(Archived) When changing a note's notebook, I want to stay in the *note*

[soundsgoodtome 139]

I have a default notebook, and obviously notes that are pasted into EN go there. When a note belongs in a different notebook, I go that note, then I change the notebook via the drop-down menu above the note's text area.

The problem is that upon changing notebooks, the note itself disappears! I remain in the default notebook (which is not where I want to be), and then I have to go and manually locate the note I was just editing.

This is remarkably unfriendly behavior. :-)

When we change a note's notebook, why is the assumption made that we no longer want to view that note? I view changing the notebook like any other changes made to a note (i.e., adding tags, or changing the date of creation, or the title). What if we added tags, then the note disappeared? This seems similar. I change the note's location, but then the note disappears.

Upon selecting a different notebook for a note, it seems more logical to continue viewing the note, not something else.

Please. :-)

[statpumpkin 1]

I think it has nothing to do with someone's expectancies being *incorrect*.  The app does not work in the way that I think is intuitive.   

 

It seems to me that the drop-down menu is interpreted by the app as "please file this note away into a folder".  To me the more intuitive use of the drop down menu would be "please associate the note I am working on with the folder I select (but I still want to work on it)".  To me, this is a more natural interpretation of what the the drop down menu should do.  I find the actual usage infuriating, because it files my note away when I was really just labelling it.   But that is my expectation - which is not *incorrect*, because there is no label on the menu.   That's why we have a forum, to discuss these things.

 

An earlier post said   "If you want to stay in the note, work from All Notes".  THAT IS WHAT I WAS DOING.  If you are in All Notes, and you hit New Note, the app MOVES YOU to the default folder.  then if you want the note in a different folder, it keeps you in the default folder.  I dont keep anything in the default folder, and I have no reason to go there, but the app is constantly putting me there with no notes.  To me, that is unexpected, and in my opinion, a mis-step in the user-interface of an otherwise lovely app. 

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

I have a default notebook, and obviously notes that are pasted into EN go there. When a note belongs in a different notebook, I go that note, then I change the notebook via the drop-down menu above the note's text area.

The problem is that upon changing notebooks, the note itself disappears! I remain in the default notebook (which is not where I want to be), and then I have to go and manually locate the note I was just editing.

This is remarkably unfriendly behavior. :-)

When we change a note's notebook, why is the assumption made that we no longer want to view that note? I view changing the notebook like any other changes made to a note (i.e., adding tags, or changing the date of creation, or the title). What if we added tags, then the note disappeared? This seems similar. I change the note's location, but then the note disappears.

Upon selecting a different notebook for a note, it seems more logical to continue viewing the note, not something else.

Please. :-)

If you're in the notebook, rather than all notes, after changing the note's notebook, the note is no longer part of your search selection & therefore should no longer appear in the search results window. This is correct & expected behavior. If you want to stay in the note, work from all notes. Alternatively, you could make changing the notebook the last thing you do to the note.

[jefito 5,586]

@statpumpkin : as nearly as I can tell, the original poster here has a different issue, and wants the behavior to change. The issue they don't like is that :

* They've gone to a specific notebook to find a note (by doing this, you're setting a filter up that only displays notes in the note list that come from that folder).

* While that filter is active, they change a note's notebook setting. Hey, presto, it vanishes, because it's not in the note list filter that was set by the user.

In this case, a UI designer faces a couple of conflicting choices:

* Either honor the note filter

* Or follow the note

Either one has utility. For me, since I send a lot of notes to a single Inbox notebook, to be tagged and set the destination notebook, the first option works great: Go to my Inbox notebook, pick a note, set its tags, and then set its notebook, and voilà, on to the next one. This is also consistent with the note filter UI. The behavior of the first option can be a little surprising, though, and the vaunted "Principle of Least Surprise" would perhaps hold sway. So "useful and consistent" vs. "useful and non-surprising" -- whose cuisine will reign supreme? Of course, the remedy could always be the standard "make it an option", but that's not seemingly popular among Evernote's designers.

