Evernote 5 for Windows -- Still buggy? Have you gotten used to it?

[janet4 3]

I saw all the complaints about Evernote 5 and decided to stick with Evernote 4 for the time being.  Is that still the right decision, or is the software improving?  Do you use the new features?  Do you miss the old interface?  Are the bugs getting worked out?

 

I sync with an iPad regularly and an Android phone once in a while, both of which are on the recent version.  Only the PC is behind

[gazumped 10,333]

I can't really make a judgement for you - and you shouldn't trust anyone who would - but if it helps I'm using the latest version (actually the latest beta) and like all the versions I've used over the past few years it has it's own 'personality' which occasionally seem to border on the willfully difficult,  but by and large we get on.  There are still lacks - image resizing / better editing / notebook sharing conveniences.  Since a new account is free I'd suggest you create a test environment separate from your main account and try the latest version out.

[JMichaelTX 4,108]

I saw all the complaints about Evernote 5 and decided to stick with Evernote 4 for the time being.  Is that still the right decision, or is the software improving?  Do you use the new features?  Do you miss the old interface?  Are the bugs getting worked out?

 

I sync with an iPad regularly and an Android phone once in a while, both of which are on the recent version.  Only the PC is behind

 

Janet, you are very wise to ask this question.  The criteria I have long employed to determine WHEN to install updates (to any software), is:

• Do I have a compelling need for the new features, or bug fixes, of the update?
• Are users reporting any material bugs that would affect me?

I used EN Win for a long time before I switched over to a Mac.

With EN Mac, I stayed on Ver 3 for almost 9 months before I upgraded to Ver 5 (there was no Ver 4).

 

One of the biggest issues with EN Win and EN Mac, both on Ver 5, is the big change in UI (on both).  Frankly, I don't like Ver 5 UI on either.

Many of us have complained long and hard about the V5 UI, but Evernote seems strongly committed to this new UI.

 

Having said that, a few UI features, like the Shortcut bar across the top, are being restored in the latest EN Win Beta.

 

So, bottom line, I would NOT upgrade until I had a strong need for the new features, and I was convinced the new version was stable.

[jefito 5,586]

I saw all the complaints about Evernote 5 and decided to stick with Evernote 4 for the time being.  Is that still the right decision, or is the software improving?

Only you can decide that, since no-one here knows how you use Evernote. Since you ask, I've used version 5 since the betas, and like it fine. It's not as if V4 was perfect, by the way. Evernote adds new features to the software all the time: see the accumulated release notes below.

Do you use the new features?

Sure. Reminders? You bet, all the time, at home and for work. The search control has some nice new touches. What features are you interested in?

Do you miss the old interface?

No, nothing that stands out that I can remember. Again, what are the key features of V4 that you don't think are in V5.

Are the bugs getting worked out?

Some, same situation as with V4. Which bugs did you have in mind?

You're never going to know unless you live with V5 for awhile. But I can tell you that V4 is not getting fixed any more, and its UI is probably not coming back in toto, though individual elements may change.

Evernote for Windows 5.4.1.3895 RC Release Notes

Improvements:

Request read/write notebook access

YinXiang support for ScanSnap

Shortcuts Toolbar

First launch improvements

Various bug fixes

Fixes for when the application might lock up

Fixes for some Tag syncing issues

Evernote for Windows 5.4.1.3874 Beta 2 Release Notes

Improvements:

Request read/write notebook access

YinXiang support for ScanSnap

Shortcuts Toolbar

First launch improvements

Various bug fixes

Evernote for Windows 5.4.1.3741 Beta 1 Release Notes

Improvements:

Request read/write notebook access

YinXiang support for ScanSnap

Various bug fixes

Evernote for Windows 5.4.0.3446 Beta 2 Release Notes

Improvements:

Reduced merged conflicts. Better handling of conflicts involving meta data.

Presentation Mode bugfixes

Numerous search fixes

Evernote for Windows 5.4.0.3593 RC Release Notes

Improvements:

Note locking helps prevent users from creating conflicting changes.

