Some problems

[DDr_12 4]

Have some useability problems with Evernote.

 

1. How do you filter by tags? I started adding a bunch of tags to my notes, but the search feature doesn't list anything more than just a search line and 'Context' vs 'All notes' ?  Surely there is a more robust search feature somewhere I haven't found yet?  I can never find what I saved without flipping through all the notes in a notebook.

 

2. Forum pics. Where are they? I have found about 1/3 of the time pics from discussion forums do not make it into notes. I can copy and paste the picture, but not with Webclipper. I've looked for updates, but none.

 

3. Scrolling in a note. This one STINKS!!! I just counted today. THIRTEEN lines is how much one scroll with mouse scroll or keyboard arrow moves within a note. Haven't found a way to change this. It makes it really, really difficult to scroll through a note and keep track of where you are.

 

4. S...L...O...W...tagging. Adding a tag to a note is often a v..e...r...y....s...l...o....w process. If you select a tag already used, you must wait a few SECONDS sometimes before you can start adding another tag. Presumably it is adding an index or something in the background.

 

5. Clipping speed is also very slow many times.

 

6. Send or share a note? I can't find any way for the option to use the standard mailto: (that opens up your default mail provider). It wants to do some 'Super duper Evernote-specific, log into whatever 3rd party thing' gyration.

 

This is all on a Windows PC.

 

Android version is good to look at a note once in a while. That's about it. Number one thing I used it for was checklists (think shopping or to-do lists). The checkbox option disappears, depending how you start a note. Use the widget, no option for a checkbox. Start a note from within EN, you can hide the keyboard, click the 'A' then select checkbox. No way to have it on a toolbar.

 

Useability has really suffered from these last few major updates. Evernote is really cumbersome to use.

 

I've been a Premium user for several YEARS and just this past month decided to go back to the free version. Tired of waiting for stable, reliable, and user friendly.

 

I am not against signing up for Premium again, but doggone it, how about some help with making it user friendly and clipping more reliably?

 

[Frank.dg 1,385]

 

How do you filter by tags?...

 

I've been a Premium user for several YEARS...

 

Really?

[chirmer 567]

1. How do you filter by tags? I started adding a bunch of tags to my notes, but the search feature doesn't list anything more than just a search line and 'Context' vs 'All notes' ?  Surely there is a more robust search feature somewhere I haven't found yet?  I can never find what I saved without flipping through all the notes in a notebook.

There's an entire search grammar for Evernote... https://dev.evernote.com/doc/articles/search_grammar.php. To simply answer the tag search question: search tag:keyword and it'll search tags for you.

 

2. Forum pics. Where are they? I have found about 1/3 of the time pics from discussion forums do not make it into notes. I can copy and paste the picture, but not with Webclipper. I've looked for updates, but none.

What? Do you mean clipping from these forums and no images are showing up? If so, try selecting all of the post you want to save, and clipping as a Selection. Works perfectly for me!

 

3. Scrolling in a note. This one STINKS!!! I just counted today. THIRTEEN lines is how much one scroll with mouse scroll or keyboard arrow moves within a note. Haven't found a way to change this. It makes it really, really difficult to scroll through a note and keep track of where you are.

I only got 10 when I counted, but I upped my font size to 11 which is probably why. Either way, I agree that's not super awesome.

 

4. S...L...O...W...tagging. Adding a tag to a note is often a v..e...r...y....s...l...o....w process. If you select a tag already used, you must wait a few SECONDS sometimes before you can start adding another tag. Presumably it is adding an index or something in the background.

Tagging is lightning fast for me. Absolute zero wait time. How old is your computer?

 

 

5. Clipping speed is also very slow many times.

This can happen depending on the website you're clipping. Image-heavy pages can definitely clip slowly, but it's depending on network speed I presume?

 

6. Send or share a note? I can't find any way for the option to use the standard mailto: (that opens up your default mail provider). It wants to do some 'Super duper Evernote-specific, log into whatever 3rd party thing' gyration.

