing new here. But to correct you, there is no "fuss" between coders and non-coders. This has nothing to do with ones coding skills. The only fuss seems to be by those who seem to think Evenote does not understand sub-folders and that posting their use case will sway Evernote into adding sub folders.

To reiterate the oft' repeated phrase, if sub folders are a deal breaker for you, then Evernote is not the app for you. Good luck finding an app that better suits your needs.

Link to comment

To BurgersNFries
I will add:

1) As a moderator your attitude is laughable. Professionalism: Ever heard of the word? Your User rating after over 100 000 posts Is 2 stars -> says it all! You sad sad little girl!

2) I am not a coder. I am an end user. I don't care how difficult something may be. Good 'coders' find solutions to make things simple... Thats not for me to know how it is done...

3) The fact remains that subfolders can be done in a simple way for the end user experience. How much work/coding is required is irrelevant to the end user.

4) Evernote is a massively successful program, and it can listen to the end users, or fall behind. Cloud based services are everywhere... I use Evernote less and less every day.. If I cant sort out my documents/notes the way I want, I will look elsewhere, as will all end users...

5) Just because you cant do it, it does not mean real professionals, real companies, with the required man power and time cant...

6) The end user is king... The coders simply try to meet their needs in order to make a living or get ridiculously rich... Without consideration for the end user however... Coders must expect FAILURE!

Nothing is impossible.

Link to comment

Nothing new here. But to correct you, there is no "fuss" between coders and non-coders. This has nothing to do with ones coding skills. The only fuss seems to be by those who seem to think Evenote does not understand sub-folders and that posting their use case will sway Evernote into adding sub folders.

To reiterate the oft' repeated phrase, if sub folders are a deal breaker for you, then Evernote is not the app for you. Good luck finding an app that better suits your needs.

 

 

1) You are the one who constantly used the - "you know nothing about coding" argument to back your ridiculous views

 

2) Evernote WANTS its users! Telling us to go elsewhere is not what Evernote wants! So stop parroting your ridiculous 'oft repeated phrase' - It makes you sound stupid.

Link to comment

oh Burger seems a lot of discussions on subfolders are available - another user posted this: 

 

 

Thought I would repost as it is very relevant

 

By 

MGBWU Posting to BurgersNFries (The Sub-folders Anti-christ)

 

to BurgersNFries

Source: https://discussion.evernote.com/topic/64043-my-opinion-regarding-subfolders-discussions/

 

1. There are no folders in Evernote.

 

--> is this the first response reading my post? to enlighten me the relationship between stacks and notebooks? then you missed my point completely.  :(

 

2. We are not imposing our opinion on you or anyone else. It's a fact that for whatever reason Evernote has no sub notebooks & as far as any of us know, they have no plans on adding them. That has absolutely nothing to do with my opinion or yours or anyone else's, except for Evernote's. For whatever reason, they have chosen to not have sub notebooks.

 

--> BURGERS, you appear every single discussion regarding subfolder, and blow off the subfolder suggestions as if you are an official representative of EN and know what EN is planning to do. unless you are part of EN team, do not say that "they have no plans on adding them." it sounds decisive. if you don't know any of their future plans, please listen to what others are trying to say. this is what we call "respect."

 

i know EN does not have subfolders and that is the reason i decided to write in the first place. i and many others are trying to communicate to EN, but you always cut into the communication, although you, as you admitted, do not know why they chose not to have subfolders. if you don't know the reasons why, please be quite, and do not presume that tags triumphs over subfolders. this is exactly what i found "disturbing.'

 

 

3. Evernote is very aware that many of their users would like sub notebooks. But...see #2 above.

 

--> of course, how could EN not know the necessity of subfolders when they have a lot of same subfolder suggestions in the forum? what i found disturbing is that you sound as if this is the dead issue. for me, this is very important issue. i will certainly fight to deliver my message to EN. please do not stand on my way.

4. You want your right to post your opinion respected, but clearly, you do not respect the right of others who disagree with you. 

 

--> i post to communicate, not to fight. when you respect others' opinion, you listen. but you never listen. see your numerous previous posts on the issue, and you will find that you only enjoy saying aloud your opinion without listening to others. what subfolder advocators want is not to hear from you but to share what they need. 

 

don't say we don't need subfolders simply because you do not see the reasons. others, like myself, may see the reasons. i am relatively new in EN, 2 years, but i started using computers in a serious way since 1984. i literally witnessed the evolution of the computers and experienced numerous programs, and of course understand tags and notebooks(in EN).

