It's about time to make the official Evernote Web Clipper for iOS Safari

[Alina-S 0]

Web Clipper is definitely the most useful feature of the Evernote, but not having it on iPhone and iPad is very annoying. Using intermediary application is just tedious. As there is Clipper for Mac Safari, why isn't there one for iPad and iPhone. It's really time to create it.

[ScottLougheed 1,316]

I agree this would be handy. While Apple has not made it easy for developers to integrate such things by not giving the facility to install browser extensions, some other "read later" type services have pretty decent bookmarklets for mobile safari (e.g., Instapaper and Pocket).

 

I am hoping that Evernote is working on one too, but they are pretty tight lipped about future plans. 

 

In the mean time, this issue and the various workarounds are discussed at length in many other posts on these forums. You seem to already have some workarounds in your arsenal these threads probably don't offer you much in terms of new information... but the upshot is that since Evernote staff read these forums we can be sure they are aware of the desire! 

[tassiecelt 57]

absolutely agreed, it's the top of my wish list and also the one reason that holds me back from using Evernote more fully, especially things like holiday planning and project management.

My computer is work, my iPad is everything else.

I've reached the place where if I can't do it on iPad, I am not interested, then go to find an app that will do what I want.

I'm not a developer, but it seems lame to blame Apple. Dolphin browser found a way to save to Evernote if I recall, there must be a way. Have EN put it in the too hard basket?

[rdj999 31]

There used to be a functional Evernote clipper that you could "install" as a bookmarklet and make it easy to activate by placing it on your Safari Favorites Bar which also made it easy to find on Safari on iPad. I used it all the time. It stopped working for me when I enabled two-factor authentication in Evernote. Now, when viewing a web page that I wish to clip to Evernote, I save it to my Safari Reading List and then later visit the page on the Mac and clip it from there. That's the best work-around I can find.

 

The bookmarklet does still work properly from Safari on the Mac. (The bookmarklet's URL is shown below, as contrasted with the button that the official plug-in installs in the Toolbar.) On Safari on the iPad, the bookmarklet does show the clipper dialog, however, the "Notebook" pull-down is empty. Touching Save appears to function, but the clipping never shows up in Evernote.

 

The inability to populate the "Notebook" selector leads me to believe that two-factor authentication is the culprit here.

javascript:(function()%7BEN_CLIP_HOST='http://www.evernote.com';try%7Bvar%20x=document.createElement('SCRIPT');x.type='text/javascript';x.src=EN_CLIP_HOST+'/public/bookmarkClipper.js?'+(new%20Date().getTime()/100000);document.getElementsByTagName('head')%5B0%5D.appendChild(x);%7Dcatch(e)%7Blocation.href=EN_CLIP_HOST+'/clip.action?url='+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+'&title='+encodeURIComponent(document.title);%7D%7D)();

[Alina-S 0]

Reading List feature is very useful, but I was actually hoping to use it the other way round, as I add a lot to my reading list from Mac when I work, I need to read all that long list of articles and annotate with HTML highlighter from iPad when I have time. Well hopefully Evernote will start reading our comments soon

[jbignert 473]

We're reading everything. At the moment there is no distribution for an extension in any of the major mobile browsers. The bookmarklet is a deprecated project but still works for the most part.

@rdj999 - The empty list is due to 2 Factor authentication. A workaround is to sign in to www.evernote.com on your mobile browser to set the correct cookie. 

[Alina-S 0]

Good  to know

[ScottLougheed 1,316]

It is a shame to hear that things appear to have stalled on a mobile clipping solution (there may be projects behind those green curtains??).

There are a number of "read it later" type products (pocket and instapaper come to mindI) with bookmarklets that do a pretty remarkable job that indicate that a bookmarklet can yield a good user experience and produce good results (in the read-later context at least. not sure about 'clipping' per se). 

 

That being said, perhaps getting things into Evernote is a bit harder than standard read-later apps, or perhaps there's something completely different in the works....!

 

Either way, its a bit of a drag that mobile clipping is such an onerous process for users at the moment. 

[Stonsey 0]

We're reading everything. At the moment there is no distribution for an extension in any of the major mobile browsers. The bookmarklet is a deprecated project but still works for the most part.