I'd wager it's just as standard for apps to have their own way of sending things versus using mailto: (it's certainly the case in my experience). Just a choice Evernote made, with each user able to take it or leave it. There shouldn't be a need to log into anything 3rd party, however - either you'll use Work Chat to send to another EN user, or send by email, or copy public URL, or share to social media.

 

Useability has really suffered from these last few major updates. Evernote is really cumbersome to use.

Meh, to each their own. I definitely have qualms about each version of EN, but opinions are like butts, yeah?   

 

I've been a Premium user for several YEARS and just this past month decided to go back to the free version. Tired of waiting for stable, reliable, and user friendly.

 

I am not against signing up for Premium again, but doggone it, how about some help with making it user friendly and clipping more reliably?

 

I'd suggest you look into your computer or network for some of your struggles - I would argue they're not widespread. I at least cannot reproduce a lot of them. But I definitely don't think it's not user friendly - even my parents were able to figure it out and use it without much instruction from me. I think everyone just has to sit down and learn it - just like anything else.

 

Hope I've helped.

[DDr_12 4]

Thanks for *most* of the replies.

 

The "Really" post is quite useless. Can't determine if it's supposed to be smart alec or a 12yr old got a hold of his mom's computer. More likely it's a reflection of the same attitude towards users that EN has shown. Kind of the last straw. One post in many months and the first reply is a smart a$$. Nice, thanks.

 

I spent (wasted) a fair amount of time in large chunks trying to find solutions to these and other issues in the past. The answers most often came back that there was no solution, that's the way it is, we're happy with it as it is (meaning their subscription base is high, so why bother).

 

Forums as support? If you were fine with the chip-on-the-shoulder "we have insider info because we have 20 billion posts and the company tells us special info" folks, it has always had more info than EN ever provided. Found 'secret hidden' support files, how-to's, kb links, etc that were NEVER provided by EN.

 

Suffice it to say, it's obvious that EN cares little for the customers, just watches the subscription rate. As long as the turnover is matched by new users, who cares, right?

 

As for the speed of the tags and such, it has gotten much worse with each release. As in substantially and abruptly worse with new versions.

 

I'm on a 6GB RAM, 1TB 7200rpm HDD laptop with plenty of resources. I use Comcast with avg 20MB/sec (a bit slower in this area than urban), run a 16TB RAID6 NAS for backups, etc.

 

Good question, but I don't think my computer is the cause. Maybe the files grow, get fragmented withing EN, or something? Is there a degrag, compact, reindex, or something for EN?

 

The images show up on most of the threads, but sometimes EN Webclipper just refuses to cooperate. I watch Firefox's memory usage (not EN's fault, FF is a ram glutton and has poor cleanup for years), and it doesn't seem to have any correlation.

 

Webclipper hasn't been updated for some time, though FF has undergone some major changes. Maybe it is just aging. I can't remember which version, maybe a year or so ago when EN had a major update and suddenly it was terrible at accurately grabbing notes.

 

EN has gotten hundreds of dollars from me as my cc was faithfully charged each month. I kept telling myself it would get better, just wait for one more update.

 

I really wanted to be sharing certain notebooks with different people, but the invitations are almost always cumbersome and confusing for the recipient. The web based access is...sad.

 

The Android version is confusing and difficult to navigate with the panel swipe within a swipe, omitted features from the desktop version, unreliable snapshot (camera) links, missing features when choosing to created a note from the widget, etc.

 

It would be so nice to click to add a note or take a photo from the widget, but due to the interface and unstable nature over the past few years, it's easier to snap a pic with the phone's camera app, share to an email from the gallery, then deal with it from there. At least I'm sure it will work and be there

 

One of the attractions of EN was the ability to share data from pc to phone to tablet, etc. But it was forever until android version could actually share more than just the url. That was loads of wasted time.

 

This wasn't supposed to be a rant, but it sounds like it now. Trying to be thorough and detailed to be fair.

 

Anyone know a good way to transfer years worth of data from EN to OneNote (or recommend something else?)

 

Just about *everything* has an android companion app now. I can't see any reason to stick with EN except my existing data.

