Penultimate 6.0 Released

[cifip 270]

Hi all,

 

We're happy to announce the all-new Penultimate app was released today. Penultimate 6.0 is a complete redesign of the best digital handwriting app on iPad. Version 6.0 is focused around smoother writing and better organization.

 

Included in Penultimate 6.0:

• New UI for focused writing
• Write in full screen and keep writing without stopping to add new pages. Use two fingers to scroll up and down notes.
• Create new notes, and access different kinds of paper, more quickly
• New highlighting tool
• Improved connection process, writing quality, and accuracy for the Jot Script stylus
• More powerful search
• View by default all Evernote notebooks that contain Penultimate notes
• Access and add notes to your Evernote notebooks, including business notebooks
• View your Penultimate notes in Evernote

Let us know what you think.

 

You can download the Penultimate app from the App Store. You can purchase the Jot Script Evernote Edition Stylus by Adonit in the Evernote Market.

 

Cheers!

 

[sjk2014 2]

Sorry to say that making the upgrade was a mistake for me. Handwriting recognition is now horrible. The lag when writing is unacceptable, My writing was fine in the last version but nearly illegible here. As an Evernote user, I love the integration, so please provide instructions on how to go back to the previous version and fix this new one quickly.

[Ivy G 5]

Agree to all of you.

I really need the OLD VERSION BACK, as i need by notes back. It s hard f me to believe the digital paperless notes, now it s really a spoiler.

THE WORST UPGRADED APPS EVER...

Pls do somthin

[mrboynton486 4]

I use penultimate for teaching streaming my ipad through an apple tv and have been for 3 years. The new update made my hundereds of saved lessons completely worthless. The new scrolling and lack of pages is terrible, the full screen is slower to use than the old screen, and the orientation of ALL of my lesson is now wrong and wont display correctly. Thanks for nothing! Hours upon hours of work made now worthless...i can only hope a new update is coming or at least allow us to download the old version. I've been recommending Penultimate for years and will be looking for a new app starting Monday. Not sure who did the beta testing but they should be fired immediately.

[ROOH 2]

Hello Penultimate team,

I hope you understand all the complaint's. Congratulations, penultimate its the first program that earns a one star Rating in the app Shop from me.

I do not want to repeat all that has already been stated.

I want my notebooks back ,

I want the pages back

I want to write as I used to

To make a long story short, I want the old version.

Than you have the time to rethink, and we could go on with our work.

[netargo 2]

After more of 300 Penultimate notes in the last year, most of them synced to Evernote, I spent 24 hours trying to find a good alternative to the last Penultimate upgrade.

I've tried Notes Plus, Goodnotes, Notability, Noteshelf, Zoom Notes, etc. but in the end I decided for Bamboo Paper. Here is why.

I need

- a simple note taking app,

- - with the most used commands just in an easy place to reach (change color or point, cancel a word or delete the entire page);

- - with a large page for my handwritten notes. I'm not used to write in the zoom window, as I often need to make links on the same page between two different sentences and I draw on the whole page;

- a good palm recognition, as I usually rest my hand on the screen to have a clearer writing (Bamboo is the only one I can use even with a normal Jot Pro, without bluetooth connections, getting a perfect writing without any other sign on the page);

- high speed in the ink flow;

- connection with email and dropbox or evernote (it is not synced but I can easily send to dropbox either the complete memo or single pages of it);

- import images or photos.

- see the single pages of the memo and work on them separately

I know it has no voice recording (neither Penultimate), but I use CaptureAudio, which can place bookmarks during the recording and can sync with dropbox.

I must say that it palm recognition is even better than the old Penultimate...

[aburnstorm 23]

After more of 300 Penultimate notes in the last year, most of them synced to Evernote, I spent 24 hours trying to find a good alternative to the last Penultimate upgrade.

I've tried Notes Plus, Goodnotes, Notability, Noteshelf, Zoom Notes, etc. but in the end I decided for Bamboo Paper. Here is why.

I need

- a simple note taking app,

- - with the most used commands just in an easy place to reach (change color or point, cancel a word or delete the entire page);

- - with a large page for my handwritten notes. I'm not used to write in the zoom window, as I often need to make links on the same page between two different sentences and I draw on the whole page;

- a good palm recognition, as I usually rest my hand on the screen to have a clearer writing (Bamboo is the only one I can use even with a normal Jot Pro, without bluetooth connections, getting a perfect writing without any other sign on the page);

- high speed in the ink flow;

- connection with email and dropbox or evernote (it is not synced but I can easily send to dropbox either the complete memo or single pages of it);

- import images or photos.

- see the single pages of the memo and work on them separately

I know it has no voice recording (neither Penultimate), but I use CaptureAudio, which can place bookmarks during the recording and can sync with dropbox.

I must say that it palm recognition is even better than the old Penultimate...

One other option that works well is inkflow plus.

[RevInnovator 0]

I have a similar post in another thread. The rotation problem has made my notes a pain to use. I won't rehash the many, many issues that others have explained so well.

 

I switched to Penultimate from Note Taker HD. Note Taker is a great app developed by Dan Bricklin. Dan is credited with developing the first spreadsheet and he's always provided solid, responsive support. After using Evernote for a year as my online database, collection etc. I thought I would give Penultimate a try. The value was in the integration and ability to search.

 

I'm going back to Note Taker, it's a paid for app ($4.95) and has solid performance. I have hundreds of pages of notes in both systems. Ping me offline if you are interested in learning more about the features.

 

Cheers

[JamieD 7]

Okay mine did not work anymore either after the update. I would not let me write and when it finally registered what I was writing it was terrible and not legible. I have very neat handwriting so apparently the app is not working properly. However you can get the old version back but you need to do this fast. 

 

Step 1 - Go into your IPAD settings under app store and click off the automatic updates for apps. 

Step 2 - Delete the Penultimate APP from your IPAD

Step 3 - Connect to your IPAD to your ITUNES

Step 4 - Go to APPS and you should have the old version of Penultimate in there - Hit Install and relogin to your account...Everything will sync back over and you will be happy again!!!!

 

I am so super stoked to have my old version back that actually works!!!

 

GOOD LUCK!!!!

[joeybones 5]

My brand new iPad with my brand new stylus literally does not work with Penultimate 6.  I'm not even complaining about the new / removed features.  I can't write in it at all.  Very long lag when I write, and 8 out of 10 strokes are ether not recognized or inaccurate / poorly rendered.  

 

Can you please make the old version available for download?  Name a price.  I'll pay it.  Like an idiot, I revolved my entire job around Evernote and Penultimate and I'm pretty screwed here.  Whatever it's going to cost to get me that old version back, please PM me.  

 

Thanks

[mike12045 31]

I find it truly amazing that, considering the reviews in this forum, and the one-star ratings in the appstore (one star, only because you can't choose no stars), that the app is still available for download. It should have been pulled immediately, before even more damage was done to their reputation.

[joeybones 5]

I will totally forget this ever happened and buy my premium subscription if you make the old version available for download.  Not even remotely kidding.  Note taking on my iPad is essential to my job, and I'm unable to do it with version 6.  Not being stubborn, I literally cannot write in this, no matter how slow or how accurate I try, it's illegible scribbles.  

 

Please make the old version available for download.  Brand new customer if you do.  

[James C T 1]

This update is just not ready for release. I can't believe it was approved for release.

It is awful.

 

Writing is just nowhere near as accurate or responsive.

Titles on the notes are gone so I have no idea which notes are which.

