Getting previous versions of the app to roll back to (mac)

[c_t 5]

[ETA: SOLVED -- LINK BELOW]

Please! I don't see where to get anything but the newest release (v5), but I hate it and while I sure it has redeeming qualities I absolutely do not have time to learn them.

Does anyone know where to get let last v4.x release? I don't see other versions posted.

Help. Please!

[Grrrr! 0]

What changed with official release 5 that caused the app to start crashing all the time ?

It's gone from being my most essential tool to being almost unusable.

Fingers crossed that a reinstall of v3 works to keep me going until you fix it like everyone else here is asking for or I find a substitute - oh and please fix the ipad app while you're at it. V5 is a massive waste of screen space when you're trying to navigate around 2000 notes on a 1024 dot screen

[Marlowe 1]

This "upgrade" is a catastrophe. At some point this week, the hours Evernote saved me over the past year will be offset by the MMA-style bloodsport that has been installing, uninstalling, reinstalling, syncing, reading errors, finding logs, .plist files, etc. Absolutely shameful. 5.00/.01 are New Coke, Windows Vista, Shemp and Star Wars Eps. I-III all rolled into one, set on fire, and thrown into a bus full of elderly nuns. Please, Evernote. Please, stop setting nuns on fire, would you?

[Gator 0]

Just adding my reason for wanting to roll back:

• I am constantly getting the Mac pinwheel while Evernote is working and I'm taking notes. I turned off auto-sync, which I had initially suspected because the client site I work at has weak WiFi. I take notes during meetings (like a lot of folks)... I can't afford for the pinwheel to show for 30-45 seconds every few minutes.
  

I actually do like the new UI, but it did take some time to get used to it. Only think I don't like is that it's an extra click to select a notebook.

[Bradley Chambers 8]

I'd love see some sort of Visual representation of what Notebook is selected in the sidebar. I'd also like to be able to move notebooks between stack from the sidebar. I love the skeuomorphic notebooks in iOS, but it's a bit much on the Mac version. I'm fine with it being there since the list view exists, but it feels buggy and slow. I'd also like to be able to see the number of notes in a notebook from the list view.

[PeterLondon 34]

Thanks Jackolicious.

I see from the EN blog that a massive U-turn has been done on Skitch 2.0, and many of the great features and user-interface elements of Skitch 1.0 are coming back!

http://blog.evernote...rom-keith-lang/

I do hope (oh so much!), that you are going to look at EN 5.0 in the same light. What went wrong? Did you employ "consultants" or such like? That told you you had to descend to the lowest common denominator?

Skitch 2.0 was a toy-like interface, with loads of great features just taken away. And incomprehensibly, complicated and confusing alterations made everywhere. Did EN 5.0 get infected by that same virus?

And to be honest, you did not really let us know exactly what "change" was coming. e.g.: "lots of really great features you love will disappear, and the interface will be really messed-around with just for the sake of it. Plus the release will be really buggy, and lots of things simply won't work".

Anyway, thanks for listening, and the Skitch debacle give me hope!

Please don't forget that I'm not posting here to be difficult, or because I don't like change. Rather it's because I love EN and tell EVERYONE I know about it, to the point where they think I need to get out more! Which honestly, perhaps I do :-)

[Jackolicious 808]

Peter, Rob, Mike, cooltunes,

Sorry you felt surprised. We did our best to let users know this change was coming. We sent a large email blast to every Evernote Mac user, as well as

, summary page, and in-depth guide about Mac v5. More importantly though, we are definitely listening to our users. Every post here gets read by (potentially multiple) Evernote employees and if you post in the Mac section, it will definitely get read by the dev/management team (hi, my name is Jack).

We are working as fast as we can to address your concerns. My advice is to keep your clients updated and eyes peeled for new versions.

[Cooltunes 0]

But what happens when Apple bring out a new version of their OS, and the old Evernote does not work on it? We will have to upgrade.

Yes and it is considerations such as these which are some cause for concern and in my case I have real worries about just how much of my business has been

committed to EN and that currently I have lost quite a lot of faith in the stability and reliability of the ongoing upgrade path of EN as well as an aversion to the unintuitive

nature of the 'new' features which remind me of the way Microsoft Windows has gone since Windows XP, in my view(just my opinion!), unnecessary features, or lack of them, and a

more complicated user experience rather than an improvement of existing features and if a evolutionary development of the user interface i.e. making it 'easier' to use

rather than less so ! Consequently I am seriously considering Devonthink (better suggestions anyone?) but only as a last resort as I am hoping that Evernote will see the

light, take all the really important observations on board and redesign Evernote 5 (Evernote 5.5 ?) to include ALL of the features that were removed!

And on that note, I repeat my question to Jackalicious with some addition.

Considering all of the comments and questions in this thread so far there has been no response,

in particular to the question regarding the removing of features that have become an everyday part of the workflow for EN users.

Is there anyone there at Evernote who can explain why this has taken place? Surely if you are that confident about your new baby you would be falling over each other to explain why this new version is an improvement, i.e. un upgrade, which is certainly the impression I got from your excited emails heralding this release.

So are you standing by the removal of so many features and maintaining that Evernote 5 is an improvement on the previous version?

or are you listening very closely to the very relevant comments in this thread by people who have got to know Evernote very well and use it accordingly, perhaps realising that there was not nearly enough consultation with power users of your software, and rethinking your approach?

(i.e. how to bring back all the key features that have been pointed out as an essential part of the learned and functional part of the software.....)

Evernote development and management team, I think it may be time we heard from you on this.....

[Mike Wood 139]

@PeterLondon I agree with a lot of what you have said. The only circumstance I can remember like this was when Microsoft launched Windows Phone 7.... Users thought it was the new Windows Mobile but under the hood it was missing so many power features it was unbelievable.

Interestingly in the Microsoft case they had to do something radical to combat the competition and starting from the foundations was probably a good call; many in the industry thought they should have moved sooner. Two years later it is beginning to look competitive!

Perhaps for EN this redesign is a smart move to stay current before the competition rocks up and it's too late?

I'm surprised they haven't maintained two product lines on the Mac like they have with the new Windows 8 client.

[PeterLondon 34]

I totally agree with Rob the Computer Guy. I could not have put it better myself, and I just do not have the time to list out all the features that have been REMOVED. I can tell you I have been using software since I used punch-cards at university in 1979; and I have NEVER seen an application LOOSE vital features at an "upgrade". Plus the new version is super-buggy.

You guys at Evernote do not have a CLUE how power-users use your app; and I'm not sure you even understand how the average users use it. I honestly think you have all gone a bit batty. Do you not realise that many users now have their whole business and personal life on Evernote? And that they use it all day, everyday? I do.

And please don't keep telling me it's a "free" app. I bet you don't boast to your investors about that! I bet you are telling them about how many paying customers you have. Yes it can be free, but any serious user will be paying for the extra features. And the web version is nothing like as functional as the Mac version.

I would happily pay $300 a year to use Evernote (the old one!) - and I would consider that good value.

And I shudder to think what is going to happen when you bring out your "business" version - is it going to be the same as this new toy version?

Yes, you can use the previous version - as I do. Thank goodness I have enough experience of these things over the years to not jump in upgrade my main Mac. But what happens when Apple bring out a new version of their OS, and the old Evernote does not work on it? We will have to upgrade.

I am sure you guys are reading all these posts; and I do trust that you are having meetings and thinking that perhaps you have "mis-stepped" somewhere.

[GrumpyMonkey 4,320]

You have no right taking our money and pulling back the software's ability in such enormity.

Hi. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Evernote is a free service and a free app. Evernote (and other developers) routinely update their apps, sometimes removing features, and sometimes keeping them. If there is a specific feature that you need, and it is no longer supported, I recommend not upgrading. In this case, a backup before upgrading (this goes for any app) is a good idea.

This has the stink of cheap unqualified outsourced Asian labor all over it.