 

They are now just one in a crowd, they didn't make any effort to keep up or keep their user base happy and loyal. Some of us have just had enough frustration and tired of waiting for a smooth and functional interface and stable features- and giving up on them.

 

Sort of like VHS. It had its glory days, but then tapes wear out, quality isn't updated, costs of other technology dropped and were superior.

 

I would appreciate if anyone has 'transition to' suggestions or tips

[Frank.dg 1,385]

@Chirmer,

 

I love your "tag speed test note" animated gif... and a number of others you've posted here and there. Would you mind posting or sending me a link or any info about your process to create whatever it is you do? Thanks!

[DDr_12 4]

Frank-

 

Very helpful and courteous post, thank you. Although it may not have been intended, I think you see how your initial post came across and took the time to correct that misunderstanding. That kind of thing makes my 'respect meter' shoot up. I apologize if I was harsh

 

This registered username has been since 2012, a different one well before that. I've chewed my share of EN swill, LOL.

 

I typically don't have time to search and sleuth items that should be evident and straight forward. There are forums I have to visit often, but EN has not been a priority. As an example, I uncovered a zero-day infection of a trojan I've been cleaning and tracking for a client. Think it's about done, but gotta still sift through the MBR for signs. You gotta appreciate how fun that is.

 

I have contacted EN premium support in the past on a number of issues. It was a real face-palm experience. More like calling a group of friends who offer 'support' because the web template had that menu option as a default. (tongue in cheek, but it really wasn't anything that resembled a professional or responsible service, IMHO)

 

**

 

I see the tag button on top of the notes you mentioned, and the search syntax Chirmer shared.

 

On that topic, here is a free business tip for EN:

 

The Primary and Critical features of EN are 1) Data storage are 2) Data recall, both as a function of Data organization.

 

Wouldn't it make sense to have a dedicated component to simplify that recall, such as a dialog box with filters and menu driven criteria (think SQL reporting, coding a query vs a report builder interface).

 

Oh- and every feature doesn't have to have to fit in a sliver. Just because your IDE has 'Panels' in their GUI, doesn't mean you are only allowed to use panels and only in one space.

 

I should also clarify what I meant about launching 3rd party programs to share data. Gmail is 3rd party. I had to use it for EN, but I store my emails locally.

 

Important Point: If you store your email on a server (ie corporate, provider, cloud, etc), NO SEARCH WARRANT is required to access that data willy-nilly after it is 6 months old. Shocked? Appalled? Every Amercian should be. How long do you think it will be before ALL data is treated the same...such as cloud storage, unencrypted notebooks, etc?

 

Back OT...

 

You did mention I could have searched out the answers via forums and other methods. That brings up a good point that EN should take to heart.

 

Just because users don't throw venom at you online doesn't mean they are satisfied. And when users do come and express their disatisfaction or confusion, you would do well to listen closely and help effectively- because you can bet there are likely hundreds or thousands with similar problems or 'satisfaction challenges'

 

As long term members and contributors of this forum, I'd ask you to remember that other (new or infrequent) posters don't know you or your reputation. I know forums tend to be social hangouts, too, nothing wrong with that. But we don't know if you're posting an ode to another thread, recent discussion, or joking with your other friends. We only see the post at its face value.

[DDr_12 4]

@Chirmer,

 

I love your "tag speed test note" animated gif... and a number of others you've posted here and there. Would you mind posting or sending me a link or any info about your process to create whatever it is you do? Thanks!

Was that animation on iOS/Mac?

[DDr_12 4]

And I see I am not alone in my dissatisfaction: https://discussion.evernote.com/topic/66103-power-user-discontent-best-alternatives-to-en/page-2

[DDr_12 4]

 

Just because users don't throw venom at you online doesn't mean they are satisfied. 

 

That's the most honest and direct comment I've seen, ever. 

 

There, I fixed that for you.

[chirmer 567]

@Chirmer,

 

I love your "tag speed test note" animated gif... and a number of others you've posted here and there. Would you mind posting or sending me a link or any info about your process to create whatever it is you do? Thanks!

