[Feature Released in Version 10.10] Scratchpad should allow more than 300 characters

[Andrew R 7]

I was quite excited about the new scratchpad .... up until the point where I was typing away and my input was lost because you only allow 300 characters of input.  

I get that you want people to convert to note for prosperity but 30-60 words is miserly.  Please at least let me actually fill the scratch pad space up!!!

 

[Shane D. 1,818]

Hi All,

This feature has been added in our most recent update, Version 10.10.

You can learn more here:

 

I'm closing this thread at this time, but please start a new thread if you have a new/different feature request.

[PinkElephant 8,072]

Scratchpad is for what it says - a place to drop an idea.

You can always hit the 3 dots top right, convert the scratched text into a note and continue there, without a limit. Or, if it is already at the limit, hit the link at the bottom of the scratch window. The conversion works really fast, and takes you there to continue. IMHO no need for a monster scratchpad feature.

[Andrew R 7]

I get what you're saying but 50 words is not enough:  I ran out of space after a coupe of sentences and lost what I was typing.   I'm not asking for a monster scratch pad, just ones that's large enough to hold a few notes.  I think the concept is great otherwise.

[npbaron 1]

Totally agree. Just to be able to fill the widget, perhaps 600-800 characters. Or make it expandable. If could do this, I'd use it instead of Google Keep for scratchpad-style notes that are quickly superseded, can be deleted. Could also use for links to note, if formatting allowed. All sorts of fantastically useful possibilities to make the new 'Home' really functional.

[PinkElephant 8,072]

You can always convert the started short scratchtext  into a full Note, when you notice you are running out of space. This will take the scratchpad content and put it into a new note. The note is a regular one, you can write a novel into it if you want to.

IMHO the 300 character limit has no real world relevance for using the scratchpad. 

[Paul A. 609]

On 3/11/2021 at 4:20 PM, PinkElephant said:

IMHO the 300 character limit has no real world relevance for using the scratchpad. 

I completely disagree. I believe it should support more characters, but even with the current 300 character limit, the scratch pad could be far better designed to give visual feedback to the user of the limited characters allowed. From my perspective, I used the new scratchpad exactly once. It was planned to write down an idea (something very short, hence using the scratchpad), but I had a sudden burst of inspiration to further develop the idea, I got in the zone typing rather enthusiastically, and was unpleasantly surprised when I unexpectedly hit the character limit and suddenly no new characters appeared on the screen even while my fingers furiously tapped out several more words.

Yes, I was able to then convert the scratchpad into a note and continue typing, but the effect was jarring and disruptive enough to my train of thought that I haven't used the scratchpad since. That's a shame and a missed opportunity for Evernote. The whole purpose of the scratchpad is to reduce the friction in quickly jotting something down, and the scratchpad failed the one time I relied upon it. If it had warned me as I typed that I was nearing the limit and that I should convert to a note, it would have helped me not lose my train of thought.

Look at how Twitter handles character limits, for example. A blue circle grows as more characters are entered, giving the user a visual indication of how much space they have consumed and how much is left (look in the bottom-right, to the left of the "Tweet" and "+" signs):

 

Secondly, even when exceeding the character limit, Twitter lets you keep typing and shows visually how many characters you are over the limit. This is super helpful to finish developing a thought before splitting a post into two tweets, or to finish a thought and then allow time to go back and make the tweet more concise in order to fit under the cap:

 

Something similar to the above (ideally with a more generous character limit as well!) would go a long way towards making the scratchpad friendlier to use for those of us who get carried away when writing.

[PinkElephant 8,072]

Twitter is maybe not a good example, because there the character limit was build into the service right from the start. KISS was the distinction mark of Twitter from its founding days.

For me the scratchpad is an offer - if one does not like it, the widget can be disabled.

Probably EN is going to revise the Home Screen feature one day. Maybe they read into this thread and make a scratch pad overhaul. I don't see a practical reason not to set the character limit further up - on the other hand if I want to write more, I can simply open a new note. I see scratchpad as a place to quickly jot down a few words.