Check Lists v Check Boxes

[kjm4321 13]

I'm struggling with Checklists and Check Boxes
Using the square brackets shortcut initially gives me a Checklist, repeating then gives me a Checkbox (formatted slightly below the Checklist) see image.
Using Insert Checkbox then 'Return' to create a new line appears to convert the Checkbox to a Checklist. This is hugely frustrating. I just want multiple rows of Checkboxes. Any idea how to do this easily?
TIA

 

[agsteele 2,950]

In truth, Evernote has attempted to deprecate the checkboxes in favour of checklists.  Boxes are intended (now) to be single check box in the middle of text.  If you put a BOX at the start of a line it will convert to a LIST. If not immediately then when you return to the note later.  If you put a box in the middle of some text (including inside a LIST) then it will stay as a box.

Best way forward at the start of a line is to type a character such as a . or - followed by [].

There are a number of threads with various workarounds that different folk use. This is a workflow that I decided I had to come to terms with since nothing looks likely to change in the near future.

[gazumped 11,666]

I haven't typically used 'boxes or 'lists,  so thanks for the question - you made me look into it!  The simple answer seems to be to type the text you want to be check listed or boxed and then choose which effect you want to apply.  One is under the '+' menu,  the other under '...' - the appropriate boxes will magically appear against your text.

[PinkElephant 8,114]

Who is using checkboxes for checklists is simply working against the system default.

One must not like them, but they are here to stay. Better make your peace with this way of formatting checklists, and move on to a more productive use of time and effort 

[kjm4321 13]

You are of course perfectly entitled to your opinion. Your post is however not helpful or constructive.

[PinkElephant 8,114]

9 minutes ago, kjm4321 said:

You are of course perfectly entitled to your opinion. Your post is however not helpful or constructive.

Whatever - who thinks about my post, can save a lot of fruitless effort.

And this IS helpful and constructive.

Beside this my personal assumption is that EN will not change the checklist / checkbox design even the slightest. Running against it is likely running head first into a wall.

If this was helpful and constructive you can decide for yourself.

[Boot17 1,450]

@kjm4321 - As @agsteele has mentioned, there are quite a few threads with various workarounds.

Here is one such example of a work-around that I like to make sure that your checkbox list doesn't get converted into a checklist (use an unordered bulleted list with checkboxes):

 

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,959]

On 7/4/2022 at 7:11 AM, PinkElephant said:

Who is using checkboxes for checklists is simply working against the system default.

One must not like them, but they are here to stay. Better make your peace with this way of formatting checklists, and move on to a more productive use of time and effort 

Well, an elephant never forgets, so you have the advantage of remembering the lessons you've learned from the past. Some of us (definitely including me!) are more like bulls or pigs--at least in English idiom, where we speak of a stubborn person being bull-headed or pig-headed. We refuse to learn lessons! I will keep putting that little . before a [] because I want a box not a list! I will make the wall remember me, since I refuse to remember it! 😁

[PuddinHead 2]

I totally agree, this is a very frustrating trait - to convert to a checklist upon the return key.  Just turn that off and lets us insert the next checkbox we want.  Why do you "have to" convert to a checklist?  I can do that by selecting a checklist from the start.

I keep a shopping list of all the typical items I buy at Costco and then I check the ones I want to buy this trip.  I don't want the strike-out as it makes it seem that I have already purchased that off my list, not that it is pending.  Thus I use checkboxes and check the items I want that trip, then on my phone, I uncheck the box when it is in my cart.

Just disable the "conversion" behavior, easiest code change ever.

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,959]

@PuddinHead, please be aware that these are mainly user-to-user forums, not direct feedback to Evernote. You would need to contact support to register your opinion with them. For the record, I agree that the auto-conversion is not desirable and results in a kind of formatting that not everyone wants to use. I will say that your use is kind of the inverse of the usual way of doing a checklist; but I will also say, so what, this is something where Evernote should be more flexible. (See the previous elephantine exchange about who should be flexible, EN or the users. )

[paulholl 3]

@PuddinHead, My Costco shopping list (and many other lists) work just like yours. I also have many other one-time lists that work the normal way, and checklists work fine for these.

@Boot17, On my android version, the bulleted lists with checkboxes always get converted to checklists when I add an item to the bottom of the list. However, the method works for numbered lists and seems to stick better. I notice that it also works for checklists (i.e., add a checkbox to the selected checklist, and each item in the checklist gets a checkbox in addition to the checklist box). This might be the useful for some lists, if you can remember which of the 2 boxes you want to check.

[Tengil 0]

Simple, yet brilliant, way around this frustrating detail. I hadn’t realized checkboxes behaved “normally” in the middle of text (as I never use that). Thanks @agsteele! 

[AbdielLeffler 0]

same problem

[agsteele 2,950]

2 minutes ago, AbdielLeffler said:

same problem

Same workaround..!

[paulholl 3]

I know it's been mentioned in other threads, but for a while now the checklist strikethrough "feature" has been an option that you can turn off. The default is "on", and it's still annoying that every software update resets it to "on", but I've gotten used to turning it "off" again after each update.

[eric99 980]

15 hours ago, paulholl said:

I know it's been mentioned in other threads, but for a while now the checklist strikethrough "feature" has been an option that you can turn off. The default is "on", and it's still annoying that every software update resets it to "on", but I've gotten used to turning it "off" again after each update.

Thanks for the tip, I didn't realize that the striketrough can be turned off. But in that case, @PuddinHead's shopping list problem has been solved I think ?

 

[CDU 4]

On 7/4/2022 at 5:18 AM, agsteele said:

Best way forward at the start of a line is to type a character such as a . or - followed by [].

There are a number of threads with various workarounds that different folk use. This is a workflow that I decided I had to come to terms with since nothing looks likely to change in the near future.