This sounds terribly racist to me, besides being inaccurate. Perhaps I am simply reading too much into your post. If so, my apologies, but please be more careful in your wording in the future.

We are paying you to store our data and we need your program to read our data, you can't just cut the interface by 80%!

Again, the service is free. If you are a premium member, your data is easily accessed using any device, including the Web, but the Mac version is entirely capable of accessing your data. Is there a specific problem you are having? I don't think 80% of the features were removed.

Now I find out that when I try to migrate away from Evernote to DevonNote, it is documented that there was a bug introduced into the API in version 3.3 that was never fixed, presumably doesn't exist in 5.0. I've already downgraded to 3.3 twice, but now I need to downgrade to 3.2. So, I need to download version 3.2, but on that site with the link for 3.3, the 3.2 download is corrupted.

I am afraid I am unaware of any corruption, but exporting as HTML and importing those notes into DevonThink should work fine, right? I think there are also Applescripts available on the Web that can automate this for you.

[Mike Wood 139]

@Rob the computer guy

Here http://mac.filehorse...5/old-versions/ ?

If not I'd talk to support using chat. https://livechat.eve...lName=/_email=/

Please let us know if support are unable to provide you with a download link to the version you require.

[rob the computer guy 1]

I have written an App store review that is probably over 2,000 words.

As a long term paying customer who is single handedly responsible for at least 25 people using Evernote, I am beyond infuriated. The idea that you would simply strip the program of basic functionality is unacceptable. I should have seen this coming with the monochome icons that are an absolute nightmare for visually disabled customers. What if Microsoft just removed all the toolbars and icons from the program window? But you know what's most infuriating? That there is no explanation coming from any of you about this - no explanation at all - there's no "we're doing it this way because it's better" there's no "that may be a minus but here's how we compensated for it" -- instead you just removed functionality with huge brush strokes. You have no right taking our money and pulling back the software's ability in such enormity.

It's unacceptable and you have no business pushing this software on the public... You put it into beta and 2 weeks later it's in the App store?

And by the way, you're downloading my data in zip format, which means you're changing the data I send you and not necessarily preserving it. How do I know this? Because when I downloaded 4,000 notes the program "external records writer" crashed several hundred times. It was because I changed my default archive opening program to TheUnarchiver.. .But with tens of thousands of users, nobody has a clue.

When I switched back to Archive Utility, the 4,000 notes only produced a few dozen crashes - not that Evernote would care about my data enough to tell me what notes might be corrupt... And support personnel haven't the first clue about what external records writer could possibly have to do with their program... NOBODY else uses an alternate file decompression program?

This has the stink of cheap unqualified outsourced Asian labor all over it. First an absolute devastation of Sktich 2.0 for Mac and now decimation of Evernote. Nobody is canceling their subscriptions because the next program upgrade doesn't come fast enough----so really, what in the world are you people thinking? We are paying you to store our data and we need your program to read our data, you can't just cut the interface by 80%!

Now I find out that when I try to migrate away from Evernote to DevonNote, it is documented that there was a bug introduced into the API in version 3.3 that was never fixed, presumably doesn't exist in 5.0. I've already downgraded to 3.3 twice, but now I need to downgrade to 3.2.

So, I need to download version 3.2, but on that site with the link for 3.3, the 3.2 download is corrupted.

Does anyone know where I can download a copy of 3.2? Because my technical data house is on fire with this horrible software company and I need to get out as fast as humanly possible. PLEASE tell me how to find 3.2 as soon as possible.

[ithinkitsnice 1]

I'm rolling back too. The UX is an unintuitive shambles imo, especially when you'd established a really good one in the previous version. This feels like a step back which doesn't build on what went before and worked so well.

I can't be bothered going into detail but if you want a reference point for a good app and to understand why so many to go back to the old one, then look at the old one. It worked. Well. This feels like a different app.

[Jackolicious 808]

Thanks for posting and letting us know

[rickpeyton 1]

I came here looking for information on rolling back as well, but I am glad to see that this thread has the eye of at least one Evernote employee so I will share why I'm looking to roll back.

I use Evernote as the driver for my GTD system and that involves a lot of filtering with tags and changing Notebooks.

Previously I could select a notebook, hold down command and quickly select multiple tags from the left sidebar to filter down my notebook. For whatever reason - holding down command is no longer a shortcut for selecting multiple tags - it only selects one tag at a time. Now I have to use the Blue tag drop down in the upper right to select multiple tags and you have to select one tag - which automatically closes the selection window - and open it again to select another tag. +5 seconds every single time I use multiple tags.

You also automatically nest new tags by right clicking on the parent tag. You have to create a new tag and drag it to the parent tag. Again - not a show stopper but +5 seconds every single time I do it.

Might not seem like much individually - but its killing me for what is my "productivity" app.

Not saying I'm going back to OmniFocus just yet - but those refined shortcuts are what drew me to Evernote in the first place.

[Kepting 0]

I'd like to leave this open because I want to learn about why folks are downgrading. Thanks for all the feedback!

I wonder as well.

I am guessing the left sidebar is the main culprit, because that was one of the biggest changes. I'd probably also guess the toolbar up top as well. In my case, for example, my personal wiki became un-navigable without arrows. Otherwise, it seems to me that most of the stuff is similar.

that was it for me. It seems like this upgrade really did not take into account the power user such as those of use who set up a thesecretweapon.com system. Ok, I figured out how to make the left sidebar LOOK like it used to but it still doesn't have the same functionality. For example, why can I no longer right-click a tag to create a sub-tag? I use tag hierarchies to keep my projects in order, and without the quick sub-add I have to (1) click to create a new tag, (2) go find the new tag (3) drag it over to where I want it to go. This adds 10-20 seconds to what used to be a 5 second (max) activity. Considering that I often have about 100 notes in my inbox to process, that would add quite a bit of time. And it seems that this is a problem with many other features as well.

I think the biggest issue here is that Evernote's combination of ease of use AND versatility is the foundation of its market presence compared to other products. The removal of much of the previous functionality and versatility is making Evernote more and more like the other products that just won't cut it for most people (including me). Let me know when it comes back, and I'll jump on the upgrade.

[cctiger2 21]

Hey All -

I've been an EN user since the beginning and have come to dread updates as they often move, change or get rid of features I had come to rely on OR they make such radical "updates" that it requires a massive shift in my workflow to adapt. (Don't even get me started on how much I STILL MISS "smart tags"! Saved searches just isn't the same! But I digress...)

However, EN is still by far the best tool of it's kind I have found and I've learned to work with the unfortunately radical shifts.

Here's some feedback on the newest update for Mac.

Things I Really Appreciate:

• Improved Searches: It appears that the search really has been a radical upgrade. I love that the search results now show me tags, notebooks and individual notes that fit my search criteria AND it shows me which is which! Very, very well done there.
  
• Shortcuts Section: This is something I wouldn't have thought to say I needed, but as soon as I saw it was coming I could see how I would use it all the time. I've had the upgrade for about two days and must say I love this new shortcuts feature.
  

Things That Would Make me Consider Reverting:

• Lack of the "Back" and "Forward" buttons. As several others have mentioned. This is a feature I would not have recognized as essential until it's suddenly not there. Now I'm suddenly realizing I used this feature all the time!
  
• No Longer have the Ability to Show Only Associated Tags. It seems that this upgrade focused on searching notes, tags and notebooks. While I appreciate this, I also have situations where I am incredibly visual when I search my notes. I may not know quite what I'm looking for until I notice a tag that is likely to have what I want. (As I said above, I've been using Evernote since early 2006. That's a LOT of notes & tags, and a LOT of varried information!) It makes it MUCH easier to find what I may be looking for when I can limit the tag view to things that apply. (For example: I have a notebook of Recipes and a notebook of my personal writing. As you might imagine, the tags associated with these to notebooks are radically different. I appreciated being able to see just the tags associated with the correct area. However, with this upgrade, when I select my Recipes notebook, I can no longer scan only the tags found in that notebook, instead I have to either search for what I want OR wade through the entire tag list. This is frustrating!)
  
