PDF Annotation Editor No Longer Allows rotating or deleting pages

[BeardZone 2]

Hi Evernote support,

When I try to edit a scanned in pdf (via ScanSnap ix500 that I've had for a while now) in annotation editor, Evernote does not let me delete pages (right clicking on the small note in the sidebar no longer shows a menu with a page delete feature) and when I click the 3 dots in the top left of the editor all of the rotate options are greyed out.  How do I fix this?  Cleaning up pdf scans is a core part of my Evernote workflow, which I use primarily as my main digital filing cabinet.

Thanks for the help!

[plktexas 2]

I have the same question.   Evernote - - this is a BIG problem.   The scanning process often includes "bleed through" pages that we can no longer clean up. 

[GlennK 3]

Lots of changes to Evernote on how things work... 

ScanSnap scanner does NOT always scan in the correct direction.  Need to have an option to Rotate the PDF page...  The option is there, is it only grayed out on the MAC? 

 

PLEASE HELP!

[rockys 2]

Agreed. I have come to rely on this feature. Can we bring it back?

[ampm99 3]

Update greyed Rotate on Mac.  What is the fix?

Edited January 22, 2021 by ampm99
added scrnshot

[camarsden1 1]

Also have the same problem since upgrade. Why is this option now greyed out? Why can't I delete pages within annotation editor? Really annoying not to be able to delete or view scanned images/pages the correct way round.

Over a month since first post can someone please help?

[MichaelP 0]

Anybody got an answer to this yet? 

Very frustrating!

 

[PinkElephant 8,764]

For the time being it is download the pdf outside of EN, then use another program able to do the job (on a Mac could be Preview), save the result and get it back into EN.

Not a workflow worth to talk about, except it is currently AFAIK the only possibility to perform what used to be a simple job inside of EN, pre v10.

[cupric 1]

For years I have been using Preview to open and edit my PDFs and save the result back to Evernote. As of the latest version of Evernote, I no longer have the option to save my changes to the PDF back to Evernote, but instead have to save them locally first and then manually replace the PDF in Evernote with the edited version. This is really really disappointing. 

[denverjules 0]

FYI, the greyed out Rotate options aren't just on Mac version. My PC desktop version also has them greyed out and I'm a premium member. This is very frustrating because a lot of journal articles have tables in landscape view. There seems to be no explanation for this change/disabled capability (online search comes up short).

Haven't used annotation in a while so had no idea about changes Cupric described. That's an even more frustrating loss of functionality.

What gives Evernote?! I hope you're reading these forums and consider in future updates.

[frenchie 0]

I agree, this is such a huge problem.  Evernote was primarily sold to me as a way to go paperless, but this is only useful if I can quickly delete and rotate pages.  Please bring this feature back!!!!

[camarsden1 1]

Hi

This is the reply I received from Evernote (once I eventually found how to get hold of them!). I don't seem to be able to do what's being suggested so have replied with more questions.

I hope it may help someone else.

We need to keep pestering Evernote to fix this problem!

Good Luck.

 

Kirby D. (Evernote Help and Learning) 

Feb 1, 2021, 7:22 PST 

Hi there,

Thank you for taking the time to reach out to Evernote Customer Support. This is Kirby, and I'll be assisting you today.

I understand that you used to be able to rotate your scanned PDFs within Evernote, and to delete some pages in PDFs. I also understand that the rotate PDF option in the menu is grayed out. Let me assist you with that. I appreciate your effort for sending a screenshot.

Please be advised that currently on the new Evernote by design, rotate only works on images. As a workaround, you can open the PDF first in Preview, then rotate, then save it to Evernote.

The same with deleting pages inside PDFs, this is one of a handful of features we are still considering. Thanks for letting us know this feature is important to you. I will share this information with our product team.

Thank you for your understanding and support. If you have any other concerns, please let me know.

Best Regards,

Kirby D.
Customer Support Representative

[bartt 1]

The new Evernote has several regressions and this one is one of the worst.

[camarsden1 1]

UPDATE: THIS WORKS!!!

I've decided to download and run the older 'Legacy' version, side by side with the new Evernote. Copy and paste this link: https://help.evernote.com/hc/articles/360052560314

It's very easy and quick to do. You can rotate/delete etc within Evernote Legacy app but still use the new version. The old version is shown with a Grey logo and the new is Green.

Hope this helps 😁

As promised, the latest email from Evernote shown below.

