Jump to content
  • 21

Feature request to create new notes like a wiki


burabil

Idea

36 replies to this idea

Recommended Posts

  • 2
  • Level 5*

My l-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-n-g  note-keeping history includes quite a bit of time in Wikis,  which have some interesting special talents.  To recap a couple of them here -

  1. Include or create a link to a note by enclosing the name of the note in square brackets [like that].  If the link shows in red,  there's no content yet.  If it's blue,  you just linked to another existing note.  There's a command feature that will list out the note(s) linking to any single note.
  2. 'Transclude' all or part of one note into another - so that if you want to show your [[company address]] in several other notes,  you can keep the details on one page and still show it everywhere anyone might need to see it.  If that address ever changes,  altering the 'source' note will show the change in all the other notes linked to it.

There's lots more - the details may change a little depending on the software you use.  I was into MediaWiki,  which is what runs Wikipedia - at one stage handling millions of simultaneous logins every day.

Having used Evernote for a while,  I don't want to go back to Wikis,  or have Evernote perform 'more like a wiki' - but I do think having links behave in that way would be a powerful addition to Evernote's features.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
  • 1

Another old request, I did not even realize the original post date until I scroll down to see other comments!

I voted it up. 

One of my issues is the ability to connect notes and make connections on the fly. For example, you are in a note and you want to reference a different note in it, I would find the other note, copy the link, go back to the original note and paste it.

When you have a lot of notes, there could be many connections and links and that is part of Evernote's strength (for me) to be able to make connections between your ideas, notes, projects, tasks etc.

In short, I would love to be able to create a note from a highlighted text inside a note. This will lead to more brainstorming and jumping from one idea to another and let the flow going but also be able to trace back ideas.

In summary, I would love more connections (ability to create connections in a faster, easier way, for example, scrolling all your notes within the note to paste a link) within Evernote.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
  • 0

This feature has been on my top 10 wishlist for almost a year. Other wishes would be linking to tags, notebooks and saved searches.

 

What we really need is a keyboard shortcut for wiki linking to a new note. What I've found so far is this workflow for the Windows client. It is not ideal, but it gets the job done.

 

  1. Highlight the word or phrase you want to wiki link.
  2. Press Window-A to create a new note from the highlighted text.
    • Note: Depending on how your Clipper options are set, Evernote may or may not switch focus to the new note.
  3. Copy the note link from the new note. This forces a client sync which can be slow at times.
    • Note: There is no official shortcut for this. However pressing (Alt+N) followed by (Alt+L) will work regardless of where your cursor is. And you don't have to let go of the Alt key for this trick. I remember to combo as Note Link
  4. Switch back to the previous note where you want the link to appear.
    • Note: There are forward and backward navigation buttons in the menu bar. I haven't found a shortcut key for this yet.
  5. Highlight the text where the link should go.
  6. Paste the note link.
    • Note: Be careful. If the highlighted selection is long, it might be trimmed to a shorter length.
  • Like 3
Link to comment
  • 0

Thank you for the tip and your support for the feature request. I wasn't aware of the steps 1 and 2 and I am definitely going to use them.

 

I am already using the steps 3 through 6.

 

In either case, it shouldn't be difficult for the Evernote team to implement the original proposal above. Huge time saver and this will dramatically improve the value the power users receive from Evernote.

Link to comment
  • 0
  • Level 5*

If I had a penny for each time "it shouldn't be difficult to implement..." comes up in suggestions,  I'd have........  a lot of pennies.  If the changes were easy to introduce for 50M+ users across 15 or so clients + variations I'd guess they would be here already.  Meantime,  we have the workarounds...  but as something of a wiki afficianado myself,  yes it would be good to see [wiki names],  transclusion,  category handling and a few other features implemented in Evernoteland..

  • Like 3
Link to comment
  • 0

ANY IDEAS HOW WE CAN FORCE IT???? To make them develope this feature faster?

 

Sends boxes of chocolates.  I got 3 different features implemented by sending chocolates.  I found the Maman Intense to get the quickest feature turnaournds. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
  • 0

 

ANY IDEAS HOW WE CAN FORCE IT???? To make them develope this feature faster?

 

Sends boxes of chocolates.  I got 3 different features implemented by sending chocolates.  I found the Maman Intense to get the quickest feature turnaournds. 

 

nice idea!!! thanks!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
  • 0

ANY IDEAS HOW WE CAN FORCE IT???? To make them develope this feature faster?

First, AFAIK, no one even knows if this is on their to do list.

Second, I'm pretty sure there is no way to force them to do anything. If it makes you feel better, you could boycott them & use another app.

Good luck.

Link to comment
  • 0

This would be a great add to an already great app.

 

Since a Windows+A already does most of the heavy lifting for the app (creating the new topic), the hooks are already there and adding this to the context menu for selected text really should be pretty easy from a coding perspective. Making the selected text a link to the new topic could be more tricky but I'd be really happy to see the added context menu item.

 

Looking forward to seeing this in the future but until then, I'll definetly be getting used to using the KB shortcut! :)

  • Like 1
Link to comment
  • 0
  • Level 5*

I heart WIkis.

