Evernote Contacts for Share by Email?

[ltgrady 5]

New Evernote User here.

 

I just starting running my companies Dev list out of evernote and do a lot of tagging to keep everything organized.  I assign development tasks by emailing notes to my developers.  When I click Share by Email I enter their names and send email.

 

I have to re-type full email addresses every single time we do this.  There doesn't seem to be any storing of these emails or contacts in any way.  I hate having to type in full emails each time.  Is there something I'm missing?  Any way to avoid having to do this?

 

Thanks!

[ScottLougheed 1,316]

You are not missing anything! Unfortunately Evernote doesn't seem to connect with desktop contacts apps like Contacts.app on Mac and whatever Windows machines use. I believe it CAN leverage Google contacts, but I am not a google user so I cannot test this. 

 

I too would really like it if it could pull from Contacts.app. 

[Sentinel 195]

 I believe it CAN leverage Google contacts, but I am not a google user so I cannot test this. 

I have my google contacts linking with the mail client on my Mac.  It seems EN is reading my contacts via the mail client, which is sending the emails.  Although I do not use the default mail client on the mac for sending/receiving/organizing my emails, I do have the contacts synced into it just for this reason.  So, I am using the default mail client on the mac as my EN Email Contact List.  It works!

[ScottLougheed 1,316]

AH! Ok, sorry, I just worked through the process of emailing a note (i don't do this all that often!). Indeed Evernote DOES access the Contacts.app on the mac. This is GREAT news. 

However, it does NOT access your Contacts.app when you are sharing notebook, only your Google contacts, if you authorize it to, hence my confusion. 

 

Another note. I have never seen Evernote send an email via the Mac Mail app. It brings up its own little window and sends from within itself. Up until a few months ago, the message was sent from Evernote's servers and Evernote would spoof your email address to make it appear as though it came from your email account. Recently they changed this behaviour because spoofing is often mistaken as spam by many mail providers. Now it sends from some @evernote address with the "from" field filled in with your name and the Reply-To address filled with the email associated with your Evernote account. 

 

You can verify this by looking at your "sent" mailbox on your mail client and on the webmail server. Nothing you send from within Evernote will appear in your sent box because it isn't being sent from your email account. 

[Sentinel 195]

Indeed Evernote DOES access the Contacts.app on the mac. This is GREAT news. 

 

You can verify this by looking at your "sent" mailbox on your mail client and on the webmail server. Nothing you send from within Evernote will appear in your sent box because it isn't being sent from your email account. 

 

Ya know, I knew that.  I don't know why I was thinking it went through the mail client to deliver the mail.  

So sorry!  And yes, I have checked the mail client on the mac and the sent email does not show there. 

[ltgrady 5]

I use Gmail and often send clips from it (using powerbot), but when I'm doing a bunch of development updates and assignments I'm working in the windows desktop evernote.  Sadly it's not pulling from anything. 

[JMichaelTX 4,117]

I don't understand why Evernote can't just use the DEFAULT mail client like Browsers do. 

 

If I select "File > EMail link..." on the FireFox menu, it opens an Outlook email compose window with the link in the body of the email.

Then, I can obviously use my Outlook contacts to pick recipients.  AND, the msg is saved in my Sent Items folder, so I have a record.

[ScottLougheed 1,316]

I don't understand why Evernote can't just use the DEFAULT mail client like Browsers do. 

 

If I select "File > EMail link..." on the FireFox menu, it opens an Outlook email compose window with the link in the body of the email.

Then, I can obviously use my Outlook contacts to pick recipients.  AND, the msg is saved in my Sent Items folder, so I have a record.

This might pose a challenge for users who do not use a desktop mail client and only use a web mail interface. But I also know nothing about programming so perhaps this is not a problem?

[JMichaelTX 4,117]

 

I don't understand why Evernote can't just use the DEFAULT mail client like Browsers do. 

 

If I select "File > EMail link..." on the FireFox menu, it opens an Outlook email compose window with the link in the body of the email.

Then, I can obviously use my Outlook contacts to pick recipients.  AND, the msg is saved in my Sent Items folder, so I have a record.

This might pose a challenge for users who do not use a desktop mail client and only use a web mail interface. But I also know nothing about programming so perhaps this is not a problem?