 

i know this would be difficult for you, but please do not write me back. 

Link to comment

Lykoz,

I think we get the point. You're annoyed and you want hierarchy. But really, was it absolutely necessary to write three large posts specifically targetting BurgerNFries? Who, by they way, is no longer a moderator. Only EN staff are mods now. Feel better now?

And she's right, there are no folders in EN. There are notes, notebooks, stacks of notebooks. To assist with organization, their are also tags. And that, Lykoz, is all BNF has ever done - explained Evernote as it exists right now and maybe offer her opinion, based on years of experience, about where EN might be headed and whether or not it might be more suitable for some posters to try a different app more suited to their use case.

Link to comment

Geez, lykoz, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were sweet on me!  All those lengthy posts directed at little ol' me!!!  I hope you feel better now.  But guess what?  Evernote still doesn't have sub notebooks.

 

Good luck!

 

I wrote 2 posts - relatively brief and short 

 

The 3rd post was a copy/paste from other user in response to you...

 

Looks like you aren't very liked on these forums for someone who spends a considerable amount of time here... 13 000 posts?

 

Im sure the 9 lines i actually wrote to you... means 'im sweet on you'.. What a logical conclusion

Link to comment
  • Level 5*

Can we just get back to discussing the topic of this thread:  Requesting Evernote to provide sub-folders (actually sub-notebooks) ?

 

Can we have a respectful discussion without beating up the poster, either directly or implied?

 

I see no value in continuing to repeat the same arguments against subnotebooks, nor in trying to predict what Evernote will or won't do.  It should be clear to everyone by now that Evernote can, and does, make significant changes in vision/direction that few would have thought possible.

 

If users want to repeat their need/request for a feature, then we should just let them without impugning them.  When anyone states the ease or difficulty of implementation it is obviously just a guess on their point, and I see no value in calling into question their guess and/or debating it.  What value is gained in doing so?

 

If enough people express their need for a particular feature, then, who knows, maybe Evernote will reconsider providing the feature.

 

 

Link to comment

Can we just get back to discussing the topic of this thread:  Requesting Evernote to provide sub-folders (actually sub-notebooks) ?

 

Can we have a respectful discussion without beating up the poster, either directly or implied?

 

I see no value in continuing to repeat the same arguments against subnotebooks, nor in trying to predict what Evernote will or won't do.  It should be clear to everyone by now that Evernote can, and does, make significant changes in vision/direction that few would have thought possible.

 

If users want to repeat their need/request for a feature, then we should just let them without impugning them.  When anyone states the ease or difficulty of implementation it is obviously just a guess on their point, and I see no value in calling into question their guess and/or debating it.  What value is gained in doing so?

 

If enough people express their need for a particular feature, then, who knows, maybe Evernote will reconsider providing the feature.

 

Thats all I wanted...

Link to comment

Can we just get back to discussing the topic of this thread:  Requesting Evernote to provide sub-folders (actually sub-notebooks) ?

 

Can we have a respectful discussion without beating up the poster, either directly or implied?

 

I see no value in continuing to repeat the same arguments against subnotebooks, nor in trying to predict what Evernote will or won't do.  It should be clear to everyone by now that Evernote can, and does, make significant changes in vision/direction that few would have thought possible.

 

If users want to repeat their need/request for a feature, then we should just let them without impugning them.  When anyone states the ease or difficulty of implementation it is obviously just a guess on their point, and I see no value in calling into question their guess and/or debating it.  What value is gained in doing so?

 

If enough people express their need for a particular feature, then, who knows, maybe Evernote will reconsider providing the feature.

 

 

No one is impugned for asking for features already requested.

 

However, while it's valid for posters to repeatedly request a feature, it's equally valid for users to point out that Evernote does indeed understand sub-notebooks but has simply chosen not to implement them.  (For whatever reason)  Not a darned thing wrong with that.  Even though you may not like it.

 

And all posters should be treated respectfully.  Even the ones you don't like.

Link to comment
  • Level 5*

To BurgersNFries
I will add:

1) As a moderator your attitude is laughable. Professionalism: Ever heard of the word? Your User rating after over 100 000 posts Is 2 stars -> says it all! You sad sad little girl!

@lykoz: you're welcome to propound your wish for nested notebooks, but there's no need to resort to name-calling. Please stop.

 

You may wish to refresh yourself on the forum code of conduct. The bit about flame wars would seem to be the area you've missed out on. Thank you.

Link to comment

 

 

No one is impugned for asking for features already requested.