 

Thanks! I actually use Gyazo GIF on my PC to create them, and Droplr on my Mac. I read an article that talked about the benefits of using GIFs to troubleshoot and explain/demonstrate (I'll be darned if I can find the article in question now :/ ) and I've been doing it ever since Both apps are pretty straightforward - you record the GIF and then it generates a web URL for it. I right click → Copy Image URL (or menu equivalent) and voila!

[chirmer 567]

 

@Chirmer,

 

I love your "tag speed test note" animated gif... and a number of others you've posted here and there. Would you mind posting or sending me a link or any info about your process to create whatever it is you do? Thanks!

Was that animation on iOS/Mac?

 

 

This one in particular was on a PC

[chirmer 567]

I spent (wasted) a fair amount of time in large chunks trying to find solutions to these and other issues in the past. The answers most often came back that there was no solution, that's the way it is, we're happy with it as it is (meaning their subscription base is high, so why bother).

Hmm, well, that's unfortunate. Maybe you weren't looking in the right place? Because I dunno... please don't take this the wrong way, but some of this stuff is very easy to find/figure out. Evernote has a massive userbase - surely that means it isn't that difficult to use? I mean, I was able to answer most of your questions

 

Suffice it to say, it's obvious that EN cares little for the customers, just watches the subscription rate. As long as the turnover is matched by new users, who cares, right?

That's just not true nor obvious. You're making presumptions because you had a sour experience. Evernote doesn't get to where it is (with an incredibly large userbase and above-average free-to-Premium turnover rate) by not caring. They just have a heckuva lot of people to take care of

 

As for the speed of the tags and such, it has gotten much worse with each release. As in substantially and abruptly worse with new versions. I'm on a 6GB RAM, 1TB 7200rpm HDD laptop with plenty of resources. I use Comcast with avg 20MB/sec (a bit slower in this area than urban), run a 16TB RAID6 NAS for backups, etc. Good question, but I don't think my computer is the cause. Maybe the files grow, get fragmented withing EN, or something? Is there a degrag, compact, reindex, or something for EN?

My computer is a bit of a powerhorse, I'll say that upfront. I'm on 16GB RAM and a SSD. I always have almost the entire Adobe Creative Suite open at once, though, so it's not like Evernote's got all of that available There are quite a few suggestions on re-indexing your database here in the forums, and here's one such thread. Maybe try that? For a variety of reasons, sometimes things just hitch up, no matter the application. People seem to find luck doing this, from what I read on here. 

 

https://discussion.evernote.com/topic/59784-evernote-is-slow/?p=280512

 

Anyone know a good way to transfer years worth of data from EN to OneNote (or recommend something else?) Just about *everything* has an android companion app now. I can't see any reason to stick with EN except my existing data.

Well, I hate to be a party pooper but if you're complaining about the web clipper you are gonna HATE OneNote. OneNote's note editor is magical and its web clipper is vomit-inducing. It pretty much screenshots the webpage. That's it. And not only that - it's a terrible, low-res version of the webpage. My two computers have QHD and Retina monitors, and it just looks GROSS. Probably half of my notes in Evernote are web clippings, and I am firmly rooted in EN because there are precisely zero competitive apps that don't suck at this.

You also can't sort your note lists or tabs in any way, like you can in Evernote. Sync is horrifically slow. All apps except Windows are severely handicapped in functionality. I want to like OneNote SOOOOOO badly but it just... it's not even remotely close to being there. I've tried a bajillion alternative apps (I love playing around with new things) and I've not found anything that even remotely approaches Evernote's balance between capability/ease of use. It's really nailed that balance.

 

They are now just one in a crowd, they didn't make any effort to keep up or keep their user base happy and loyal. Some of us have just had enough frustration and tired of waiting for a smooth and functional interface and stable features- and giving up on them. Sort of like VHS. It had its glory days, but then tapes wear out, quality isn't updated, costs of other technology dropped and were superior.