The case that you noted seems to be a little different, though, and one I can't comment on from the perspective of being a Windows client user. When I click on a new note from All Notes, I don't "go" to any notebook (as in the note filter is not set to a particular notebook), instead, the notebook of the new note is set to my default notebook, and the note stays right there. On the other hand, if I'm viewing a particular notebook,and I create a new note, the note is created in the current notebook. According to your description, the Mac doesn't behave this way, but it sounds like the WIndows way might be a little more intuitive in your case.

One more thing: the way that the dropdown notebook menu works is the way it works. Having it work one way is no more correct than having it work the other way. But it needs to work one way, and UI is about making choices. Personally, I do like the "file it" interpretation more than the "associate it" interpretation, but that's all horses for courses.

[statpumpkin 1]

Jeff, thanks.  I can understand that some people might like the 'file it' interpretation.  The more I think about it, the issue is that when I create a new note from All Notes, the UI actually moves me to the default notebook.  The alternative (creating the new note in the default notebook, but leaving me in All Notes) seems much more friendly.   I am not a UI expert but I am having a hard time understanding  why it would  move me to a notebook (that I typically dont use), and make me have to click out of it every time I make a new note from All Notes. 

[jefito 5,586]

Like I say, I am not a Mac user, so I can't try this scenario out, but in this case, it looks like Windows is a little more friendly. Just this once.

[chirmer 567]

...The issue is that when I create a new note from All Notes, the UI actually moves me to the default notebook.  The alternative (creating the new note in the default notebook, but leaving me in All Notes) seems much more friendly...

 

Emphasis mine, but this I can agree with. Each note must go in a notebook - it's the foundation of Evernote. But, if one is working from the All Notes field, I don't see why it couldn't let the user stay there when creating a new note, thus letting one complete edits in the order they see fit — especially since one can already do all of these things to an existing note. Stick the note in the default notebook, but don't force the user into the Notebooks section of Evernote — rather, let them stay in All Notes and edit as they wish. 

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

Or...just open the note in it's own window.

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

What if we added tags, then the note disappeared? This seems similar.

It is similar. Select all notes that are tagged with A but not B by doing this:

tag:a -tag:b

Now, select one of those notes & add tag B. The note will disappear from the search results window.

The opposite is to select all notes tagged with A. Now, select one of those notes & REMOVE tag A. The note will disapper from the search results window.

Expected & correct behaviour.

[penwriter 10]

But, if one is working from the All Notes field, I don't see why it couldn't let the user stay there when creating a new note, thus letting one complete edits in the order they see fit — especially since one can already do all of these things to an existing note.

 

...and as jefito already indicated, the Windows client works exactly this way. When creating a new note, this note is assigned to the current notebook, or to the default notebook if working from "all notes". The filtering is not changed when creating a new note. Makes a lot of sense to me. Obviously it means that if one creates a note from the default notebook and then changes the notebook of the note, it will disappear. If you create the note from all notes, it will remain visible.

 

I also seem to have a similar workflow like jefito - I usually send stuff to EN without bothering in the first place about notebooks or tags - everything goes to my ".inbox" first. Once a number of notes have accumulated, I will give them proper titles, tags and THEN assign them to either my "Business" or "Private" notebook; these are the only two I've got. As I am working with the filter set to display only notes from my ".inbox", notes will disappear after I have assigned them to "Business" or "Private", and this is exactly as I like it. It is like working through a stack of papers: You read them, you add a few annotations, you file them in a folder. In the end the stack is gone - my ".inbox" is empty. For me it is logic AND user-friendly, at least if I am the user  .

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

if one is working from the All Notes field, I don't see why it couldn't let the user stay there when creating a new note,

 

...and as jefito already indicated, the Windows client works exactly this way. When creating a new note, this note is assigned to the current notebook, or to the default notebook if working from "all notes". The filtering is not changed when creating a new note. Makes a lot of sense to me. Obviously it means that if one creates a note from the default notebook and then changes the notebook of the note, it will disappear. If you create the note from all notes, it will remain visible.

 

Yes, the Windows client behaves this way. I would assume the Mac client should function the same way but cannot confirm, since I don't have a Mac. The behaviour statpumpkin describes ("the app is constantly putting me there") is very odd & is either incorrect (again, I can't confirm, since I don't have a Mac) or if correct, then sounds like a bug to me.

