Can Evernote support code syntax highlighting

[OasisLee 1]

When I type codes in Evernote, it's such a mess that I can barely recognize them. Is it possible to make the code block feature more flexible, adding syntax highlighting like this forum did? 

The code block right now is worse than plain text, as plain text can be colored, the code in Evernote's code block can't.

 

[TheBenson 6]

Why is there a Codeblock feature, when it's just monospace with a border? At least some super basic Highlighting would help to make it useful.

Years ago I could at least paste Code from my IDE to Evernote and it would just keep the colors. Really miss this Feature. 
(Probably crowded their Database with styling syntax bloat...  attached is an image of an old Note, where I could just past all with the colors. Great!)

[Paul A. 619]

21 hours ago, PinkElephant said:

You are asking a general note taking app to be converted into a coders tool - I hope for the sake of the huge majority of users who do anything but coding with the app EN will never follow down this trail. 

Use a proper editor for coders, that will do it all, attach the files into notes. I use COTEditor on the Mac for this end.

Evernote does have a "code block" feature, so syntax highlighting doesn't strike me as an outlandish request. There are several open-source javascript libraries that Evernote could leverage to do the heavy lifting. They would just need to test and integrate one of them.

[Chris Ma 0]

I really feel sorry for Evernote. From the very popular software at the beginning, it has become a project that is no longer maintained; maybe the businessmen have made enough money, they don't care about the user's feelings at all!

[Mike P 2,641]

1 hour ago, TheBenson said:

Years ago I could at least paste Code from my IDE to Evernote and it would just keep the colors. Really miss this Feature.

I also miss this and I think it is reasonable to ask for it back. Some people want more - language specific colours etc - which, personally, I think goes beyond a "general purpose" tool.

You are right that the code box is a monospace box with a border. It also doesn't spell check which means you don't get code with lots of red underlines. You can of course create your own code block as a grey, single cell table and use the monospace font. You will have to live with red squiggly lines and do your own colouring but it might be helpful.

 

 

[PinkElephant 8,103]

To place a request with EN staff, you can use the feedback function or issue a support ticket. Explain your use case - in the end EN tries to serve existing customers better, and win new ones.

Personally I think allowing color font in a code block should be possible with a relatively small change - manually applied there or carried over from a tool specialised on analysing and tagging code.

Opposite to displaying colours the requests for an active colouring, maybe even code specific IMHO make no sense for a general note app.

[thicks 2]

On 11/1/2021 at 4:35 PM, PinkElephant said:

You are asking a general note taking app to be converted into a coders tool - I hope for the sake of the huge majority of users who do anything but coding with the app EN will never follow down this trail. 

Use a proper editor for coders, that will do it all, attach the files into notes. I use COTEditor on the Mac for this end.

Um no. We are asking for a note taking app to be able to inject code samples. Very reasonable. Can the elephant please leave the room?

[Syd Early 3]

On 9/26/2023 at 9:14 AM, PinkElephant said:

This looks like another post to me that started with „Hey, ChatGPT, make a numbered list of 16 professions that is using code beside coders themselves“.

And here we go …

So... It is relevant wherever the source is. Literally, every other notetaking app does this. It would be much easier if you read a lot of code to have this feature. 

 

// JavaScript
// the hello world program
console.log('Hello World');

// See how their forums have it but their application does not? 

 

[PinkElephant 8,103]

You are asking a general note taking app to be converted into a coders tool - I hope for the sake of the huge majority of users who do anything but coding with the app EN will never follow down this trail. 

Use a proper editor for coders, that will do it all, attach the files into notes. I use COTEditor on the Mac for this end.

[PinkElephant 8,103]

I totally agree that this would be possible - technically.

If they really want to do it, is entirely another thing. It creates yet another dependency on an external resource, and of their devs to keep it in sync with newer code syntax. Looking at the app in general, I doubt they will move into that direction.

But of course, anybody can request whatever would support his use case. Looking at some long standing requests I just think nobody should expect „it“ to happen anytime soon, or even anytime …

[komlaetou 1]

I have been using Evernote for 9 years, year by year paying for it and it is mind-boggling that such a mature tool could not implement simple code syntax highlighting.

As a content creator for software development and technology, taking note with integrated code snippet is part of my workflow and one thing that is pushing me to start testing open source alternative such as Noteshook https://notesnook.com/ is the absence of code syntax highlighting in Evernote.
Noteshook even supports evernote file migration and I am really sure a year from now I will ditch Evernote for this.