Also not true. Evernote is CONSTANTLY innovating... it's everywhere you look. I dunno how you miss it FINALLY (sorry, I do feel like we've waited a long time for this) they're even updating the note editor to have better aesthetic options regarding checkboxes, tables, and bullet/number lists. They are always, always updating things. Honestly, I think the best thing you can do is beta test. Get inside the process. Get where you can give feedback to ACTUAL Evernote staff. Ever since I started beta testing I feel much more aware of how Evernote works, what it's capable of, and I feel good in giving feedback and knowing my voice is heard. I'd suggest you give beta testing a go for a few months before you try to migrate. I really don't think OneNote's going to be to your satisfaction.

 

Hope I've helped, and feel free to PM me if you wanna chat more about any solutions I've provided.

[CalS 5,280]

@DDr_12,

 

A lengthy ask for help post followed by a lengthy there's no reason to be here post.  If it's that bad why waste everyone's time posting?  This is a users helping users forum, so this just wastes people's time.

 

@Chirmer,@Frank

 

Kudos for investing the time trying to answer the questions.  

[DDr_12 4]

Thanks, Chirmer, for your detailed and insightful response. I didn't know OneNote was that lacking in webclipping capabilities.

 

@CSIHILLING- Why bother posting anything if you're just going to be a jerk. Posts like yours are not helpful, not informative, and just waste everyone's time and forum space. But I guess with over 1500 posts you must feel like the forum police with the responsibility of weeding out anyone who doesn't sing praises to EN. A real ASSet to the community. Yay-for-you :R

[CalS 5,280]

@DDr

 

Wow!

[DDr_12 4]

Okay, Frank, I get it. I would also remind other posters that intentionally being rude and irritating to an already disatisfied user- especially as a forum veteran- is in exceedingly bad taste.

 

Just because a user doesn't spend hours per day on a forum doesn't mean we should tolerate such disrespect. They call that bullying.

 

It may be just one post out of hundreds to some, so they don't care. For infrequent posters, it is one out of very few and the snide remarks and unhelpful mockings reflect poorly on the entire community.

 

I posted valid issues and concerns. Some posted responsible information and replies, for which I appreciate and expressed my thanks. Others felt the need to disrespectfully entertain themselves at my expense. The latter posts are unwelcomed and also violate forum guidelines.

 

My posts may have had more words, but were simply a return smack to a bully. Take a swing at me, expect to get thumped- even verbally.

 

Some people feign surprise when others do not want to be mocked and defend themselves. Belittling someone, their concerns, or telling them they are apparently too stupid to understand the simple software and their post is a waste of time is not considered polite society.

 

Unfortunately, it seems OneNote is not the answer, so the search must continue and I'll use EN until I find something better.

 

Posters seemed surprised I hadn't sought additional help, answers, and info sooner- specifically from the forums. Hmm...after reading many posts with posters of high post counts pouncing on others and not being respectful or helpful, I've been hesitant to jump into that mess- as I suspect many others are, too.

 

If you guys and gals want to help, that's wonderful and very much appreciated. If you want to be entertained, that's fine- but do it respectfully and in good taste, not in ways that make others regret posting their software problems.

 

Consider for a moment the responses I could have made to the very first reply I received.

 

1. Really?... No, I just made that up for the heck of it. I lied to throw you off.

 

2. Really?... Yes, I am that stupid and don't deserve to share space with you superior beings.

 

"Click every button to see what it does" - Uhm, I'm not writing a manual, that's the developers' responsibility to document their features.

 

And although others may have a different opinion of EN Premium Support, my remarks are a result of real world experience with them. I even told them their lack of effort was disappointing and unsatisfactory on the issues at the time. They earned that black eye.

 

As far as regretting "giving face" or posting in this thread, that's your personal choice, do as you please. Perhaps a courteous first greeting- or at least not a smart alec one- would set a better tone for any future threads you consider joining from any posters.

 

You claim you were not intending to be smart alec and then posted a very helpful and appropriate reply. But then you go back on the personal attack thing (or defending your sidekick who can't behave himself). Makes it confusing how to take your posts. If you want to scold because you're a veteran here, then expect to be held to a high responsibility standard. If you don't want to be held to that high standard, then let the forum policing to others.