• Buggy So Far with "Show/Hide Notebook or Tag List". This ability to either show or hide the lists in the sidebar is a positive step in my opinion. However, so far my experience with it is very buggy. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. A re-start of Evernote makes it behave properly for the first Show or Hide, but it does not do what it's supposed to after that. I like the idea of being able to switch back and forth between viewing the list or having the clean side bar. But the program doesn't appear to do very well with switching back and forth.
  
• Lack of "Bread Crumbs" to show Search Criteria. Previous versions showed me exactly where I was via an easy to see, visible search bar. The need to click the icons (tag icon in particular) to see details of your current search is frustrating and confusing. I miss the clear "bread crumbs" style bar that clearly said it was, "Showing Notes in Notebook XYZ tagged with ABC and GHF containing the words 'this search'".
  

I hope that helps clarify a bit some of my frustrations with the new upgrade. I appreciate the attempt at a cleaner interface, and the improved searches. I really miss some of the more "visual" features I had come to rely on in the previous versions.

Smiles,

Laura

[c_t 5]

The last couple of posts reminded me that I said that when I had time I'd return to the v5 release to try and identify what was breaking my workflow. Sorry for the long post, but hopefully @jackalicous et al will find it useful. For everyone else, tl;dr: it slows me down by making me look for things/scroll.

Before I list my dislikes, I want to thank the Evernote devs, especially @jackalicous, who have invited feedback, participated in the discussion, and made a real effort to return some of the more urgent features.

While I am a premium user, I'm not sure that I'm really power user. I only have about 2300 notes at the moment, but in 20 notebooks (2 of them are stacks, so really closer to 30 notebooks) and about 45 tags. I don't come near my monthly upload limit and less than half of my notes have an image or attachement. I rolled back to v3.3.0 immediately after the v5 release and am still using it. I have also rolled back to the v4 iOS release (and I miss the stacks). I'm running the most recent version (updates applied) on another machine for comparison. I don't see myself migrating up any time soon based on the experience.

The Evernote portion of my workflow is two-fold: collecting ideas and reference materials and managing projects and tasks. I use tags to incorporate some GTD aspects. Evernote (mac) is usually open in one workspace; I interact with it directly about 5 minutes per hour on average. In addition, I use browser clippers and a quicksilver routine to pipe notes into Evernote without disrupting the current activity. I use Evernote on both my iPhone and iPad, for the same uses and have used the iOS and Mac versions almost interchangeably. The only difference is because I can't clip easily from an iOS device, so I send to my evernote email.

*MAC*

Most of my complaints here come down to "adds an unacceptable amount of time to find or use what I need."

- Configurable left display of notebooks and tags.

This is the single biggest factor behind my decision to roll back, and it is a deal-breaker for me.

I can show notebooks or tags in the left nav panel, but I can't show both and I can't set the placement of a pane separating them.

While I do use a few saved searches, I need to see both notebooks and tags simultaneously, and I need to control how much of the navigation pane is allocated to each. I could forgive v3 not letting me put tags above notebooks.

I use the combined notebook/tag view extensively to navigate, identify, or track. I rely heavily on selecting multiple tags while in one notebook to filter. Without that capability, everything grinds to a halt and the methods to get the same result take me much longer.

- I use lots of drag and drop for note organization or sorting while envisioning and executing projects. Thanks for bringing that back. Of course, they're almost impossible to use, because of the above.

- Search using the tag: and notebook: search strings. Nice to see them come back in the 5.0.1 release. While the tag: and notebook: search strings work, the ability to remove just one condition from the filters applied with a single click was extremely valuable. Having to redo searches just to remove one tag, e.g., is much much slower. It is also very difficult to find the notebook selection option for a search buried in the drop down.

This was the next issue contributing to my decision to stay with v3.3. All that remains to upset me here:

I may be missing it, but I do not see how to apply boolean conditions in searches. It was obvious in the earlier version. Also, the floating box that appears while the search field is active is really (!) irritating and blocks what I'm looking at (since my searches frequently stem from the currently selected note and its tags).

- Inefficient card display for text notes. My notes are mostly text, so the card format isn't useful for me. I need to see the titles and preferably some of the main text, along with any tags used.

- Poor use of screen real estate. Putting "All notes" (the notebook selection drop down menu) and the tag and view icons in the note area of the center pane is an egregious waste of my space to display notes. It's also redundant. I need to see many snippets at once and this takes away from that. It just adds insult to injury that there is so much empty space above those buttons. In fact, the amount of wasted space is rather frustrating. I'm usually on my 13" laptop, and a wasted vertical inch is not good design for constrained space. Much more scrolling and looking, fewer visible notes.

- Fixed toolbar. Why isn't it possible for the user to configure the toolbar? I _want_ a delete note button up there.

-Conflation of time "Today" and tag "today." In the snippets view, it is difficult to differentiate between the time stamp (and "Today" is not useful for the current day; time would be more informative) and tags that have been applied. I'm sure I'm not the only person who has a "today" tag.

- Lack of aesthetics. The white note-grey spacious surround is ugly (sorry, guys). The white-on-black sidebar is also very difficult to read. And though I hate to admit it, I like some of the skeumorphic elements from v3. I found v3 very nearly perfect.

*iOS*

Most of my complaints here come down to "too much of the very limited space is wasted." I haven't let my iTunes update the app since shortly after the release, so some of these may be fixed, but I don't have a way to check easily. I was very happy to see that stacks were now handled, and I do miss that since I rolled back.

- The persistent "recent notes" is terrible on multiple grounds: 1) just because things are temporally close does not mean that they are conceptually related; 2) big waste of space; and 3) not everything I put in Evernote is work related and I really don't need to see my grocery list most of the time (even if I edit it frequently). If you must do that, give the user an option to turn it off.

- No snippet view when a note is selected or when editing (both of which I want to be able to see when I'm working)

- Information density too low, lots and lots of wasted space. The cards are only useful for image-heavy notes.

- The file tabs or whatever they are supposed to be are really very irritating since they are almost always in the way, can be difficult to navigate, and assume a completely flat way of interacting with the database.

- Extremely difficult to get through notes or locate one among many. My ipad is not a toy, and I need to get to my information quickly and sort out the stuff I really need.

****

Removing functionality in favor of pretty is a mistake, as is prioritizing pretty over efficient use of resources. In this case that means screen real estate. The iOS release fails dramatically here. And then on top of that it's exceedingly difficult to navigate if one has more than about 5 notes. The desktop app also squanders screen space. As somebody else pointed out, the screen on a 13" laptop isn't hugely different space-wise to a tablet.

I stand by my earlier statement that this update feels like a misguided attempt for cross-device convergence. I'm one of those people who'd rather converge to the desktop version than to the tablet. However, I also think that the iOS release is headed the wrong way as well, certainly for me and for a not insignificant number of your premium user base (judging by the fora). The android screen shots that have been posted seem much better at providing inclusive, navigable handling.

My 2 cents, finally. Much of the disconnect seems to be along two axes: a UI targeted to casual users with fewer notes and an assumption of a fairly non-hierarchical organizational structure. If one's filing isn't flat, this version makes it much slower to navigate. If you must, keep the monochromatic scheme (blech), but allow more advanced users to set options to recover the functionality that was in the previous version (and put all of it back).

-ct

[Ex Uno Plures 0]

I will never understand nearly every company immediately forsaking maintenance of download links to prior versions of their software whenever each time next shiny new thing comes along.  

 

Yes, most users can upgrade os—if they can afford to, if their hardware is still compatible, if they are willing to chance the marked decrease in speed matched by the bloatware of the both software and operating systems, etc.  These are only the first of countless reasons that might spring to mind on that front.