The highlighter is a great idea, but again just not ready.

I preferred turning pages, scrolling is a pain in the backside.

Removing the zoom and automatic panning was one of the worst ideas for the update.

 

I used the older version for work and it was incredibly useful. I can't use the updated version for work. It just isn't good enough. 

Put the original version back on for download. I will not be using this version and will use other apps until it is sorted out.

[Edx 11]

Had enough of this! Have been looking around and think I will switch to Noteshelf - v similar to old Penultimate and with Evernote sync for an in app purchase.......

[chetepal 0]

It is horrible!!!!!

 

It is written in the description that the paper adapt his movement to the writing speed. It was true in the old version. Not now.

 

"Thank you" for give a step back in your product. 

[James C T 1]

If you are looking for something more like what the older version used to be, NOTE MOKA seems to work in a very similar way with the note taking, writing capabilities, adding pictures, turning pages...

 

A suitable alternative whilst Evernote sort out the shambles that v6 is.

[Rens175 5]

Waouuh, amazing the number of views from Friday to now!!!

 

I still have my finger crossed for a positive reaction from Evernote band.

 

If not, tomorrow's question from most of us ( I believe) will be, which App works with the Jot Scipt and can easy Synch with all our device.

 

Evernote team, please get out of this situation with a courageous decision and show us you're still the professional band we've choosen to work with!

[glenngold 2]

Dear Evernote:

I am a longtime loyal EVERNOTE brand customer . As a Premium user I have also purchased your scanner ,notebooks and at least 3 of your stylus. I use Evernote every day as part of my workday. As a sales professional, I also pass on recommendations to my customers and fellow team members at work. Evernote has always been part of this conversation.

When I heard that Penultimate had become part of Evernote , I actually switched from another note taking App to Penultimate. Unlike some , I believe. I paid for the app. Not that money is the issue .

I was excited to hear that Pennultimate was being updated . I saw. The new look icon and was ready for some new cool enhancements and improvements . Yeow- it's like I landed on another planet. I am always open to change, however

How about access to my original data?

How about a tutorial explaining how to get your notebooks ? Even Apple lets you revert to a Classic style when they try something new..

I am hoping you read the discussion notes on this issue - people are very upset. There are personal , business and education customers with problems . I am hoping that Evernote can see their way to jumping on this problem for so many loyal customers

[Beth55 22]

I'm not going to say any more about how unhappy I am with this 6.0 update, it would just be redundant after so many have already voiced the same displeasure. What I would like to ask is why you, Evernote, can be so quiet after so many have complained about it. It must be painfuly obvious by now how mutch of a mistake this update was for your reputation.

You said that you had used Beta Testers, but what controls groups did you use? Were any of these people actual penaltimate users? This update also has me wondering if Ben Zotto, the original developer for penaltimate, was even involved in this?

This update just seems very premature and a little arrogant on the developers side. To have dropped from a four star rating in the App Store to a one stare, just tells me that you really didn't know why penaltimate was so such an amazing app to begin with.

[aburnstorm 23]

There is a reason for all people using pages and book style format. Ancient egyptian scrolls sucks. Do you imagine a lawyer preparing his case exposition with a huge kitchen paper roll? Or a musician in a concert rolling the w.c. paper roll? Or a storyboard designer with a cart full of wallpaper rolls?

 

I think you, guys, forgot that penultimate is not a writing app. On a text edit app you can scroll down easily, but we are using Penultimate for storyboarding, interface design, planification, music writting, visual concept... all of those are not suitable for continuos scrolling. Need to be searchable, tumbnailable, sortable.

 

Also is a beaufitul detail from you to convert all landscape notes to an infinite vertical nightmare.

 

As it is now, i think this drawing define what Penultimate has become:

 

Best part of this photo is that your picture would have to be made on paper since you sure couldn't do that quality on the new penultimate 6.

[AKRE 2]

I have been reading how to go back to the old version by syncing with iTunes on my computer. But I had never synced my iPad to my iMac before. Does anyone know if it still works even if I've never synced before the update? I don't see Penultimate listed on my computer so I don't think version 5 is there, but maybe it doesn't show until I delete and proceed? I am nervous to try it. 

[never-evernote 4]

Clearly, enough has been written about the disaster that happened. I am appalled that despite the outcry, there has been no response from the developers. NONE. As someone who spent his saturday printing and salvaging whatever notes i could, i feel badly for the hundreds of educators, classrooms, collaboraters, and note-takers who have been affected.

 

Penultimate used to be in my ipad's DOCK. Now it's deleted. Given their silence, there is NO WAY i am going to back-hack or restore previous version, nor wait around for the company to fix (better yet, throw out) version 6. I only hope that everyone responsible for this disaster learns something from it. I WILL take my frustration out on evernote, because they are the company ultimately responsible for this disaster. Premium membership? no thanks. I am already looking to replace that app, too.

 

After doing some research, i am finding that both Noteshelf and GoodNotes are acceptable alternatives - and they work NOW, when I need to work...

 

And SHAME on the apple store for declaring this mess a 'best new app" ???!!!

[ScottLougheed 1,316]

Clearly, enough has been written about the disaster that happened. I am appalled that despite the outcry, there has been no response from the developers. NONE. As someone who spent his saturday printing and salvaging whatever notes i could, i feel badly for the hundreds of educators, classrooms, collaboraters, and note-takers who have been affected.

 

Penultimate used to be in my ipad's DOCK. Now it's deleted. Given their silence, there is NO WAY i am going to back-hack or restore previous version, nor wait around for the company to fix (better yet, throw out) version 6. I only hope that everyone responsible for this disaster learns something from it. I WILL take my frustration out on evernote, because they are the company ultimately responsible for this disaster. Premium membership? no thanks. I am already looking to replace that app, too.

 

After doing some research, i am finding that both Noteshelf and GoodNotes are acceptable alternatives - and they work NOW, when I need to work...

 

And SHAME on the apple store for declaring this mess a 'best new app" ???!!!

If you actually read this thread, you'd notice that an Evernote employee, Joshua Taylor, has chimed in at least a half dozen times within the fits few pages.

Take a deep breath,

[Steve Moore 13]

I will totally f

I find it truly amazing that, considering the reviews in this forum, and the one-star ratings in the appstore (one star, only because you can't choose no stars), that the app is still available for download. It should have been pulled immediately, before even more damage was done to their reputation.

They (Evernote) have screwed up thousands of users lives so far, wasting tons of individuals time, affecting their work and education lives, and significantly raising anxieties. This is not a little case of pesky loyal users who just don't like the look and feel of change. If they (Evernote) had any integrity and cared, they would take down v6.0 immediately....they have and are not.

I will give them till Monday afternoon...at which point they will officially be labeled Pathetic.

[Carrief5 0]

I have been preaching Evernote to my entire school, not to mention my students that have tablets. I use penultimate at home, at church, anywhere I would normally use pen and paper. I was in the middle class notes when it updated, then I couldn't write in it. I tried again this morning in church. I was supposed to be taking notes on the sermon, but I was trying to work penultimate. The writing is messy, I want the old version back. I liked the nice notebooks that I had organized. I miss the notebook covers that tell me what was in them. The worst part is that we can't turn pages like we used to and we don't have titles to our notes. Can this be fixed?

[Tippis 45]

I have been reading how to go back to the old version by syncing with iTunes on my computer. But I had never synced my iPad to my iMac before. Does anyone know if it still works even if I've never synced before the update? I don't see Penultimate listed on my computer so I don't think version 5 is there, but maybe it doesn't show until I delete and proceed? I am nervous to try it. 

