Icon (indicating "offline"?) next to one folder

[kronhead 4]

I have Evernote windows running on Win10. I wanted to make sure I had my main folder available offline, as it is on my Android phone and tablet - could not see an option for that (which I thought I had seen and used before, years ago) - looked in help - it says "On desktop computers: If Evernote for Mac or Evernote for Windows Desktop is installed on your computer, all of your synced notes and notebooks are stored on your computer in a local database." Great!

But, looking at the notebook list, this notebook has an icon to the left of the name that looks an awful lot like some kind of download notification or option. See attached image. Clicking on it doesn't do anything.

So - I am wondering what the icon means. I have used Evernote for years - was there a time when you had to set a notebook to offline on windows - and this icon is a holdover from that ancient time? Or does it mean something else? Mostly just curious - unless it means something important...

Thanks

Dan

[DTLow 5,736]

8 minutes ago, kronhead said:

I am wondering what the icon means

Default Notebook

 

[kronhead 4]

Thanks - I'll do some experiments, changing the default notebook and see if the icon goes away. Interestingly, on android, that notebook had a similar (but somewhat different) icon. That notebook is set for offline usage. I turned that option off, and the icon went away. That same notebook is also the default notebook on android, and there is no icon indicating that. No big deal - just a little inconsistency in the user interface.

[jefito 5,589]

17 hours ago, kronhead said:

was there a time when you had to set a notebook to offline on windows

There has never been a time where you could set a notebook as offline in the Windows (and I thing the Mac) client, at least since the modern Evernote came out ca. 2008 or so. Up until a short time ago, all note content was loaded onto your local Windows machine. With the most recent release, you can now configure Evernote to remove rarely viewed notes in order to save local hard drive space  (Tools / Options / Synchronization / "Purge rarely viewed note content"), but that is global to your account, and not specific to any notebook.

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,954]

1 hour ago, jefito said:

There has never been a time where you could set a notebook as offline in the Windows (and I thing the Mac) client, at least since the modern Evernote came out ca. 2008 or so. Up until a short time ago, all note content was loaded onto your local Windows machine. With the most recent release, you can now configure Evernote to remove rarely viewed notes in order to save local hard drive space  (Tools / Options / Synchronization / "Purge rarely viewed note content"), but that is global to your account, and not specific to any notebook.

If by "offline" @kronhead means "local," it's always possible to create local notebooks in Evernote for Windows: File menu > New Local Notebook. Such a notebook is local to the computer on which it resides, i.e., is not synced, and so would be available when the computer is offline. What's not possible is for a local notebook to be the default notebook, or for the default notebook to be local, I presume because things like emailed notes go into the default notebook, which is not possible if it's local to one computer.

But if the idea is "offline" in the sense of the Android app, in which a notebook can be downloaded to the phone so as to be available when you're offline, then no, I don't think that's possible in the Windows app, apart from local notebooks--it's assumed that the Evernote program running on a Windows computer will always be online to access and sync notebooks.

[DTLow 5,736]

24 minutes ago, Dave-in-Decatur said:

But if the idea is "offline" in the sense of the Android app, in which a notebook can be downloaded to the phone so as to be available when you're offline, then no, I don't think that's possible in the Windows app, apart from local notebooks--it's assumed that the Evernote program running on a Windows computer will always be online to access and sync notebooks.

Actually Win/Mac platforms maintain a full copy of the database; all notebooks are available offline
(Exception: there is a demand sync feature available in Windows)

The Offline Notebook feature was implemented on the mobile platforms, way back when storage space was tight and most devices wouldn't have space for the entire database

[jefito 5,589]

2 hours ago, Dave-in-Decatur said:

If by "offline" @kronhead means "local," 

...

Since there are no such things as local notebooks (never synced) on the mobile devices, while there are offline notebooks (always synced, while the default is sync notes on demand) on mobile devices, and the OP stated a desire for an offline notebooks (""I wanted to make sure I had my main folder available offline, as it is on my Android phone and tablet), it seemed a safe assumption that they wanted a notebook that behaves like their mobile offline notebook; i.e., they didn't want local notebooks. And indeed: "looked in help - it says "On desktop computers: If Evernote for Mac or Evernote for Windows Desktop is installed on your computer, all of your synced notes and notebooks are stored on your computer in a local database." Great!".

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,954]

4 hours ago, DTLow said:

Actually Win/Mac platforms maintain a full copy of the database; all notebooks are available offline
(Exception: there is a demand sync feature available in Windows)

The Offline Notebook feature was implemented on the mobile platforms, way back when storage space was tight and most devices wouldn't have space for the entire database

Right-o--except that (I think, anyway) I've seen reports that Evernote Windows won't run if it can't sync, i.e., if the system is offline, even though all the notes (as of the last previous sync) are available on the computer. So while theoretically there is offline access, there might be practical problems.

Guess I could just pull the plug on my gateway and find out for sure, but, you know, lazy.... 

[CalS 5,280]

14 minutes ago, Dave-in-Decatur said:

I've seen reports that Evernote Windows won't run if it can't sync

Won't start if you have previously logged out of EN, then you need a connection to log in.  As long as you don't log out you can access all your EN data without an internet connection, offline by default so to speak.  

[jefito 5,589]

6 hours ago, Dave-in-Decatur said:

Guess I could just pull the plug on my gateway and find out for sure, but, you know, lazy.... 

Likewise...

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,954]

17 hours ago, CalS said:

Won't start if you have previously logged out of EN, then you need a connection to log in.  As long as you don't log out you can access all your EN data without an internet connection, offline by default so to speak.  

Thanks for that, Cal. I'll try to keep it in mind if the question comes up again. And @kronhead, hope all this wandering afield is of some use to you!

[CalS 5,280]

1 hour ago, Dave-in-Decatur said:

Thanks for that, Cal. I'll try to keep it in mind if the question comes up again.

You are welcome.

[kronhead 4]

3 hours ago, Dave-in-Decatur said:

Thanks for that, Cal. I'll try to keep it in mind if the question comes up again. And @kronhead, hope all this wandering afield is of some use to you!

Yes, it's been fascinating to see where this discussion has gone. I feel a little bad that you all invested so much time in my question... Anyway, I can confirm that the icon I am seeing is for the Default Notebook. I temporarily changed that setting to a different notebook, and the icon moved.

Thanks again to everyone for the help.

Dan

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,954]

3 hours ago, kronhead said:

Yes, it's been fascinating to see where this discussion has gone. I feel a little bad that you all invested so much time in my question... Anyway, I can confirm that the icon I am seeing is for the Default Notebook. I temporarily changed that setting to a different notebook, and the icon moved.

Thanks again to everyone for the help.

Dan

No problem. I only invest the amount of time that I find (a) useful, (b) interesting, or (c) necessary to avoid actual work.