 

Yes, it may only be 8% of users who do not upgrade.  But if my user base were in the tens or hundreds of millions, 8 per cent is not number of customers—free or otherwise—I'd be prepared to alienate, lose, and send running to my competitors.

 

Yes, some of that 8% will catch up eventually and upgrade.  But what percentage of us have had a computer die, new or otherwise and have to revert back to an older model in its place?  We may have used an application before a fatal computer failure, but we can hardly be expected to have backed up a version we never had, or was never made available to us?  Some even less fortunate may only ever be able to afford used computers, which only come with the basics.

 

Several companies try (and fail) to save face by it was "it was made available before such-and-such," or "announcements were made," or as an Evernote rep offered: "it was hosted by [The App Store]; it's in their hands."

 

In short: the burden of responsibility isn't on the consumer, so why is it I feel like I'm being told to go f--- myself by every company I've already paid with my dollars and loyalty, just cause my computer died and now I'm stuck on a machine I can't upgrade?  Way to kick a man while he's down...

 

 

 

 

[Carsten 1]

 For heavens sake stop this automatic upgrading.  At least give me the choice of whether or not to install the upgrades.

 

 

Just switch off auto updates of extension in Safari and you are done.

[ankenn 0]

The real problem is the evernote web clipper.  The current version doesn't work.  Whenever I uninstall the extension from Safari and re-load with an older version of the clipper which does work, Evernote automatically upgrades my installation to the newest version.  For heavens sake stop this automatic upgrading.  At least give me the choice of whether or not to install the upgrades.  All this wastes so much time for want of some decent respect for  the users of this app.

 

For anyone who wants the old web clipper her's a link passed on to me by some kind fellow in another forum.evernote web clipper version 5.9

 

 

[EVERNOTE SUCKS! 0]

Just upgraded to the Evernote v5 for my mac, got down to studying. thought everything was going well then realized that evernote didnt save anything I had been working on tonight. I NEVER had this issue with v3 (which I ran until tonight). I'm afraid I'm done with Evernote for now. I've encouraged so many fellow students at law school to use evernote. Now, I'm going to make sure I get them the eff away from it.

 

HORRIBLE UPGRADE. When you have a great product, don't ***** it up before you get the bugs out of your new version.

[getthething 1]

I'd like to throw my two cents in to this as well. 

 

My biggest complaints are with the iOS app but I have complaints about the Mac app as well. Here are a few I can remember off the top of my head.

 

I miss the favorites bar. The shortcuts section doesn't do it for me because I'd like to hide the sidebar because it's big and clunky

 

Speaking of the sidebar. I want to be able to hide the 'Notes' section. I can hide everything else but that. I'd just hide the whole sidebar but see above. 

 

I miss the ability to customize the toolbar. I want smaller, simpler icons. The new styling is too heavy handed, especially in the sidebar.

 

 

On the positive side, search is MUCH better in 5.x

 

I guess to sum it up. The sidebar sucks and I want the favorites bar back, but search is better. Now, don't get my started on the iOS app...

[forevernote 0]

Thank you all for your help... I updated to version 5 under the advise of a Livescribe tech supporter and have been miserable ever since. I absolutely loved and swore by the older version and would do anything to get it back.

Everyone here keeps mentioning to make sure our database is backed up. How would one do that?

Also, I updated to version 5 on my laptop but my desktop and work laptop still have the older versions. Will this lead to syncing issues? Do they all need to be running on the same version?

Why oh why did evernote make such a drastic change to the UI. If it aint broke -- don't fix it!

Any advice or help is much appreciated. Thank you fellow evernote users :-)

[Jross17 0]

Has anyone else had a problem with the copy/paste feature with the latest version on MAC? I have submitted multiple support requests and can not seem to get a work around from anyone. I can't copy text from any other application into Evernote anymore - and I can't even copy and paste within Evernote! I may have to roll back to an earlier version but I don't want that to cause additional issues.

[davidscottsmith 4]

This is not recommended (or supported). Back up your files! http://evernote.com/...ernoteMacLegacy

Thank you thank you thank you for putting this link up.

I've been frustrated by v5 since it's release, and, thanks to this post, just reverted back (after making a back up of my database .

And it worked perfectly.

For all the criticism I have for the v5 release, the fact that I can simply change which app is talking to the data, and everything still works, is quite a feat. Good job, guys.

Now that I've gone back, incase any Evernote people are interested, I can tell you why I breathe easier using v3...

I can SEE everything.

I was surprised at that reaction myself, but the left bar containing all notebooks, tags, saved searches and attributes --- right there where I can see them --- makes me feel like I know where all this stuff is.

The more "hidden" form in v5 makes me feel like things are hidden. I don't know, it's weird.

Also, I immediately rediscovered notebooks that I had forgotten were there... There's something about that silly alphabetical list that's always present... I have to scroll past things, and hence I stumble upon things.

The one thing I'll miss in v3 is the "shortcuts" section. I did like that a lot.

But now my saved searches are back and useful and using search syntax properly, I'm very happy about that.

I'll stay away from v5... Will check in again with v6.

Thanks,

David

[Mike Wood 139]

Since my comments re self-regulation etc. I have had a long chat with a member of the support team. Overall I'm happier!

Key points:

1. EN accept and support users using older versions of EN (if you prefer it) you don't have to upgrade. Some users are using versions more than 2 years old.

2. If you need an old Mac or Windows version, support should be able to provide a download.

3. Extract re interface changes...

'17:47Giovanna F.: most of the version upgraded (for example from 4 to 5) keep most of the previous features (sharing, clipping, etc)

17:47Giovanna F.: but they redesign the app to look different and to have more new features

17:47Michael Wood: I think some people may disagree if you are using a Mac at the moment!

17:47Giovanna F.: Its like, switching from window7 to windows 8?

17:48Giovanna F.: for example, you can keep windows 7 and all continue to accept the updates for win7

17:48Giovanna F.: and not upgrade to win 8

17:48Michael Wood: It may settle down but you appear to be removing features... perhaps some by accident

17:49Giovanna F.: we are still working on some, some we just moved them around

17:49Giovanna F.: all feedback is welcomed

17:49Giovanna F.: as we can fix and reinstate some requested features

4. The Terms of Service say...

'Right to Modify the Service

We retain the right, in our sole discretion, to implement new elements as part of and/or ancillary to the Service and any Evernote Software, including changes that may affect the previous mode of operation of the Service. We expect that any such modifications will enhance the overall Service, but it is possible that you may not agree with us.'

[c_t 5]

@dataminer: I'm glad that you were able to roll back successfully. I'm quite happy with my older version. As long as I can run it, I don't see myself changing programs.

[dataminer 1]

@jackolicious, could you add [solved] to the subject on the thread? I don't appear to be able to edit it, and you and NightStalker have given me what I need, and what others doing the same search would need.

Thank you both.

ETA: I saved backups of my Evernote directory ($path/Evernote) a couple places and left the directory itself unchanged. Removed the v5 app bundle from /Applications, installed the 30021 release linked above (from the evernote legacy link in my case), and launched the new program. It opened as though I hadn't ever installed the update (not even any real "processing" time, though there was a lot going to 5), and my repository is perfectly intact. Brilliant. Thanks, guys.

I followed instructions from EN support to get back to a Time Machine version of 5.0.4 that had my notes WITH their tags, then I just followed your instructions and am back to 3.3 - with my current files and all the tags etc. intact.

Thank you, and to all the others who contributed to this discussion of back-dating EN.

I wish EN all success in recovering their reputation, but personally I'm moving my data out of EN to DevonThink Pro Office. Long experience has shown me that while it's complex and possibly over-featured for me, it is highly reliable while doing everything I want.

[dataminer 1]

I'd like to leave this open because I want to learn about why folks are downgrading. Thanks for all the feedback!

Man, you must be one serious *****.