 

No. If you have never used iTunes to sync your iPad and/or never used iTunes to download and install an old version of Penultimate, you're pretty much screwed — your computer will never have touched the app or downloaded the .ipa package. With a bit of luck, and some measure of cheekery, you might be able to find a pirated version of the app circulated on jailbreak sites for those who got themselves locked out of the app store. Short of someone hosting and linking their .ipa here, that's your best bet.

 

 

 

If you actually read this thread, you'd notice that an Evernote employee, Joshua Taylor, has chimed in at least a half dozen times within the fits few pages.

Take a deep breath,

 

 

The thing is that those answers happened very early before the deluge of complaints came rolling in, and they only addressed a very minute selection of issues (note disappearance and pen connection) — neither of which they were actually able to do anything about. They were some immediate answers to critical functionality loss that were jotted down during the lunch break just after release — nothing more. Everything that has come to light once people started upgrading breaking their installs en masse is left without comment.

 

It's been two full work days and a week-end since then, and in fairness, the estimation that nothing has been answered is 100% accurate. While it may be understandable that they can't really do anything outside of office hours, a tiny peep to say that, yes, they've actually noticed that the current version is an abject failure would help a lot — it's crisis communication 101. This should have happened Thursday evening, not (as is the best we can hope for now) Monday morning.

[Paolo Marino 6]

What is Evernote doing to solve this mess? Do we need to go and switch for another applicAtion? I feel disturbing that no one from Evernote has yet to reply to all those complaints I've been a paying user for sometime now I think I deserve at least an apology from Evernote!

[D&U 3]

Hard to stay clam in the face of such silence, when my business week has started (its Monday where I live) and the tool I use in my business meetings is now useless.  In fact I did take a deep breath and decided not to rely upon the organisation who so completely misread their user and destroyed the functionality of a brilliant app.  Evernote have a long way back now.  What's that they say about reputations?  good reputations take forever to build, and a moment to lose.  *snap*

[jsessler 3]

 

My god, this is bad! Ever since you announced that there would soon be an update to Penultimate, I have been excited, but this "update" takes Penultimate back to the look, feel and horrible experience of inferior handwriting apps years ago. Gone is the drift feature, replaced with what appears to be a speed-writing contest. Gone is the smooth ink flow and -rendering that gave the look and feel of writing with a fountain pen, replaced by jagged, horrible ink and bad alignment with the tip of the Jot Script. 

 

I had just made the decision to finally nuke Notability from my iPad. Glad I didn't. Please fix all of the issues noted by the other respondents, and quickly! 

Bjorn, I just wanted to check to make sure your stylus is connected. In the writing view when the menu is expanded, the stylus icon should be highlighted blue. When you tap it you can reconnect if it gets connected for some reason. Additionally, changing your wrist position often improves the stylus accuracy. Try that and let us know if you have any luck. 

 

joshua -

my stylus crapped out about 6 months after I purchased it.  I had to restart bluetooth on it every few minutes.  I gave up and went to a $10.00 stylus.  Worked great.  That is, until now.

[Dan Tappin 11]

I hate it for all the reasons everyone mentioned. My only additional recommendation is everyone goes to the App Store a gives it a 1 star review in hopes that puts additional pressure on Evernote to fix it.

We are actively working on many of the issues noted here. No additional pressure needed

"Actively working on many of the issues?" Josh does Evernote not realize what a complete disaster this is? Why is v5 not back in the store? Probably 1 in a hundred posts, tweets etc are even remotely positive. We don't want v6.0.1 we need v5 until you guys trash v6 and improve on v5 to make v7.

Why has there not been a public acknowledgment from Evernote on this? Bite the bullet and admit you guys totally missed the boat on this. It will go a long way on keeping the the people who have not switched apps already.

I have purchased Noteshelf and will be using it on Monday morning at work going forward. There will be a point of no return where it won't matter if v5 comes back or v6.1 "fixes" this.

[Edx 11]

Yes, after a bit of testing I am doing the same - just working out how I can transfer over Penultimate pages into Noteshelf - which looks like it might be reasonably easy by exporting Penultimate as a PDF and then opening this in Noteshelf - keeping my fingers crossed that it works......

[olaf1965 0]

I Cannot imagine that Evernote sustains it is "happy" to have launched the new Penultimate. 99% of the users here are negative, I endorse most of the criticism:

- Evernote violates its brand promise to never lose your information. Many users did.

- the not script performance is astonishingly bad: it keeps losing strokes, has many glitches, only creates wobbly irregular handwriting. It is no match to GoodNotes. How could Evernote fail to improve while a better app than theirs is on the market already?

- failure to understand usage. Loss of ease of navigation ( scroll with fingers...gr.....).

- inability to use different paper styles in one notebook.

- most users used a notebook as a collection of notes. penultimate changes this and interprets a notebook to be one note.

- I have just paid 80 euros for the jot script and it is useless.

My conclusion is tha t Evernote has decided that 1) people should write shorter notes ( and not notebooks), 2) should be locked on more to Evernote, 3) customers are better off in GoodNotes 4) data protection of customers is compromiseable.

[Josh Bruce 2]

Clearly, enough has been written about the disaster that happened. I am appalled that despite the outcry, there has been no response from the developers. NONE. As someone who spent his saturday printing and salvaging whatever notes i could, i feel badly for the hundreds of educators, classrooms, collaboraters, and note-takers who have been affected.

 

Penultimate used to be in my ipad's DOCK. Now it's deleted. Given their silence, there is NO WAY i am going to back-hack or restore previous version, nor wait around for the company to fix (better yet, throw out) version 6. I only hope that everyone responsible for this disaster learns something from it. I WILL take my frustration out on evernote, because they are the company ultimately responsible for this disaster. Premium membership? no thanks. I am already looking to replace that app, too.

 

After doing some research, i am finding that both Noteshelf and GoodNotes are acceptable alternatives - and they work NOW, when I need to work...

 

And SHAME on the apple store for declaring this mess a 'best new app" ???!!!

 

As was stated. There are a few responses from an Evernote employee on the first few pages. Unfortunately, not much has been said since; so, it can definitely feel like crickets...but, it's been 3 days - it's difficult to change direction that fast - especially when the app submission process takes roughly a week and is completely out of Evernote's hands.

 

Further, the algorithm for placing an app in the new and noteworthy section only partially works that way from my experience and understanding as a developer myself. It's still kind of automatic and Penultimate would have experienced a lot of downloads and updates when it was updated; thereby, making it new and noteworthy.

 

Finally, this incident has forced me to reevaluate my note taking needs, which is probably for the best as I had been doing the same thing for a long time. So far, I've actually decided to abandon handwritten notes altogether. Dictation on OS X and iOS has come a long way. I type very fast, and don't have to worry about retyping. I've picked up Bamboo Paper or Pixelmator, depending, and the FineLine stylus for sketching ideas and will be using the Apple Notes app with a Qode keyboard case from Belkin for the iPad (using Adobe Ideas on the phone).

 

This workflow should allow a lot of flexibility as the Notes app is available on all devices running OS X and iOS - with iCloud integration. The sketches can be exported to image/PDF format, I can then use them as rotoscopes in Illustrator, PhotoShop, or Pixelmator. Because the notes will already be typed, if I need to put them in an email, Pages document, Numbers spreadsheet, or whatever other digital media, it's just a copy and paste away. So, in a way, I would like to legitimately thank you Evernote for helping me bust my cycle (http://youtu.be/2pvQgd8eHGE?list=PLpOgGfkVc1t_qI5R5hSxnBV6hWG8ts-zh) it's made me realize that some really cool stuff has been happening while I've been using Penultimate.

