(Archived) Tag Notes for Mac version

[gtuckerkellogg 33]

I love Evernote, and use it both on Windows and Mac. Since switching to Mac for my home computer use, the one and only Windows feature I miss -- in any application -- is the ability to tag multiple notes in EverNote (Ctrl-Alt-T with multiple notes selected). This feature is not perfect by any means (the tag list doesn't maintain hierarchy, for example) but it is far better than what I think is the Mac alternative (dragging tags onto selected notes). The use of this feature is so embedded into my Evernote workflow that I literally wait to use my loathsome Windows machine to avoid working around its absence on my Mac.

I'm hoping that I'm missing a solution that does work on the Mac as well as Ctrl-Alt-T works on Windows for tagging multiple notes, and that someone will fill me in. But if not, please, pretty please, make this a feature on the Mac.

[jefito 5,589]

I'd like to apologize to jefito and others about the snark. I thought I was replying in kind. It hit a nerve with me because when a key feature is missing on one platform, the Evernote dev team should provide some clarity to the customers. And that really does not happen enough. Is it a priority of the Evernote team to make the same features on all desktop versions? I honestly have no idea.

No problem -- I nearly snarked back (but I'm glad that I didn't). The missing Assign Tags functionality is a longstanding plaint for Mac users. I think that the goal in general is to provide equivalent feature sets across clients, wherever possible; I'm not sure why this one hasn't made it yet -- It's undeniably useful. I wish I could tell you, but I have no inside information; evangelists are just enthusiasts with a special green necktie (and some ability to moderate the forum, though some non-evangelists have that ability, too).

[gtuckerkellogg 33]

The drawback to running it as an application is that the menu for choosing your tags may come up behind the Evernote window, and start hopping on the bottom of the screen.

This has been fixed. You still have to save it as an application, but now the windows behave properly XD

[gtuckerkellogg 33]

I rolled my own solution, in AppleScript. It's in a shared Evernote note right here, and it will assign multiple tags to your current selection. If you want to run it as a service (I do), the Automator chokes on some aspect of the way the tag names sorting is coded, so it doesn't run as a script in the Automator. The Automator has to treat it as an application. As a consequence, I do the following

1. save as an application
   
2. create an automator service to run the Application
   
3. run that service.
   

The drawback to running it as an application is that the menu for choosing your tags may come up behind the Evernote window, and start hopping on the bottom of the screen.

I got the sort code from Veritrope, If anyone knows how to make it behave well as a script in the Automator, I'll be happy to update it.

The menu doesn't currently represent tag hierarchy, it's tag names in string sort order

[seven_neves 2]

hmmm,

I could have sworn that I'd gotten that Key Combo from the EN Mac Forum in the past? (prior to OP's post)

Thanks for the heads-up re: Windows though - I'll just do these updates on my Windows work machine...

Still find it a little odd that such a 'tag-driven' application is currently leaving Mac users in the lurch, however I understand the paralell (but not always mirror image) evolution of EN over the different platforms would lead to lost limb here & there.

Thanks again.

[JMichaelTX 4,117]

It's my understanding they strive for feature parity across all platforms. But the same people don't always work on all the platforms, as one would guess. So the Windows team may get something in the Windows desktop before the Mac team does & vice versa. One example is that stacks are not rolled out across all platforms, although I'm sure that's the goal.

At the same time, they try to make the client compliant with the standards for the OS it's running on, too.

I think BnF has some secret webcam in our office or something.

dlu, if you are agreeing with BNF, can you please explain why there are so many basic features that are in the Windows client that have now been missing from the Mac client for 10-12 months?

Please see Windows Features Missing from Mac Client for the detailed list. This post was made in June 2011. There are other similiar post that go back even further.

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

I think BnF has some secret webcam in our office or something.

Damn, BnF... they know...

(hands on hips)

OK. Who told???

[jefito 5,589]

I think BnF has some secret webcam in our office or something.

Damn, BnF... they know...

[dlu 628]

It's my understanding they strive for feature parity across all platforms. But the same people don't always work on all the platforms, as one would guess. So the Windows team may get something in the Windows desktop before the Mac team does & vice versa. One example is that stacks are not rolled out across all platforms, although I'm sure that's the goal.

At the same time, they try to make the client compliant with the standards for the OS it's running on, too.

I think BnF has some secret webcam in our office or something.

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

Is it a priority of the Evernote team to make the same features on all desktop versions? I honestly have no idea.

It's my understanding they strive for feature parity across all platforms. But the same people don't always work on all the platforms, as one would guess. So the Windows team may get something in the Windows desktop before the Mac team does & vice versa. One example is that stacks are not rolled out across all platforms, although I'm sure that's the goal.