 

However, while it's valid for posters to repeatedly request a feature, it's equally valid for users to point out that Evernote does indeed understand sub-notebooks but has simply chosen not to implement them.  (For whatever reason)  Not a darned thing wrong with that.  Even though you may not like it.

 

And all posters should be treated respectfully.  Even the ones you don't like.

 

 

Why are you carrying this on....

 

You have been harassing many posters over this issue. I posted a similar experience to mine... And I can show you several more, on this EXACT same issue, let alone others...

 

Move on... 

Link to comment

 

@lykoz: you're welcome to propound your wish for nested notebooks, but there's no need to resort to name-calling. Please stop.

 

You may wish to refresh yourself on the forum code of conduct. The bit about flame wars would seem to be the area you've missed out on. Thank you.

 

 

Her attitude on this forum is appalling. She was the aggressor, as she is in many forum topics.

I seriously think Evernote staff should re-evaluate who they allow to lurk on their forums.

 

I may have not read the 'rules of conduct' however after over 13 000 posts she has not either.

 

There is a way to offer opinions and suggestions... Just like what I say, what she says is nothing more than an opinion, not a fact through the horses mouth. 

 

Scroll up and see who starts harassing users in the topic... Then check other forums.

Link to comment

Its about attitude in general. You wont see it in single posts. It is repettive harassment to many users about any suggesgion she does not like.

Stop commenting on the matter. And I wont reply. Thank you

Link to comment
  • Level 5

I suggest to all of you: Calm down and show a little respect.

 

And coming back to the topic, if you look at the changes made in the mobile clients and at the new Web UI and if you followed the interviews and speeches Phil Libin did recently it is clear at least for me that Evernote's strategy is to get rid of what Phil calls "old metaphores" like files, folders etc. Nested structures like notebooks, nested tags, and stacks will eventually be removed from all clients. They will not change their new vision just because people stick to these metaphores because they think what they do is right. And I personally think Phils is right about this. Look at the by far most frequently used website. What does it show? One word, one text field and two buttons. Yes, I mean google.com. And the result of a google search has no nested structure but is just a long list of links ordered by relevance created by some unknown algorithm. Why does nobody complain about this and why is it so successful? The 'Related Notes' and new 'Context' features of Evernote go into the same direction. I admit that I use notebooks, stacks and nested tags but when I try to find something in most cases I first just use a global search for some text and normally the notes I am looking for appear at the top of the result.

 

Wouldn't it be nice if we just had to collect information we want to remember without thinking of a structure that allows us to retrieve the information when we need it? It would save us a lot of time.

Link to comment

And coming back to the topic, if you look at the changes made in the mobile clients and at the new Web UI and if you followed the interviews and speeches Phil Libin did recently it is clear at least for me that Evernote's strategy is to get rid of what Phil calls "old metaphores" like files, folders etc. Nested structures like notebooks, nested tags, and stacks will eventually be removed from all clients.

 

I really hope you're wrong. As I see it, sub-notebooks in addition to the existing structure would be a bad idea, because - where does it end? How many levels would you need until everybody's satisfied, 5? 50? - 

 

But taking away existing structure is a different thing alltogether. I don't always want to search for information, visual overview is just as important. Stacks and notebooks give a good visual orientation right now, I'm sure it is similar with tags for other people.

 

 

Wouldn't it be nice if we just had to collect information we want to remember without thinking of a structure that allows us to retrieve the information when we need it? It would save us a lot of time.

You can do that right now - the one-notebook-only approach has many fans. 

Link to comment
  • Level 5

Wouldn't it be nice if we just had to collect information we want to remember without thinking of a structure that allows us to retrieve the information when we need it? It would save us a lot of time.

You can do that right now - the one-notebook-only approach has many fans.

Yes, but Evernote's search is very limited although others might think differently. I have to search for beginnings of words, similar words are not found, words in other languages are not found.... Due to these limitations I still use notebooks and tags. Tags-only would be fine, notebooks could be exchanged with tags but working without tags would be difficult with the limited search capabilities.

Link to comment
  • Level 5*

Notebooks are most likely not going away any time soon, because of shared notebooks, local notebooks, and offline notes. If you want to talk about tags replacing how we can designate the notes that are selected for these operations, well, ok (share by tag, etc.). But for right now, notebooks are indispensable in Evernote.

Link to comment

I suggest to all of you: Calm down and show a little respect.