++++

For those who are wondering, the ***** text was m a s o c h i s t. Apparently the Evernote forum software considers this to be an unacceptable term. Depends on your point of view I guess. From where I stand anyone who wants to hear all of the problems with EN version 5 has to be as described in the bleeped word.

[dataminer 1]

I'd like to leave this open because I want to learn about why folks are downgrading. Thanks for all the feedback!

Man, you must be one serious *****.

Here goes:

On my MacBook Pro OS 10.6.8 I am experiencing the following serious issues with 5.0.4

FIRST - Since I upgraded to 5.0.4 Evernote syncs when I open the program and shut it down, even though my preferences are set to syncing manually. Not only does this waste time (on my satellite broadband connection - I'm in a remote area) it takes around 90 seconds to sync an empty sync file on my desktop with an empty sync file on the web.

My concern is not mainly the lost time - for security reasons I simply don't want any program to be "cloud syncing" unnecessarily. This behaviour, combined with the second issue below is a significant security risk.

SECOND - Since I upgraded to 5.0.4 EN has been writing to and getting data from my Keychain without first getting permission. This represents a major breach of one of the key security features of the Mac OS - nothing should change files on a Mac without first getting admin user permission. This did not happen before. EN support staff confirmed today that this is a bug.

THIRD - The interface sucks.

FOURTH - And maybe this isn't peculiar to Ver 5.0.4 - I don't know because I've never needed to use .enex archive files to reinstate the database before, despite backing up regularly using the Export function.

In attempting to overcome some issues with the note share/email function EN support said that they had found "some issues" with my datbase and recommended a procedure dealing with this. Since I currenly have a whole raft of support tickets on the go with EN (since 5.0.4 update).

I carefully followed their advice on exporting all my notebooks as .enex files, getting rid of the user/library/ Application Support/Evernote/accounts/Evernote/ folder and restarting Evernote as a clean (empty) version, synching with the web version (empty because I use only non-synch notebooks) and then reimporting the .enex files.

First thing I learned on importing the .enex files of the Stacks was that when you export a stack, you export only the notes from the stack, but without the underlying notebook structure. Inconvenient, but can be overcome with an hour or two of work to reconstitute the structure that I had established for the data from several projects as well as from my business and my investment/tax management.

Second thing I learned was that in 5.0.4 (latestMac version) when you bring up the export screen it has the "Include tags for each note" box ticked as the default. Very reassuring. But apparently what it means, to judge from the results I achieved, is that it exports the tags to the tag list of the new datbase, but none of them is associated with any note. All notes are bare of tags.

So now I have roughly 2500 notes, across 18 databases for the aforesaid projects, business, investments and tax with not a single tag. Pretty near to useless in most instances. I certainly don't have the time to got through and try to re-tag (many with multiple tags) all the notes.

This is a deal breaker so far as I am concerned. I can probably/possibly recover an earlier version of the EN database from Time Machine (If I can identify all the files that need to be restored), but no way I am going to take the risk of having this (or worse) happen again with another EN update.

So, what I need to do is to recover the earlier data from Time Machine, put it into a pre-Version 5 of Evernote, and then export it into a more trustworthy but more complex database Devonthink Pro Office (I know that getting data out of Evernote is not easy, but it now has to be done).

[iintiint 3]

RyEN, you can both edit locations of your notes and use the back/forward buttons. These are both available in 5.0.4: http://evernote.com/...ile=EvernoteMac

Jackolicious, I appreciate you reading this forum...

I agree with many comments. I just shake my head in disbelief at how you (e.g. Evernote team) managed to 'corrupt' such a great, nearly perfect application (both for iphone and Mac and maybe for Windows and Android too).

I do love Evernote and I do use it every day (the older versions, that is). It is my top app and it has become indispensible.

However, to my deepest regret, I don't foresee myself using it for very much longer... So I am currently on a look out for alternatives...

Yes, I'd try to use for as long as possible but when new OS comes out and if I can't use the older versions - I'd have to switch to something else (unless you put back the functionality that got removed with recent so called 'upgrades')

For me the show-stopper is that I can't edit locations and can't see the notes on the map based on tags/search/notebooks (e.g. I can only see ALL notes on the map with no way of filtering them).

In Mac version 5.0.0 I couldn't even click on the location field to edit it.

Now in 5.0.4 I can go to Note Info and click on location field. I can even type an address there. But then what?

The address is not recognised and appears in red colour!!!

I've tried entering GPS coordinates in <latitude, longitude> format (e.g. -37.917973,145.062378)

No, this doesn't work either!

Well, after playing with it for some time I managed to find the work-around - you'd need to enter the coordinates in Degrees, Minutes and Seconds and in a very specific format (e.g. 37°55′5S 145°3′45E)

So first you'd need to convert your address into Degrees, Minutes and Seconds and then re-write it to match exactly the format Evernote can understand (including degree (°), minutes (′) and seconds (′′) symbols).

Quite a cumbersome way of doing it!

Well, I thought - at least I could do it... so be happy and keep using Evernote.

But then the second problem just killed me completely.

I'm doing voluntary work and I have addresses of people I need to visit.

So, in Evernote on my iphone, I need to see on the map ONLY those addresses that are located in a specific notebook (or have a specific tag, or search results)

I used to be able to do this in previous versions on iphone but not any longer. Instead I can see all my hundreds of notes from all my notebooks.

I'm just puzzled! Can somebody please explain the usefullness of this?!!!

Why or how often one would need to see all the notes together on the map?

By the way, this makes the Atlas (on Evernote Mac) pretty much useless too.

And since every new note I create on my Mac at home will get GPS coordinates assigned automatically - now I have many notes with exactly the same coordinates - my home!

And all of them are displayed on the map in the same place!

Oh, how useful! (being sarcastic here)

This can potentially create privacy issues - if anyone get hold of my Evernote account (e.g. via lost mobile/laptop, hack into Evernote on the web, etc) - then it's very easy to know my home/work addresses. All that is required to do - check which notes have the same coordinates!

(to stop this automatic allocation of coordinates, I had to disallow Evenote app from using Location Services - under "Security & Privacy" in System Preferences)

So, I've downgraded to the older version on iphone (fortunately I kept the .ipa files and could install the previous versions).

I do love the Evernote. I hope I can continue using it for a while.

But I understand that eventually I'd have to change the phone, or OS, or computer and probably won't be able to use older versions any longer.

I think Evernote is one of the most useful application I've ever used. So it will always remain in my heart. :-)

And also in my memory...

as an incredible example of how such a great software could be completely destroyed not by lack of finance, not by competition, not by law suits, not by bigger and more powerful corporations but.... by a series of 'upgrades'!

Just unbelievable!

You guys had a great idea that everybody needed!

You are were first! You were way ahead of competition!

Your software was great! It was working!

It ticked all the boxes for many people: flexible, cloud syncing, tags, search, images, audio notes, geo coordinates, map, sharing, available on Mac, Windows, nearly on all mobile devices...

Now you've managed to make it from Great to unusable or nearly unusable for SO many people!

I simply could not believe my eyes when I upgraded!

How on Earth could this happen?!

Did you hire a spy who hate Evernote and vowed to destroy it from inside? :-)

[Jackolicious 808]

RyEN, you can both edit locations of your notes and use the back/forward buttons. These are both available in 5.0.4: http://evernote.com/evernote/index.php?file=EvernoteMac

[RyEN 0]

I've rolled back to 3.3.0 primarily because the location of a note can no longer be edited on ENv5 for OSX. This was a feature I used regularly to create notes for sights I want to see on trips, or coffe shops that serve great coffee etc. Without this feature, I can no longer use EN for travel.

Also, I agree largely with a lot of the comments in this thread. ENv5 feels like En has tried to jump to v8 and skip a few versions. Far too many features lost and barely anything useful gained. Light user of EN may no notice, but Premium and pro users really do notice when large drastic changes are made. The Navigation buttons were super useful. I find it hard to believe the EN developers do not miss this also.

