Multi level notes.

[Metatrix 3]

What is Evernote ?

Is it just a pen and a paper, for you to take notes and scrap them and throw them into the trash ?

Is it an old desk with two drawers and a few folders ?

Or is it a productivity enhancer that helps you process your thoughts, tasks and ideas into the world through well organised note taking in the year 2021 ?

I think it is obviously more like the latter, and as such, resembles an ergonomic cutting edge desk with multiple drawers and sheets and canvas and colors, for you to be well organised.

It is fabulous, I love it.

But since the first minutes that I've spent on this application (which actually changed my life for the better, thank you Evernote) I have asked myself one question, and now it is time to ask this question to the Evernote team : 

Why are we limited to only 2 levels of organisation ?

Stacks and notebooks ? That's it ?

I mean, I would understand if it was a physical desk; you can't put drawers inside drawers inside drawers inside drawers for optimal categorisation and organisation on a physical desk. But Evernote is virtual and this limitation is non existant, so why limit ourselves like that ? Is it a well thought decision ? Is it just that someone out there at some point just thought that two would be enough ? Is it a choice to stay simple for some reason ?

Well, I would ask that this subject be duly considered, again.

Do you know how many branches and levels of organisation my neural network has ? The answer is A LOT MORE than two !

If the tool does not match the nature of the user, then a better tool must be made.

As an application to organise my thoughts and projects and tasks, evernote has become a representation of my mind, and it facilitates organising my whole mind.

Evernote is litterally an interface for the mind, and it is inherently built to be that. And I love it.

But multi level organisation of notes is so important a feature that I thought about it years ago, when I first tried evernote, but no other options were there that could replace it.

But today, if the application "Notion" hadn't failed to import my notes from evernotes, I wouldn't be a user of Evernotes anymore.

The ONLY reason for this : Notion has infinite layers of notes.

Its is the ONLY reason, but it is very important, because as a platform that has become a way to represent our minds, and as a platform that aims to help in organision of informations, it needs to adress the complxity of our minds, of our inner world, of our infinite chambers of inspirations and creations.

I know I am only one user so I am not trying to get leverage or anything, but I'm just stating the reality, and I'm also wondering if I'm the only one, but...

Whichever comes first is gonna get my money in the future (Although Notion is free)

• Either Evernotes comes up with a much deeper multi layered notes categorisation
• Or Notion acheives a working import fonction to transfer my years of note taking from evernote to their awesome and free app.

I'm just saying.

Other wise... what's up ? Is it even considered ?

[PinkElephant 9,003]

Are you so old fashioned that you are only able to think of folder trees and linear hierarchy as a "modern" way of organizing things ?

You have the excellent tag* feature of EN at your fingertips, but instead of exploring and employing it, you cry for the computer file structure of the 70ies and 80ies ? Last century 70ies/80ies, just to make sure you get the message.

Pretty weird, if you think about it.

(*) Tags can be layered as deep as you want. One piece of information can be tagged (= sorted into) multiple different categories, even unrelated ones. Tags can be applied and removed without moving the underlying information (note). Notebooks are better used to define shared content and access than logical order.

[DTLow 5,749]

On 8/21/2021 at 5:30 PM, Metatrix said:

Why are we limited to only 2 levels of organisation ?  ... Stacks and notebooks ? That's it ?

Evernote's primary organization tool is the Tags feature   
Tags are implemented as a parent-child hierarchy with unlimited levels

[Metatrix 3]

On 8/21/2021 at 8:40 PM, PinkElephant said:

Are you so old fashioned that you are only able to think of folder trees and linear hierarchy as a "modern" way of organizing things ?

Not so old fashioned, more like the layers of notes, note books and stacks on the left are a good visual.
A visual interface like a good old "folder trees and linear hierarchy" acts like a mind map. It optimises memory and helps looking through your things.
If you don't know about mind maps, you can google it, they are a very nice tool that many people love to use in order to organise their thoughts.

(And you don't have to say that Evernote is not a mindmap and that I can go and get a mind map app if that is what I want.)

 

On 8/21/2021 at 8:40 PM, PinkElephant said:

(*) Tags can be layered as deep as you want. One piece of information can be tagged (= sorted into) multiple different categories, even unrelated ones. Tags can be applied and removed without moving the underlying information (note). Notebooks are better used to define shared content and access than logical order.

That is a good informative and constructive comment.
Thank you for suggesting a use of tags that I might have overlooked.
I know how to use tags but that's a good intervention nontheless, unlike the unquoted part of your reply.

Although tags are ineed a very very good tool and fonction to add to Evernote I admit !

[Metatrix 3]

On 8/21/2021 at 9:37 PM, DTLow said:

Evernote's primary organization tool is the Tags feature   
Tags are implemented as a parent-child hierarchy with unlimited levels

If I missed something about how to use tags please do elighten me

Is there a way to use tags a visual parent-child hierarchy ?

What do you mean exactly by parent-child ?

[DTLow 5,749]

52 minutes ago, Metatrix said:

What do you mean exactly by parent-child ?

The Evernote database uses a Tag table to store information for Tag records
There are fields for: Tag Id
                                    Tag Name
                                    Parent Tag Id

In the screenshot from my Mac
Tag 3    is a "parent" of    Tag 4
Tag 4   is a "child" of        Tag 3

>>Is there a way to use tags a visual parent-child hierarchy ?

The screenshot shows the visual tag hierarchy
Tags 1,2,3,4 can be seen in visually

 

>>If I missed something about how to use tags please do elighten me

You mentioned being limited to Stacks and Notebooks
Notebooks and Tags are fields in the Notebook record

For organization purposes, simply assign a tag to a note
As a bonus, multiple tags can be assigned

 

[dbvirago 537]

The tag vs notebook argument has been going on since EN's inception. If you need multilevel hierarchy, you use tags. Simple as that. 

For my use with 12K notes over about 11 years, I have rarely used tags, have many notebooks and stacks, and have rarely been unable to find anything quickly. The search capability of EN is such that if you dumped everything into one notebook and used no tags at all, you could still find what you needed.

[Metatrix 3]

On 8/23/2021 at 10:25 AM, dbvirago said:

The tag vs notebook argument has been going on since EN's inception. If you need multilevel hierarchy, you use tags. Simple as that. 

For my use with 12K notes over about 11 years, I have rarely used tags, have many notebooks and stacks, and have rarely been unable to find anything quickly. The search capability of EN is such that if you dumped everything into one notebook and used no tags at all, you could still find what you needed.

Yeah, I agree. I have never had any problems finding anything in EN, and I've never used tags.

The efficiency of the search fonction is such that I have never even considered the use of tags.

I still like to see tree-categories, the visual aspect of it is nice.

I don't blame EN on what it has, it is all super good. But since they have a place on the forums to suggest things I thought I just might use it, and it was a good idea cause now I've learned from DTLow that tags can be used as a "parent-child hierarchy", which actually does adresse the issue !