 

Having said that, someone did respond to my ticket letting me know that the new Penultimate would be a single scrolling note similar to the way Evernote works...which could get interesting in the future if an OCR was applied to Penultimate notes that would convert them to Evernote entries...not that Evernote's heading that way. Hopefully, we'll be able to figure out how to get my notebooks back so I can export them (I was a day late in implementing my personal backup strategy specific to Penultimate)...otherwise, I will experience the cycle of not having my data lost busted, which is the wrong cycle to bust in my opinion.

 

Best wishes.

[Beth55 22]

 

If you actually read this thread, you'd notice that an Evernote employee, Joshua Taylor, has chimed in at least a half dozen times within the fits few pages.

Take a deep breath,

 

 

 

This is true, but I have been following this thread from day one and this is the first time I am seeing any sort of response from the evernote team. They were not there before despite having the post date on the 13th. Never the less I'm happy to see that they are at least trying to to acknowledge this mistake. I will however continue to stay with my downgraded v5 until I see these " significant improvements", thats are said to be made.

[rts58 3]

As someone mentioned in the other thread please release the old version as "penultimate classic". Unfortunately I did not back up with iTunes and have installed 4 different note taking apps so far to see if I can find anything close. I like the writing in bamboo paper, but no searchable notes. Please help it is totally unfair that we weren't at least warned to back up before this downgrade.

[netargo 2]

As someone mentioned in the other thread please release the old version as "penultimate classic". Unfortunately I did not back up with iTunes and have installed 4 different note taking apps so far to see if I can find anything close. I like the writing in bamboo paper, but no searchable notes. Please help it is totally unfair that we weren't at least warned to back up before this downgrade.

 

There is a sort of solution for searchable notes in Bamboo paper, even though not direct. You can save notebooks to Evernote in pdf format. Evernote makes them searchable. You have then to switch to the Evernote app to search them.

[BCO 0]

Thank you to those who posted instructions in these forums on how to revert back to version 5. I'm lucky I had saved a copy, the instructions worked, life is good again after a very anxious 48 hours.

Lesson learned; I have turned off the auto-update feature on my iPad. I don't ever want to be surprised like this again. And what a poor reflection on the Apple experience as well! Apple take note!

 

To Evernote/Penultimate-

This was a terrible example of how to release an update to your loyal customers. Add me to the unhappy list. I predict this will become a classic business school case study on how not to manage a software update. Evernote, you have a lot to learn from this episode. The v5 paradigm works great, v6 does not, and I hope you can find your way back to a rational design approach.

 

As a business professional, I have a core requirement to be able to easily segment topics within each notebook. I have over 50 notebooks, and as time goes on I refer back to my notebook segments to update them with new information, including adding additional pages to insert more notes as needed. In v5 it's easy to navigate the notebook and the various sections I have established using the multi page view. It does not look like scroll supports this requirement very well at all. I agree with a previous post that said; there is a good reason why we abandoned the ancient scroll centuries ago in favor of books. 

 

I also found the v6 approach to writing to be very inefficient, challenging, and of extremely low quality. Maybe I did not fully understand the intent of this new approach (was there any instruction provided by Evernote? If so I never saw it), and managing the zoom box on the page and the rolling feature simply did not work well for me. I'm open to change, I gave it a try, but at this point I'm not seeing any benefit, just downside.

 

I have influenced at least 15 to 20 people to use Penultimate, I hope they were not negatively impacted by v6. I did learn through this experience just how valuable my notes in Penultimate are to me. The thought that this application and my notes could become essentially un-useable due to a reckless software update has me concerned and evaluating the alternatives, as should all current and potential users of Penultimate software.

 

P.S. the JotSript pen i had been using successfully since January started working only intermittently in September. Feedback from Evernote support was that I needed to use a special 1.5v battery, despite 9 months of successful use with standard 1.5v batteries. I've heard other users who have had negative experiences with the pen. Caution, it's expensive!

[User9900 6]

Hello? Evernote? .............Any response to this dumpster fire?

[ggarv2y 0]

How do survey/ browse a note?

How do you rapidly jump to a different section of the note?

How do you add writing space in the middle of a note?

 

ggarv2y

[aburnstorm 23]

Clearly, enough has been written about the disaster that happened. I am appalled that despite the outcry, there has been no response from the developers. NONE. As someone who spent his saturday printing and salvaging whatever notes i could, i feel badly for the hundreds of educators, classrooms, collaboraters, and note-takers who have been affected.

 

Penultimate used to be in my ipad's DOCK. Now it's deleted. Given their silence, there is NO WAY i am going to back-hack or restore previous version, nor wait around for the company to fix (better yet, throw out) version 6. I only hope that everyone responsible for this disaster learns something from it. I WILL take my frustration out on evernote, because they are the company ultimately responsible for this disaster. Premium membership? no thanks. I am already looking to replace that app, too.

 

After doing some research, i am finding that both Noteshelf and GoodNotes are acceptable alternatives - and they work NOW, when I need to work...

 

And SHAME on the apple store for declaring this mess a 'best new app" ???!!!

If you actually read this thread, you'd notice that an Evernote employee, Joshua Taylor, has chimed in at least a half dozen times within the fits few pages.

Take a deep breath,

Chiming in to suggest that they are not looking at the resolution we are demanding. I have abandoned too. I am still on evernote forums to get ideas from other disaffected ex premium users as to what new system they are going to use to replace evernote and penultimate. The trust is 100% gone. Deep breaths won't help.

[Shane1973 0]

Truly awful. Drift feature sucks. No cut/paste. Lost a punch of work.

Worst upgrade ever

[frustrated and angry 1]

In summary, almost unanimous decision: the update is very bad! What are the best alternatives to the defunct Penultimate?

[squido 6]

Joined the forum just to say Rollback!

[D&U 3]

I have used Noteshelf this morning, and its not too bad at all.

[tassiecelt 57]

I feel for those who have lost notes, but clearly I have use Penultimate in an entirely different way. I really thought that whole object of the app was to write notes then sync with Evernote.

That's what I do, which means once the note is synced I have it where I want it, in evernote. So if all my notes fall into a black hole, I still have the data.

I am surprised to hear of users who depend so much on this app without a backup.

Thankfully though, I've managed to restore the previous version.

[Tony Caselli 52]

Hoping that Evernote realizes what a mess this is and reverts back to the last version. In the meantime, I've been exploring and Noteshelf is pretty great. Smooth writing, backs up to Evernote so I can search notes there, and I can import PDFs to mark on, too. That may be where I end up. I like my Evernote, but very much dislike this version of Penultimate!

[Tony Caselli 52]

Also...

[M1kemyers 48]

The fact that I just received an email saying and I quote "penultimate 6.0 + jot script. Upgraded to work better together." Is so idiotic it's funny

And no evernote, I'm not feeling like handing you any money right now for a fancy stylus or a $70 business card case..

FIX YOUR APP!!

[nmr2930 0]

THIS IS AWFUL... I'm looking for a new note taking app... WHAT A SHAME !