I hope anybody at evernote reading this will take this feedback seriously.

Regards. 

 

 

 

[agsteele 2,946]

I would imagine that the answer to your request is likely to be that Evernote is not intended to be a fully fledged code editor offering the coloured coding.

If that is a key feature for you then you are right to explore an application that will do what you need.

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,956]

Welcome to the forums, @komlaetou. It's mostly user-to-user here. A better way to contact Evernote staff directly is through support (https://help.evernote.com/hc/en-us/requests/new). But it's true that EN is really a generalist app, meant (as I see it) to offer basic functions to a broad range of users, but lacking some specific functions needed for specialized uses. Code highlighting has been requested before, I believe, and you could check the feature request forums and vote for it there. Other features, such as collapsible lists, have been equally hotly requested by people who need them for their particular purposes, but that too in vain, so far.

[Jon/t 1,289]

I tend to use the code block to store snippets of code and it works OK for me.

I've not really found the need for syntax highlighting myself, not for snippets. Probably because I'm old and started programming on green screen monitors 😂

10 PRINT "JON"
20 GOTO 10
RUN

If I do any programming now its usually Javascript and I write code in Visual Code and store snippets in Evernote.

[Boot17 1,449]

17 hours ago, komlaetou said:

As a content creator for software development and technology, taking note with integrated code snippet is part of my workflow and one thing that is pushing me to start testing open source alternative such as Noteshook

I'd love to have syntax highlighting in Evernote too and if that was an absolute-show-stopper-feature-I-must-have, then I'd look elsewhere also (but it's not a show-stopper for me). UpNote is a better alternative IMO than Notesook -- so maybe check that out if you haven't heard of it already.

That being said, there are so many features of Evernote that I love over other tools that it's not worth it to switch to something else because of this missing feature.

 

 

[TheBenson 6]

Yes. It's not about coding in Evernote. It's all about storing a snippet of whatever in a usable way!
The current state of the Implementation forces Developers away.

Evernote let's it early adopters, the tech people, down. This is why there is so much grievance nowadays...
I want to like the green Elephant, but decisions like this make it hard. The loved lost Features hurt so much. No matter what they add.

[PinkElephant 8,103]

11 hours ago, TheBenson said:

… This is why there is so much grievance nowadays...
I want to like the green Elephant, but decisions like this make it hard. The loved lost Features hurt so much…

OK, you are tech savvy, love EN so much, etc. etc. Hard to believe, at least for me, because you then twist the facts:

Legacy didn’t have the syntax highlighting feature this thread is about neither. There is NO LOST FEATURE.

As I see it there is only a small (3 upvotes so far) but outspoken group of users asking for an ADDITIONAL feature.

To set this straight: You can ask for anything, here, in feedback and in support tickets. But don’t tell ***** to make it sound more convincing.

[k00tsuka 2]

I've used Evernote for many years as paid user. I really like Evernote.

Simply said, the lack of this basic feature "code highlighting" is enough to tempt me to switch to other apps.

Evernote team should prioritize this basic functionality before adding more boring task management features. I hope this message is conveyed to them.

[Boot17 1,449]

I'd like to see syntax highlighting, but I'm sure the majority of paying subscription Evernote users would prefer the task management (can be used by anybody) over the syntax highlighting (only used by coders) -- so I think you are in the minority with that opinion.

[agsteele 2,946]

4 hours ago, k00tsuka said:

Simply said, the lack of this basic feature "code highlighting" is enough to tempt me to switch to other apps.

If this is important to you then you should explore the options elsewhere. This function/feature is unlikely to arrive at anytime on the near future.

[Mike P 2,641]

A work around is to use an online code highligter (e.g. https://pinetools.com/syntax-highlighter), select the highligted code and then use the EN webclipper "Selection" option.

This obviously doesn't allow you to edit the code, unless you "simplify" in which case you loose the code highlighting anyway. However, I think most people want to record code snippets etc in EN rather than live code - there are much better tools for that, than a general purpose note taking app.

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,956]

On 4/4/2023 at 10:43 PM, k00tsuka said:

I've used Evernote for many years as paid user. I really like Evernote.

Simply said, the lack of this basic feature "code highlighting" is enough to tempt me to switch to other apps.

Evernote team should prioritize this basic functionality before adding more boring task management features. I hope this message is conveyed to them.