 

And coming back to the topic, if you look at the changes made in the mobile clients and at the new Web UI and if you followed the interviews and speeches Phil Libin did recently it is clear at least for me that Evernote's strategy is to get rid of what Phil calls "old metaphores" like files, folders etc. Nested structures like notebooks, nested tags, and stacks will eventually be removed from all clients. They will not change their new vision just because people stick to these metaphores because they think what they do is right. And I personally think Phils is right about this. Look at the by far most frequently used website. What does it show? One word, one text field and two buttons. Yes, I mean google.com. And the result of a google search has no nested structure but is just a long list of links ordered by relevance created by some unknown algorithm. Why does nobody complain about this and why is it so successful? The 'Related Notes' and new 'Context' features of Evernote go into the same direction. I admit that I use notebooks, stacks and nested tags but when I try to find something in most cases I first just use a global search for some text and normally the notes I am looking for appear at the top of the result.

 

Wouldn't it be nice if we just had to collect information we want to remember without thinking of a structure that allows us to retrieve the information when we need it? It would save us a lot of time.

 

Stuhrer great observation.

 

Since you brought up the google example i will adress that google is very differnet... You are looking for Information in General... Not your information.

 

On the pro subfolders arguement, I just wanted to say that nobody is against searching and tags.

 

Even windows and osx operating systems are increasingly integrating tags and systemwide searches into the operating system. But they also integrate specific folder searches....

 

This is a welcome method of functioning that works...

 

However you can not underestimate the ability or at least the option of being able to find documents that share some similarity or theme without having to remember the specific tag or tags you assigned.

 

An example: a student might have his syllabus stored on the computer according to the school ciriculum which is linear and set in nature. In order to study effectively he has to go through all his notes systematically without missing anything, or worrying about recalling a specific tag. 

You can have a notebook just for your studies... And then you cant have subfolders for subject... So everything is mixed up...

 

Try studying for an exam for a medical examination... You are looking for specific files/notes pertaining to a specific subject/on a specific pathology, yet all modules over-lap in information... You need to pass and cover a certain section of the syllabus... 

 

So the tags would be for example Medical; Musculoskeletal; Anatomy...

 

It searches the whole system and finds hundreds of results because these are generic terms, in many subjects.. Suddenly I narrow down the search... And it starts leaving out documents...

 

I would rather have a specific search for the specific course, and the specific subject... When I am inside the folder it can search how it likes... Then I am inside the subject... I cant have a specific order to what to study first... We are talking 100's of documents, with conflicting and similar tags...

 

The fact remains there are shortfalls in not having folders when dealing with a large amount of files... Systemetically tagging everything, each and every time... When you could have created a folder once off for that specific day is just not time efficient...

 

The point is... Folders are not there to replace tags... They are a function that needs to be there for many users... 

I cant use evernote as a note taking app... It just does not work.. I use it as an intermediary program, until i transfer I need somewhere else where there is some semblance of efficient organisation.

Link to comment
  • Level 5

Since you brought up the google example i will adress that google is very differnet... You are looking for Information in General... Not your information.

No, most of the time I am searching for very specific information and if it is my own information what is the difference? I can also use Google to search on my own computer.

 

The point is... Folders are not there to replace tags... They are a function that needs to be there for many users...

I understand but this is exactly what Phil Libin criticizes. After more than one generation of using computers we still think of information as something physical that has a location (a file) and we organize it in filing cabinets (folders). When using a computer we should not care where something is kept. We should put information in context. How is some piece of information related to others? This is much more flexible than putting information at one location of an unflexible possibly deeply nested structure. Our brain also doesn't work like that. It puts information into context in many ways and the more context an information has the easier it is to remember.

I am not saying I know exactly what the right way is. Everybody may use his/her own way of organisation. I just understand the vision Phil Libin has and if Evernote could come up with a functioning system that makes it easier for the users to "remember everything" or "do their best work", great.

Link to comment

I understand but this is exactly what Phil Libin criticizes. After more than one generation of using computers we still think of information as something physical that has a location (a file) and we organize it in filing cabinets (folders). When using a computer we should not care where something is kept. We should put information in context. How is some piece of information related to others? This is much more flexible than putting information at one location of an unflexible possibly deeply nested structure. Our brain also doesn't work like that. It puts information into context in many ways and the more context an information has the easier it is to remember.

Exactly!  Some people new to Evernote seem to think the more information you have, the more you need sub notebooks.  In fact, it's the opposite.  The more information you have, the more limiting the sub notebook design becomes.

 

Yup...tags are the way to go. I have yet to see an *organizational* case that cannot be accomplished with tags. Additionally, as has been mentioned above, tags are more flexible.