@rdj999 - The empty list is due to 2 Factor authentication. A workaround is to sign in to www.evernote.com on your mobile browser to set the correct cookie. 

 

As a new user of Evernote, could you tell me how to use the bookmark please?

 

Many thanks

[ScottLougheed 1,316]

 

We're reading everything. At the moment there is no distribution for an extension in any of the major mobile browsers. The bookmarklet is a deprecated project but still works for the most part.

@rdj999 - The empty list is due to 2 Factor authentication. A workaround is to sign in to www.evernote.com on your mobile browser to set the correct cookie. 

 

As a new user of Evernote, could you tell me how to use the bookmark please?

 

Many thanks

 

Create a new bookmark on your iOS device (it doesn't mater what page you bookmark, just pick any old page, even this page!)

 

Open your bookmark list on your iOS device

Click "edit"

select your newly created bookmark

delete the URL that is in the URL field and replace it with:

javascript:(function()%7BEN_CLIP_HOST='http://www.evernote.com';try%7Bvar%20x=document.createElement('SCRIPT');x.type='text/javascript';x.src=EN_CLIP_HOST+'/public/bookmarkClipper.js?'+(new%20Date().getTime()/100000);document.getElementsByTagName('head')%5B0%5D.appendChild(x);%7Dcatch(e)%7Blocation.href=EN_CLIP_HOST+'/clip.action?url='+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+'&title='+encodeURIComponent(document.title);%7D%7D)();

then you can rename the bookmark whatever makes sense to you (e.g., "Clip" or "Clip 2 EN" or whatever you like).

 

Then you should be set. 

 

Here's a bit of a tutorial for the iPad. Same process for iPhone:

http://iosbookmarklets.com/tutorials/evernote-bookmarklet-ipad/

[ChipAHoy 7]

It is the worst thing about Evernote that it's uselessness on iOS devices. I spent an hour trying to get the bookmark let to work, with no success. I think Evernote is a very good app, but not being able to use it on IOS makes me want to find a more fully developed app.

[DebiB 29]

In case folks are still checking thread, I received a suggestion from someone that I have found works well for me.

I use the Pocket Web Clipper and then from Pocket, send to Evernote. It is a two-step process, but easy and quick.

I do not understand why all of these other apps, like Pocket, are able to clip from iOS Safari browser and then send to Evernote, but Evernote can't develop a clipper that does essentially the same thing...? It doesn't seem logical and would be a big win for their app to develop a solution. It doesn't need to have all the features of their desktop browser Web Clipper...just do the very basics like the Bookmarklet or Pocket.

I use the Evernote Bookmarket on my iPad, and on my iPhone when it works. Since I'm not using the two-factor authentication, the only issue I have is on my iPhone and not being able to see the full Bookmarket window, so I can't get to the [save] (or whatever) button. That isn't an issue on the iPad. It also sounds like a workaround for the two-factor authentication was provided in this thread.

Anyway, hope the suggestion to use Pocket as a transfer mechanism is helpful to someone.

[TravelingPrincess 0]

If I'm not mistaken, wasn't there a way when you tapped the "share" button that pulled up "Save to Evernote"? I had this for a while (before I was really using EN much) but have gotten a new iPhone & iPad and not can't figure it out. Was this feature removed???

[ScottLougheed 1,316]

If I'm not mistaken, wasn't there a way when you tapped the "share" button that pulled up "Save to Evernote"? I had this for a while (before I was really using EN much) but have gotten a new iPhone & iPad and not can't figure it out. Was this feature removed???

It is possible you saw this in some other application with an integrated browser. 

I don't ever recall seeing this in Safari for iOS. Since the dawn of iOS, third parties have never had a way of getting themselves included in the share button in safari. This will change in iOS 8, when developers are given the opportunity to create "Extensions" that could allow for this.

 

I imagine Evernote will try and leverage this new capacity when iOS 8 is released this fall. 

[TravelingPrincess 0]

That's wild bc I'm certain it was the Green EN logo that showed. What other apps would should that even as an intermediary? I don't remember ever downloading another app to work in conjunction with Evernote. From the iPhone I could click on the share button and then of course it had email, text, bookmark, etc... But it also had "send to Evernote"... Do you have any ideas what app that may have been?? Thanks!!

