(Archived) Shared notebooks' potential

[peterfmartin 221]

In another discussion, GrumpyMonkey wrote:

i do wish shared otebooks had more functionality as well. i have recently begun using them more and more, and find that they have a lot of potential, even for people who don't do collaborative work much.

I don't want to derail that conversation, so I'm asking here: Can you, GrumpyMonkey and anyone else, elaborate on ways you've found shared notebooks helpful, and what potential you see in them? I still barely use them, since they can't be searched along with other notes and I therefore find them quite inconvenient.

[jbenson2 2,147]

I'm in the same boat. Shared notebooks - meh.

Just a couple applications for me

Inbound: Helpful tips in "Evernote FAQ" from Owyn, and "Using Evernote" from Geoff

Outbound: I shared my 2011 Tax notebook with my lawyer last month. After they captured all the PDF's, I stopped the sharing (for security).

I do enjoy shared notes however.

* Posting examples here on the forum

* Sharing important info with my wife

* Interesting web site captures shared with my father-in-law.

Back in February, Owyn offered this workaround:

Export contents of the shared notebook and import a static copy to your personal notebook.

Shared -> Shared notebook -> Right click -> Export notes... -> Export as a file in ENEX format

Account -> File -> Import -> Evernote Export Files...

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

shared notebooks could be so much better, especially if they were indexed and searched together with your own notes. i have a long wish list, but i'll stop here with my hope that the bugs get fixed.

in answer to the op: my website is a shared notebook now.

http://www.princeton.edu/~cmayo/index.html

[peterfmartin 221]

in answer to the op: my website is a shared notebook now.

http://www.princeton...mayo/index.html

I'm curious about why that's preferable to you. I'd so much rather read your site on the web, as a website, than in the cordoned-off part of my Evernote account. Why did you change it?

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

in answer to the op: my website is a shared notebook now.

http://www.princeton...mayo/index.html

I'm curious about why that's preferable to you. I'd so much rather read your site on the web, as a website, than in the cordoned-off part of my Evernote account. Why did you change it?

It's both. You can join the notebook if you like and have it available in your Evernote account. And, you can view it on the web (I am sure Google will be done indexing it all soon). The benefit for me is that I don't have to mess around with coding the websites and uploading them with ftp anymore, because I just make all of the pages as notes in my Evernote account.

[peterfmartin 221]

I didn't realize the public notes worked as a website does, with link navigation and all. Thanks for pointing that out. And I see the benefits on your end.

That said, for what it's worth, if you're interested in one reader's feedback, I can barely stand navigating the site this way. The biggest problem is that, for me, for whatever reason, every shared note (shared by anyone) takes about 10 seconds to open, making clicking between pages a nightmare. I mentioned this problem here months ago and no one said that they've had the same experience. Maybe I've got a unique problem that shared Evernote notes open incredibly slowly on my computer. But until notes start loading (nearly) as fast as web pages, I basically can't read shared notebooks as websites.

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

I didn't realize the public notes worked as a website does, with link navigation and all. Thanks for pointing that out. And I see the benefits on your end.

That said, for what it's worth, if you're interested in one reader's feedback, I can barely stand navigating the site this way. The biggest problem is that, for me, for whatever reason, every shared note (shared by anyone) takes about 10 seconds to open, making clicking between pages a nightmare. I mentioned this problem here months ago and no one said that they've had the same experience. Maybe I've got a unique problem that shared Evernote notes open incredibly slowly on my computer. But until notes start loading (nearly) as fast as web pages, I basically can't read shared notebooks as websites.

The note links make a difference. But, sadly, they do not work on ios if you have joined the notebook.

Loading times? A huge problem. Please keep raising a stink about it. I have contacted Evernote staff, but no one has been able to confirm the issue. Perhaps more users with the problem would help prioritize the issue. As I understand it, the problem is the worst for someone who has not visited Evernote and doesn't have the cookies. I've clocked initial load times at as much as 49.2 seconds. That is a long time to ask a visitor to your website to wait. That is why I mentioned on my website "please be patient while the notebook loads the first time."

[spg SCOTT 736]

Easily sharing a lot of information quickly is one of the benefits for me in terms of shared notebooks.

I can create a (pseudo) site that can be navigated easily, with ease. There is no messing with html, images etc. I create a note within EN and it is shown on the web, with a sync.

Granted there are some limitations, which have been discussed, but for me, the simplicity and relative ease wins.

Viewed in EN, users can copy specific (or all) notes into their own account. Viewed on the web, users can navigate (through the notes, or by note links if provided) and search (using the same search as EN)

One big example of the usefulness (or potential) of shared notebooks for me, is in the form of a FAQ. This was tried by Evernote, but not maintained, which is unfortunate as it could have been very useful over time.

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

Easily sharing a lot of information quickly is one of the benefits for me in terms of shared notebooks.

I can create a (pseudo) site that can be navigated easily, with ease. There is no messing with html, images etc. I create a note within EN and it is shown on the web, with a sync.

Granted there are some limitations, which have been discussed, but for me, the simplicity and relative ease wins.

Viewed in EN, users can copy specific (or all) notes into their own account. Viewed on the web, users can navigate (through the notes, or by note links if provided) and search (using the same search as EN)

One big example of the usefulness (or potential) of shared notebooks for me, is in the form of a FAQ. This was tried by Evernote, but not maintained, which is unfortunate as it could have been very useful over time.

Yep. I am putting together an informal FAQ called "The Unofficial Guide to the Uses and Abuses of Evernote." Only had one contribution, though! Well, I am working on it and still accepting submissions!

[spg SCOTT 736]

Yep. I am putting together an informal FAQ called "The Unofficial Guide to the Uses and Abuses of Evernote." Only had one contribution, though! Well, I am working on it and still accepting submissions!

I saw