Presentation Mode bugfixes

Evernote for Windows 5.4.0.3446 Beta 2 Release Notes

Improvements:

Reduced merged conflicts. Better handling of conflicts involving meta data.

Presentation Mode bugfixes

Numerous search fixes

Evernote for Windows 5.4.0.3413 Beta 1 Release Notes

New Premium Feature: Presentation Mode

Present your notes in a beautiful, full-screen layout with one click

Use the laser pointer featre to help everyone follow along

Turn on Night Mode for white text on a dark background

Evernote for Windows 5.3.0.3252 RC Release Notes

Improvements:

New Notebook picker shows Recent Notebooks

Fixes:

Fix for sync'd notes marked as unsync'd in List View

Misc sync fixes

Numerous fixes to tags

Evernote for Windows 5.3.0.2999 Release Notes

Fixes:

Numerous bug fixes for presentation mode

Bug fix for tags not autocompleting

Fix for sync icon animation

Misc bug fixes

Evernote for Windows 5.2.0.2775 Release Candidate Release Notes

Improvements:

Must improved sync performance. Users should see improvements to sync speed and performance of the app while sync is running.

Greatly improved sync performance for Evernote Business users

Numerous bug fixes for Annotation

Fixes:

Numerous fixes for sync related issues

Evernote for Windows 5.2.0.2637 Beta 2 Release Notes

Improvements:

First Launch Checklist and Progress meter helps guide new users through the product

Fixes:

Bugfixes for Markup

Misc bugfixes

Evernote for Windows 5.2.0.2503 Beta 1 Release Notes

Improvements:

Markup on images

Fixes:

Fix for attaching large files

Reminders translations

Evernote for Windows 5.1.2.2386 Release Notes

Improvements:

Improved ScanSnap Options & ScanSnap support

Evernote for Windows 5.1.1.2304 RC Release Notes

Improvements:

Recognition & formatting of scanned business cards into Contact Notes

Improved navigation bar for Announcements

Note Encryption uses AES-128

Fixes:

While searching "Current Context" clearing a search no longer sends you to All Notes

Moving note from one joined notebook to another no longer results in a sync error

Bugfix for search highlighting being off

Numerous other bugfixes

Evernote for Windows 5.1.0.2217 GA Release Notes

Improvements:

Individual note downsync. For example, if you clip a new webclip, you can download just the new webclip without doing a full sync

Branded premium dialogs

Fixes:

Bugfix for sync on startup failing

Bugfixes for search highlighting being misaligned

Improved error handling for ScanSnap if scanned resources exceed 100mb

Crashfix that occured on the Notebooks screen

Bugfix for pageup & pagedown on notelist

Misc bug fixes

Evernote for Windows 5.1.0.2046 RC Release Notes

Fixes:

Fixed issue with page down on notelist

Fixed improper search highlighting issue

Fixed shared notebook sync error

Fixed recent search selection issue

Fixed numerous markup issues

Evernote for Windows 5.1.0.1926 Beta 2 Release Notes

Fixes:

Fix for Markup component being caught in anti-virus software

Fixed crash when exiting markup

Fixed for improper save after pixellate & crop tools

Fix for enscript exportNotes from notebook name with spaces

Error handling for importing large notes

Fix for 2FA & xAuth via enscript

Fix for Related Notes causing slow performance

Numerous other fixes

Evernote for Windows 5.1.0.1869 Beta 1 Release Notes

Improvements:

Introducing Markup integration

Markup images without leaving Evernote

Hover over an image to see the markup icon. Click to markup

Quicker sync when copying Note URL on a brand new note

Improved error handling for ScanSnap scans exceeding note size limits

Fixes:

Numerous bug fixes

Evernote for Windows 5.0.3.1559 RC Release Notes

Fixes:

Fix for toolbar customizations being lost

Fix for clicking on email address in Evernote Business Home leading to an offline error message

Misc bug fixes

Evernote for Windows 5.0.2.1392 GA Release Notes

Introducing Evernote Business 2.0

Business Home makes your company smarter than ever

Get to know your members of your business and learn about their recent activity by browsing their profiles

Discover notebooks and notes published by your coworkers, find popular notebooks and top contributors