[rdj999 31]

Are you sure it wasn't "Open in Evernote"? If you happen to be viewing a PDF file in Safari, for example, you can do that.

 

[ScottLougheed 1,316]

I suspect rdj999 may have hit the nail on the head. This is the only thing I can think of. 

[Metrodon 2,184]

I would imagine that Evernote will 'solve' this when iOS 8 is released with it's support for Extensions.

[Ben Yu 2]

I use the Evernote Bookmarket on my iPad, and on my iPhone when it works. Since I'm not using the two-factor authentication, the only issue I have is on my iPhone and not being able to see the full Bookmarket window, so I can't get to the [save] (or whatever) button. That isn't an issue on the iPad.

 

Although not very pretty, there is a workaround for the bookmarklet "save" button when on an iPhone mobile Safari. Even though the window is cut off, you can usually at least tap on the "tags" field (you'll see at least the right most piece of the "tags" text field just to the left of the "Notebook" drop down menu selection). Once you're in the field, you can add some tags (blindly) or not, doesn't matter, and when you hit the blue "Go" button in the bottom right of the iPhone's soft-keyboard, it performs the same action as hitting the "Save" button that you can't see. Like I said, not pretty, but it works.

[DebiB 29]

Cool! Thanks for the tip, Ben Yu! I'll give that a try next time I use it!!

[Frank.dg 1,385]

I'm sure it's been mentioned before, but... Evernote clipping in the Dolphin browser works like magic in iOS. I use that on iPad and iPhone. If, however, I happen to be in Safari, I may use the bookmarklet I set up as described above. If I find myself in Chrome or any other browser, I use an iOS shortcut that you create with the same javascript code and just type the shortcut into the browser. 

 

The one pain in the butt though, is the size of the Evernote Clipper popup window in any iPhone browser (I've tried a number of javascript code variations). It's kind of small. BUT... that too can be sorted with a little bit of wiggling. The following works for me... thought I would copy-paste a response I came across from some forum somewhere (besides Ben Yu's workaround above):

 

Yamaseta

May 1, 2014

I have the same problem. Had it iOS6 and still in iOS 7. Also, you can’t scroll. The Clipper dialog box stays fixed on the screen while the page behind it scrolls.

However there is a work around. Open the clipper andsign in. Make sure you’ve zoomed out as far as possible. Then turn your phone landscape and tap into the comment box (big one at bottom).

The screen should resize a little, and then you will be able to scroll down to the save button.

It is a little touchy. Sometimes I have to go back and forth a couple of times before I can see the save button. But i works. I’ve clipped this consistently.

[Frank.dg 1,385]

It is the worst thing about Evernote that it's uselessness on iOS devices. I spent an hour trying to get the bookmark let to work, with no success. I think Evernote is a very good app, but not being able to use it on IOS makes me want to find a more fully developed app.

If you ever do find a "more fully developed" app, please do share! 

[LM77 0]

Web Clipper is definitely the most useful feature of the Evernote, but not having it on iPhone and iPad is very annoying. Using intermediary application is just tedious. As there is Clipper for Mac Safari, why isn't there one for iPad and iPhone. It's really time to create it.

 

Send to Pocket/Instapaper (via iOS Bookmarklet), export to Evernote. Done.

 

Or failing that do what I do. Set up an IFFT recipe so that any article you star in Pocket is automatically exported to Evernote. 

[Metrodon 2,184]

iOS 8 is out next month with support for extensions, I'm fairly sure that Evernote will address this fairly quickly given that they will have the 'legal' tools to do so.

[Frank.dg 1,385]

iOS 8 is out next month with support for extensions, I'm fairly sure that Evernote will address this fairly quickly given that they will have the 'legal' tools to do so.