 

Case in point. CSISHILING mocks and complains the thread wasn't helpful and was a waste of everyone's time, yet hasn't posted a single helpful post- only being detrimental and attempting to stir up trouble. Those kinds of forum members aren't appreciated or wanted.

 

The final point is the purpose of this forum itself. It is offered by EN as support for non-premium users. It is not a personal playground, to be exploited or co-opted by a few for their personal entertainment (especially at the expense of EN users seeking support and helpful discussion).

 

My apologies to CHIRMER who has been both courteous and helpful. I'll likely take her tips and advice and improve my EN experience. Her posts are a credit to the forum   Thanks, CHIRMER!

[DDr_12 4]

I was a visitor. You were rude, I smacked you. That isn't news.

 

Everything I posted that was not polite was a reaction to what was thrown my way. That isn't news, either.

 

Biting your tongue? Really no need. It is quite common when someone doesn't agree with what you posted to quote your post and emphaSIZE the changes in some way, then simply post they fixed it for you. The change is the communication, not a misquote. You really didn't know that? No worries.

 

 

You wouldn't drop in on a friend of yours who uses Evernote and start ranting about how useless Evernote is, would you?

 

That's one source of your discontent. Is your purpose for posting to provide constructive help or to defend EN and its weaknesses with personal attacks? If you are taking criticism of EN personally, well...let's just say you shouldn't.

 

If you're wondering why your messages are not making points? Simply put, Zingers. You write something courteous or appropriate, then follow up with a zinger. Feign politeness, then throw mud.

 

Hint: The good parts of the post are still covered with mud and not taken seriously. Want to claim politeness, be polite. Want to claim helpfulness, be helpful. Leave the potshots at home. Show courtesy and you'll get it. Simple.

 

Personally, I have not shown rudeness to anyone who hasn't thrown it my way first. But maybe you're used to more docile visitors who can be shooed away with a bit of intimidation and mean spiritedness. The whole world isn't that way.

 

I tried to let you "save face" by accepting that you didn't intend to come off rude with your first post. But then your reply showed you actually do intend to be rude and zingers. As they say, You fooled me once, shame on me...

 

As for me, I am going to continue to look for and try out helpful answers to the issues I face with EN.

 

And any "friend" who read the EN comments would say something like, "Yeah, I understand your frustration. Here, let me give you some tips." 

 

That is, unless you continue the insatiable need to flex your forum muscles. Ho-hum, pass the Rum

[DDr_12 4]

 

You have no leg to stand on when it comes to criticizing forum members who have gone out of their way (i.e. @csihilling) to help others. Those 1500 posts you mentioned that @csihilling has, comprise brain-wracking, problem solving and troubleshooting.

 

So your point is he EARNED his right to be rude? Not with me he didn't, and certainly not at my expense.

[chirmer 567]

My apologies to CHIRMER who has been both courteous and helpful. I'll likely take her tips and advice and improve my EN experience. Her posts are a credit to the forum   Thanks, CHIRMER!

Glad to have helped DDr_12! I know what it's like to be frustrated with software, for sure. Evernote definitely has its quirks, but IMHO it's worth the little stumbles for the greater overall experience. If you give EN a shot, keep learning, maybe beta test, and manage to find that usability sweet spot... it's pretty awesome! I've been a Premium user since 2013, and a part-to-full-time user since ~2010, and it's only within the last two years that I feel I've possibly mastered Evernote. I've tried soooooo much software that seems to be capable of replacing Evernote, but everything falls short in some way or another. Of course, I do think OneNote is useful for certain things (its note board setup is THE BOMB), but it can't replace, for me, what I have Evernote doing, which is web clipping and document storage, for the most part. Despite seeming not productive, I'm a big fan of using the best tool for each job, not the best tool to do all of the jobs. It relieves a lot of stress, not trying to bend EN to be something it's not (document editor, for example).

"All noble things are as difficult as they are rare." -Benedict Spinoza

"If there is no price to be paid, it is also not of value." -Albert Einstein

"When we think a thing, the thing we think is not the thing we think we think, but only the thing we think we think we think." -Anonymous (I can't promise this quote is exactly relevant as I only understand it 2 out of every 3 times I read it...)