Checkbox shortcut

[Rocawabe 6]

Hi,

I just updated into the new version (v 10.3.6 build 2001) and I am not able to create checkbox using tradition OPTION+ENTER

Any idea?

[ABEN 73]

I see it the same. I also miss a shortcut for checkboxes...

[Rocawabe 6]

This is a main feature for my workflow...

[Al Sargent 21]

Keyboard shortcut for entering a checkbox is now missing in Evernote version 10. Really frustrating when creating a to-do list.

[Paul A. 621]

Everyone:

The new checklist feature replaces the checkbox for most use cases. It can be created by typing square brackets followed by a space ( [] ), or with the keyboard shortcut: ⇧ ⌘ C

[Em-- 4]

My team use double checkboxes daily in our workflow. One check to indicate the line item is done and another to indicate it was tested.

Checklists do not allow double checkboxes and having to click the insert dropdown and then click checkbox (twice!) is clunky.

Please bring back a keyboard short cut for regular checkboxes or allow me to add it as a button to the text formatting toolbar.

And now that I am using it, what's even more annoying is that EN changes my double checkbox to a checkbox in a checklist and the formatting is off. 

[Rocawabe 6]

Wo... not so good news... As checkbox are much more powerfull thatn checklists

[Paul A. 621]

4 hours ago, Rocawabe said:

Wo... not so good news... As checkbox are much more powerfull thatn checklists

Out of curiosity, how do you use checkboxes? I was under the impression that most people find the checklists much more powerful than checkboxes, but I understand that there's got to be a huge variety of user workflows so that won't be true for everyone.

[Al Sargent 21]

Thank you Paul! Both of those shortcuts will work for me.

To answer your question, I use checkboxes in two ways:

1) Complex to-do lists, where I'll have something like:

[ ] Goal to accomplish

• Context for how to accomplish the goal
• More context -- perhaps a link to another note, or to a website, or contact info for someone, or specific things to do

2) Multiple checkboxes on one line, for example, that list out simple subtasks to accomplish a larger goal. For example:

[  ] Get wetsuit [ ] Setup Craigslist alert [ ] Check Nextdoor [ ] Setup Ebay alert

 

Does that answer your question?

[Rocawabe 6]

Inline checkboxes, that ALT+Enter shortcut was so fast and powerful. I also use doble inline checkboxes [ ] [ ]

And I used to create lists using those checkboxes, as I don't like default left paddings on lists

Big downside...

[Aquila0 6]

i create checkboxes all the time. it's a big downside for me to have to go to the top right all the time to create one. please bring back the shortcut

[Aagan Maskey 1]

On 11/13/2020 at 9:53 PM, Paul A. said:

Everyone:

The new checklist feature replaces the checkbox for most use cases. It can be created by typing square brackets followed by a space ( [] ), or with the keyboard shortcut: ⇧ ⌘ C

Thank you for your answer. It helped me!

[samuel.heinrich 0]

ahh what a bummer, there is definitely a need to have multiple checkboxes on one line.

I used it for studying all the time 

example:

How many times did i read this  [ x ][ x ][ x ][  ][  ]

or 

answered correctly [ x ][ x ][  ][  ][  ]

 

quick and easy way to track your progress

[Mike P 2,642]

On 8/27/2021 at 10:20 AM, samuel.heinrich said:

ahh what a bummer, there is definitely a need to have multiple checkboxes on one line.

I used it for studying all the time 

example:

How many times did i read this  [ x ][ x ][ x ][  ][  ]

or 

answered correctly [ x ][ x ][  ][  ][  ]

 

quick and easy way to track your progress

You still can. Why do you think you can't? You can either insert the checkboxes with the insert menu or using the text based format you mention. As always if you want a checkbox at the start of the line add a space or period first.

[PinkElephant 8,114]

You can have several checkboxes on a line, even with characters or words set in between them.

The brackets [ ] have a double function in EN:

A single one followed by a space, and then maybe another one will create a checkbox. Typing an „x“ in between will create a checked checkbox.