 

Surprising as it may seem (Doh! <Facepalm>) I never realised before that Win+A (clip selection) would actually work within Evernote so creating a spin-off note is as simple as write (or find) the link text,  highlight the link,  Win+A,  start typing in your new note...

 

OK 'simple as' is a little over the top,  since you then have to Copy Note Link and Ctrl-K it back over the original link text,  and maybe do a return link in the target page,  but hey...

 

Short term,  a bit of AHK may automate most of that for me,  longer term..  how about it Oh Mighty Evernote Dev Persons? There's about 150 shopping days to Xmas and that would be a nice present...  ^_^

 

Edit:  And sorry - thanks @millert;  good shout!

Link to comment
  • 0

I think this is a great idea. Here's how I would implement it:

 

Whenever a user types "[[" and "]]" around a central set of characters, evernote will look through the current set of notes in all notebooks for all notes with titles that match the characters in the center of the brackets.  A small, clickable dropdown, similar in size to an autocorrect box, could appear, and allow users to pick which, if any, of the notes found to create a link to. The link would then be created.

 

I think this feature would revolutionize the way we are all seeming to use evernote.

 

 

 

EDIT:

 

I'm going to start parading around the idea. Hopefully we can get some pull on it.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
  • 0
  • Level 5*

I think this is a great idea. Here's how I would implement it:

 

Whenever a user types "[[" and "]]" around a central set of characters, evernote will look through the current set of notes in all notebooks for all notes with titles that match the characters in the center of the brackets.  A small, clickable dropdown, similar in size to an autocorrect box, could appear, and allow users to pick which, if any, of the notes found to create a link to. The link would then be created.

 

I think this feature would revolutionize the way we are all seeming to use evernote.

 

 

 

EDIT:

 

I'm going to start parading around the idea. Hopefully we can get some pull on it.

 

Yup,  that's pretty much exactly how a Wiki link works.  This has been requested for some time,  and possibly even figures in Evernote's route map for releases in the next 12 months.  Until it hits the streets however we won't know whether Evernote will even consider it.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
  • 0

I've been evaluating Evernote, as I thought it would be a great tool to organize my work and my life. Unfortunately, my organization system, based on org-mode, requires wiki links, otherwise, evernote is not really useful to me. I'm willing to switch because Org-mode is based on Emacs and Emacs doesn't work on the iPhone, nor the iPad.

 

For example, when planning something, I need to be able to create a note with a list of things todo.

 

* [ ] task A

* [ ] task B

* [ ] task C.

 

When performing task A, I would select it and create a new note titled "task A", which would be linked from the list. In that note I would write sub-tasks and also I would document the process.

 

If I can't do that, Evernote doesn't fit to my needs. Which is a pity. I hope Evernote adds this feature soon.

Link to comment
  • 0
  • Level 5*

I've been evaluating Evernote, as I thought it would be a great tool to organize my work and my life. Unfortunately, my organization system, based on org-mode, requires wiki links, otherwise, evernote is not really useful to me. I'm willing to switch because Org-mode is based on Emacs and Emacs doesn't work on the iPhone, nor the iPad.

 

For example, when planning something, I need to be able to create a note with a list of things todo.

 

* [ ] task A

* [ ] task B

* [ ] task C.

 

When performing task A, I would select it and create a new note titled "task A", which would be linked from the list. In that note I would write sub-tasks and also I would document the process.

 

If I can't do that, Evernote doesn't fit to my needs. Which is a pity. I hope Evernote adds this feature soon.

You can create links to other notes -- Evernote calls them... TA-DA... "note links". I use these pretty often for my work projects.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
  • 0

 

You can create links to other notes -- Evernote calls them... TA-DA... "note links". I use these pretty often for my work projects.

 

 

You are clever jefito, ..., but you didn't read my post, which must be read in the context of the first post in this thread. Yes, there are links, as your cleverness showed us, but they are cumbersome and they are not like wiki links, which makes it impossible to me to use evernote for managing my projects and life.

Link to comment
  • 0
  • Level 5*

 

 

You can create links to other notes -- Evernote calls them... TA-DA... "note links". I use these pretty often for my work projects.

 

 

You are clever jefito, ..., but you didn't read my post, which must be read in the context of the first post in this thread. Yes, there are links, as your cleverness showed us, but they are cumbersome and they are not like wiki links, which makes it impossible to me to use evernote for managing my projects and life.

I read the whole topic, and I responded specifically to your post. You implied that linking notes together was critical to your workflow, and since your post shows no awareness that you already knew about note links, I offered them up (even if note linking doesn't have that special wiki-ness thing). If they're too cumbersome for you, then that's not my problem. 

Link to comment
  • 0

I would love to be able to create new note with notelink by right-clicking selected text.  

Thanks for the win-A  tip.  helps speed this up for now but still need to go find the original note and paste it. 

Link to comment
  • 0
  • Level 5*
On July 27, 2013 at 0:20 PM, burabil said:

I have been using Evernote for more than a year now. The feature that I am missing the most is to create a new note within a note, like I would do in a wiki.

Moved to the feedback forum to be better addressed as a feature request.