[jdmass 0]

Wow!  I also got the email announcing Penultimate 6 + jot script, and decided to see if the limitations of jot script had been addressed to the point that it would be worth buying one.  Reading this thread, definitely answers that question.  I like evernote a lot, but it's scary that they could release something this bad.   Glad I checked this forum before buying.

[KAN_HK 3]

Tons of response from users, NO positive response from Evernote.

I have read Twitter, Facebook response about this issue, and this thread too.

 

I even send a tweet (https://twitter.com/kansir/status/533910500409495553) to Mr. Phil Libin, Evernote CEO, I still got NO response.

 

I am very disappointed.

[Bails 2]

One simple request:

 

BRING BACK THE SPECIAL VGA/EXTERNAL MONITOR VIEW

 

Students don't need to see me changing pens and colors on the projector.

[Ivy G 5]

I just download UPAD of Pockey Soft, so far it s quite good. Been trying to replace penultimate for the NO RESPONSE fr Evernote.

Soon I ll delete it.

[rts58 3]

I just got an email, can you let me know the name of that app that ...

I had to tell them it is gone.

[garys 0]

Can Penultimate Ipad mark up a MS Word document. In other words, if I load an existing document on Evernote, can I mark it up with Jot script pen?

[garys 0]

Can Penultimate Ipad mark up a MS Word document. In other words, if I load an existing document on Evernote, can I mark it up with Jot script pen?

[Zeus 1]

The update has moved me to Notability.  I started with Penultimate and told everyone I knew about it.  After a previous release, I noticed that writing with a stylus was working much less efficiently.  I started using Notability more, but stayed with Penultimate as my primary app.  This update has caused me to give up on Penultimate.  I like the sync with Evernote, but Notability will back up to 3 or 4 different places.  They have ruined what was the leading note taking app.

[rsw 0]

Hi all,

 

We're happy to announce the all-new Penultimate app was released today. Penultimate 6.0 is a complete redesign of the best digital handwriting app on iPad. Version 6.0 is focused around smoother writing and better organization.

 

Included in Penultimate 6.0:

• New UI for focused writing
• Write in full screen and keep writing without stopping to add new pages. Use two fingers to scroll up and down notes.
• Create new notes, and access different kinds of paper, more quickly
• New highlighting tool
• Improved connection process, writing quality, and accuracy for the Jot Script stylus
• More powerful search
• View by default all Evernote notebooks that contain Penultimate notes
• Access and add notes to your Evernote notebooks, including business notebooks
• View your Penultimate notes in Evernote

Let us know what you think.

 

You can download the Penultimate app from the App Store. You can purchase the Jot Script Evernote Edition Stylus by Adonit in the Evernote Market.

 

Cheers!

Hi all,

 

We're happy to announce the all-new Penultimate app was released today. Penultimate 6.0 is a complete redesign of the best digital handwriting app on iPad. Version 6.0 is focused around smoother writing and better organization.

 

Included in Penultimate 6.0:

• New UI for focused writing
• Write in full screen and keep writing without stopping to add new pages. Use two fingers to scroll up and down notes.
• Create new notes, and access different kinds of paper, more quickly
• New highlighting tool
• Improved connection process, writing quality, and accuracy for the Jot Script stylus
• More powerful search
• View by default all Evernote notebooks that contain Penultimate notes
• Access and add notes to your Evernote notebooks, including business notebooks
• View your Penultimate notes in Evernote

Let us know what you think.

 

You can download the Penultimate app from the App Store. You can purchase the Jot Script Evernote Edition Stylus by Adonit in the Evernote Market.

 

Cheers!

[rsw 0]

From being a brilliant app this has become a terrible application. Pls bring back the old version and just add the full screen option. I agree this is the worse upgrade ever. Upgrade suppose to make things better and easier not to create a problem.

[ScottLougheed 1,316]

Can Penultimate Ipad mark up a MS Word document. In other words, if I load an existing document on Evernote, can I mark it up with Jot script pen?

As it turns out, Penultimate does not support marking up of any type of document. This has been an oft requested feature (I know I'd love PDF markup capabilities).

 

Personally I use PDF Expert 5 or Notability for marking up my PDFs. As for free-hand marking up of Word documents, I don't think I am aware of any application that allows this because this isn't something that is supported in the .docx MS Word format. The most straightforward way to markup a Word document would be to save it as a PDF first. 

[Lavan 2]

Josh,

 

Please clarify your comment regarding your statement, "...previous versions did not support access to multiple Evernote notebooks and some new features. ...".  I can live without the "new features" if it returns functionality.  What I dont' understand is the comment, "...support access to multiple Evernote notebooks ...".  What does this part mean?  I believe I have the old version in ITUNES and intend to reload from there...but I don't know what your comment means.

[drbeth20 6]

MUST ROLL BACK - THIS IS CRITICALLY IMPACTING PEOPLE'S WORK

 

I unfortunately didn't have my ipad synced with my computer itunes so I can't reinstall version 5. It's killing me. I literally went BACK TO PAPER AND PEN. So frustrating.

 

Issues for me

- Responsiveness grade is F - the whole writing experience is now critically flawed. I use Jot Pro for my stylus and was just like writing in a physical notebook before. But now, the entire experience is terrible. It's not worth my time to try and slowly write, erase because it doesn't pick up 'o' or 'e' very clearly, etc.

- Note names missing! - For people who use lots of notes, how in the heck am I supposed to find the right note I'm looking for??

- Search not working well - The thumbnail view doesn't show the search terms so I don't know which to click on that has the info I'm seeking.

- Extra 'keystrokes' needed to hit buttons - I get it - less clutter... But for those who want to dock the buttons, there should be an option. It's annoying to click a bunch to get the the button you need (like erase!)

- No 'in-note' searching. I have to get out of my note to search. Annoying.

- No more pages - When you're reviewing something you wrote from a few days ago and then you want to write something new at the end of the note, there's no 'jump to end' option. So you sit there for 5 minutes two-finger scrolling until you get to the end. That's really irritating. I would much prefer having PAGES within notes. That makes a lot more sense to me. And it gives us back the feel of a physical notebook, which is why so many people like me have been devoted followers of penultimate in the first place. Lose that feel and you lose your customer base.

 

PLEASE release an update to fix these things ASAP. You're killing me....

[Tippis 45]

Josh,

 

Please clarify your comment regarding your statement, "...previous versions did not support access to multiple Evernote notebooks and some new features. ...".  I can live without the "new features" if it returns functionality.  What I dont' understand is the comment, "...support access to multiple Evernote notebooks ...".  What does this part mean?  I believe I have the old version in ITUNES and intend to reload from there...but I don't know what your comment means.

 

He means that, inside of Penultimate, you could previously only access documents that were collected in the Evernote notebook called “Penultimate”. If you wanted to work with notes from any other (Evernote) notebook, you had to move them into the Penultimate “notebook” first in order to access them from the app.

 

Now, they've unified the vocabulary across the two platforms: a Penultimate “notebook” is now an Evernote “note”; a Penultimate collection of notebooks is now an Evernote “notebook”; a Penultimate “page” is now just a segment of an Evernote note, since those notes are just long rows of mixed content. Since Evernote has no concept of pages, they have been eradicated from Penultimate as well. v6.0 allows you to navigate the entire Evernote document tree — from notebook collections down to notes, whereas before you were limited to just one notebook and the notes within it.

 

So all you're missing by reverting to a working version is that tighter Evernote integration — i.e. the thing that makes notebooks not be books any more.