... or just simply the tools or framework within which to do so. I don't for the life of me understand why I see so much complaining about a lack of iOS features for Evernote in one very specific area, i.e. web clipping, when, first of all, there are decent 3rd party applications (Everclip), a bookmarklet solution for Safari, the same javascript code for any other browser under the sun in tandem with iOS shortcuts, Dolphin Browser, workarounds such as pushing pages to Pocket or Instapaper, IFTTT recipes... If one of the above cannot be a more than acceptable solution to those complaining about Evernote's "lack of initiative" (despite iOS limitations), the only thing we can fault Evernote for is not having gone into the browser game and having created an Evernote browser just for iOS. But then again, we come full circle back the the fact that there is, for all intents and purposes, a browser called Dolphin that does what we desire... and it's free. Or maybe Evernote could have pushed harder to negotiate with Google, Firefox, etc, to have their own inbuilt Evernote web clippers just for iOS... when everyone knows what extensions would make possible in the up-and-coming iOS 8. I think we've been spoiled with such beautiful browser extensions for clipping to Evernote outside of iOS, that some feel a lack of its presence in iOS. I think that if not in this next iOS overhaul, in the very near future - not only will we have browser extension capability, but also a full integration of Evernote into the context menus of iOS itself. 

[DebiB 29]

Good points, Frank123! I have to admit, I'm one of those who have been complaining/wondering why Evernote hasn't been able to create a viable Web clipper for Safari, mainly because I see other apps, like Pocket, provide that option. I personally don't want to use Dolphin (or other browser), but with Ben Yu's workaround for the Bookmarklet, I've been using that successfully.

Sounds like iOS will bring some great features. I definitely hope we see Evernote integrated into the context menus of iOS itself with full options to change the title, pick the notebook, add tags and reminders, etc.

Thanks for bringing another perspective to this topic. I appreciated the push to think differently about it.

[Frank.dg 1,385]

DebiB,

I must admit that although I send stuff to pocket almost every day, I kind of got stuck on finding a direct clip to Evernote solution. Now that I think about it (why didn't I think of this before!?)... sending to Pocket and then from Pocket to Evernote is even easier than clipping "directly" to Evernote + the workaround in the Evernote clipper popup (unless I'm doing it directly in the Dolphin browser).

 

Plus there's this other thing... If I remember correctly, some time back I tested to see the end result of the clipped page/ information into Evernote from both an Evernote web clipper and Pocket... and in many cases, I personally preferred Pocket's format. It depends on the person, though. 

 

Another weird and wonderful approach I had almost forgotten about, which used to be a possibility in iOS, but for some reason was done away with, is this: when you clicked on a link within an Evernote note on iPad or iPhone, it would open that link within the app itself. It wouldn't switch to Safari. You would go to whatever web page and then navigate back and forth or click on any other link within any page... and whatever page you visited, there was an Evernote feature that you could use to clip that page: "Cut to Evernote" (a scissors icon with a dotted line around it). It would clip that page just as if it were a web clipper. So there was a period where I actually had a note at the top of my shortcut list that only had a "google.com" link in it. I would begin surfing the web through this note when I knew It was a project where I needed to hoard a number of pages. I went to try it just now, and it is non-existent (Links open in Safari now). Probably done away with in the new version. Pity! It made me wonder why people were not talking about it. That may have been their "hidden" solution. I have seen Evernote discontinue some pretty cool features over the last few years, including a solution within twitter itself to clip to Evernote via "@myEN" (not a direct Evernote app feauture).

 

 

My take on this is that they scaled back in a couple of areas purposefully, to make room for other app developers to do their thing. This then allowed IFTTT and other services to fill in that particular gap. A smart move, but a super interesting clipping feature by surfing the web from within Evernote itself not available anymore :-(

[Frank.dg 1,385]

Another weird and wonderful approach I had almost forgotten about, which used to be a possibility in iOS, but for some reason was done away with, is this: when you clicked on a link within an Evernote note on iPad or iPhone, it would open that link within the app itself. It wouldn't switch to Safari. You would go to whatever web page and then navigate back and forth or click on any other link within any page... and whatever page you visited, there was an Evernote feature that you could use to clip that page: "Cut to Evernote" (a scissors icon with a dotted line around it). It would clip that page just as if it were a web clipper. So there was a period where I actually had a note at the top of my shortcut list that only had a "google.com" link in it. I would begin surfing the web through this note when I knew It was a project where I needed to hoard a number of pages. I went to try it just now, and it is non-existent (Links open in Safari now). Probably done away with in the new version. Pity! It made me wonder why people were not talking about it. That may have been their "hidden" solution. 