I will simply agree with the others who've responded. Evernote should absolutely not prioritize this specialized feature to benefit a limited percentage of users, over other features (whether tasks, formatting, or above all better syncing) that affect the vast majority of users. Evernote's versatility allows it to be used for a great variety of specific purposes, but when a particular segment of users thinks that their usage is the most common or obvious one, then distorted perceptions of needed features can arise. I compare this to users who, over the years, have suggested that Evernote should improve features that would help people who want to write entire books on it. I have books I want to write, but Evernote is not meant to be the tool for that job, nor should it be. "Jack of all trades and master of none"--that is Evernote's proper and glorious "niche."

[Straddle 11]

I also found not having code highlighting increasingly becoming a deal breaker. I have used Evernote almost daily since 2010 but I recently began exploring alternatives. Having tried Notion, I have been blown away by its ability to structure all sorts of data ina useful way. It leaves Evernote in the dust. I have already begiun the process of moving years of Notes over to Notion. (Plus it has brilliant code highlighting.)

[agsteele 2,946]

That sounds like a good option for your needs. Enjoy!

[Boot17 1,449]

On 4/13/2023 at 4:32 AM, Straddle said:

[Notion] leaves Evernote in the dust

-- for certain use cases... certainly. But for me personally, Notion is hardly useable. I would love to have syntax highlighting in Evernote, but there are other trade-offs with other software tools and Evernote checks off more boxes on my list than all the others.

[Alrik 0]

To be honest, I'm also one of those users who thinks syntax highlighting is extremely important. If I hadn't paid for my personal account now, I would have already moved on to another provider. I've used Evernote since it first came out and I'm actually an avid user, but I take these little things for granted, including syntax highlighting in this day and age. 
Since this has not been integrated after all these YEARS, I am already looking around for suitable candidates. Currently I use Obsidian, Notion, Notesnook (which is also compatible with Evernote notes). The way I see it is this. If you can't even integrate today's standards, just because they say it should be used for notes, and neglect something so "simple", don't be surprised if some users leave, even though it would be very easy to prevent that. 
Sorry boys and girls, but that's my opinion. 

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,956]

Welcome to the forums. Just to be clear, it's user-to-user here. No need to apologize. My opinion is that this is a very significant feature for people who write code, and a meaningless waste for people who don't. Code writers are important, and more numerous than they used to be, but I think that even by "today's standards" they are a relatively limited segment of the user population. What's important is to find what works best for one's own purposes, and I wish you luck in that.

[PinkElephant 8,103]

To some of the code highlighting promoters in this thread: „Todays standards“ usually means „what I (capital „I“) would like to get“. Very self centric view, to say the least.

But you don’t need to convince us (other users, and most of us seem to do well without code highlighting). You need to convince EN product management.

The argument „And if you don’t do what I (capital „I“ again) want, I will move to XYZ“ did not stick in the past. So maybe you find something more convincing. „It will likely bring x % of GitHub contributors into the ranks of EN subscribers, generating XX mio of fresh income“ would probably be a better argument. But then you likely need to explain how this target group of devs are surviving and working today, and why they would make the move out of their current misery. Build a positive business case, instead of mumbling „all the others do it better“.

Personally I use COTeditor, that does all highlighting I need in this life, and attach the files to my notes. Or I copy & paste snippets into code blocks for quick use, which is quite ok without any highlighting.

I understand why somebody personally wants such a feature. Everything is ok to come here asking and promoting it. Just the way of promoting it by threatening to move to other apps is - not very convincing (I wanted to post something else, but it would probably be a code of conduct thing).

[BrenF 0]

I cannot really understand the logic in this thread. Users such as myself are not looking for IDE level syntax highlighting -- just the ability to add simple formatting (bold, italics, highlighting etc) to characters that reside within a code block.  This support still exists in Legacy, but not in v10 - and is the sole reason I (i) still use Legacy to this day and (ii) don't purchase a v10 subscription. 

[PinkElephant 8,103]

BS has told they are working on a next level code feature. It seems they see a use case that will draw attention. I wouldn’t be surprised when we find it nicely wrapped into the subscription levels.

It will btw be one of the first features developed by the new dev team. So it will be an interesting extension of the current app not only for it’s added functionality.