Kirby D. (Evernote Help and Learning)  Feb 11, 2021, 9:55 PST  Hello again Chris, Thank you for getting back to us. My sincerest apologies for the inconvenience you are having. Please know that we are currently looking into this as this is not the type of experience that we want for our users. To open PDF files using Preview, you must download it first out of the Evernote app then you will be able to rotate it, then save it to Evernote, but there is no problem for annotations since there are multiple ways on how you can annotate your PDF file. I know how this will affect your productivity on Evernote, but this is one of a handful of features we are still considering since rotate only works on images. Thanks for letting us know this feature is important to you. I noticed that you'd like to use the older version of Evernote. While we encourage everyone to give the new Evernote app a try, we recognize that there are some scenarios where using an older version is necessary or desired. You can run this side by side with the new Evernote. You can download the Evernote Legacy app by following the instructions in this Help & Learning article: Install an older version of Evernote. If you run into any trouble, I'd be happy to help troubleshoot with you so you can get back to being productive with Evernote. If you have any further concerns, feel free to email us here again and we will gladly help. Best Regards, Kirby D. Customer Support Representative

[Azurite 1]

I ran into this issue today myself. I have a pile of papers that I scan with the Evernote ScanSnap (using the Fujitsu ScanSnap Home software, now that the Evernote version is discontinued), but I can't make changes in Preview before sending them to Evernote. Clicking to open a PDF in Evernote opens Preview, but again: changes do not "stick," so deleted pages come back, rotated pages un-rotate, etc (because "the original document can't be changed," which has to do with Evernote's permissions, I assume). It's super frustrating!

[PinkElephant 8,764]

For issues like this, I use the legacy app. Link see above in the support answer.

No more frustrations ...

[Shebango 1]

I'm unhappy with the apparent degradation of service with Evernote. I can no longer rotate pages or delete them. This sucks, big-time. Please re-instate thos functions please.

[DJDiva 0]

This is incredibly frustrating. Many of the scanned documents and up scanned upside down and it's insanely time consuming to try to edit, save as a copy, then find that saved copy, reimport the copy back into evernote and delete the bad one! How is that an acceptable work around? Before it was right click, rotate, save. Legacy app does the trick, but annoying I need to run 2 versions to perform a pretty basic and necessary task. 

[Raging Bull 10]

I'm am so frustrated with Evernote.  How could you possibly remove one of the best features of Evernote, and then suggest just to run the old and new app concurrently.  Why bother to bring out a "new and improved" app that has less functionality than the old app.  Are you just trying to frustrate your most loyal users.  Bring back this simple fix.  It cannot be that hard.

Pretty please with sugar on it.

[PinkElephant 8,764]

There is a simple and IMHO much better workflow on the Mac:

1. Click on the pdf, select open.
2. It opens in the Preview app - use it for all sort of editing, not only rotating or deleting pages
3. When done, hit Close Window from the Files menu. The pdf is closed and automatically saves back into the EN note, replacing the prior version.
4. Done !

I like it much better than the old workflow in legacy. It is offering so many more tools than the very basic stuff they natively build into legacy. And it is as efficient.

Just sorry for Windows users … but that is a permanent feeling when on a Mac 😉

[Shebango 1]

Thanks PinkElephant, for me this workflow for editing pdfs does not automatically replace the original version on Evernote while using the latest EN, Preview offers a copy  instead that does not overwrite the original. It does work seamlessly in the legacy version, however. So, my original complaint still stands as I continue to enjoy the legacy app until the new one is fixed. Unless I am overlooking a setting somewhere.

Thanks anyway.

[PinkElephant 8,764]

No setting, and it may be they add some functionality in the future. Legacy is an option, although I like using Preview much better.

Initially it did not save back to the original note, which broke the workflow. Now it saves when you close the window in Preview, which is as before, and works seamlessly.

If I want to keep the original pdf, I simply duplicate the note before I edit the pdf.

The only improvement I would like to get is an „Open with …“ to be able to edit any attachment with a selection of programs - not just the standard app.

[Shebango 1]

Preview works seamlessly, as you say, in Legacy but not in the new EN, for me. In the latest version of EN a document opened in Preview wants to create a copy to be saved elsewhere and does not overwrite in the EN environment. Most frustrating.

[PinkElephant 8,764]

This was initially the case. It was fixed with version 10.10, released on March 23rd 2021. You can check out the release notes here:

https://help.evernote.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500001700002

To make it work, click on the attachment and select „Open“. It takes you to Preview, where you do your edits.

AFAIK it is now important to use „Close Window“ from the File menu to make the changes save back to the attachment. After that, close the note to make it sync with the server.

[Shebango 1]

Thanks, I'll follow up on that. I will try the "close window" method. Previously when "X"ing out in Preview, the dialogue window comes up asking where to save the copy since the original can't be altered, it says.

[Shebango 1]

I am using EN 10.22.3

[PinkElephant 8,764]

Works completely seamless on my Mac. When I have both apps open side by side, I even see changes done in preview showing up in the EN attachment, nearly real time while I am editing.

When I hit close window (cmd W), the Preview window closes, and the pdf is permanently altered. No message boxes in between, just works by saving my changes.

BigSur 11.6.1, EN Mac 10.24

[Shebango 1]

Maybe it's an OS issue. I'm on Monterey 12.0.1. Legacy EN works fine but not the current version. Guess I'll stick with the old for now.

[Alec Fellman 0]

This still does not work.  I can't believe the software keeps getting worse and worse.

[PinkElephant 8,764]

The solution is posted only 2 posts above your off the point posting. Plain trolling, I doubt you even own a Mac running EN v10.