At the same time, they try to make the client compliant with the standards for the OS it's running on, too.

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

I'd like to apologize to jefito and others about the snark. I thought I was replying in kind. It hit a nerve with me because when a key feature is missing on one platform, the Evernote dev team should provide some clarity to the customers. And that really does not happen enough. Is it a priority of the Evernote team to make the same features on all desktop versions? I honestly have no idea.

That's cool of you to apologize. I doubt anyone took offense. Tensions sometimes run high on forums, written words can be taken the wrong way, etc.

Clarity by EN would be nice, but to be honest, most developers fail to inform customers about differences between their product on different platforms. Things are constantly being updated and tweaked, and I imagine they get out of sync with one another a lot more than we realize. This just happens to be one of those big features that has an obvious impact on the end user. Knowing their past practices over the last few years, I'd say they are working on it (the different versions seem to be headed in the same direction), and we can expect to see the feature in the future. You might want to email them and ask. It never hurts

[gtuckerkellogg 33]

I'd like to apologize to jefito and others about the snark. I thought I was replying in kind. It hit a nerve with me because when a key feature is missing on one platform, the Evernote dev team should provide some clarity to the customers. And that really does not happen enough. Is it a priority of the Evernote team to make the same features on all desktop versions? I honestly have no idea.

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

Am I missing something?

The fact that Ctrl+Alt +T isn't implemented on the Mac? It's currently only on Windows, which is where the OP misses it from...

Funny, Ctrl+Alt+T is staring up at me from my MacBook Pro keyboard right at this moment. The "alt" key is also labeled "option", but the main point here is that there is no reason not to implement this essential functionality. I understand you are an Evernote evangelist. I'm an enthusiast myself, but I'm not persuaded that Evernote has good reason to cripple this piece of functionality merely because they can't find the keys.

I think it is just a miscommunication here. Jefito is pointing out that it isn't the keys that are missing, but the feature itself. As I read his message, I don't think he is saying it is good or bad. He is just clarifying what is "missing."

Regarding the comment about "crippling" the software, I am no expert on these things, but projects tend to diverge a little as they are modified to fit different platforms. Evernote really ought to make this a priority, since it goes to the heart of how their software is setup (relying on tags). However, I doubt they are purposefully crippling it. This kind of stuff happens.

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

but I'm not persuaded that Evernote has good reason to cripple this piece of functionality merely because they can't find the keys.

I'm pretty sure EN does not intentionally "cripple" anything. Just b/c a feature/option doesn't exist doesn't mean it was intentionally left out. Sometimes things slip by the devs & even the beta testers. (Just check all the hate threads regarding the iOS editing, which was beta tested by some users of this forum.)

[gtuckerkellogg 33]

Am I missing something?

The fact that Ctrl+Alt +T isn't implemented on the Mac? It's currently only on Windows, which is where the OP misses it from...

Funny, Ctrl+Alt+T is staring up at me from my MacBook Pro keyboard right at this moment. The "alt" key is also labeled "option", but the main point here is that there is no reason not to implement this essential functionality. I understand you are an Evernote evangelist. I'm an enthusiast myself, but I'm not persuaded that Evernote has good reason to cripple this piece of functionality merely because they can't find the keys.

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

Apparently, it does not exist. I have to go through the same annoying procedure of using a Windows machine to make the change. It isn't a huge part of my workflow, and I actually like Windows, but it is annoying nonetheless. Why is the Mac version missing something so important? After all, for people who rely on tags (as I think Evernote is designed to encourage), it is a crucial feature.

I have (literally) thousands of notes to tag/retag...

[jefito 5,589]

Am I missing something?

The fact that Ctrl+Alt +T isn't implemented on the Mac? It's currently only on Windows, which is where the OP misses it from...

[seven_neves 2]

Struggling with this too...

Not chasing anything special, just want to change the tag on approx 120 notes which all reside in the same Notebook.

Have repeatedly attempted the CTRL + ALT + T combo noted by the OP (and noted elsewhere previously on this forum), but EN does not respond.

I've obviously selected all the notes I wish to change.

Am I missing something?

[DAW 2]

I am interested in this subject as well. I did a search on the forum and it seems that there is a keyboard shortcut to create a tag (^ [apple command] t ), but I cannot figure out how to make it work. Maybe the keyboard shortcut is only for the beta.

What I would like to see is a way to highlight a word, and then quickly make a tag. For instance, highlight the word "elephant" in the body of the note, and click a keyboard shortcut, automatically creating a tag named "elephant", without having to click on the tag prompt on the top of the note.

Another suggestion is to allow one to create a tag from a highlighted word via right clicking and using the contextual menu to create a new tag.

What I am trying to get at is, id like a way to go thru a note and quickly make a series of tags for that note as I scroll through the text.