DESIGN FLAW: Can't See All Tags on Note

[JMichaelTX 4,117]

There is a Design Flaw in EN Mac 5.5.1 that prevents all Tags on a Note from being displayed if there are more than 3 or 4 tags.

 

The display indicates there are more Tags with an ellipise ("..."), but there is no way to view them.  Not even with the Note Info window.

 

IMO, it would be best to word-wrap (tap-wrap ?) the Tag list on both the main Note window and the Note Info window.

 

I need to be able to see at a quick glance which notes have been assigned.

 

Here's a screen shot:

 

[jbenson2 2,147]

I have a similar issue with Evernote Windows. I believe the UI was changed with version 5.0.

 

If I look at a note with 5 tags, I can see only 2 of them in the Vertical List View

.

The only workarounds I have found (to see the other tags) are:

 

* Mouse over to a small icon of 3 downward arrows (don't see it on your screen capture - might be Windows only)

or

* Hide the Left Panel (F10), and reduce the Note List width down to a silver of its original size

or

* Click on the note and blow it up to a full maximized window.

 

I presume Evernote thinks the unnamed small downward arrows icon is the preferred solution. But there is no way to determine if there are additional tags or not. This requires that the icon be clicked for every note in Windows. Since many of my notes only contain 2 tags, this can be an exercise in frustration.

 

http://www.evernote.com/shard/s2/sh/363f0ab7-e2f4-4651-9c23-34555a5d5726/87fe7bc67851e181f38e9f940f207928

[JMichaelTX 4,117]

Nope, we don't have any "3 downward arrows" on EN Mac.

 

The obvious solution is to simply word-wrap the tags, and autoexpand the tag window height.

[PeterLondon 34]

Nope, we don't have any "3 downward arrows" on EN Mac.

 

The obvious solution is to simply word-wrap the tags, and autoexpand the tag window height.

 

Evernote devs don't do "obvious solutions" I'm afraid! LOL

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

I'm not terribly pleased with some of the UI elements either, but I tend to be an outlier / odd case, and a little overly grumpy about this kind of stuff. My criticisms, though, are topics for other threads! (search the forums for my previous comments about the note display window, tags, popover, etc. if you want to read my brilliant suggestions for improvement)

 

The workarounds on the Mac when you see the ellipsis are to:

 

(1) tap in the tag field (carefully position your cursor in-between tags, select all (press CMD + A), copy (press CMD + C), and paste into a note to see what you've got. 

(2) do the same thing in the information popover -- note that the tags will likely be in a different order (the information window is arranged alphabetical and your note is arranged in the order you entered the tags).

[JMichaelTX 4,117]

Thanks GM for providing a way, albeit convoluted, to see ALL tags on a Note.

This really doesn't work if you need to review a bunch of Notes for proper tags.

 

This is really pitiful, isn't it?   I can only assume that the Dev Team on use/tested 2 tags or less.

What were they thinking?!?!?

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

Thanks GM for providing a way, albeit convoluted, to see ALL tags on a Note.

This really doesn't work if you need to review a bunch of Notes for proper tags.

 

This is really pitiful, isn't it?   I can only assume that the Dev Team on use/tested 2 tags or less.

What were they thinking?!?!?

 

You're welcome.

 

Was it an oversight on their part? No. I don't think so. In fact, several of the interfaces I regularly use have gradually moved to less information density and they have restricted the tag view. iOS, Web, and Mac all share similar approaches to tags. 

 

If I had to imagine a rationale (I do not have any inside knowledge), I would guess that they wanted to simplify the interface by restricting the amount of content shown, and they probably have some data that supports the notion that people generally have five or fewer tags, so they may have figured it was better to go this direction with the design. My guess is that most people don't have many tags at all. It probably makes sense in that respect, but it does cause difficulties for people who really want to get serious about using tags for getting stuff done. 

 

Evernote has tremendous potential, and it is definitely improving year by year, but there are some soft or practical limits that I think Evernote ought to revisit. For example, there is this one on tags, but also the maximum amount of text allowed in notes (5MB?), or the inability to do selective syncing on the desktops. In real life usage, these kinds of UI and service bottlenecks prevent us from taking full advantage of the great features available to us.

[jbenson2 2,147]

Thanks GM for providing a way, albeit convoluted, to see ALL tags on a Note.

This really doesn't work if you need to review a bunch of Notes for proper tags.

 

This is really pitiful, isn't it?   I can only assume that the Dev Team on use/tested 2 tags or less.

 

Exactly!

Tags are a critical feature of Evernote.

As pointed out, the current versions (Apple, Windows, Web) no longer allow a user to view and verify that multiple tags are applied to a group of notes. The problem becomes severe if a user has 3 or more tags. I try to use short tags, but shortened acronyms can only go so far.

[Adjusting 276]

Thanks GM for providing a way, albeit convoluted, to see ALL tags on a Note.

This really doesn't work if you need to review a bunch of Notes for proper tags.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I’ve noted your request internally.

As a workaround, if you need to review the tags on multiple notes, you could try switching to Top List view and showing only Title and Tags.

[JMichaelTX 4,117]

 

Thanks GM for providing a way, albeit convoluted, to see ALL tags on a Note.

This really doesn't work if you need to review a bunch of Notes for proper tags.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I’ve noted your request internally.

As a workaround, if you need to review the tags on multiple notes, you could try switching to Top List view and showing only Title and Tags.

 

 

Thanks, Adjusting.  I hope that "noted" means considering design changes.

 

I would like to request that you guys consider that there are at least two basic types of users:

1. Those that like no distractions, only a clean sheet of electronic paper to write on.
2. Those that are information junkies, and like high-density views that show lots of data around their notepad.