Search and browse notes in every Business Notebook you have access to and preview notes before you join notebooks

Expertise Discovery: searching your notes also searches your business for related people and shared notes

Convert personal notebooks to business notebooks

Fixes:

Fixes for misc crashes

Fix for full names showing in the Share Bar

Fix for business tags not being suggested

Bug fixes for sync errors

Fix for Atlas not opening properly

Numerous other bug fixes

Evernote for Windows 5.0.1.1188 GA Release Notes

Improvements:

Able to multiselect tags with ctrl+click

Fixes:

Fix for notelinks across different notebooks

Fix for downsyncing Shortcuts

"Click to add tag" works on single click

Improved keyboard entry for Jump to Tags feature

Visual improvements on high DPI

Misc bug fixes

Evernote for Windows 5.0.0.1137 GA Release Notes

Improvements:

Shortcuts give you quick access to Notes, Notebooks, Tags & Saved Searches

Beautiful new Card view to browse your notes

New ways to view & organize your content

Atlas helps you rediscover all the palces you've been

Smarter search with TypeAhead suggestions and filters

Adding a reminder pins the note to the top of your note list

Get Reminder notifications for notes in shared notebooks

Get the latest news and updates from Evernote in the new Announcements section

Business users can convert personal notebooks to business notebooks

Highlighter tool for highlighting text within a note

New Sharebar appears on notes that are in shared notebooks

Keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts

Jump to notebooks (Shift+Alt+N)

Jump to Tags (Shift+Alt+T)

Jump to your first 10 Shortcuts in the left sidebar (Ctrl+1 through Ctrl+0)

Fixes:

Numerous bug fixes

Evernote for Windows 5.0.0.1051 Release Notes

Improvements:

Announcements can be viewed offline

Reminders within a notebook can be reordered

Highlighter tool for highlighting text within a note

New Sharebar appears on notes that are in shared notebooks

Fixes:

Bug fixes for keyboard naviation in snippet view

Bug fixes for converting personal notebooks to business notebooks

Evernote for Windows 5.0.0.980 Beta 2 hotfix Release Notes

Fixes:

Reminder count now displays correctly

Reminder today/tomorrow display is fixed

Reminder date/time and calendar positioning improved

Reminders added to the search grammar

Evernote for Windows 5.0.0.964 Beta 2 Release Notes

Improvements:

Reminders Beta 1

Adding a reminder pins the note to the top of your note list

Mark notes as Done when you complete them

See reminders and get notifications for notes in shared notebooks

Reminders appear above the notelist in card view and snippet view

Reminders can be quickly marked as done in the snippet view & card view

Reminder preferences under Tools >> Options

Known issue: Reminders do not show up in List view

Known issue: Unable to reorder Reminders in a notebook

Get the latest news and updates from Evernote in the new Announcements section

Announcements can be saved to your Evernote account for future reference

Business users can convert personal notebooks to business notebooks

Keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts

Jump to notebooks (Shift+Alt+N)

Jump to Tags (Shift+Alt+T)

Jump to your first 10 Shortcuts in the left sidebar (Ctrl+1 through Ctrl+0)

Known Issues

Keyboard navigation in Card view and Snippet view

Users unable to separate business and personal notebooks

Fixes:

Fix for Shortcuts not syncing

Fix for maximizing the Evernote window

Numerous bug fixes

Evernote for Windows 5.0.0.782 Beta 1 Release Notes

Improvements:

Shortcuts give you quick access to Notes, Notebooks, Tags & Saved Searches

Beautiful new Card view to browse your notes

New ways to view & organize your content

Atlas helps you rediscover all the palces you've been

Smarter search with TypeAhead suggestions and filters

Fixes:

Misc bug fixes

[janet4 3]

I think my main worry, since the ipad app gets updated regularly (and while it is pretty stable now, it really needed updates for a long time) is that my work on one device won't sync correctly with the other devices because they are on different versions of EN.  Or, that something will change on EN's side such that the latest version is necessary to sync properly.

 

Obviously, I've gotten along fine this year with EN 4, but I'm not sure if this is a good long-term strategy.

