Functionality of Date Created could be a lot better

[Sandy Lemoine 2]

First of all, I know how to change the Date Created via Note Info. Second, I've tested the feature on MAC Desktop client, WebClient, and iOS. They behave slightly different, however all lack smooth functionality.  I also know you can use the shortcut key and add a date into the body of a note via Shift CMD D, but that doesn't sort very well. 

My case -> in my genealogy research I want to store family documents and pictures and edit the Create Date to match that of the document date, such as a Census Date, Death Date, Picture, etc. 

The problem -> using Note Info you can indeed change the Date Created and if the year is relatively recent, then it's not a big deal to edit. However, if the document  is 100 years old then it's very difficult to scroll through 100 years of the calendar by month to select the right date. To change the Date Created 100 years, using the left arrow click 100 yrs X 12 month/yr is 1200 clicks. Yes, you can select the year and it pulls up a short year list, but only goes back or forward about 10 years - still a tedious effort to go back 100 or so years.

Solution - (1) let the user simply manually edit the month/date/year or (2) make the date fields (month day and year) fully functionable scrollable lists so the user can scroll up / down quickly and select the appropriate date desired.

This would be much appreciated in my work! 

[gazumped 11,663]

Hi.  While the created and updated dates are user-editable,  some of the fundamental elements of any notation system are knowing when a physical note was created - even if that note relates to something which occurred 100 years earlier - and recording all the subsequent dates on which it was edited.  The Note History function - which can restore a 3-week old version of the note if it has been changed since then - rather depends on part of that.  If that function is hijacked for purposes for which it was not originally intended,  I'm concerned some hilarity may ensue down the line...

I sympathise with the need - I've got ancestor records going back (so far) into the 1700's which are titled (for example) "1784-1810 Yates, ****"  I'm using birth and death years to help both sort and uniquely identify each person.  The full content of an ISO date is YYYY-MM-DD,  (which I shorten elsewhere to YYYYMMDD)  and that will sort correctly in searches if used as the title of a note.

I use a text expander (Phrase Express) to insert the current version - 20220126 1459 including the time - where necessary from a key combination,  and PE can also assist if processing a lot of notes of a particular year.

I'd recommend the option of dates in titles over changing the date process - which would make the dating of notes less authoritative.

[Sandy Lemoine 2]

gazumped: After years in the SQL world, experience tells me that embedded dates of any type don't sort as cleanly as I would wish. But you raise goods points, and eloquently so. Another solution would be a user-defined field, however I doubt that Evernote would push it out. My OP was just to tweak a feature already allowed by Evernote, but clean it up a bit to make it more user-friendly. Nonetheless, I'll play with embedded title dates and see how it goes. Thanks for the input  

[Mr. GROWF 25]

I echo @Sandy Lemoine observations about date entry/editing.  The interface is HORRIBLE when you need to select a date outside the current month. Super ugly when the date is over 8 years old.

Similar to Sandy, I am collecting, scanning, and categorizing very old documents. I simply can not do it with the current Create Date entry mechanism.

Sandy -  I highly recommend reverting to EN Legacy where you can simply Shift+Command+i (at least on a Mac) to open the Note Details and BOTH the Create Date and Updated Date can be entered as plain text. For example enter "10/25/1908" will automatically resolve to "October 25, 1908 at 9:00 AM".

You can switch seamlessly between current version and Legacy sharing a common database of notes.

Until the current version of EN allows for equally efficient date entry I will remain solely on Legacy.

[PinkElephant 8,098]

Seems not horrible enough for most users - at least this discussion is pretty balanced between the HORRIBLE fraction, and those who have no problem to handle things through the interface. Since they changed the date picker on mobile it works good for me on all devices.

[Mr. GROWF 25]

Be careful not to read too much into the lack of response for the bulk of users. The 80/20 rule would suggest 80%  are using only 20% of the feature and via versa. 

Additionally, they likely think “it is what it is” even though they experience much much better date input everywhere else.

Let’s be honest - most web and software interfaces allow BOTH manual text entry (preferred) AND mouse drive interface. That is what EN should do - don’t eliminate the mouse interface rather add plain text entry.

Basic human interface design stressed minimizing moving hands off the keyboard to use a mouse (or other device) for mandatory input. So an interface that allows TAB navigation and text input is more productive, consistent, and pleasing.

[PinkElephant 8,098]

The change of a system generated date field is not "mandatory", it is pure luxury. If your personal workflow demands for it, do it. I doubt that even 20% of all users are modifying this creation date - I think it is probably more in the 5% or below range.

Those who do change it are a pretty loud group, since they are convinced it would be absolutely essential to play with that date. For the quiet rest it is just a time stamp created when the note actually was entered into the account - nothing to rebuild a fake time stamp that should emulate the date of an attached document, for example.

If you want to put emphasis on your personal pet project, send feedback to EN, or issue a support ticket. I won't ...