Spend more time at the drawing board before releasing a shoddy version of a previously wonderful product. It's your own fault Evernote, you made something which people loved so much, then went and ruined it.

[appman 1]

VIVA V3 !!!

I have designed the organization of my personal and professional life around Evernote, but I stopped using Evernote completely once v5 came out, due to sheer frustration. I rolled back (the very minute I found out how) to v3.3.0 (300201) for the following reasons:

1. Version 3 is perfect. Why mess with perfection? It is really excellent and I have no complaints.

2. The tags were simple and intuitive in v3. They were easy to nest, with a simple drag and drop. In v5 this didn't work very well.

3. Light grey in v3 (for the sidebar) is a much nicer color then the black in v5. The v5 color schemes made me feel claustrophobic.

4. In v5, when you create a new note it isn't as easy (as v3) to set the TAG.

- In v3 I hit <command> N to create a new note, then type in the title, then hit <tab> and start typing in the TAG name, and it auto-finds the TAG. Then I hit <tab> and start typing the note.

- In v5 the order has been changed so this doesn't work as streamlined.

I appreciate implementing new features, but I would prefer you not change the features we have already. At least please make available the ability to maintain the classic functionality and UI.

[NightStalker 407]

I've been investigoogling. For those who really want to downgrade - AFTER BACKING UP THE DATABASE - go here and select the version you need to download:

mac.filehorse.com/download-evernote/2755/old-versions/

Again - BACK UP FIRST.

But mine went very smoothly. No problems at all, and the world is good again. I've just reinstalled v3.3.0 Build 300201

All warnings to be noted, and all responsibility to the user. Not supported by Evernote - but it worked for me.

[GrumpyMonkey 4,320]

Quick drive by to say: I will spend some time with the new version after this set of deadlines and see if I can elucidate specifically the things that are crashing my workflow.

However, that sort of feedback is probably more appropriate for the thread about the user experience not working (i.e. http://discussion.evernote.com/topic/31553-think-very-carefully-before-upgrading-to-50-its-a-poorer-experience/)

_This_ thread is a concrete I-have-a-problem-I-need-a-fix-now thread, and people reading it are going to be looking for that specific thing. You could always add a link and say "tell us why you're unhappy in this ongoing thread, we're listening." But make it easy to tell that an interim fix for those of us desperate and on fire is in this thread.

Thanks. And thanks for paying attention and responding.

Well, it is also nice to catch people who are looking to do this, so I'd like to see more discussion. If you edit your original post to add the link to the download, then anyone coming here will be able to immediately go there if they do not have the time or interest to follow the discussion.

[c_t 5]

Quick drive by to say: I will spend some time with the new version after this set of deadlines and see if I can elucidate specifically the things that are crashing my workflow.

However, that sort of feedback is probably more appropriate for the thread about the user experience not working (i.e. http://discussion.evernote.com/topic/31553-think-very-carefully-before-upgrading-to-50-its-a-poorer-experience/)

_This_ thread is a concrete I-have-a-problem-I-need-a-fix-now thread, and people reading it are going to be looking for that specific thing. You could always add a link and say "tell us why you're unhappy in this ongoing thread, we're listening." But make it easy to tell that an interim fix for those of us desperate and on fire is in this thread.

Thanks. And thanks for paying attention and responding.

[GrumpyMonkey 4,320]

I'd like to leave this open because I want to learn about why folks are downgrading. Thanks for all the feedback!

I wonder as well.

I am guessing the left sidebar is the main culprit, because that was one of the biggest changes. I'd probably also guess the toolbar up top as well. In my case, for example, my personal wiki became un-navigable without arrows. Otherwise, it seems to me that most of the stuff is similar.

[NightStalker 407]

I think most who downgrade, including moi, are doing so because the new version doesn't work as well or as quickly as the previous version. Too many things missing (eg the customizable toolbar, the ability to drag tags to snippets, etc etc etc). Also, the new version just seems so SLOW and awkward. It might work fine for the developers with their test databases - bit like instruction manuals that have been written by the developers that make no sense to anyone except the developers who can't understand why others don't get it... if you'll pardon the analogy.

I think the EN development teams (Mac and iOS) are too close to the action. Having things work differently is bad enough, although sometimes it is for the better, but having things that were there suddenly go missing is unforgiveable, IMHO.

Improvement of features = good

Change in the way features work - not good unless it improves ease of use

Loss of features that people are used to = very bad

[Jackolicious 808]

I'd like to leave this open because I want to learn about why folks are downgrading. Thanks for all the feedback!

[c_t 5]

I'm not sure that's true - I _thought_ there was a v4.x series, but now can't find any history of it except for iOS, nor, apparently, did NightStalker (who points to 3.3.0 rel 300201). Perhaps 3x was the last update series?

ETA: Last release mention for the Mac client on the blog is for 3.3.1.

[Mrs Tumnus 1]

I'd argue this thread should not be marked as solved. I've just rolled back to v3 for the same issues you mentioned yourself, however I am concerned that the legacy version provided by Evernote is not the latest. I would like to see an Evernote hosted download to the most recent pre v5.0 release provided here, so we can all ensure we have at least the security features and any bug fixes available up until "the (botched) face lift". As per good change release practice.

Please help me fall back in love with you again Evernote.

[c_t 5]

@jackolicious, could you add [solved] to the subject on the thread? I don't appear to be able to edit it, and you and NightStalker have given me what I need, and what others doing the same search would need.

Thank you both.

ETA: I saved backups of my Evernote directory ($path/Evernote) a couple places and left the directory itself unchanged. Removed the v5 app bundle from /Applications, installed the 30021 release linked above (from the evernote legacy link in my case), and launched the new program. It opened as though I hadn't ever installed the update (not even any real "processing" time, though there was a lot going to 5), and my repository is perfectly intact. Brilliant. Thanks, guys.

[Mrs Tumnus 1]

I'm not sure that's true - I _thought_ there was a v4.x series, but now can't find any history of it except for iOS, nor, apparently, did NightStalker (who points to 3.3.0 rel 300201). Perhaps 3x was the last update series?

ETA: Last release mention for the Mac client on the blog is for 3.3.1.

Thank you for taking the time to look for this, I just assumed that the numbering convention would be sequential (see previous comment on good change release practice )

May I ask then, that we are given a link to v3.3.1 to download please? rather than v3.3.0 as is currently in Jackolicious' link.

To my issues with the latest version, my initial reaction was that it is one of style over function. I had much the same issue as GrumpyMonkey...

...I am guessing the left sidebar is the main culprit, because that was one of the biggest changes. I'd probably also guess the toolbar up top as well. In my case, for example, my personal wiki became un-navigable without arrows. Otherwise, it seems to me that most of the stuff is similar.

For someone used to, and very comfortable using, email apps that are simple, clean and easy to navigate, I love Evernote in v3.3.x. I can concertina my notebooks, expand as required without losing screen space, view my tags and see any saved searches, all in one column nicely sat in the left sidebar. The only irritation I have is that shared notebooks aren't included in my main notebook list, I have to tab to them, whereas in v5.0 they're listed with the rest of my own notebooks. The previews column is great, it looks like email, I can get loads of notes in that bar compared to the cards provided in v5.0, which had a mass of whitespace around them (which I desperately wanted to get rid of), and they're not so big as the cards, which to me look as if they might be appropriate in a children's game, but not in an adult work tool.

And I really missed the back and forward buttons.

Mainly I was disappointed about the lack of choice. That I was being forced to use the new UI when most apps would provide a 'classic view' for those of us who have a particular way of working. For example, I have Windows machines that I run in classic mode, the round-edged, bubble-box, design-centric style of new, just doesn't do it for me.