[soundsgoodtome 139]

Or...just open the note in it's own window.

I assume you meant its own window. And we shouldn't have to. That's a workaround for incorrect app-behavior.

[chirmer 567]

I just tested it, and in the latest Mac version 5.0.6 (400960), the client does NOT move you to the default notebook when creating a note in the All Notes view - nor does it move you when changing the note's Notebook to somewhere else. When I create a note, I stay in the All Notes view no matter the edits I make. This might have been a bug from an older version, but as of right now, I cannot replicate it. 

 

 

I also seem to have a similar workflow like jefito - I usually send stuff to EN without bothering in the first place about notebooks or tags - everything goes to my ".inbox" first. Once a number of notes have accumulated, I will give them proper titles, tags and THEN assign them to either my "Business" or "Private" notebook; these are the only two I've got. As I am working with the filter set to display only notes from my ".inbox", notes will disappear after I have assigned them to "Business" or "Private", and this is exactly as I like it. It is like working through a stack of papers: You read them, you add a few annotations, you file them in a folder. In the end the stack is gone - my ".inbox" is empty. For me it is logic AND user-friendly, at least if I am the user  .

 

That's my exact workflow as well, and it works extremely well for me, too An easy way for me to tell if a note needs further sorting or not is to simply check my !Inbox - if it's still there, I haven't finished sorting it yet

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

Or...just open the note in it's own window.

I assume you meant its own window. And we shouldn't have to. That's a workaround for incorrect app-behavior.

Ok, you got me. Yay for you!

As has been stated, the behaviour is expected & correct.

[iNik 46]

My suggestion would be to not lose the note in the editing window until it is de-selected in the list of notes/search results. If there's a need for visual feedback, the selected note could be identified in some way, but I'm not certain that's necessary at all.

 

Otherwise I need to be exceptionally cautious about what activities I take with each note to ensure I can get everything done. It also makes it difficult to process multiple notes from one search (e.g. find a group of notes and make edits and file them in sequence) since I have to keep "breaking" the search in order to find the suddenly vanished note.

 

While this behavior makes logical sense, it is user-hostile in the extreme.

[chirmer 567]

Or...just open the note in it's own window.

I assume you meant its own window. And we shouldn't have to. That's a workaround for incorrect app-behavior.

 

I assume you meant That's a workaround for my incorrect app expectancies.

 

If you're in the NOTEBOOK and move the note to a different NOTEBOOK, you're not gonna see it anymore. Because you're viewing that first NOTEBOOK. It's like if you and your friend are swimming in a pool and your friend leaves the pool to go sit in the hot tub - you need to move to the hot tub to see them.

[jefito 5,586]

My suggestion would be to not lose the note in the editing window until it is de-selected in the list of notes/search results. If there's a need for visual feedback, the selected note could be identified in some way, but I'm not certain that's necessary at all.

Again, that doesn't work for my workflow, while I understand that the current way doesn't work for some other folks' workflows.

 

Otherwise I need to be exceptionally cautious about what activities I take with each note to ensure I can get everything done. It also makes it difficult to process multiple notes from one search (e.g. find a group of notes and make edits and file them in sequence) since I have to keep "breaking" the search in order to find the suddenly vanished note.

I've just learned to set notebook last, the coup de grace, I guess. I can't say that I've had any unexpected jumps occur in recent memory.

While this behavior makes logical sense, it is user-hostile in the extreme.

Not everyone agrees on this point.

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

While this behavior makes logical sense, it is user-hostile in the extreme.

 

 

IMO, how can something "make logical sense" but be "user-hostile"...???  It sounds like you're saying it makes sense...unless the user is not logical.  I would agree with that.

[statpumpkin 1]

YES!  thank you - I just needed to update the version.  EN5 seems like a very different beast - I'll have to check out its 'features' but at least in terms of this discussion - it is much improved.  Specifically, if I am in All Notes and create a new note, it does not kick me out of All Notes.  Thanks to all for the discussion.