Change of Create date on multiple notes (or for one in the past) without hundreds of clicks

[MichalX 1]

I have tens of imported PDF documents where I need to correct create date of note to reflect document crate date.

In Legacy version it is simple task - change of displayed date to create date and document by document click on date field and input date.

In new version I have to click to note menu, select information details, click the date and then list through the calendar - if change is in years it means tens of click by months for each document). No chance to simply input date.

There was presented many times already that new version is fully functional replacement for legacy version.

I have about 80 documents actually for processing - how should I achieve it in new version without thousands of clicks?

I do this regularly - when I scan documents from the past (birth list of my mother) I want to set create date for 80 years in the past. How should I do this now?

[Mike P 2,643]

3 hours ago, MichalX said:

In new version I have to click to note menu, select information details, click the date and then list through the calendar - if change is in years it means tens of click by months for each document). No chance to simply input date.

It's not obvious but you can  click on the year (or month) to get a list. Not easy but easier than going back through each month

If you need to go back earlier than 2015, click on 2015 and then click on 2015 in the date field

 

[MichalX 1]

thanks, it definitely helps but by a tinny step - who the hell designed this?

It seems to me like work of group of elementary school graduates with zero UI design experience

If I need year 1946 I will have to click and select 9 times (by 8 years each time).

So I planned to scan my family history documents and archive them same way as all the others I have in Evernote already.

But if I understand it well now it is not achievable anymore. It is technically impossible - do this setting one by one for all the documents take me months of clicking. I see requests for simple entering/managing create date on forum for years already.

So am I really only another exotic user requiring from note system ability to manipulate with create date efficiently?

Please help anybody - is there any other way how to achieve it without hundreds of clicks?

[Razmataz 218]

I am afraid that you'll find that there is no better way. You certainly cannot do it programmatically.

And that every single action is a lot of clicking -- is the new way of life with V10, I am cursing every day and my productivity has dropped dramatically.

Focus is not on productivity now, it is on shiny (but half-baked) features. Bugs do not get fixed soon, some never. Basic stuff like HTML export.

But it might get better, once legacy is switched off (which happens tomorrow).

Get used to clicking, the best advice I can give, having learned it the hard way.

[MichalX 1]

Wow, It hurts. I have used paid Evernote from 2009 and built a solid workflow there.

I don't want to switch, really. But if I will not be able to use it anymore ... 

[s2sailor 2,206]

3 hours ago, MichalX said:

who the hell designed this?

Well, no ones who still works there.  If you weren’t aware, Evernote was purchased by Bending Spoons and the old team that made those early decisions are no longer around.  BS does seem to be interested in removing user friction.  Best to send any comments you have to feedback@evernote.com.

[MichalX 1]

14 minutes ago, s2sailor said:

We’ll, no ones who still works there.  If you weren’t aware, Evernote was purchased by Bending Spoons and the old team that made those early decisions are no longer around.  BS does seem to be interested in removing user friction.  Best to send any comments you have to feedback@evernote.com.

So question is, if it make sense to expect that these terrible design decisions will be corrected in a reasonable timeframe?

Switch off of Legacy version at the moment of main application in such a non-functional state does not seems to me as a rational decision.

Legacy application gave me some time to live with it but now there is no functional option for me.

Stopping subscription and switching to Obsidian. Not sure if there will be way back - I postponed it as much as possible and it was mistake 

[s2sailor 2,206]

5 minutes ago, MichalX said:

So question is, if it make sense to expect that these terrible design decisions will be corrected in a reasonable timeframe?

Switch off of Legacy version at the moment of main application in such a non-functional state does not seems to me as a rational decision.

Whether it is a terrible design, or non-functional is in the eye of the beholder.  Many of us are using it just fine.  V10 is different from Legacy and it will take time getting used to it.  If you are expecting it to behave the same, you will be disappointed.  I've gotten used to it and prefer it over legacy.  For me, v10 is more functional.  Obsidian is on my watch list for a plan B if I ever need it.  It is very flexible and has a lot going for it.  It is the Mr. Potato Head of note apps.  Using plug-ins you can fine-tune this to be whatever your specific use case needs.  That is a big attraction.  Currently, v10 is doing what I need, and I prefer not to spend the time to create and manage a note-taking system, but I completely understand those that do.

[Cristiano478 151]

9 horas atrás, MichalX disse:

I have tens of imported PDF documents where I need to correct create date of note to reflect document crate date.