Several of them without a space or other character in between creates a new table.

Both is described, on mobile for example in settings, notes, extended options

[noteBloat 0]

On 8/28/2021 at 7:48 AM, Mike P said:

You still can. Why do you think you can't? You can either insert the checkboxes with the insert menu or using the text based format you mention. As always if you want a checkbox at the start of the line add a space or period first.

Another double checkbox user here.

I've been using the insert menu followed by double brackets. Can be tedious for someone who works primarily with keyboard shortcuts. This helped me think bout checkboxes differently.

[Tcellguy 71]

One annoying bug (feature?) of the checkbox [ ] autocomplete is that if you type it after a bullet point list it converts the bullet list into checklist. 

 

Am I missing something? I'd like a shortcut for Insert > checkbox. So far all I can figure out is typing a period before the checkbox .[ ] to prevent conversion of the bullet list into checklist. 

[eli_415 0]

[] is pretty lame compared to a real hot key. I mean, this is a note taking app.. checklists are probably top 2-3 workflows if not #1.

Please bring back a hot key for us! Otherwise, love this app. It's the note-taking app!

[PinkElephant 8,114]

There is only a finite volume of shortcuts, especially if EN tries to avoid those use by the OS and other main programs. This was probably when they came up with the 2 square brackets. It further allows to enter a completed checklist [x] .

To contact EN PM, use the feedback function in one of the clients.

[Boot17 1,450]

On 5/21/2022 at 12:56 PM, eli_415 said:

[] is pretty lame compared to a real hot key.

So by hot key - you mean like 'Cmd-Shift-C' on Mac or 'Ctrl-Shift'C' on Windows? I use both those and [] and find [] pretty great - it's a common markdown syntax used here as a shortcut.

[Tcellguy 71]

The problem is you can't use [ ] in a list of bullets else it converts the entire list into strike out checklists. 

[ges73dz 1]

On 11/13/2020 at 6:15 PM, Em-- said:

My team use double checkboxes daily in our workflow. One check to indicate the line item is done and another to indicate it was tested.

Checklists do not allow double checkboxes and having to click the insert dropdown and then click checkbox (twice!) is clunky.

Please bring back a keyboard short cut for regular checkboxes or allow me to add it as a button to the text formatting toolbar.

And now that I am using it, what's even more annoying is that EN changes my double checkbox to a checkbox in a checklist and the formatting is off. 

 

Do we still have the sorry state where this is the best we can do for multiple checkboxes in one row inside a checklist? It hurts me to see something that used to be beautiful turned into something that is both ugly and cumbersome to achieve or shall we say the worst of both worlds? A lose-lose situation?

Please somebody tell me that I am doing something wrong and that this issue has been addressed. 

[PinkElephant 8,114]

We still have the sorry state that an item very useful for most users was added, called checklists. Easy to handle, whole lines can be moved without a need to select them first, nice strikeout feature for those who like it, can be disabled for those who don’t.

This is enough to be a happy camper. The joy is reduced by some users who believe the world is not turning with them, it should be turning around them. 

I doubt checklists will be removed. If you believe it should, contact support.

[Mike P 2,642]

On 4/30/2023 at 12:05 PM, ges73dz said:

Do we still have the sorry state where this is the best we can do for multiple checkboxes in one row inside a checklist?

Did you not read my post?

 

[ges73dz 1]

5 hours ago, Mike P said:

Did you not read my post?

 

Yes I did .

 

Did you read my post? I was specifically asking about multiple checkboxes in a row inside a checklist.

 

I know that there are other - rather cumbersome ways - to get two checkboxes in a row with proper formatting by pressing the space bar TWICE and then pressing [].

Still it is not  possible in a checklist from what I can see which is why I asked. 

 

The new checklist feature also makes it very difficult to work with a self created everyday checklist when writing through several lines of checking boxes as Evernote now has a tendency to revert to the new format when one completes a line and presses enter - very difficult to get the second line looking as it should:

1st try with only typing [] in the decond line:

next try with space and []:

and last same as in the line above with pressing space twice followed by []:

No joy either.