[Candace 2]

I really wanted to like this update, and I'm trying. But, there are several things that are seriously broken in this new version: 

• PLEASE bring back Thumbnail Pages. These are CRUCIAL to navigation and organization of large notebooks!
• Stylus functionality has declined: The "ink" is not showing up where the tip of the stylus is. It's off my a whole line. It's also "choppy" and cuts off mid word or has lag. 
• The two-finger scroll through, while being painfully tedious for scrolling through multi-page documents, just flat-out does not work sometimes. I have to close the whole app and reopen to be able to scroll.
• Ditto for the zoom. About every third time I go to zoom in on a page, it just does not open the panel at the bottom.
• For the record, I do not like the new zoom function of the panel at the bottom. The old way was much more efficient and functional.
• My notebooks that had landscape pages are not completely useless on my ipad.
• Can no longer erase a whole page at once.

I know some of these items are a matter of preference but it sounds like a large number of your client base agree with me on these. Penultimate is the whole reason I am an evernote premium subscriber.  Please don't make me have to go find an entirely different product. Please listen to your clients and provide an update to fix these issues soon. Thank you. 

[KAN_HK 3]

Finally, Mr. Phil Libin, Evernote CEO, response on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/plibin/status/534378189934440449

[pugliathomas 1]

Ok I found a way to restore the previous version of Penultimate EVEN if you have not backed up to iTunes in the past. This won't work for everyone, but is at least another option.

 

What you need is

 

• An iPad or iPad mini that is not on iOS 8 (iOS 7 preferably)
• Logged into your iTunes account.

 

1. On the iPad running on iOS 7, download Penultimate
2. You will be prompted to install the previous version (Penultimate 6.0 only works on iOS 8) - Say OK
3. Download it, and then sync this iPad to your computer
4. On your current iPad, delete Penultimate 6.0
5. Plug it into your computer, and then go to Apps on iPad, find the old version, and install!

 

It is basically the same steps everyone has been suggesting, but with the caveat that you can still install the old version on an iOS 7 device, and then get it working from there.

 

So if you have a friend, wife, or just have an old iPad around, sign into your iTunes account and you will be golden!

 

 

 

 

 

[Eric Riggs 0]

Thanks very much jsessler for this - easy downgrade instructions!  Just to pile on with the many comments here already, I am hoping 6.1 will bring back much of what we all loved about 5.x .  Individual pages are just fine for me - preferred actually.  Easier to organize and rearrange.  Variable speed drift, and honestly I liked the greyed out version of the large page under the full screen zoom - easier than the upgrade to use.  Thumbnails are crucial as well - a feature that is now gone.    Until this is all fixed, I'm sticking with version 5 and have turned off automatic updates. 

 

Here are the downgrade instructions again - very happy to have this wonderful, functional everyday tool back.

______________________________________

 

To everyone on this forum:  You can get the old version back - follow these instructions exactly, but be sure to turn off all automatic update to apps and automatic downloads to apps in your settings first.  Otherwise you will have the same problem:

 

How do I downgrade an iPhone app to a previous version?

So you were tired of those home screen badge numbers showing up on the App Store icon and you updated your iPhone apps on the go. Now whenever you use one of these updated apps it doesn't work properly or you don't like the so-called improvements made by the developer. How can you downgrade to the previous version?

1. Delete the app from your iPhone.
2. Connect your iPhone to the computer and open iTunes.
3. Do not update your apps in iTunes. Back up and sync your iPhone using iTunes.
4. When the sync is complete, click your iPhone in the left iTunes menu under DEVICES. Click the Apps tab at the top of the iTunes window. Find the app you wish to downgrade under Sync Apps.
5. Make sure the box is checked next to the app you wish to downgrade. Click the Apply button.
6. The old version of the application will be copied from your computer to the iPhone.

If you have already updated the application on your computer, or synced your iPhone before deleting the new version of the app you must follow this step first. Open the trash can or recycling bin and look for the older app version (this file will end with the suffix .ipa).

 

http://www.iphonefaq...archives/971543

 

[adhd_nerd 1]

Add me to the unhappy list.  

 

Seem like a "me too" copy of other note taking apps as oppose to some real innovative improvements.

 

Step backwards IMO.

 

Going back to old version.

[SilverDragon 13]

Evernote employees, if any of you is following this thread anymore (must be painful):

Really, really reconsider the composition of your beta test teams.

- Get someone who uses the iPad primarily in landscape mode.

- Get someone who uses massive notebooks ( tens if not hundreds of pages.)

- Get someone who doesn't use your expensive stylus.

- Get someone who uses Penultimate stand-alone (without Evernote.)

I join the call for a rollback. Bring back Penultimate Classic!

[rcstevensjr 0]

As with many others, VERY disappointed in the latest release. Is there a way to revert?

[JoeT. 5]

Just take a look at this, Evernote. Only two days after your 6.0 update you ratings plumited in the app store from a four star rating to a one and a half star rating.

Loved your post!

 

There is nothing better than a clear, rational and fact based argumentation.

 

No way this will go unnoticed by Evernote.

 

If they really dont roll back the update (or do a major new update) and assume the mistake (nothing wrong with that) the only thing left will be to bury the app....

 

Cheers, 

[ScottLougheed 1,316]

Evernote employees, if any of you is following this thread anymore (must be painful):

Really, really reconsider the composition of your beta test teams.

- Get someone who uses the iPad primarily in landscape mode.

- Get someone who uses massive notebooks ( tens if not hundreds of pages.)

- Get someone who doesn't use your expensive stylus.

- Get someone who uses Penultimate stand-alone (without Evernote.)

I join the call for a rollback. Bring back Penultimate Classic!

This was distributed to all beta testers. You can be a part of this beta testing team (many of us around here are) by "applying" here: Omnibus Beta Tester Beg

 

Now, I think, aside from the very obvious bugs, the design and feature choices here couldn't likely have been changed by any amount of beta testing. I suspect to a large extent these are defined by the broader vision for the application. Some whinging from beta testers isn't likely to have made a huge difference. I think the outcry here is likely to have significantly more impact. 

[JoeT. 5]

Hi all,

 

We're happy to announce the all-new Penultimate app was released today. Penultimate 6.0 is a complete redesign of the best digital handwriting app on iPad. Version 6.0 is focused around smoother writing and better organization.

 

Included in Penultimate 6.0:

• New UI for focused writing
• Write in full screen and keep writing without stopping to add new pages. Use two fingers to scroll up and down notes.
• Create new notes, and access different kinds of paper, more quickly
• New highlighting tool
• Improved connection process, writing quality, and accuracy for the Jot Script stylus
• More powerful search
• View by default all Evernote notebooks that contain Penultimate notes
• Access and add notes to your Evernote notebooks, including business notebooks
• View your Penultimate notes in Evernote

Let us know what you think.

 

You can download the Penultimate app from the App Store. You can purchase the Jot Script Evernote Edition Stylus by Adonit in the Evernote Market.

 

Cheers!

Well guys, 

 

...now that you all know what we think of the new version....

How about a general statement as to the next steps regarding the "fix" to this ....mistake?

TIPP: ...maybe fast, before "everyone" really trades the app for the competition.

 

Tks,

[adhd_nerd 1]

I've made some bad life decisions in my life and I think upgrading to 6.0 falls into that category!

 

Maybe time to move on from Evernote premium.

[Remmy 9]

I cannot believe this, it is monday evening (where I live), and still no official response to all the complaints from Evernote? There are 14 pages of (mostly) negative replies on this topic (Penultimate 6.0 update). On the (Dutch) itunes store, the newest version has got 36 1-star reviews and 2 2-star reviews.