 

Here's a link to a recent Evernote forum discussion I found about that "in-app" browser feature:

 

https://discussion.evernote.com/topic/63440-open-links-inside-app-clip-page-feature-gone/

[DebiB 29]

Frank123,

I agree the various clipping options do sometimes produce different results. If I really care about the look of the final EN note, I will try all the options. For simply ease of use, tho, I prefer the bookmarklet and the workaround of tapping [Go] while in the Tags field. I find that is fewer steps than going to Pocket and then to Evernote.

The embedded browser in Evernote with the "Cut to Evernote" option must have been before I became a EN user, as well as the Twitter option; although, I'm not a big Twitter user, so may have just not been aware of it.

I agree, there may be good business reasons for eliminating some features in order to develop better partnerships with other apps. I guess some things we'll never know.

[Frank.dg 1,385]

Hi DebiB,

I think we'll revisit this conversation after the new iOS 8 release, and the soon-to-follow Evernote update. These workarounds will all be a distant hazy memory 

[DebiB 29]

Hi, Frank123,

Yes, I'm hoping so! I'm looking forward to seeing the outcome of what iOS 8 will enable.

[mathiepe 44]

iOS 8 is out next month with support for extensions, I'm fairly sure that Evernote will address this fairly quickly given that they will have the 'legal' tools to do so.

 

I call! At least I hope so...would be great to have Evernote (Web Clipper) right into Safari. The sooner, the better!

[IPTrialsSC 0]

Why not just email to EverNote and add tags later in EverNote?

I do this and add to body of email tags with # before them for later searching in EN. E.g., #webclipping

Ok, stop laughing, and tell me, am I 5 or 10 years behind here?

[Frank.dg 1,385]

IPTrialsSC,

That's a nice system you've got going for sending emails to Evernote... But there is also the question of clipping web pages, PDFs, etc. too. There are many solutions in iOS, but many people are specifically looking for a full on Evernote web clipper in their Safari browser an extension... Kind of like with Dolphin browser.

[Frank.dg 1,385]

Oh wait... I see what you mean... You can email the link of any web page to Evernote through the share context in Safari. I never thought of that before. That's a great option if you want just the link.

[IPTrialsSC 0]

Thanks Frank123, I now have Dolphin and it is working nicely for sharing to EverNote with Tags in one step / process.

Looking fwd to learning more on this forum.

[Frank.dg 1,385]

Thanks Frank123, I now have Dolphin and it is working nicely for sharing to EverNote with Tags in one step / process.

Looking fwd to learning more on this forum.

 

You can stick to your method of sending page links to Evernote through the iOS share by mail feature - if you're happy with just the links.

Then, all you would need to do to make it a "one-step" process is to include #tags and @notebook destination in the subject line:

 

https://evernote.com/contact/support/kb/#!/article/23480523

[cbnel 1]

If I'm not mistaken, wasn't there a way when you tapped the "share" button that pulled up "Save to Evernote"? I had this for a while (before I was really using EN much) but have gotten a new iPhone & iPad and not can't figure it out. Was this feature removed???

 

yes, as I found out to my chagrin last week (when I was among the last ipad users to give in to ios7 before its own sunset) the integrated clipper in my much-loved prior rev of EN (the one that worked up until ios6) is now gone, along with its own in-app browser (sob). Apparently, it has been so long that almost every current ios EN user forgot it used to be there.

 

I am totally guessing on this, but I can imagine that the complications of making it work well with every kind of web page out there today was a headache they chose not to solve with later updates. I do have to admit it choked amd crashed EN with some regularity, but man when it worked, it was wonderful. Since my work relies so much on web research, I am now looking for other ios apps to handle my copious mutimedia snips which will relegate EN to less of a research tool and more a notes manager (sigh)

[Ben Yu 2]

Perhaps I'm the first to note it here, but iOS 8 and the new Evernote app together now includes a mobile Safari extension for iOS devices! We can finally clip straight to Evernote by tapping the "Share" button at the bottom, then making sure Evernote app extension is turned on! Finally.

 

 

If I'm not mistaken, wasn't there a way when you tapped the "share" button that pulled up "Save to Evernote"? I had this for a while (before I was really using EN much) but have gotten a new iPhone & iPad and not can't figure it out. Was this feature removed???

