(Archived) Make it stop circling New Note!

[KirkMcPike 0]

The big red circle around New Note is driving me nuts, and I can't find any place to turn it off. I find it vaguely insulting, and it makes the app an eyesore. I don't want to hide the New Note button, because it in and of itself is very useful. Is there anyway to get this program to stop trying to hold my hand like I'm a four year old who doesn't know how to use it?

[jbenson2 2,147]

A non-issue to some, that could easily solved with the addition of 8 words.

• "To eliminate red circle, create a new note"

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

If you want to keep exactly one note in your note collection, then Evernote may not be the best tool for you.

Ditto.

[jefito 5,589]

If you want to keep exactly one note in your note collection, then Evernote may not be the best tool for you.

[skington 0]

Apologies for bumping this thread, but I was sufficiently annoyed I felt the urge to post.

This should only occur if you have exactly one note in your entire account (i.e. across all notebooks).

Create a note and it will be gone.

Yes. And if you then delete that second note, the bloody red circle comes back again!

I can totally see why you'd want to tell new users "hey, this is how you get started". And fine, I opened Evernote on this Mac for the first time, having installed the iPad version yesterday, so I could download some notes I took this evening, and it circled the new note button; I clicked the new note button, and deleted the note.

I expected it to shut up at this point. But no, it carried on nagging me.

I've now entered a new note called "shut the hell up Evernote" (I might have used stronger language). This isn't my best introduction to a piece of software.

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

I have shared a notebook with someone. When they open EN, they see my notebook but the notes have red circles with an exclamation point in them. He said he has synced many times and this won't go away and he can't open my notes or notebook that I shared with him. I'm not sharing this with the world, just a small group of students at this time.

Anyone know what he can do or I can do to fix this issue.

Graphic he sent me is attached.

FWIW, I think this is a different problem than the previous posts in this thread & should have been in a different thread.

[Metrodon 2,184]

I reckon you should open a support case.

[davidduty 2]

I have shared a notebook with someone. When they open EN, they see my notebook but the notes have red circles with an exclamation point in them. He said he has synced many times and this won't go away and he can't open my notes or notebook that I shared with him. I'm not sharing this with the world, just a small group of students at this time.

Anyone know what he can do or I can do to fix this issue.

Graphic he sent me is attached.

[jefito 5,589]

on this note i would like to be the voice of I'm sure many other people like me who were frustrated that i had to set up a new username to write on this forum, even though i already have an evernote account, why not just use peoples existing accounts, that way customers find it easier, also its one less database to worry about,

I think that the answer is that your Evernote account name is private to you; this gives you the opportunity to post here under a different name. Since it's a one-time thing, it shouldn't be that big a deal.

and when it comes to people being abusive on these forums its a simple case of removing that permission that should be default with each new user, also why not try adding some kind of alert system directly into evernote that tells you when someone has replied to the same thread, with an option to turn this off of course... *phew* rant over.

This forum isn't connected to your Evernote account. On the other hand, there is a way to be notified when a reply is posted. When you reply, but before you submit, look for the checkbox at the bottom of the screen that says: "Notify me when a reply is posted". Check that.

[gadda023 0]

I completely agree with this previous comment of

Dave Engberg's said the Red Circle was meant to address the confusion. It was a good attempt, but there is still some confusion amongst some of the newbies that could be solved easily with some additional text.

also to reiterate the point

In Marketing, there is a general rule of thumb that customer complaints are just like an iceberg. The visible portion is just a small part of the large portion that is not seen (or heard)

on this note i would like to be the voice of I'm sure many other people like me who were frustrated that i had to set up a new username to write on this forum, even though i already have an evernote account, why not just use peoples existing accounts, that way customers find it easier, also its one less database to worry about, and when it comes to people being abusive on these forums its a simple case of removing that permission that should be default with each new user, also why not try adding some kind of alert system directly into evernote that tells you when someone has replied to the same thread, with an option to turn this off of course... *phew* rant over.

Also if its going to be on mac then why not follow what Apple does, as previously suggested

I have seen some applications that present a popup window on the first, and only the first, time the application is used offering a guide on how to get started. Perhaps you can consider this approach rather than changing the UI.

[jbenson2 2,147]

My comment still stands: "Evernote did not say the change was satisfactory. What they said was there was confusion before adding the red circle."

Dave Engberg's said the Red Circle was meant to address the confusion. It was a good attempt, but there is still some confusion amongst some of the newbies that could be solved easily with some additional text.