[Boot17 1,449]

1 hour ago, BrenF said:

I cannot really understand the logic in this thread. Users such as myself are not looking for IDE level syntax highlighting -- just the ability to add simple formatting (bold, italics, highlighting etc) to characters that reside within a code block

This is interesting and I would think that your use case is rather unique (from a generic standpoint, not from a uses-legacy-Evernote standpoint). Auto syntax highlighting is a de-facto standard for code blocks.

Would it not be very easy for your use case to just use a single light-gray celled table with monospaced font?

[. . . 4]

On 12/6/2022 at 4:08 PM, PinkElephant said:

OK, you are tech savvy, love EN so much, etc. etc. Hard to believe, at least for me, because you then twist the facts:

Legacy didn’t have the syntax highlighting feature this thread is about neither. There is NO LOST FEATURE.

As I see it there is only a small (3 upvotes so far) but outspoken group of users asking for an ADDITIONAL feature.

To set this straight: You can ask for anything, here, in feedback and in support tickets. But don’t tell ***** to make it sound more convincing.

The feature is indeed missing. I can no longer paste formatted text into Evernote. It strips the formatting. If I use the legacy app, it does still work, but that app constantly nags for updates and is no longer maintained. There even used to be a browser plugin that replaced this functionality but since Evernote switched to the electron framework, this kind of enhancement is no longer possible. If someone was actually able to make a successful browser plugin just for this one missing feature, it's probably not something Evernote should ignore.

Coding skills are not limited to the tech industry. They are becoming increasingly valuable across various fields. Here are some professions outside the tech industry that use computer coding:

1. Digital Marketing: Digital marketers use coding for tasks such as web analytics, creating custom landing pages, and automating email marketing campaigns.

2. Finance and Accounting: Professionals in finance and accounting often use coding for financial modeling, data analysis, and automating repetitive tasks like report generation.

3. Biomedical Research: Researchers in the biomedical field may use coding for data analysis, image processing, and simulations in areas like genomics and medical imaging.

4. Astronomy and Astrophysics: Astronomers and astrophysicists use coding for data analysis, simulations of celestial phenomena, and image processing of astronomical data.

5. Environmental Science: Environmental scientists use coding for modeling and analyzing environmental data, climate modeling, and predicting ecological trends.

6. Market Research: Market researchers use coding to analyze large datasets, conduct sentiment analysis, and automate data collection from various sources.

7. Manufacturing and Engineering: Engineers in manufacturing and industrial settings use coding for process automation, quality control, and optimizing production systems.

8. Logistics and Supply Chain Management: Professionals in logistics and supply chain management use coding to optimize routes, inventory management, and demand forecasting.

9. Music Production: Musicians and audio engineers use coding to create custom audio effects, plugins, and software for music production.

10. Social Sciences: Researchers in fields like sociology, psychology, and political science use coding for data analysis, running experiments, and statistical modeling.

11. Education: Educators may use coding to develop educational software, interactive simulations, and tools for data-driven teaching and learning.

12. Art and Design: Artists and designers use coding for generative art, interactive installations, and creating custom design tools.

13. Law: Lawyers and legal professionals may use coding for document automation, legal research, and data analysis in areas like e-discovery.

14. Healthcare: Healthcare professionals use coding for electronic health records (EHR) management, medical image processing, and healthcare analytics.

15. Architecture: Architects use coding for parametric design, generating complex structures, and optimizing building performance.

16. Urban Planning: Urban planners use coding for simulating urban growth, traffic modeling, and analyzing spatial data.

Coding skills can enhance efficiency, data analysis capabilities, and problem-solving in numerous professions, making them increasingly valuable across various industries.

...So while it may be true that Evernote is not planning to add them, or that you think they shouldn't, there is a much stronger business case for them adding it than what has been stated so far in this thread. Even MS Teams has code highlighting. Do you think that MS would put money, time, and effort into that if there wasn't a good business case? Not only have they maintained it but they have enhanced it from when the product first launched.

It feels to me that Evernote is just making bad business decisions at this point.

[PinkElephant 8,103]

This looks like another post to me that started with „Hey, ChatGPT, make a numbered list of 16 professions that is using code beside coders themselves“.

And here we go …

[PinkElephant 8,103]

Literally I know Note taking apps that doesn’t.

BS has unofficially told they are working on it …

[Syd Early 3]

Just now, PinkElephant said:

Literally I know Note taking apps that doesn’t.

BS has unofficially told they are working on it …

Okay sorry, maybe I should say that the apps I would even consider using on a daily basis. 