Great suggestion as a workaround, but I hate that I have to work that way.

Does anyone know of another note app that allows multiple checkboxes on the same line? I routinely use something like the following:

The new version of Evernote is fighting me when I try to create this layout.

Thanks,
Carl

 

[gazumped 11,666]

21 minutes ago, CDU said:

Does anyone know of another note app that allows multiple checkboxes on the same line?

Evernote?

-use a table...

[CDU 4]

6 minutes ago, gazumped said:

Evernote?

-use a table...

Thanks for that, but I just discovered another deal-breaker for me in v10. They removed the ability to "Check All" or "Uncheck All". I copy and reuse many of these types of notes (multiple checkboxes on one line, and many lines) each month. I have hundreds of checkboxes that need to be cleared in the newly copied notes, and the Uncheck All feature is a must for me, unless I want to spend hours prepping the new notes. Thanks for trying, though.

I just wish companies would stop "improving" their apps just to appear like they are earning their fee. I'd just like them to make a stable product and only fix the bugs, and release a separate product for the new design. Or at the very least, don't drop features.

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,959]

29 minutes ago, CDU said:

Thanks for that, but I just discovered another deal-breaker for me in v10. They removed the ability to "Check All" or "Uncheck All". I copy and reuse many of these types of notes (multiple checkboxes on one line, and many lines) each month. I have hundreds of checkboxes that need to be cleared in the newly copied notes, and the Uncheck All feature is a must for me, unless I want to spend hours prepping the new notes. Thanks for trying, though.

I just wish companies would stop "improving" their apps just to appear like they are earning their fee. I'd just like them to make a stable product and only fix the bugs, and release a separate product for the new design. Or at the very least, don't drop features.

You might be able to create a template note with the unchecked boxes, and apply that template to new notes rather than copying.

As for "improvements" ... Evernote did release a separate product for the new design, v. 10. A few years ago (and still now) people were (and are) complaining bitterly in the forums that suggestions for new features have been ignored. Changing nothing is just not an option. Most of what was lost in the initial release of v. 10 has been restored, but not "Check/Uncheck All." We can't know whether it's coming back, but you could start a request in the Windows app feedback forum: https://discussion.evernote.com/forums/forum/731-evernote-for-windows-requests-versions-100-and-above/.

[PinkElephant 8,114]

To deselect a full list, setting it back to its unchecked pristine Staus: Use the checklist feature. Lists build from checkboxes in the old clients can be easily converted into true checklists.

To uncheck all, select the whole checklist. Select the „checklist“ format again, which removes the checklist. Now without deselecting choose the checklist format: 

Done, you have a fresh, empty checklist again.

[CDU 4]

13 minutes ago, PinkElephant said:

To deselect a full list, setting it back to its unchecked pristine Staus: Use the checklist feature. Lists build from checkboxes in the old clients can be easily converted into true checklists.

To uncheck all, select the whole checklist. Select the „checklist“ format again, which removes the checklist. Now without deselecting choose the checklist format: 

Done, you have a fresh, empty checklist again.

Thanks, but I can't do that with multiple checkboxes on the same line, which is my goal. I can't use the checklist feature for what I want.

[CDU 4]

2 hours ago, Dave-in-Decatur said:

You might be able to create a template note with the unchecked boxes, and apply that template to new notes rather than copying.

Not a bad idea!

[PinkElephant 8,114]

2 minutes ago, CDU said:

Thanks, but I can't do that with multiple checkboxes on the same line, which is my goal. I can't use the checklist feature for what I want.

To work against a softwares features and limitations is usually a bad idea - time consuming at best, risking loss of data (the check status of a box is data as well) if things go wrong.

I think you should give up legacy nostalgia and adapt your processes to a new environment while you have time to do it in a controlled way. This is independent from whether this new environment is v10 or something else.

[CDU 4]

5 minutes ago, PinkElephant said:

To work against a softwares features and limitations is usually a bad idea - time consuming at best, risking loss of data (the check status of a box is data as well) if things go wrong.

I think you should give up legacy nostalgia and adapt your processes to a new environment while you have time to do it in a controlled way. This is independent from whether this new environment is v10 or something else.

I'm efficient with the legacy version. I refuse to be forced into f******* up my day messing around with the new version. When they kill the legacy version, I'm just going to stop paying for the subscription and figure it out in another product.

[PinkElephant 8,114]

And imagine what …. we don’t care.

There is no birth right to use any software indefinitely. You want to support whatever process you modeled for yourself, just pick the tools you like. That’s what we all do, except we seem to succeed with less noise surrounding the effort.

For the time being there is legacy around. Use the time wisely it remains working.

[CDU 4]

50 minutes ago, PinkElephant said:

And imagine what …. we don’t care.

 

You shouldn't, but Evernote should.

[agsteele 2,950]

You're in the position to make a plan and work towards your next option with a little leisure. Legacy's days are numbered. So plan soon.

[PinkElephant 8,114]

The decision to discontinue legacy was taken years ago. Since then it is on borrowed time.

It is up to every diehard user to use that time span to solve his individual use cases. Nobody can argue he didn't get enough time. Since RTE is now out in the wild, I doubt EN will go on forever to support 2 different platforms for syncing.

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,959]

5 hours ago, CDU said:

I'm efficient with the legacy version. I refuse to be forced into f******* up my day messing around with the new version. When they kill the legacy version, I'm just going to stop paying for the subscription and figure it out in another product.

Not meaning to be obnoxious, but ... how many days do you think you'll bleep up switching to another product? Sometimes a day or a week must be sacrificed to the overall greater good. (Easy for me to say, I know, it's not my day.)

[CDU 4]

Yeah, you are probably right. I'm just annoyed, and doing a little venting. 🙂