Thank you for listening. If I get the time I might spin up v5.0 in a VM and give it another go, but my reaction was so strong I suspect it is unlikely that it would result in a change of heart I'm afraid!

[c_t 5]

Thank you thank you thank you! No support needed -- I will save intermediate backups.

Do I need to worry about a mismatch between databases for 3 and 4?

[NightStalker 407]

@Jackolicious - are you saying that once we have "upgraded" to v5, there is no way that you support our choice to go back a version?

Personally, I have done it. I found a download for v3.0.6 in my Downloads folder (they're out there on the interwebs too for those who want to search). I installed it over the top of v5.0, and ran it. It spent quite some time re-doing the database, then up it popped. Then it rebuilt all the thumbnails - no problems there either. Now it is all as it was. I can't remember if there was a version later than 3.0.6, as it has been over 2 weeks now since I went up to v5 and hate it.

Surely there must be a repository somewhere - an FTP storage site, for example, whereby we can download the previous versions? After all, even you guys are well aware that there are many "issues" with the new version, and for those of us who use Evernote extensively and don't have the time or the inclination to be stuffing about trying to find workarounds for things that used to just work, there has to be a way of rolling back a version? Surely?

If not, then I am sorely disappointed in Evernote's attitude towards its customers, especially paying Premium members, who have been with Evernote since the earliest versions. I have thousands of notes, and a well-defined workflow and methods - almost none of which work with the new version. i NEED the older version to get real work done.

Currently, my v3.0.6 is working just fine, but for those who may not have the previous versions, I would think that the least you could do is offer the download of the most recent pre-version 5 Evernote for those who want it. After backing up the database, of course.

[Jackolicious 808]

This is not recommended (or supported). Back up your files! http://evernote.com/evernote/index.php?file=EvernoteMacLegacy

[c_t 5]

(posted this to the wrong thread earlier)

I (and I'm sure many others) have backups of the pre-conversion database. So if I can get the older package I can revert seamlessly -- that's what backups are for.

And while I did my best to make the new UI functional (for me!), it wasn't possible. Yes, I dragged things over, yes I explored the options with the time available to me. No, it doesn't do what I need, and I don't have time now to keep trying to make it. I use Evernote because I am overwhelmingly busy, the kind of busy that means I spend 14 -20 hours a day working right now, and I like to use the those other hours to do things like sleep or bathe --- and Evernote is invaluable for me. I need it to work for me now; I can go back later.

Note that I'm not asking for rewrite of the new interface to make me happy. I'm asking for the old version. That's it.

Please?

(Yes, I know I shouldn't have upgraded without checking further during a major crunch. A rookie mistake.)

[c_t 5]

Thanks for the response.

While I know it's not helpful, the answer to that question at the moment is "it doesn't do what I want" -- I just cannot take the time to play with it now. Literally, no time. I need it to just work the way I'm used to (yes, it was incredibly stupid of me to upgrade something mission critical during a crunch; I know better, apparently I needed reminding).

I have a backup (of course) of the pre-conversion database. I just need the old package.

[BMJT 5]

I managed to roll back to v3 without any noticeable problems. Just make sure you back-up/export your whole library beforehand.

[deverill 54]

Be careful - there was a database update on our files when upgrading to v5... putting a previous version on may cause corruption that you would need to get with Evernote to fix. I don't know that it will but as a programmer it stands to reason.

[Jackolicious 808]

What are your specific issues? Perhaps we can help you work through them. In the meantime, check out http://evernote.com/evernote/whats_new/mac/ It should help the transition.

[Jackolicious 808]

NS, to your points:

1) My team (Mac) and iOS sit right next to each other They are lovely people. You should come for a visit!

2) We just want to the best experience we can. Simple as that. It's not for glory or to constantly "add things"... Just to make great products that people love and find useful.

3) We appreciate constructive criticism. I mean, it's why we read these forums so closely. With Evernote 5, we took great care during the release process. The issues that have been reported are being looked at and responded to immediately.

Let's keep this thread clear for folks to discuss feature requests and issues that would cause them to roll back. Thanks all!

[Mike Wood 139]

I would recommend chatting to support if you have specific issues downgrading etc. - https://livechat.evernote.com/visitor/index.php?/Default/LiveChat/Chat/Request/_sessionID=/_promptType=chat/_proactive=0/_filterDepartmentID=1%2C3%2C4%2C5%2C6%2C7%2C8%2C9%2C10%2C11%2C12%2C13%2C14%2C15/_randomNumber=/_fullName=/_email=/

They are very helpful!

[GrumpyMonkey 4,320]

We hope to have the major issues brought up in this thread addressed soon.

Please consider an ambitious upgrade

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s74/sh/e0533319-72d3-443d-a506-299cdc4b791e/69092ec3e95fad10495698bf3329fdbd

[Jackolicious 808]

We hope to have the major issues brought up in this thread addressed soon.

[Cooltunes 0]

Having just upgraded to Evernote 5 and been baffled by the new interface, particularly the lack of back and forward buttons and changes to the way interactivity to the sidebar works I have managed with Nightstalker's link http://mac.filehorse.com/download-evernote/2755/old-versions/ to roll back to 3.3.0 and after syncing all is working perfectly. Phew!!

What a relief it was too to get back to what I had got used to. Very much agree with the style over function comment and the extremely odd choice to dump functions that were not just working fine but were really useful!!

I would like to hear specifically what the thinking was behind that, Jackolicious??

[Carsten 1]

I was testing EN 5 for one day and was going back to EN 3.3 because of these major points:

1. missing delete button.

I add a lot notes with the Elephant icon (send window or part of the screen to EN).

They popup as separate window and I decide if I would like to keep it later. That's not possible with EN 5 at all.

2. missing back button

I'm using Evernote internal links and cannot go back from were I was coming.

3. missing functionality to change the toolbar.

4. currently the list of notebook is always open in EN 3.3 (as I'm using it).

I can open it in EN 5 as well, but it does not show the number of notes (in the tree view) and it does not feel as comfortable as before.

BTW, the installation does not convert my existing favorites in EN 3.3 (below the toolbar) to shortcuts in EN 5.0.

[Mike Wood 139]

Agreed excellent forums. When using other forums I often miss both its function and inhabitants.

[NightStalker 407]

NS, to your points:

1) My team (Mac) and iOS sit right next to each other They are lovely people. You should come for a visit!

2) We just want to the best experience we can. Simple as that. It's not for glory or to constantly "add things"... Just to make great products that people love and find useful.

3) We appreciate constructive criticism. I mean, it's why we read these forums so closely. With Evernote 5, we took great care during the release process. The issues that have been reported are being looked at and responded to immediately.

Let's keep this thread clear for folks to discuss feature requests and issues that would cause them to roll back. Thanks all!

@Jackolicious: Many thanks for your reply, and courtesy. Much appreciated. I would indeed come for a visit - if I weren't in Australia...! But have a coffee for me in my absence instead.

I take your points, especially about the Mac and iOS teams being next to each other, so presumably communicating. My comment was a presumption, and obviously wrong, for which I apologize.

However, your points about wanting to give people the best experience you can, while very noble in its intention, doesn't seem to be working all that well with ENv5. And although these things have been mentioned before on here, the things that I still find hard to fathom are examples such as REMOVING things that worked well, like the whole tags-notes thing, or the customizable toolbar on the Mac, etc etc. They WERE in there - and now they're gone. Was that an oversight, a programming *****-up, or was it a conscious decision to change those things? THAT is what puzzles me greatly.

Having been a part of numerous beta programs over several decades, for umpteen different types of programs, the one thing that stands out with this v5 release of Evernote is that it just doesn't seem to fit in with a "normal" evolutionary timeline. With most programs, they evolve, some things get added with each iteration, things get fixed with each update, and VERY occasionally, the way in which something is done gets changed. But not often. And RARELY do we see features and functions being REMOVED - like the customizable toolbar for example. There just seems to be too many problems with ENv5, both in terms of things missing, and things not working properly.