 

Another reason to use tags is their flexibility (and why folder organization fails with very many files) is (to use Jefito's example), if you have a photo of a round, red, rubber ball...where do you put it in a folder structure? Do you put it under round? Red? Rubber? Ball? When using tags, it doesn't matter. Put it anywhere. Then tag it with round, red, rubber, ball. Then when you're looking for a red ball, you can simply select those tags & find all images of a red ball.

 

I admit it might take some adjusting for some users.  But usually, after they get it, it's very freeing to be able to rely upon stacks/notebooks/tags/descriptive titles & keywords rather than trying to remember where you filed that round, red, rubber ball.  So much so that over 75% of my searches in Evernote are across ALL my notes, rather than restricted to a particular notebook or stack.  And yet I still quickly find what I'm looking for.

Link to comment

 

I suggest to all of you: Calm down and show a little respect.

 

And coming back to the topic, if you look at the changes made in the mobile clients and at the new Web UI and if you followed the interviews and speeches Phil Libin did recently it is clear at least for me that Evernote's strategy is to get rid of what Phil calls "old metaphores" like files, folders etc. Nested structures like notebooks, nested tags, and stacks will eventually be removed from all clients. They will not change their new vision just because people stick to these metaphores because they think what they do is right. And I personally think Phils is right about this. Look at the by far most frequently used website. What does it show? One word, one text field and two buttons. Yes, I mean google.com. And the result of a google search has no nested structure but is just a long list of links ordered by relevance created by some unknown algorithm. Why does nobody complain about this and why is it so successful? The 'Related Notes' and new 'Context' features of Evernote go into the same direction. I admit that I use notebooks, stacks and nested tags but when I try to find something in most cases I first just use a global search for some text and normally the notes I am looking for appear at the top of the result.

 

Wouldn't it be nice if we just had to collect information we want to remember without thinking of a structure that allows us to retrieve the information when we need it? It would save us a lot of time.

 

Stuhrer great observation.

 

Since you brought up the google example i will adress that google is very differnet... You are looking for Information in General... Not your information.

 

On the pro subfolders arguement, I just wanted to say that nobody is against searching and tags.

 

Even windows and osx operating systems are increasingly integrating tags and systemwide searches into the operating system. But they also integrate specific folder searches....

 

This is a welcome method of functioning that works...

 

However you can not underestimate the ability or at least the option of being able to find documents that share some similarity or theme without having to remember the specific tag or tags you assigned.

 

An example: a student might have his syllabus stored on the computer according to the school ciriculum which is linear and set in nature. In order to study effectively he has to go through all his notes systematically without missing anything, or worrying about recalling a specific tag. 

You can have a notebook just for your studies... And then you cant have subfolders for subject... So everything is mixed up...

 

Try studying for an exam for a medical examination... You are looking for specific files/notes pertaining to a specific subject/on a specific pathology, yet all modules over-lap in information... You need to pass and cover a certain section of the syllabus... 

 

So the tags would be for example Medical; Musculoskeletal; Anatomy...

 

It searches the whole system and finds hundreds of results because these are generic terms, in many subjects.. Suddenly I narrow down the search... And it starts leaving out documents...

 

I would rather have a specific search for the specific course, and the specific subject... When I am inside the folder it can search how it likes... Then I am inside the subject... I cant have a specific order to what to study first... We are talking 100's of documents, with conflicting and similar tags...

 

The fact remains there are shortfalls in not having folders when dealing with a large amount of files... Systemetically tagging everything, each and every time... When you could have created a folder once off for that specific day is just not time efficient...

 

The point is... Folders are not there to replace tags... They are a function that needs to be there for many users... 

I cant use evernote as a note taking app... It just does not work.. I use it as an intermediary program, until i transfer I need somewhere else where there is some semblance of efficient organisation.

 

 

We're starting go go around in circles here since almost all of this has already been discussed. 

 

There are several different ways of organizing information. There is no single "natural" way, and it would be difficult to argue that there is one universally better way to organize info. Flat methods of of organizing data have some pitfalls, but in my opinion a lot of benefits. Hierarchical organization schemes have some benefits and in my opinion, a lot of pitfalls. While you provide a good example of where hierarchy can be helpful, it can also be a hinderance or an obstacle. For example, I wrote earlier in this thread regarding indexes (heirarchical):

 

 

Tags are no more or less real than an index. 

 

Indexes are not infallible either. For example, lets say you have Chicken and Vegetable Noodle Soup in a cookbook. Where should that be in the index?