 

 

I'm pretty sure you could setup EN Preferences for the user to specify which email service to use, either the desktop default, or a online service like GMail.

 

BTW, even if you use GMail, you can use apps like Outlook as your main email client.  In fact, I do this now.  I have Outlook setup to use BOTH GMail and an Exchange Server account.  Outlook interface is MUCH better than GMail, IMO.

[ScottLougheed 1,316]

 

 

I don't understand why Evernote can't just use the DEFAULT mail client like Browsers do. 

 

If I select "File > EMail link..." on the FireFox menu, it opens an Outlook email compose window with the link in the body of the email.

Then, I can obviously use my Outlook contacts to pick recipients.  AND, the msg is saved in my Sent Items folder, so I have a record.

This might pose a challenge for users who do not use a desktop mail client and only use a web mail interface. But I also know nothing about programming so perhaps this is not a problem?

 

 

I'm pretty sure you could setup EN Preferences for the user to specify which email service to use, either the desktop default, or a online service like GMail.

 

BTW, even if you use GMail, you can use apps like Outlook as your main email client.  In fact, I do this now.  I have Outlook setup to use BOTH GMail and an Exchange Server account.  Outlook interface is MUCH better than GMail, IMO.

 

Obviously gmail users can use desktop clients, I never said otherwise. However I know many gmail (and other mail providers) that do not (Personally I do not use gmail, but I do use a desktop client...). Many people use gmail explicitly because it offers what they think, in their opinion is a better organizational experience than any mainstream desktop client can. 

Of course they can use a desktop client, but some don't by choice.  

 

But, as you say, I guess it is trivial to implement some kind of method of sending Evernote's note content via a mail web interface so my point is moot I suppose. 

[JMichaelTX 4,117]

 

so my point is moot I suppose.

 

LOL.   You're too funny Scott. 

[ltgrady 5]

I checked all the options, no place to really set an email preference.

 

I used outlook for years but I made the switch a few years ago and much prefer Gmail.  Everyone has their own preferences.  But considering how many people use Gmail it would be an awfully nice feature to either be able to pull form google contacts or send emails through Gmail instead of EN servers.

[ScottLougheed 1,316]

I checked all the options, no place to really set an email preference.

 

I used outlook for years but I made the switch a few years ago and much prefer Gmail.  Everyone has their own preferences.  But considering how many people use Gmail it would be an awfully nice feature to either be able to pull form google contacts or send emails through Gmail instead of EN servers.

As it exists, there is no option. The only method to send is using the mail dialogue from within the Evernote application. 

 

I agree, some flexibility on how emails are sent would be nice. However, there are some challenges. 

 

For example, in order for Evernote to send from a user's email address, Evernote would have to possess the security credentials for that user's email account. At the VERY least it would require the SMTP credentials (Which are usually the same or similar to the login credentials). This is a pretty monumental set of credential to leave in anyone's hands other than your own and your email provider. I trust Evernote a lot, and it is not Evernote I'm concerned about so much as if Evernote's servers, which would contain my email credentials, were compromised. Some email providers do offer a way of authorizing third-parties reasonable securely and Gmail is definitely one of them, but it would be up to Evernote to offer the option and incorporate that authorization method into their application. 

 

That being said, that leaves a whole pile of Evernote users, especially those who conduct business using institutionally provided email addresses or addresses from providers that don't offer the same authorization facilities such as gmail, without the option to send from their own address. So the 'problem' is really only partially solved for a small segment of the millions of Evernote users, and would remain for the vast majority of Evernote's business users who are less likely to use gmail and most likely to be concerned about the email adress such messages appear from. 

 

So yeah, I would love more email flexibility, but I would not be keen on handing my email credentials over to any third party, including Evernote. 

[ltgrady 5]

Well, there are more simplified ways of doing that.  But even if they continue to use their own mail server, there should at least be some kind of retention of the addressed you've already entered. Even if they're not pulling contacts form somewhere or adding a full contact manager to evernote, at least store the values I've entered and auto-complete when I start typing.  Completely typing in full email addresses over and over isn't really very intuitive.  I have to imagine they'll eventually come up with something but I can't think of anyplace else that doesn't at least store my previously entered email addresses.

 

Oh well, it still works better than anything else for me, it's a minor annoyance.