How can this company keep quiet and not dignify with responding to this?

 

Arrogance or sheer panic?

 

Please people at Evernote, let us know what you are planning to do. Not responding is not an option!!!

[ajatl 1]

This update makes competitors apps look very appealing. Also you just destroyed my work flow for all of my classes. Iat is beyond tedious and extremely in efficient to use the scroll function. I need an overview. Guys, have you even looked at competitor's apps ? It's really broken. Please fix these issues so I can use my old notes again for study.

Text is grainy.

No way to navigate old notes.

2 finger scrolling is extremely difficult.

(What if my notebook is 100 pgs long? I have to attempt to scroll for an hour! )

Color palette selection much less smooth.

The one thing you did correct.

I do like the blue box zoom way better

[Steve Moore 13]

Evernote CEO response below. Some focused attention. I would imagine that they will change/fix technical issues fast with v6.. Also probably get a manual/video explaining the upgrades and how to use ...especially for loyal users, to make it work "like" version 5. Shocking to see such an transforming upgrade to come without any instructions.

A fast rollback to v5 would be good...but will be interesting to see if they can technically can pull off and if they want to given the v6 development commitment. It has been painful and interesting to watch this car wreck live. Will be interesting to see how they unwind it all...and hopefully not continue it.

[ltg 0]

Evernote how are you planning to sort this out?  

I am truly disappointed with the newest version of Penultimate, so much so that I was forced to comment here and have never, ever, done so on any chat site/discussion forum in my entire life. 

[eckhartcke 1]

Add my voice to the negative response list. Abandonment of the notebook metaphor was a huge mistake. I'm going to the App Store now to give you a one star rating.

[Tippis 45]

Soooo… how soon is “very soon”?

 

It's lunch-time already; they've had four full days to respond, including two full work days, and more enough time to hold some crisis meetings to figure out, if not a way forward, then at least some immediate remedial actions.

 

/me taps watch…

 

On a completely unrelated note, I wonder how long it takes to call Apple and issue a recall?

[brettmansdorf 6]

I'll first say, I do love EN.

That said - I'm completely disappointed.

I'm an early adapter for all the products - and although penultimate wasn't perfect - it was functional - and an integral part of my daily life.

Today it is not - period.

 

I certainly hope my friends out west figure out some fixes sooner than later.

 

Two suggestions...

First - support the JOT Touch buttons.  I use Adobe, so buying the EN script wasn't realistic.  Also, better performance would be appreciated (utilize the BLE more).  

Second - iPhone six plus...  I'd prefer EN on the forefront of the apps (most are positioning to write apps for iphone/ipad as an integrated app.

 

Thanx - and my fingers are crossed , as I have using OneNote to take  notes in meetings (it resides on a couple thousand dollar tablet, penultimate sat on an disposable  ipad) - and further - integration of those notes - I'd prefer pen ultimate...

 

In the short term, a simplified downgrade method would be appreciated (I don't have time to sift and browse and try - I need a solution).

B.

[ScottLougheed 1,316]

Add my voice to the negative response list. Abandonment of the notebook metaphor was a huge mistake. I'm going to the App Store now to give you a one star rating.

To be totally accurate, they haven't abandoned the notebook metaphor, they've just aligned the Evernote and Penultimate metaphors. 

It used to be that Penultimate had its own Evernote notebook, which in Penultimate didn't correspond to anything or have any meaning. You ended up with a strange incoherence:

Penultimate                            Evernote

Notebook               =               Note

Note                       =               Content within an Evernote note

 

Now as of Penultimate 6.0:

Penultimate                            Evernote

Notebook              =                Notebook

Note                      =                Note

Note content        =                 Note content

 

While I have a huge number of gripes with Penultimate 6.0, the alignment of the metaphors between EN and Penultimate is not one. I am grateful they have done this. Now, I think their execution is not without some problems, for example, the absence of pagination (or perhaps, the conversion of previously paginated content into non-paginated content). 

 

I ultimately think this alignment will spare a great deal of confusion and will (already has) facilitated some greater flexibility with respect to how notes (by which I mean both Penulimate and Evernote notes, since they are the same thing) can be organized. Again, a few issues with this execution, among a slew of other much more significant issues. But in general, this metaphor change is welcomed by me. 

[charliekaris 1]

Ha, OMG so utterly useless. Where did the developers learn HID!? Version 6.0 is the worst thing I've seen in a long time. Can you give reviews with zero stars?

[phantom14 0]

I really wanted to like this update, but I can't.  I own the Jot Script, and this is ridiculous.  I had 7 notebooks in Penultimate before the update, now I have 3.  I want the ability to page through like an actual notebook back.  This being one long note doesn't work for me at all.  I had a notebook I just scratched random things in, now that has been sucked into another notebook for no reason.  I liked being able to keep all my notes from my board meetings in one place, starting on a new page, now all the pages are together with these giant gaps in them.  

 

How do I move a note to a new notebook?

How do I move a part of a note to a new note?

Can I take parts of the long notes that were individual pages, and make them separate notes?

 

I really need this app to work, and with this new update, I am afraid that won't.  I am going to have to start looking for an alternative, I really liked having everything in one place, in all my devices.  Please fix this ASAP.

[AKRE 2]

Yes, after a bit of testing I am doing the same - just working out how I can transfer over Penultimate pages into Noteshelf - which looks like it might be reasonably easy by exporting Penultimate as a PDF and then opening this in Noteshelf - keeping my fingers crossed that it works......

 

How did you export as a PDF? I have been trying to convert to Noteshelf this morning and can't figure out how to get my notes to export in a format that works. 

Also, do you see how to export separate pages of the notes? For my work, I routinely export individual pages as PDFs that are contained in my notes.

[jadewolf 5]

Chiming in with the unhappy users here.  Made the mistake of updating while I was at the office.  I even hesitated a moment when I saw the completely restyled icon, knowing that it was a harbinger of potential iOS8 style blunders.  Should have trusted my instincts.

 

Thankfully, I was able to roll back to the previous version via iTunes when I got home from work.  Of course, after rolling back, I'm now unable to download all the previous paper types again for some reason.  But thankfully, after an exceedingly long sync time, all my notebooks came back successfully.  That's more important to me than the paper styles.

 

I gotta say... this update rendered this app completely unusable.  Who in their right mind thought this toilet paper scroll was a good idea?!  I have multiple notebooks with 100s of pages in each one--all meeting notes and diagrams and such. Trying to find specific pages with the horrible two finger scroll was pretty much impossible.  Not to mention that it only worked sporadically and left streaks across the paper most of the time.  What the heck was wrong with having actual, normal pages?  And the thumbnail view which allowed you to swiftly and easily locate the info you were looking for?

 

The loss of notebook titles was extremely disorienting.  Although, I was able to figure out how to bring the notebook titles back, that did nothing to fix the overall horrendous UX in this update.

 

The zoom window?  What a stupid idea.  One of the main reasons I went with Penultimate over numerous other apps was because it did a natural zoom that didn't split the screen into weird ways.  And the speedy-scroll that went with that little zoom box?  I consider myself a quick writer, but even I couldn't keep up with that!  Drift was a great feature that set Penultimate apart from lesser apps.  Why destroy that?

 

Penultimate is the app that got me to use Evernote and prompted me to actually pay for a Premium subscription, too.  I've convinced dozens of my coworkers and colleagues to adopt it as well, after showing them how natural and practical the app was.  Now, however, I'm contemplating going back to using Bamboo Paper again if these issues aren't resolved.