Also in case you missed it 
 

<html>
  <head></head>
  <body>
    what is this code highlighting on the forumns and not the actual app?
    <!-- Quick defend the $15 a month app! -->
  </body>
</html>

 

[PinkElephant 8,103]

The forum is operated by a provider - no code they could copy & paste, I assume.

But hard to tell, since it is not PINK, BLUE and GREEN.

[TheBenson 6]

I guess we need to use more 😃 in this forum to keep the discussion polite!
If you are working on it, we are with you! Great! 😄

[. . . 4]

On 9/26/2023 at 10:14 AM, PinkElephant said:

This looks like another post to me that started with „Hey, ChatGPT, make a numbered list of 16 professions that is using code beside coders themselves“.

And here we go …

The case was so obvious\easy to make, GPT had no trouble making it. Funny. Automation! FTW

Incidentally, GPT4 wrote, implemented, and tested code to do this for me with the prompt "write an algorithm for automatically detecting the code type and then highlighting computer code appropriately. you are supposed to know how to write and execute python code. please implement this as best you can" (attached for funzies. it's super basic, but works.)

After having looked into how difficult (maybe 200h worst case) it would be to add code highlighting to EN, the only compelling reason I can imagine EN having for not implementing this is that they have too many fires to put out. I feel for the devs and whatever struggles they must be having.

On a more personal note, AI won't take your job. Those who know how to use it will.

😀

@Syd Early, It even has some great options: 

I didn't come here for any the above though, that was all in levity. I came here because I have a solution now!
It's a simple solution. Annoying though, screenshot and paste the text also. Works great, even though it's redundant. If EN is trying to save storage space, they'll implement it soon enough.

Have a nice day folks 😁

Highlight.py

[PinkElephant 8,103]

Nobody forces anybody who relies on code highlighting to use an app that can't and doesn't do it.

If I need code highlighting I paste it into COTEditor on my Mac, and that will do.

But if the birds from the trees are telling the truth, it will appear.

[TheBenson 6]

 🤪 there it goes again... PinkElephant is a guru smoking wisdoms from his shiny pink elephant nest in the trees...

Ok, we got it. There was a time, when this Feature existed. This time is gone. Evernote changed its target group and we have to accept it...

But the green elephant 🐘 promised in his name EVER like EVERYTHING. This promise was broken! Now it states: "Put in all and everything, from images to pdf to tasks and whatnot, but Code... nah, who needs Code?! As if we live in a world where AI is emerging and everything depends on Software... No. Our heavily valuable Business Users just want to upload cute Images and Smileys." 🤔😩

[Jon/t 1,289]

I don't think Evernote has ever had code highlighting. It is coming but I think there's higher priority updates to make first.

[komlaetou 1]

We really appreciate the work you are guys are doing to keep this app relevant. Being a user of this app the past 10+ years, if there is one feature I believe it is imperative for this app to have is the "syntax Highlight". It is even more important than the AI feature looking at the tech population that I believe uses this app. It just saddens me that the development team doesn't see it as import while every great note taking has that feature out of the box, even recently new player called Notesnook https://notesnook.com/  support Syntax Highlighting for every computer language under the sun.
I hope to see the development team reconsider its position and put a priority on this feature for its cherished users.

Cheers

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,956]

2 hours ago, komlaetou said:

We really appreciate the work you are guys are doing to keep this app relevant. Being a user of this app the past 10+ years, if there is one feature I believe it is imperative for this app to have is the "syntax Highlight". It is even more important than the AI feature looking at the tech population that I believe uses this app. It just saddens me that the development team doesn't see it as import while every great note taking has that feature out of the box, even recently new player called Notesnook https://notesnook.com/  support Syntax Highlighting for every computer language under the sun.
I hope to see the development team reconsider its position and put a priority on this feature for its cherished users.

Cheers

I've highlighted an important clause there. There are millions of Evernote users; its broad feature set enables people from all sorts of fields (including researchers, writers, coders, workers out in the field, business people, homeowners...) to create a wide variety of use cases and workflows with it. While they show up disproportionately in these forums (along with other power users), the "tech population" remains a subset of Evernote's overall user base, and evidently not the strongly dominant one. I'd kind of like to have a tug-of-war between "need syntax highlighting" and "need collapsible lists", if that were possible online, to see which of these groups (both of which claim to be the largest segment of Evernote users) really is the stronger. Pardon the levity. It's just to point out that multiple coalitions of users believe that their interests are most common/most important and should guide development.