 

yes, as I found out to my chagrin last week (when I was among the last ipad users to give in to ios7 before its own sunset) the integrated clipper in my much-loved prior rev of EN (the one that worked up until ios6) is now gone, along with its own in-app browser (sob). Apparently, it has been so long that almost every current ios EN user forgot it used to be there.

 

I am totally guessing on this, but I can imagine that the complications of making it work well with every kind of web page out there today was a headache they chose not to solve with later updates. I do have to admit it choked amd crashed EN with some regularity, but man when it worked, it was wonderful. Since my work relies so much on web research, I am now looking for other ios apps to handle my copious mutimedia snips which will relegate EN to less of a research tool and more a notes manager (sigh)

 

[cbnel 1]

 

Perhaps I'm the first to note it here, but iOS 8 and the new Evernote app together now includes a mobile Safari extension for iOS devices! We can finally clip straight to Evernote by tapping the "Share" button at the bottom, then making sure Evernote app extension is turned on! Finally.

 

Glad to hear it is there, and it is a step up from the current status quo. Thanks for letting us know. But I still miss the integrated browser and snipper I used to have right inside the EN app. It kept web snipping in its own focused stream apart from my initial browsing, and let me rapidly process the links I emailed into it from any of my (several) other ipad browsers. Oh well.

[cbnel 1]

Update to my own understandings -- a mention of the Dolphin (ios) browser above got me to open my own copy of it. Sure enough, under the Share button, there is the EN elephant. Pick it and you can log into EN, then snip a whole page with all of its elements and it shows up on the EN side right away. Cool!

 

Dolphin may soon become my GoTo ios browser for any large surf and snip research missions (Safari for me is the default where all my "wanna read" tabs live because any link emailed to to me opens in there, which makes it less useful for research.)

 

Another Dolphin feature may also make it my main app for any extended shopping online due to another feature -- an instant screenshot of the page in question tee'd up in an email along with the link (use the regular Dolphin email share function not the EN snipper), which again I can mail to self at EN when just a screenshot does the trick. My camera roll will thus also be a lot lighter because it saves the whole awkard of snap, save, send, delete.

 

Thanks to all for your tips! I may soon be a happy surfer again ;->

[Frank.dg 1,385]

The new iOS integrations are awesome. I still notice, however, that Dolphin browser still outshines the new iOS share to Evernote via the share menu option in Safari, in that one can also add tags, annotate before saving... AND save either an article or the full page. Saving just the article is what I do most... but I think Evernote will most likely get around to diversifying the popup web clipper box via Safari in due course.

 

EDIT: Also, I noticed that the JavaScript shortcut option in the address bar which opens a popup clipper also has a few more options,including the ability to add tags and a "Clip full page" option. 

[rdj999 31]

It is not just Safari – when you enable Evernote in the "Share" button, you should find that Evernote is available in (possibly) EVERY OTHER APP! For example, you can be looking at a picture in your photo album, touch Share, and send it directly to Evernote from there!!!

 

This is really awesome! Thanks Evernote! (And Apple!!)

 

 

Perhaps I'm the first to note it here, but iOS 8 and the new Evernote app together now includes a mobile Safari extension for iOS devices! We can finally clip straight to Evernote by tapping the "Share" button at the bottom, then making sure Evernote app extension is turned on! Finally.

 

...

[M. Black 13]

I used to use the bookmarklet, by I just found this and it works! It saves via the share button: https://evernote.com/contact/support/kb/#/article/23193638

[ChipAHoy 7]

According to your link, I should see a "more" option on my iPhone, but there is no option for More. I have an iPhone 4s, and am not going to upgrade it to iOS 8.

[Metrodon 2,184]

That link requires iOS8.

[ChipAHoy 7]

Evernote clipper on ios that is NOT ios 8

[ChipAHoy 7]

I have 4s iphone and will not upgrade to ios 8 . is there still a way to clip to Evernote ? instructions say there are supposed to be some icons in the safari browser next to the URL window for adding a page to the clipper but I am not seeing these icons.

[lorenzocaum 0]

This tutorial works for older versions of iOS:

 

http://iosbookmarklets.com/tutorials/evernote-bookmarklet/