So instead of evolving - as previous versions of Evernote have (and very nicely, too) - this one just seems to be out of the square. It seems like an almost new product, with too many problems.

OK - I won't keep banging on about it. I did mention that you do take constructive comments very well, so I hope you will take these comments as they are intended, and not just whingeing.

It would be interesting, though, to find out just how many people are either rolling back a version for now, or at least trying to. That should tell the story.

And in finishing, I do have to thank you for (1) running these forums that allow us to have these debates, and (2) being responsive, as opposed to some other companies that give the impression we're talking to a brick wall. Not so in your case - thank you

[GrumpyMonkey 4,320]

NS, to your points:

1) My team (Mac) and iOS sit right next to each other They are lovely people. You should come for a visit!

2) We just want to the best experience we can. Simple as that. It's not for glory or to constantly "add things"... Just to make great products that people love and find useful.

3) We appreciate constructive criticism. I mean, it's why we read these forums so closely. With Evernote 5, we took great care during the release process. The issues that have been reported are being looked at and responded to immediately.

Let's keep this thread clear for folks to discuss feature requests and issues that would cause them to roll back. Thanks all!

On that note, it is good to see iOS and OSX coming closer together. There are a lot of little things that add up to make moving between the two less jarring. Of course, there are things on both platforms I'd loke to see (I think you know!), but it should be noted that upgrading to the newest versions (for the first time ever ?) brings a bit of synergy to the experience, and you get more out of it. Hopefully, that will be further incentive for people to upgrade this time, and in the future.

[Mrs Tumnus 1]

If you right-click on the icons in the left sidebar in Evernote 5.0, you can see your notebooks and tags. The saved searches, unfortunately, would have to be dragged into the Shortcuts menu. However, assuming your only have a handful, then it is no big deal, and takes up the same amount of screen real estate.

Thank you. I didn't test this, I will have a look as and when I take another look at v5.0.

I think what you are talking about is the center pane of the app, where you have a choice of views. I believe Evernote 5.0 defaults to Card View, but you can select any view you like, including the Snippet View that I think you like.

I did go through the 4 options available and unfortunately none of them were comparable. All lost space in a way not seen in the previous version which was both distracting and I felt more time-consuming to look through. Either they had white space or the data in the summary was different than as-is currently. Personally I don't find white space helpful for quickly scanning the page in front of me.

Please consider an ambitious upgrade

https://www.evernote...95698bf3329fdbd

This is precisely what I'm looking for with bonus improvement

Again I go back to 'look and feel'. Even if the majority of functionality can be replicated, if the visuals are significantly different, which in all of the 4 options they are, the user experience may be degraded. It feels as if this may have been a case of form over function, where the squidgy, bubble, App-Store-Eye-Candy, presentation has been prioritised over the continuation of support for tried and tested, functional, utilitarian, doesn't-scare-your-Granny, simplistic styling.

Love from

Your (32 y.o.) Granny

[Mike Wood 139]

You've been here way longer than me! I'm just making conversation and drawing on my 30+ years in the industry.

EN is a slightly unusual beast, in that its an application as well as a cloud solution (and can work offline). If we focus on the Mac & Windows Applications does EN commit to support and enable version 4 to continue to work for a number of years? If so my argument holds less water.

I was drawn to EN in part because of the three basic rules of EN -

Your Data is Yours

Your Data is Protected

Your Data is Portable

Perhaps there should be a fourth rule?

[NightStalker 407]

Thanks Mike - yes, I saw that thread and read it. However I really don't think that regulation is the answer to problems with software development.

I suspect the problem with the Evernote evolution is that the developers

(1) may not talk to each other as much as they should, especially BETWEEN teams - eg the Mac team and the iOS team

(2) feel that they are under constant pressure to "improve" things and to "add" things. That pressure may come from above, from themselves, or from the market. I suspect a lot comes from themselves - they feel they need to keep on proving themselves.

(3) may get offended when their efforts aren't received rapturously, as seems to be the case with Evernote 5 (and the whole Skitch thing), and so perhaps are a little reluctant to admit mistakes in judgement. I have to say that Jackolicious seems to take criticism fairly well though.

(4) and finally, they fall into the trap of not recognising when something is working well and to LEAVE IT ALONE, so they inplement change for the sake of change, or for eye candy.

I mentioned InfoSelect in another of my posts, a free-form notes database (among other things) that is only Windows, not Mac (unfortunately). See www.miclog.com But the point to make is that InfoSelect has been working wonderfully well at what it does, and the upgrades (I've had it since v1.0) have all added functionality WITHOUT taking away the things that make it so useful. And it STILL has by far the fastest searching of ANY database program I've ever seen. But it is not cross-platform and doesn't sync to the cloud like Evernote. But my point is in the incremental upgrades they've done over the many years, NONE of which has taken anything away. Evernote should maybe have a look at the way InfoSelect has evolved....

OK - I've said more than enough, and I really don't want to imply that I am unhappy with Evernote. I'm not - I use it all day, every day. I'm just unhappy with Evernote v5 which is nowhere near ready for prime time.

[Mike Wood 139]

@Nightstalker Well said!

We have a discussion here

About the responsibility not to mess millions of users about and the way forward!

[NightStalker 407]

I've been an Evernote user almost from the beginning. And I've not been reluctant to upgrade, mainly via the beta channel.

But going by the number of comments - mainly negative - on these forums, it really does strike me that Evernote v5 was nowhere near ready for prime time release.

And I am still completely puzzled as to just WHY - the reasoning or logic behind - the things that were taken away? Like the customizable toolbar, the ability to drag notes to tags, and tags to notes.... nobody has yet come up with an explanation as to just what was going through the developers' collective heads to make those decisions.

And the iOS version likewise - why is there a List view on the little iPhone, but none on the much bigger iPad? Where is the logic in that?

Either the beta testing just didn't get the feedback that you're now getting, or it wasn't listened to. I suspect the former - the full release, with most users being upgraded automatically via the App Store on the iDevices, or simply via the pop-up that there is a newer version on the Mac, seems to have reached a LOT of users, and the problems are showing up now, when they really should have shown up during the beta phase.

But it's still the logic - or lack of it - that really puzzles me, of the removal of things that worked and worked well. Even the little things like the customizable toolbar and the Forward/Back arrows. What possessed the development team to say "Let's do without that stuff"? I just don't get it.

Meanwhile, I'm happily downgraded on both the Macs and the iPhone and iPad, and will wait until the comments on here turn much more positive.

I really can't remember a release of such a popular program that has been such a SNAFU....

[James__ 0]

Thanks for posting a link to the older version. I haven't been able to work for more than a minute or two between crashes (I've sent a problem report every time).

[GrumpyMonkey 4,320]

I can concertina my notebooks, expand as required without losing screen space, view my tags and see any saved searches, all in one column nicely sat in the left sidebar.

If you right-click on the icons in the left sidebar in Evernote 5.0, you can see your notebooks and tags. The saved searches, unfortunately, would have to be dragged into the Shortcuts menu. However, assuming your only have a handful, then it is no big deal, and takes up the same amount of screen real estate.

The previews column is great, it looks like email, I can get loads of notes in that bar compared to the cards provided in v5.0, which had a mass of whitespace around them (which I desperately wanted to get rid of), and they're not so big as the cards, which to me look as if they might be appropriate in a children's game, but not in an adult work tool.

I think what you are talking about is the center pane of the app, where you have a choice of views. I believe Evernote 5.0 defaults to Card View, but you can select any view you like, including the Snippet View that I think you like.

We lost our navigation buttons in Evernote 5.0, and the customizability of the toolbar, so that was quite a blow. But, if you can live without these, then Evernote 5.0 will work essentially the same for you as the previous version!

[NightStalker 407]

Bump -for those who may be looking for this, in a stream of topics that is scrolling by quite quickly.