Using Evernote to Replace Storing Working Documents in Folders

[redynstruc 6]

I've used Evernote for years to archive documents, but only recently discovered that it could be a viable place for storing nearly all of my working files as well.  What brought me to this realization was learning that a document attached to a note in EN can be edited, for example, in Microsoft Word, and the changes will be saved to the version attached to the note.   I had always (mistakenly) thought that changes to a note's attached document would need to be saved to an OSX or Windows folder and, then, dragged back to EN.  

I am now using EN as a replacement for storing virtually all of my working files in folders (and subfolders, and subfolders of subfolders, etc.).  The beauty of this, of course, is that the working files are now available for editing on my multiple computers.

There are those who will argue that cloud drives such as OneDrive and Google Drive can accomplish the same purpose.  To a point, this is true, but EN's ability to quickly and easily grab information from anywhere using virtually any device surpasses any method I have found to accomplish the same thing with OneDrive or Google Drive.  Then, too, while EN's search capabilities could always be enhanced, it is still superior to most of the other methods I have found for doing the same thing through Spotlight, etc.

 

 

 

[gazumped 9,545]

On 7/27/2019 at 6:04 PM, redynstruc said:

cloud drives such as OneDrive and Google Drive can accomplish the same purpose.

While I keep bigger files in cloud drives to save disk space,  Evernote is an ideal place to 'bookmark' links to those files - I can keep an index of stored files with summaries of their content plus keywords so they're easily findable if my spotty memory loses the exact name.  And which drive!  I think I have accounts with five or six cloud services,  but the central hub and reference point is Evernote.

[DTLow 5,680]

On 7/27/2019 at 10:04 AM, redynstruc said:

a document attached to a note in EN can be edited, for example, in Microsoft Word, and the changes will be saved to the version attached to the note.   I had always (mistakenly) thought that changes to a note's attached document would need to be saved to an OSX or Windows folder and, then, dragged back to EN

It's still a manual process on my iPad

This is handled automatically on the Windows/Mac platforms and is completely transparent to the user.

• the document is exported to a temporary folder
• the editor is launched
  and Evernote is in wait mode while the document is being edited
• the document is imported and replaces the version attached to the note

>>I am now using EN as a replacement for storing virtually all of my working files in folders (and subfolders, and subfolders of subfolders, etc.).

Instead of folders, Evernote uses two metadata fields; notebook and tags.  
Tags are the primary organization tool

I'm happy using the notebook/tag references; some users emulate folders using the sidebar notebook/tag trees

[redynstruc 6]

On 7/29/2019 at 11:39 AM, gazumped said:

While I keep bigger files in cloud drives to save disk space,  Evernote is an ideal place to 'bookmark' links to those files - I can keep an index of stored files with summaries of their content plus keywords so they're easily findable if my spotty memory loses the exact name.  And which drive!  I think I have accounts with five or six cloud services,  but the central hub and reference point is Evernote.

Thank you, gazumped, for the bookmarking tip.  I have yet to put my checkbook (Moneydance) and genealogy (Heredis) files in Evernote because I wanted a way to back them up to cloud drives, independent of Evernote.   More than once, I've found myself wondering where the devil I've stored them and, since I'm the kind of guy who often has multiple copies of files, it can become difficult to find the "real McCoy."   Your tip should solve that problem.