Please indicate your support by using the voting buttons in the upper left corner.

Link to comment
  • 0

2018 and still hoping for this to be implemented. Bear is now on scene with this feature making it the no brainer option for those of us who want this... And it stores data in iCloud not locally (as a Mac user with limited internal storage... Much needed!) Evernote, come on guys... This has been a long time coming... Please push this out! 

Link to comment
  • 0
  • Level 5*
On 5/6/2018 at 5:09 AM, Pen Monkey said:

Bear is now on scene with this feature making it the no brainer option for those of us who want this... And it stores data in iCloud not locally (as a Mac user with limited internal storage... Much needed!) Evernote, come on guys... This has been a long time coming... Please push this out! 

The wiki-izing of Evernote may be a worthy suggestion (yes, I've upvoted), but Bear? Really? Bear is on half the scene at best, being only available for Apple platforms. Not even on the web yet, much less for Windows or Android. Bear may be wonderful, but I have no way to prove it, and their advertising is just untrue on its face:

Quote

Use it everywhere

Bear works on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, so you can write wherever inspiration strikes. Use todos to stay on task across every device.

 

Link to comment
  • 0
  • Level 5*
2 hours ago, Pen Monkey said:

I agree. No need to over complicate things. Just a more intuitive organic function of linking with brackets.

Can you explain the "more intuitive organic function of linking with brackets"

I'm clear on the original request; an automated workflow for the note link function.1739994772_ScreenShot2018-05-08at10_10_19.png.7c65b100a4ac9c0fffb95a91c62f896f.png
If I had enough use for this, I'd write a script (Mac).

 

Link to comment
  • 0

I love wikis, used to use them to keep my data, but I suspect it would not work on Evernote for a few reasons:

1-All the wiki links I have ever seen require the source and destination to be in the same physical file, and while I am not sure how Evernote Notebooks work, Evernote note links don't care where a note resides.

2-Evernote notes are automatically titled by the first line until the title is edited, messing with this line always broke the wikis I worked with before, not so with Evernote.

3-I think Evernote search indexing would be seriously affected by a switch to wiki style linking, because  in Evernote, a link cannot be created until a new note is created and saved, so it seems to me they would have to somehow recreate how Evernote works from scratch.

 

On the other hand, I can think of a least one very good reason for wanting a wiki style link system: 

I exported all my notes from my usual account, then imported them all to a backup account.  Not a single note link was preserved, which kind of begs the question of what is the backup even for! 

If I used this backup to restore my usual account, it would probably destroy all my note links, which took literally years to create and organize, across several software platforms and devices!  Yes, it was a wiki system before I moved all the data it to Evernote . . . .

Link to comment
  • 0

Evernote would do well to take strides in enabling; *quick* links to other notes (via mobile especially), notebooks, tags, searches. Notion.so and others are innovating fast in this regard.

Link to comment
  • 0
  • Level 5*
10 minutes ago, bounce said:

Evernote would do well to take strides in enabling; *quick* links to other notes (via mobile especially), notebooks, tags, searches. Notion.so and others are innovating fast in this regard.

Hi.  I'm confused by the use case for enabling quick links to "notebooks, tags, searches".  I agree better note linking is required - and I was one of the first to suggest a wiki-style architecture with [bracketed] words acting as links to any current note with that exact title,  or creating a new note with a clickable link if one does not yet exist.  (I like Wikipedia-style wikis.)

If you have a specific link creation case in mind I'd suggest you check out the feature request threads which already have some related suggestions on which you could vote,  or start your own.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
  • 0

Sure, I’ve already upvoted all the relevant feature requests I could find for what I’d like to see Evernote get.

Essentially, I’d like to navigate quicker through EN on mobile. I already do that with note links and you’re right the creation of these should be quicker. I have some “dashboards” in Evernote that link out to other notes like a mindmap. Thinking about it further, I wouldn’t have to have inline links to tags, notebooks etc if I were able to save searches for certain notebooks, tags etc as links I could drop within notes.

Link to comment
  • 0
  • Level 5*

Well,  there's (more) money involved,  but look at Filterize - it's a way to create (amongst other things),  Tables of Content that update themselves depending on the keywords, tags or titles of the notes you add to your account.  It is very very cool.  I'm a subscriber,  but not otherwise connected.

Link to comment
  • 0
  • Level 5*
17 hours ago, bounce said:

Thinking about it further, I wouldn’t have to have inline links to tags, notebooks etc if I were able to save searches for certain notebooks, tags etc as links I could drop within notes.

Not a link, but I insert search strings within my notes;

for example Current Tasks   reminderOrder:* -reminderTime:day+1 -reminderDoneTime:*

  • Like 1
Link to comment
  • 0

I've been using Obsidian for the last week and enjoying it a lot, but there're Evernote key features missing, like print preview, which I use a lot. Sadly, I got really addicted to using [[wikilinks]], a feature missing in Evernote; I also miss backlinks; if EN had them both, it would be awesome. Sadly I guess it will never happen.

EDIT: now I see Evernote got rid of print preview. WHY? I'll completely switch to Obsidian if Legacy is gone.

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...