I do this regularly - when I scan documents from the past (birth list of my mother) I want to set create date for 80 years in the past. How should I do this now?

Is changing the note creation date to reflect the date of the PDF document really necessary? Why?

[MichalX 1]

31 minutes ago, Cristiano478 said:

Is changing the note creation date to reflect the date of the PDF document really necessary? Why?

I see chronological order of the notes as really essential need - when I add older notes I need to be able sort them chronologically and it is not possible by date somewhere in the scanned document. I have to transfer it to the metadata of the note manually. Field Create date makes sense - it is real date of the document creation.

I'm adding documents in batches regularly so manual update of the Creation date is a must for me.

Create date is major order criterium in all my notebooks.

When I look for the older note I limit search also by the date range to minimize the matches. It is really needed when number of notes rise to thousands.

[Mike P 2,643]

I would definitely like to be able to type a date (creation, reminder, task etc - they are all as bad) in any reasonable format and have EN parse it into a date. This is basic stuff which many apps have been able to do for years (no AI necessary!)

In the meantime, Sorting by date can be achieved by adding the date in iso 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD) at the beginning of the title, but that won't help in searching for a date range. I might use a year tag, so that if I wanted to search for a range of a few years it wouldn't be too onerous to create the search. You could also have a month tag if required. Remember boolean search is now available for everybody so it's easier to create complex searches,  although the original search syntax works in most cases.

tag:1932 AND (tag:Feb OR tag:Mar OR tag:Apr)

You could also search for decades with 

tag:194*

However, to find all notes created in the 1940s 

intitle:194*

would also work if you went down the date in the title route. It's also possible that 

intitle:1932-02 OR intitle:1942-03 OR intitle:1942-04 

would also work (might ned a * after the date)

Not ideal, but its a possible way forward if you want to continue using EN and EN don't improve their date input system.

[MichalX 1]

2 hours ago, Mike P said:

I would definitely like to be able to type a date (creation, reminder, task etc - they are all as bad) in any reasonable format and have EN parse it into a date. This is basic stuff which many apps have been able to do for years (no AI necessary!)

In the meantime, Sorting by date can be achieved by adding the date in iso 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD) at the beginning of the title, but that won't help in searching for a date range. I might use a year tag, so that if I wanted to search for a range of a few years it wouldn't be too onerous to create the search. You could also have a month tag if required. Remember boolean search is now available for everybody so it's easier to create complex searches,  although the original search syntax works in most cases.

tag:1932 AND (tag:Feb OR tag:Mar OR tag:Apr)

You could also search for decades with 

tag:194*

However, to find all notes created in the 1940s 

intitle:194*

would also work if you went down the date in the title route. It's also possible that 

intitle:1932-02 OR intitle:1942-03 OR intitle:1942-04 

would also work (might ned a * after the date)

Not ideal, but its a possible way forward if you want to continue using EN and EN don't improve their date input system.

thx, great idea - however applicable only for new notes, not applicable for thousand of notes I already have (if I do not want to spend so much time by reprocessing them all)

so, yes - there can be applied many workarounds and temporary fixes to patch issues done by designers.
But this make sense only when you believe that it will be fixed.
To be honest I do not believe any more. I found these issues pointed years ago and answered as not important/minor.

I hoped that I missed some invisible efficient ways just and somebody shows me where they are.
No, what I see now is even worse - there are terrible design decisions layered one after another and I do not think it will be magically reversed.

For some free, one time paid software I can understand it.
For the subscription based service - there is only one way how to say it is not adequate I think - stop buying it.

[Cristiano478 151]

4 horas atrás, MichalX disse:

thx, great idea - however applicable only for new notes, not applicable for thousand of notes I already have (if I do not want to spend so much time by reprocessing them all)

so, yes - there can be applied many workarounds and temporary fixes to patch issues done by designers.
But this make sense only when you believe that it will be fixed.
To be honest I do not believe any more. I found these issues pointed years ago and answered as not important/minor.

I hoped that I missed some invisible efficient ways just and somebody shows me where they are.
No, what I see now is even worse - there are terrible design decisions layered one after another and I do not think it will be magically reversed.

For some free, one time paid software I can understand it.
For the subscription based service - there is only one way how to say it is not adequate I think - stop buying it.

 

Mike P gave good ideas. The truth is that we don't know when and if Evernote will implement this in V10, so if this is really important to you, it might be a good idea to start testing other applications that meet your needs.