Chicken?

Soup?

Chicken and Vegetable Noodle Soup?

Weeknight Meals?

 

Each of those are relatively reasonable places to put "Chicken and Vegetable Noodle Soup" in an index and the exact location would have been decided at the discretion of the author or editor, not the reader. That means a reader would have to check each of these headings in order to find Chicken and Veg Noodle Soup. The association between the index location and content exists only in the mind of the editor or author doesn't it? Or do you see every index entry as handed down from "nature", some clear objective, singular index location that cannot be debated?

 

How is your critique of tags any different except that the tags are created at your discretion and not the discretion of an author or editor that is not you? 

 

Thus there is a certain disadvantage to a hierarchy in which content is located in mutually exclusive directories or folders, since things in reality aren't mutually exclusive. Things are often part of multiple contexts to varying degrees. 

Another example, again, from earlier in this exact thread:

 

<SNIP)...

Lets take this example from the real world of academia:

An article about Actor-Network Theory that uses the specific case of farming scallops in France. Lets say I need to find a place to put my reading notes on that paper. 

 

Where does this belong? Actor-Network Theory is a theory broadly applied to a great many topics. So we put it in the Actor-Network Theory folder. 

 

But wait... it uses scallop farming. So should I put this in the "Food Studies" folder? It might fit into a "food studies" paper I might write in the future. 

 

But wait once more, this paper also discusses issues around nonhuman agency. That's another broad concept that I might want to address, so I should put it in the folder with the rest of the "nonhuman agency" articles. 

 

But wait... This is also part of the broader Science and Technology Studies field, so I could put it in the STS folder. 

 

But wait... this is also potentially helpful in thinking about Animal Studies... 

 

But wait... This is also about a particular method of social scientific inquiry (Doing research with Actor-Network Theory). So... this goes in my methods folder?

 

So what do I do? What does my heirarchical structure look like?

 

STS>Actor-Network Theory

STS>Actor-Network Theory>Methods

STS>Actor-Network Theory>Food

STS>Actor-Network Theory>Animal Studies

STS>Nonhuman Agency

Food Studies>Actor-Network Theory

Animal Studies>Actor-Network Theory

Methods>Actor-Network Theory

 

I can only put it in ONE location. Which one do I choose?

 

However, if we remove the criteria of mutual exclusivity, we have a lot more flexibility in where I put those reading notes. 

Notebook: academic literature

Tags: ANT, STS, Food Studies, Nonhuman, Method

 

So, when I write my Food Studies paper and I want to find my notes on relevant literature, I might look to my Food Studies tag, and BAM there would be my notes on this paper and many others. 

 

But next I am writing a paper on method in science and technology studies. Perhaps I look in either the STS tag or the Method tag. Either way, this paper will also appear. 

 

Even better, what if I have some outlines or writing notes about any of these topics? Perhaps I have a few paragraphs about nonhuman agency from a paper I wrote a while back.

If that is filed away in a folder:

Documents>Academics>Manuscripts>Drafts>random nonuman paper

It might take me a while to find it, if I find it at all. I filed it away there last year or two years ago, after all. 

 

In a non-mutually exclusive world that might also get the Nonhuman tag. So lets say I just want to look at ANYTHING that is tagged Nonhuman, not just my reading notes, then that fragment of writing (filed in a different notebook for whatever project it was a part of) will also appear. Yippee! A head start on my current paper. 

 

So, if you think that a mutually exclusive hierarchical structure is better for organizing..I disagree...It may be perfectly acceptable for organizing that sort of thing, but it is certainly not ideal or better or the best

 

 

I think the gist is, though, that there is no "natural" or singularly correct way to organize information. Different ways offer different advantages or disadvantages. Evernote has made the decision to stick to a "flat" and non-mutually exclusive organizational scheme. They may change in the future, but for now, flat is what we have, and as I think I demonstrate earlier in this thread that flat and non-mutually exclusive schemes have some significant advantages that can help with long term storage and retrieval. 

 

In the grand scheme, though, such decisions about how to organize are rather subjective. I can see the logic behind Evernote's decision, since a lot of existing systems offer hierarchical and mutually exclusive schemes, such as all contemporary computer operating systems. Why would Evernote choose to almost exactly reproduce what already exists and is already very powerful and capable? If Evernote worked this way, I wouldn't use it because my OS does this already! If a user prefers the hierarchical system, then their computer operating system is right there waiting for whatever plain-text notes, PDFs, documents of any type, images, and so on that the user wishes to store in a hierarchical and mutually exclusive fashion. Contemporary OSs also automatically index these files, and so can also be searched, and if you are on a Mac, even the contents of files are indexed and searchable! 