 

Very disappointed.  Left a negative review in the app store, too.  I'd be more than willing to rescind that review and write a glowing, positive one if Evernote addresses these issues in a timely, expedient, and thorough fashion, though.

[river0013 2]

It's going to be really hard to trust Evernote and Penultimate after this. How will we ever trust that the next update won't ruin years of notes?  Do we all turn off auto-updates and and wait a few weeks before maunaully updating to make sure each update isn't this bad? 

 

I think the only chance to keep long time users will be a very quick response and true understanding of why this was such a bad update.  It's a full acknoweledgement that this wasn't an issue of bugs or a handful of features that users didn't like- it was a wholesale shift to a new product that had a very different UI and functionality than why users had bought Penultimate.  We liked notebooks, we liked pages.  We bought Penultimate becuase it worked with how we took notes, how we did business, and how we wanted information stored.  I fundementaly seems like the new Penultimate was designed for a different user than those who currently use the app.  I imagine that many users are like me and Penultimate was one of the cornerstone apps that really brought value to their iPad.  Most of us were true evangelist for the product....showing it to every friend or coworker that bought a new iPad.  I can't imagine how any new features (that we didn't ask for) or better integration with Evernote could ever outweight the PR nightmare of alienating your biggest fans. 

 

I really hope this gets turned around quick becuase I really like the app (version 5.3!) and it's been a crucial part of my workflow for more almost 2.5 years (275 notebooks, 5-100 pages each).  Thank goodness my iPad is still on iOS 7 (mainly becuase it's so full with Penultimate notes) and I dodged this disasterous "upgrade".  Still, there is only a short window of time to turn things around (and regain trust) before I switch to an alternate solution. 

[Steelwill 1]

I'm so disapointed. So frustraded. I cant use it, had to Go back to pen and Paper today and take photos of My notes to sync them to evernote. Me and My colleges used evernote/penultimate everyday!!!! Bring back to Old one!! Or at least the zooming Feature of version 5. / m

[labirn 4]

Bring back 5. Call it 7 as it will be a major upgrade from 6.

 

(So, my last post for now. Have to go back and get familiar with Bamboo)

[ray chamnpney 3]

I had a perfectly functional note taking and business filing system and now I have an unrequested new system that in no way suits my needs.  Is there anyway to access and restore Penultimate to the old highly functional format.  Did anyone consider doing research prior to releasing this -- if so, I doubt it would ever have been released...

[paulaudino 0]

I'm adding my vote to those who are unhappy with the new version of the app in the hopes that it eventually leads to a return to good design.

 

I've used Penultimate since March 2012 and this "update" is a unmitigated disaster.  To any user who has used Penultimate to replace physical notebooks w/ many pages this update destroys the way you use the app.  When I first opened the app I had no idea what was going on, and after figuring out all the functionality that has been removed from the latest version I'm stunned that such a radical shift was taken.

 

The only users this could possibly appeal to are those upgrading from note taking on paper scrolls.

[Darrellc 0]

I am sorely disappointed in this update. It has rendered Penultimate, which I have used for years to take notes, useless. Please return to the previous, user friendly version that allowed you to use notebooks!

[Dan Tappin 11]

So after mistakenly upgrading I discovered that my Jot Script became useless so before reading about the rest of the users issues I opened a ticket with Evernote:

 

Here is what I asked:

 

 

Upgraded and now the jot script will not connect.

 

Also the new highlighter tool can't be cut or copied. If you do it scales / moves all my vet the page.

 

To be fair the "moves all my vet the page" was suppose to be "moves all over the page" (blame my fat thumbs).

 

Here is the response I got today from Evernote support:

 

 

Thank you for your note regarding the new Penultimate 6.0. We included a brand new interface as well as various updates and refinements in this latest version. A comprehensive list of the updates, frequently asked questions, and how-tos can be found on our Forum.

 

Penultimate 6 FAQ and How-To info

 

If you have further questions or run into any issues please let me know.

 

Evernote Support

[gbcb 22]

Just scanned through some of the developers' Twitter accounts. Here's an interesting tweet:

 

Isaac Lim: It's very much a first version product because it was a full rewrite, so please bear with us! Working really hard here

 

I feel badly for Isaac and his team, all of whom I am sure are working hard. But who made the decision that this app was ready for release in its current state? This underscores my growing concern that the problem is less with an individual app, and more with Evernote as a company.

[tmeagher 0]

I automatically hit the update all apps last week and when Penultimate updated all my previous notes have disappeared.  This update has left me with a single note from last July.  It seems randomly selected form all the pages of notes I have been keeping for the last 6 months.

 

I've tried several ways to recovering my notes.  I need these notes for my work, is there any way to get them back? If they are lost, this will be the end of my use of Evernote products.

 

Tom

[Hackhound 0]

Can someone please post Penultimate 5.3.1, or provide a link where I can download it?  I am desperate to get back to the old version and I did not have a backup of my iPad.

 

Thanks,

Hackound

[Enrico78 0]

This is really AWFUL. I am totally disappointed. The scroll view is useless, i want back my page view. I have already changed to another app. Thank you 

[macasimpson 0]

No no no no no.

Imagine my surprise when I open my open to take notes for class and 4 of my classes where suddenly in one notebook. I spent half the class trying figure out what happened because there is no way a successful company such as your self would mess everyone up like that. To top it off, I was called out in class for not paying attention because I was trying to sort out what happened to my notes.

One to the app itself, the eraser. It is too big. I'm sick of having to put my stylist 2 cm from the thing I'm trying to erase. The pin doesn't write smooth. Sometimes it doesn't event realize I'm writing. The zoom is so much worse. I liked the way it was before. I like that the play didn't run all the way across the screen when I wasn't writing. I liked that it followed my writing speed. I like the anchor option. What you have now is just terrible. Change it back. I miss the actual notebook feel. That's why I switched to this app.

I'm sure there is more, but I'm too upset to remember. Everyone here feels the same way so just put it back.

[Neil Jones 0]

Have been a HUGE fan of penultimate since day 1.  NO LONGER!!  They have completely ruined the program with this 6.0 update and I cannot get any help from Evernote support.  Each time I ask about switching back to old version or asking about whether they are going to change things back to page-by-page access that allows sending a page or clearing a page, etc. instead of the toilet paper roll scrolling they went to, I get a canned response that talks about the have included a "brand new interface" and here is a link to our frequently asked questions. 

 

So, I ask the forum three questions:

 

1) Has anybody successfully gotten an answer from them as to whether they are going to return to any feature from the previous version (and particularly the page-by-page ability)?

2) Has anybody figured out how to revert back to the old version and get rid of 6.0?  If so, please share.

3) Does anybody have a recommendation on another handwriting app that is as good as penultimate WAS and that allows the page-by-page scrolling, clearing, and sending? 

 

 

Thank you!!!

[Edx 11]

Hi Neil

I'm switching to using noteshelf, which seems good and can sync with Evernote - but have not worked out how to migrate my notes in a straightforward way

[Ivy G 5]

Been trying most of that free apps for notes writing, so far I like UPAD, love how it response to my stylus.

It s almost similar to my handwriting

Thou last version of penultimate was much better, this UPAD ll do.

But too bad, the lite version can only hold up to 5 pads & no PDFs.

And u can't buy full version coz seems like the company was out of service.

Again I suggest, Evernote to look into this app & develop it