 

So what is one to do in the second row?

Copy the checkboxes from the first row and paste in the row below, delete one if you only need one. Very cumbersome but it works and imo is acceptable for checklists that get used a lot and not only once but too much for just writing a quick checklist:

This is why I was asking if maybe I was doing something wrong (except for using the new and not the old Evernote).

Should it really be that more difficult than before to have a properly aligned checklist structure like this one without jumping through hoops?

 

Instead I am currently getting this:

 

Looks rather bad if you ask me and before writing to support I thought it may be a good idea to ask here in case I may have been missing something regarding the alignment.

[PinkElephant 8,114]

The checkBOXis no list element any more.

Checklists need to use the checkLIST formatting. A checkBOX is an independent element, that's why it is located in the + -menu. It is active, in the meaning that you can toggle its appearance between checked and unchecked.

You can create lists with checkboxes, and they will convert into a checklist automatically at any moment. Or you try the different hacks shared in the forum to prevent this, which may work, but makes for additional typing and sometimes weird formatting.

The formatting options are trimmed for lean and efficient note taking. This means they are reduced and simple ti use, not overwhelming and complex. For a note app it does what the vast majority of users need - and that's not accumulating checkboxes in a row. 

If you think this personal formatting wish should be implemented, you can contact support. I think chances are more than dim EN will implement it, so better find an alternative that works for you. If you want to layout pages, us a word processor or a page layout program.

[ges73dz 1]

On 5/2/2023 at 2:59 PM, PinkElephant said:

The checkBOXis no list element any more.

Checklists need to use the checkLIST formatting. A checkBOX is an independent element, that's why it is located in the + -menu. It is active, in the meaning that you can toggle its appearance between checked and unchecked.

You can create lists with checkboxes, and they will convert into a checklist automatically at any moment. Or you try the different hacks shared in the forum to prevent this, which may work, but makes for additional typing and sometimes weird formatting.

The formatting options are trimmed for lean and efficient note taking. This means they are reduced and simple ti use, not overwhelming and complex. For a note app it does what the vast majority of users need - and that's not accumulating checkboxes in a row. 

If you think this personal formatting wish should be implemented, you can contact support. I think chances are more than dim EN will implement it, so better find an alternative that works for you. If you want to layout pages, us a word processor or a page layout program.

Obviously you make a much better distinction of checkLISTS and checkBOXES than Evernote that likes to convert one into the other. This is Evernote thinking that it knows better than the user and also that the user does not care about formatting. I find these beliefs rather strange but it is what it is.

As for a fixed layouts it is OK to do that for a fixed form, it is just not very convenient to fight the automatic layour choices in a one/off checklist.

Still I am surprised that your posts sound a little bit as if I should be ashamed for my wish to retain functionality that has been part of Evernote before the big redesign, it is not like I am asking for something that Evernote hasn't done before.

So I will indeed contact Evernote support and we will see what happens.

[PinkElephant 8,114]

A row of boxes is treated as a list. Simple as that. As I see it, there is no way (code wise) to treat boxes as they were treated before, especially to add another when a new line is inserted from an existing one. Everything in the blue + menu is single items, that are inserted through a menu action.

Treating a list as a list is probably the only way to handle it. And this means when a list is carried over from the older version, that had no lists, it is converted to one.

That's the plain facts. If you don't like it, tell support.

Hint: This issue came up very early after the initial release of v10. I think there were a lot of support tickets created. You see the result 2.5 years later. Naturally most conversions have long run their course, the way it works is known now, so the discussion has calmed down a lot. From looking at this history of the topic, I wouldn't expect any further changes. But of course, if it's important for you, this doesn't mean you can't try again.

[Mike P 2,642]

21 minutes ago, PinkElephant said:

Hint: This issue came up very early after the initial release of v10. I think there were a lot of support tickets created.

Slightly off topic but perhaps worth mentioning that originally there was no option to turn off the strikethrough for completed items. When the option was introduced, many people decided they could live with checklists.