 

I'm absolutely not saying that the hierarchical system is wrong, and that you are wrong to want it. Just offering up some of why I think that the tag/flat/non-mutually exclusive system has some considerable advantages. Again, Evernote has chosen flat/tag/whatever, and that may change, and Evernote has changed its mind in the past. But in reality we already have a plethora of hierarchical organizational tools (such as our computer OS) that are very powerful and well developed, and I don't think it makes sense for Evernote to reproduce those functions, especially given the advantages to the flat system I have outlined. 

Link to comment

Ok so I have been trying to make Evernote sorting system work for me...

 

Essentially it has somewhat of a 2 level folder system with use of stacks... I changed the default view settings in Notebooks so its much more manageable.

 

I could do without more subfolders if I could use viewable tags, or a 'main tag system' that I can view files...

 

In other words I enter the stack -> I enter notebook, however thereafter I cant see my tags... When I look for tags I have to go to a different place.. I.e. click on tags...

 

Is there no way I can see my stacks-> Notebooks -> and then tags prevalent only to that Notebook, within that stack...

 

That is essentially a 3 level subfolder system that could easily exist in evernote... Is it possible? 

 

Evernote Screenshot explaining what I need better below:

Trying to see if this functionality exists -> and weather you would agree this would be an improvement.

 

 

Ok so I have been trying to make Evernote sorting system work for me...

 

Essentially it has somewhat of a 2 level folder system with use of stacks... I changed the default view settings in Notebooks so its much more manageable.

 

I could do without more subfolders if I could use viewable tags, or a 'main tag system' that I can view files...

 

In other words I enter the stack -> I enter notebook, however thereafter I cant see my tags... When I look for tags I have to go to a different place.. I.e. click on tags...

 

Is there no way I can see my stacks-> Notebooks -> and then tags prevalent only to that Notebook, within that stack...

 

That is essentially a 3 level subfolder system that could easily exist in evernote... Is it possible? 

 

Evernote Screenshot explaining what I need better below:

Trying to see if this functionality exists -> and weather you would agree this would be an improvement.

 

https://www.evernote...4f1e5aecd41f0c4

 

Edit: In screenshot: When I click IPE6 - I want to view my tags that are inside that notebook next to the actual notebook view... Not go to tags where i see ALL tags.

Link to comment

It is possible to see which tags are used in a given notebook:

https://www.evernote.com/l/ABn9lGwkyYNKt6s4hVoJ9k4TxvzKeCDJjfg

 

the list that pops out there are tags used in the currently selected notebook. I can also select any one of those tags to view any note in that notebook with that tag. The tag list is also modified to show only those tags that are also used in conjunction with the first tag you selected. So if I select the "governmentality" tag, then I get a list of all the notes with that tag in that notebook. However, if I click on that tag icon again, I only see that tags that are used alongside governmentality, in this case:

Citizenship

Ecological Modernization

Incineration

Nature

....

(and a few more)

So if I want to see only those that have both Governmentality AND Citizenship tags, I can click on citizenship, and I get all my notes about papers that pertain to citizenship and governmentality (and exclude all those that might, for example, be about governmentality and ecological modernization). 

Link to comment
  • Level 5

Is there no way I can see my stacks-> Notebooks -> and then tags prevalent only to that Notebook, within that stack...

 

That is essentially a 3 level subfolder system that could easily exist in evernote... Is it possible?

No that is not possible. Tags and notebooks/folders are a completely different concept. You can of course search for notes in a certain notebook carrying certain tags but you cannot search for or display tags that are used for notes in a certain notebook. Tags have no and are not part of any hierarchical structure.

Link to comment

Thanks Scott... That helps a hell of a lot. Would be nice if visibility was a bit more... I.e. getting through an entire list of documents systematically, i.e when studying...

However it certainly helps.

 

The ability to search for information restricted only to a certain notebook is hugely beneficial when studying for a particular subject. Or searching for information prevalent to a particular topic. Sometimes I simply dont want results from sources in other notebooks popping up. It just adds clutter.

 

For all the talk against subfolders on this forum and how they don't exist, and the philosophy of Evernote is completely different- The system of organisation is essentially already there... It could use some tweaks... But evidently Evernote does give the user options in hierarchal organisational methods to some degree.