I think a clever, cool design can satisfy both.

 

You might take a look at the previous major version of EN Windows (4?).

It provided the user the option to turn on/off many different sections of the Evernote window.

So, the minimalists could turn almost everything off leaving only the Note text area and Title.

The info junkies could turn on as many panels/sections as they desired, with the max showing ALL Note metadata.

 

What do you think?

[Wordsgood 526]

And there are some of us that like it both ways. Ideally, I'd like to add as many tags as I want and have the choice of whether or not to have them showing at any given time.

But that's just me, and I like to dream big sometimes!

Thanks GM for providing a way, albeit convoluted, to see ALL tags on a Note.

This really doesn't work if you need to review a bunch of Notes for proper tags.

Thanks for the feedback. I’ve noted your request internally.

As a workaround, if you need to review the tags on multiple notes, you could try switching to Top List view and showing only Title and Tags.

Thanks, Adjusting. I hope that "noted" means considering design changes.

I would like to request that you guys consider that there are at least two basic types of users:

• Those that like no distractions, only a clean sheet of electronic paper to write on.
• Those that are information junkies, and like high-density views that show lots of data around their notepad.

I think a clever, cool design can satisfy both.

You might take a look at the previous major version of EN Windows (4?).

It provided the user the option to turn on/off many different sections of the Evernote window.

So, the minimalists could turn almost everything off leaving only the Note text area and Title.

The info junkies could turn on as many panels/sections as they desired, with the max showing ALL Note metadata.

What do you think?

[JMichaelTX 4,117]

And there are some of us that like it both ways. Ideally, I'd like to add as many tags as I want and have the choice of whether or not to have them showing at any given time.

But that's just me, and I like to dream big sometimes!

 

 

Wordsgood, I see no good reason why you can't have it both ways!

 

Being able to turn on/off the various data panels would allow you to have it both ways.  With KB shortcuts, this could be most convient, and oh sooooo cool.

 

You know I just thought of something.  Do you know what makes a great secretary/exec assistant?

A person who can anticipate your needs most of the time while staying out of the way, almost invisible.

 

Well, IMO, that's what great software should be.  This is the ULTIMATE COOL -- how the software behaves, not so much how it looks.

 

Well Evernote, are you up to the ultimate cool challenge?

[War Eagle 37]

I believe the EN developers have been too concerned with how EN LOOKS rather than how it functions. The concept of WORK is very specialized to each person. Some of us want at-a-glance buttons we can find easily. Myself, I DETEST hidden functionality that requires extra steps to access in ANY software program or app. There are others who are distracted by buttons and whatnot. So great! Make it customizable so the user gets to decide how much or how little is sitting in their view.

 

Bottom line is twofold:

 

1. You can NOT ignore function when designing a TOOL. If you're mostly concerned with aesthetics, you should be designing a piece of art that one will simply look at. When designing a TOOL of any sort, FORM MUST FOLLOW FUNCTION. This is more and more being lost on the EN development team. 
 

2. You can NOT decide for your users what they *should* want to do or how they *should* use your tool. If they can't use it in a way that supports their own work style, they will abandon it. 

Sometimes I wonder if the dev team even uses the product themselves, from some of the silly changes they've made recently. The potential is SO great, too bad the execution is ridiculous in many places. 

[soundsgoodtome 155]

I, too, am so frustrated with Evernote now. Long-standing bugs are simply ignored and are seldom fixed, features I don't need are forced upon me (with no way to disable them), and features I do need are either removed, broken, or "modified" in such a way that they either cease being useful or become cumbersome at best.

 

This is a case of the latter. I don't want my tags hidden away, requiring a click to view them. I need to see all tags at all times!!! But the geniuses at Evernote seem to believe that that everyone works the way THEY work. They know better than we do what we need.

 

I'm all for new features. Always! But how can you make a major change like this without even considering the fact that many people rely upon the previous behavior?

When you make a major change like this, why not give users who need the previous behavior a way to preserve it? Did it not occur to you that tags are called tags for a reason? We use tags because we need to see them! (I can't believe I actually have to state that in a sentence.)

 

If you want to offer an option to hide tags, that's fine! But why would you assume that hiding our tags would be universally acceptable? Who can possible think these are good decisions? I mean good business decisions? Because some of us actually do pay for Evernote premium. But with each of these inexplicable decisions I get closer and closer to throwing in the towel. Why pay for frustration?

 

I used to love Evernote. Now I just tolerate it.

 

PLEASE: LET US SEE OUR FREAKING TAGS!

[Metrodon 2,184]

I think they realised that they messed up, tags are back in 6.2 - are you on the latest version?

[War Eagle 37]

I think they realised that they messed up, tags are back in 6.2 - are you on the latest version?

 

 

I just installed the newest version (6.2) and I don't see any changes in tags. Can you elaborate please as to how I'd see these tag changes? 

Thanks!

 

[soundsgoodtome 155]

I think they realised that they messed up, tags are back in 6.2 - are you on the latest version?

Thanks, but can you please clarify what you mean by "tags are back"?

For me, they never went "away," per se, but as the subject of this thread indicates, I: "Can't See All Tags on Note."

What I see is like the image accompanying the first post in this thread. I can only see the first 3 or 4 tags. Then, the rest are hidden, and a tap is required to see them. And yes, I'm running v6.2. Did you misunderstand this topic?

[Metrodon 2,184]

Yeah, some confusion.

In a recent beta they hid all tags and notebook info when you are editing a note. They went back on this decision and returned to the point where notebooks and (some) tags are visible at all times.