[gazumped 10,333]

For the moment,  users seem to be spread all over the version chart so I doubt Evernote will introduce any incompatibilties if they can avoid it.  Inevitably though as new developments (and new threats) filter into the product you have the danger,  not only of falling behind or of losing touch with your data,  but also of your account becoming less secure.  There are actually two main rules in IT -

1. never be first into any product
2. don't let your software get out of date

As we said,  we can't make the decision for you - but I'd still suggest the bext way to proceed is to get a new free account to test out the latest version and see whether you could live with it...

[EdH 1,670]

I think my main worry, since the ipad app gets updated regularly (and while it is pretty stable now, it really needed updates for a long time) is that my work on one device won't sync correctly with the other devices because they are on different versions of EN.  Or, that something will change on EN's side such that the latest version is necessary to sync properly.

 

Obviously, I've gotten along fine this year with EN 4, but I'm not sure if this is a good long-term strategy.

 

As long as EN allows a client to sync with the server, there won't be an issue with syncing between devices. Of course, new features won't sync across, but they seem to keep older versions up to date. For example, they fixed EN 4.x so it doesn't wipe out reminders when those were added to 5.x and other versions.

 

I held off of 5.x on my Windows PC for a long time, but a month ago I moved to it. Advantages for me:

• syncs faster
• reminders
• highlighter in text
• Shortcuts sync across devices that support shortcuts (iOS does)

 

Disadvantages:

• Hate the UI in general. Too many shades of white/offwhite. Skinny scroll bars difficult to grab with the mouse. 
• If you have lots of tags and a business account, prepare for colossal mess. My tag list is virtually useless now. Cannot filter unused tags either.
• Irritating that the note subject is no longer in the header, but is now part of the note body, so it will scroll off screen.

 

All of that said, I'd still install 5.x on a new machine because the day to day advantages are better than the frustrating UI. I've learned to ignore the tag listing, I just suck it up on the note subject line, and count on Microsoft making a change in 2-3 years (as they always do) on how UI elements should work and this asnine flat drab UI will go away, and I have no doubt EN will follow as they typically do. It is really suprising too because the iOS UI is unique and fantastic. The Windows version though not so much.

[idoc 314]

I downloaded v5.0 on my laptop and tried to use it while still using v4.0 on my desktop.  I found v5.0 to be very buggy.  At least once per day I get the message "Evernote not responding" for various reasons.  I have had to restart the program several times.  In fact, after I upgraded to v5.4 I had to uninstall that and go back down to version 5.1.  I gave myself about a week to see if I liked the new interface and I don't.  There are certain small issues that bug me and I'm not sure if I just don't understand how to solve them or if they're unsolvable.  For example, in v4.0 I had my saved searches as an item on my Favorites bar.  If I hit "saved searches" it would drop down a list of all my saved searches.  In v5.0 you can't seem to put saved search on the favorites bar (ie: you can put individual saved searches there but not the entire dropdown batch).  Another minor point: In v4.0 I have a notebook that has 40 sub-notebooks.  Fortunately, this notebook is always collapsed and when I search through my notebooks I don't need to see all the 40 subnotebooks that comprise that notebook.  In v5.0 all the sub-notebooks are showing and constantly have to scroll past them all when I am trying to select a notebook on the right panel.  Also, the general font and arrangement of print throughout v5.0 is harder for my older presbyopic eyes than v4.0 was.  On the other hand, the reminder feature is great and was sorely missing in v4.0.  Also, I enjoy the fact that when you do a search you get suggested search terms based on your data.  Right now I am using v5.0 on my laptop which is positioned directly next to v4.0 on my desktop and I am comparing them constantly to see which version yields faster results more easily with less clicking.  In my hands, v4.0 appears to be winning.

[RobertJohnCook 0]

I kindly ask if someone could please instruct me how to remove Version 5 and go back to Version 4. High DPI change is causing major troubles on my Surface2 8.1  Mahalo:)

 

[jefito 5,586]

You need to uninstall Evernote as usual, and locate the v4 installer. Back up your notes database before playing around with a downdate like this...