 

I personally am learning to use Evernote search Tag abilities, and think it will be extremely usefull to me, as long as I have certain hierarchal organisational barriers in my searches, I am happy.

Link to comment

 

 

The ability to search for information restricted only to a certain notebook is hugely beneficial when studying for a particular subject. Or searching for information prevalent to a particular topic. Sometimes I simply dont want results from sources in other notebooks popping up.

Yup, that is precisely why that little tag icon exists, and why the search syntax:

notebook:NOTEBOOKNAME tag:TAG1 tag:TAG2

exists. 

 

Between these two things (the tag dropdown, and the search syntax) you can both browse a notebook by tag, and search a notebook by tag, without notes from any other notebook appearing. 

Link to comment

 I.e. getting through an entire list of documents systematically, i.e when studying...

 

Not sure what you mean here. There's no reason why you couldn't perhaps have an "unfinished" tag to refer to anything that you started by haven't finished. You'll see that I have exactly that tag in my academic lit notebook (see the screenshot in previous post). Anything where my notes on a paper are incomplete gets the "UNFINISHED" tag. The tag is removed once I finish the notes. This way I can just select the UNFINISHED tag from this dropdown and get a list of all the articles I haven't finished taking notes on. 

You could do all sorts of similar things, such as a "review" tag for anything that you need to review for a course. If you have a tag or notebook for each course you could then show all the things you need to review for a specific course with either

 

notebook:course101 tag:review

OR

tag:course101 tag:review

 

(Both of these can be replicated with that tag dropdown in the screenshot in my previous post). 

 

It takes a bit of creativity but you can definitely impose a bit of system to your stuff allowing you to go through your information in a reasonably systematic way if required. 

 

Am I understanding your post (quoted at the top) accurately?

Link to comment

Scott what I meant is:

 

1) Say I have an exam coming up 

   I want to systematically go through each and every note I have on a particular subject without leaving anything out...

   I.e. study and read everything... 

 

 

2)  On the other hand I am starting to understand the benefits of tagging:

     I want to go through all my notes: Essentially I am studying from lecture slides(powerpoint) and textbooks and can use tags/search to bring up my notes on the subject in     evernote... This is highly useful! I want to use this feature...

 

but there are times that I want to read everything... And not leave anything out... I need to go from note to note... Usually in a chronological order. (based on when I took the notes).

It would be nice if I could just go down from document to document until I am done.

 

3) Say I use your proposed system of putting in "Studied" or "finished" in my tags.... When I am done can I kill the "finished" or "studied" tag? i.e. delete that specific tag in ALL of my documents, without individually going from document to document? 

 

EDIT: on point 3 I believe I can do this in "tags" tab, by right clicking on the tag... quite handy

          Sorry I answered point 2 also in my head.. 

 

Anyways thanks for your help. Appreciated. Really cant rely on Evernote to keep all my notes if I am not completely comfortable that it can meet all my organisational needs.

At the moment I am using OneNote. And considering Evernote... Using Evernote as an intermediary program at moment.

Link to comment

lykoz, thanks for clarifying. 

 

 

but there are times that I want to read everything... And not leave anything out... I need to go from note to note... Usually in a chronological order. (based on when I took the notes).

 

 

In this case you can just bring up relevant notes by whatever combination of notebook and tag makes sense. You can then bring up any set of notes (either the entire notebook contents, or a subset of them based on a tag), which can be sorted by date created. 

 

 

 

3) Say I use your proposed system of putting in "Studied" or "finished" in my tags.... When I am done can I kill the "finished" or "studied" tag? i.e. delete that specific tag in ALL of my documents, without individually going from document to document? 

 

EDIT: on point 3 I believe I can do this in "tags" tab, by right clicking on the tag... quite handy

 

 

You can bulk add or remove tags. Select all the notes you want to remove the tag from, and in the screen that appears, just delete the tag:

https://www.evernote.com/l/ABka3BEuVBdNBIgoxkFuiwl_RXCntwmB0fk

 

Here, i've selected all the notes tagged italy1014. If I wanted to remove this tag from all of those notes at once, I'd just delete the tag from that little box there. So, you could do the same with things you are done reviewing. Once you are done studying all of your Course101 notes tagged "review", just select those notes and remove the "review" tag in one swing! 

Link to comment

Not a problem at all. I know that grappling with the flat method of organizing can be difficult at first and perhaps a bit frustrating.  I know I struggled with it, and I have to give credit to all the people who blog about Evernote and all the people on this forum from whom I have stolen almost all of my ideas! 

Link to comment

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...