[SimonW500 1]

On 10/30/2021 at 2:08 PM, Shebango said:

Maybe it's an OS issue. I'm on Monterey 12.0.1. Legacy EN works fine but not the current version. Guess I'll stick with the old for now.

Suggest the issue you are seeing is because you are using the AppStore EN vs. the downloadable EN - AppStore offerings are sandboxed so it is more difficult to interact with files outside the bubble - whereas with the direct download version Preview works fine / as described above. 

[PinkElephant 8,764]

Correct, in another thread after this one we have established the AppStore install as the root cause for the problem when Preview will not open.

In that other thread the problem was solved immediately after the AppStore version was uninstalled and replaced by the direct install. It is worth the energy invested - the Preview integration to edit PDFs works like a charm, and provides Mac users with a MUCH better editing solution than everything EN build themselves. Rotating pages included …

[Sean Hannon 1]

Hi, I'm having the issue where the Rotate options are Grayed out when interacting with PDFs. 

When I click "Edit & Annotate" the GUI briefly shows the rotate options. But when the PDF loads they disappear. Then when I click the Menu Dots the options are grayed out. By the rest of this thread seemed like the problem was solved last year. Something I'm doing wrong or misunderstanding the tool?

Context: I have a 122 page PDF and I would like to flip certain pages to Landscape orientation (rotate 90 degrees) but not the entire document. 

10.67.2-win-ddl-public (20231122160420)
Editor: v176.32.0
Service: v1.80.1
 

[PinkElephant 8,764]

Open the pdf, don't try an edit inside of EN.

On opening the Preview app starts, and you can do whatever you want. At the end Close the open window, to return the changes into the pdf in the note, and stop editing.

If you do a lot of changes, you can as well Save in between, to make your changes stick.

[Sean Hannon 1]

This "Open" workflow is not working for me. 

With a PDF saved to desktop. If I open with Evernote, imports to Evernote and creates a new note but does not open any sort of preview during the process.

Then once in Evernote, when I select "open" was just opening in windows default PDF viewer.

I changed windows default to PDF viewer to Evernote. Now every time I click "Open" just imports a copy of the PDF to a new note without ever opening a preview. 

Am I using the wrong version of the desktop app? Did I misunderstand that only works for Mac?

10.67.2-win-ddl-public (20231122160420)
Editor: v176.32.0
Service: v1.80.1

[PinkElephant 8,764]

Mac only ... 

[Sean Hannon 1]

Blast, thanks for the help!

[PinkElephant 8,764]

Maybe because it uses the Preview app - it is build into MacOS as standard app for pdf and picture editing. Quite capable !

[VincentC 338]

I see the same behavior on my Windows Evernote client.  If I use the "edit and annotate" option on a pdf in a note, the rotation icon grays itself out after a second.

However, I was able to rotate individual pages in the pdf by using the "open" command in Evernote, saving it (it went to my download folder in Explorer by default) and then using the online Adobe pdf edit tool which allows one easily to rotate individual pages.  You could then use normal tools for returning the modified pdf to evernote.

I am a paid subscriber to Lightroom which seems to give me access to the Adobe online tool.  I don't know if it is free to others, or if there are limits, though.

Hope this is helpful.

Vinnie

 

Edit: the Adobe tool is available here:

https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/online/rotate-pdf.html

[janndk 667]

2 hours ago, VincentC said:

I see the same behavior on my Windows Evernote client.  If I use the "edit and annotate" option on a pdf in a note, the rotation icon grays itself out after a second.

 

Same here (also EN Windows): Short after opening a pdf-document the rotation icon grays itself out, and then disappears under "..." menu.

[ENnut 58]

Same here on web client.

[PinkElephant 8,764]

Actually the rotational options are greyed out on the Mac client as well.

It‘s just not necessary to use it at all, because the „Open“ command will open the pdf in the Preview app, with much better options for editing than in the build in tool. So the clients are the same, but the Mac client has a homegrown better alternative.

[janndk 667]

2 hours ago, janndk said:

Same here (also EN Windows): Short after opening a pdf-document the rotation icon grays itself out, and then disappears under "..." menu.

Hmmm... it might be because it's using the same annotation feature as for images - so options not available for pdf are shown but are disabled? Cropping and pixelate is grayed out too. 🤔

[PinkElephant 8,764]

Possibly yes - when opening a picture, there are 2 symbols to turn the view clock- and counterclockwise.

When I open a pdf, these symbols disappear , and the options get greyed out. This even happens with 1-page pdf files.

For me it's academic - I don't use the build in annotation. The tools were taken from Skitch, and beside you like a vintage (a very vintage) look & feel of your annotations (with pixelated lines and weird font), you better avoid this annotation tool at all.

[janndk 667]

"Vintage" is a very kind way to describe it 🤣

However, annotation is very handy. Ugly, but practical. I use it occasionally in pdfs, and regularly in images (i take lot of image notes = photos with some quick clarifying annotations).

[PinkElephant 8,764]

Yes, but on a Mac, it’s the same effort to open it in annotate, or to open it externally in the Preview app.

And Preview is SO much better !