[Metrodon 2,184]

Dave Engberg said on Feb 8, 2011

We did a lot of usability testing last year, and found that a lot of people would install the software, log in, and then be immediately overwhelmed by all of the buttons and panels and controls on the screen, and have no idea where to start.

We've done a number of things to improve this (including the "Getting Started Guide" http://www.evernote.com/about/getting_started/), but a slightly tacky prompt on the "New Note" button for first-time users seemed better than risking people not knowing how to get started.

You've quoted this yourself - I'm guessing it's a pretty clear and painless final say in the matter.

[jbenson2 2,147]

Evernote did not say the change was satisfactory. What they said was there was confusion before adding the red circle. And there appears to be some confusion after adding the circle, minor perhaps, but some confusion. In Marketing, there is a general rule of thumb that customer complaints are just like an iceberg. The visible portion is just a small part of the large portion that is not seen (or heard).

Adding the 8 words would help newbies, clarify the reason for the circle and improve customer satisfaction. It could be added to the program, or to the Knowledgebase, or to the Getting Started instructions. Quite painless. But Evernote has the final say in the matter.

[Metrodon 2,184]

The vast majority of new users create more than one note and so it soon disappears.

I'm guessing based on the fact that by their own admission Evernote did testing with new users and found what they consider to be a satisfactory solution that half a dozen people who seem to have an issue with it on this forum pale statistically into insignificance.

Any 'simple' change to software has a cost - I'm guessing that the cost of your 'simple' change has been judged to be one not worth making.

[Metrodon 2,184]

3 topics with a total of 48 posts, a good percentage of which were people saying..."just add another note".

Of all the non-issues that are discussed on here this one really takes the biscuit.

[jbenson2 2,147]

I came up with 48 hits on Red Circle in the forum.

There are other terms people have used to describe it.

And some people were stumped but eventually figured it out after reading the comments.

The Red Circle was added because Evernote did not want to confuse people, But it does seem to cause confusion.

[Metrodon 2,184]

A quick search on here shows 3 topics on the red circle - in the great scheme of things i would put this right up there with almost completely irrelevant.

[jbenson2 2,147]

Evernote, rather than changing the UI, have you considered providing some documentation on how to use the new Evernote versions?

I have seen some applications that present a popup window on the first, and only the first, time the application is used offering a guide on how to get started. Perhaps you can consider this approach rather than changing the UI.

I agree. It is surprising how often the Red Circle issue comes up. I realize it was done because new users were overwhelmed with all the possible options. But it seems as though the stark red circle instruction is unclear to many of the new users. How about changing the wording and say something like:

• "p.s. To get rid of the red circle, simple create a new note"

[Metrodon 2,184]

Just add another note and it goes away.

Search the forum and see that this question has come up in the last week or so.

[lucaberta 0]

The circling never goes away. I'm on OSX 10.6 latest, and it simply doesn't stop. Incredibly annoying. You could at least have a setting in preferences or something to turn the damn thing off...

I see you have exactly 1 message on this forum, and chances are that you have exactly zero notes of your on your Evernote account, so you're a brand new Evernote user, congratulations. That's why you see the incredibly annoying red circle.

It seems to me that this red circle situation would be akin to going back to the car dealer bitching about the fact that the new car we've just received... smells like new! How would you think that a car dealer would answer to such a statement. Something like "if you start to use the car, it will stop smelling like new", I would guess.

Well, if you start to use Evernote for what it's been designed to do, then pretty soon the circle will go away and will never come back.

Ciao, Luca

[JMichaelTest 19]

(sigh)

Thanks for that very helpful response.

Evidently some users are experiencing a problem that others don't see.

Evernote, rather than changing the UI, have you considered providing some documentation on how to use the new Evernote versions?

I have seen some applications that present a popup window on the first, and only the first, time the application is used offering a guide on how to get started. Perhaps you can consider this approach rather than changing the UI.

Just my 2c.

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

(sigh)

[aliceyoung44 0]

The circling never goes away. I'm on OSX 10.6 latest, and it simply doesn't stop. Incredibly annoying. You could at least have a setting in preferences or something to turn the damn thing off...

[engberg 89]

Yes, this would only be visible when you first create an account, and goes away as soon as you press the circled button once.

[evermullah 8]

This should only occur if you have exactly one note in your entire account (i.e. across all notebooks).

Create a note and it will be gone.

i have never seen this. lucky me!

[jbenson2 2,147]

This should only occur if you have exactly one note in your entire account (i.e. across all notebooks).

Create a note and it will be gone.