Conflicting Modification problem / complaint / solution

[Scott Robinson 0]

My day is ruined.  I am having a big problem with the conflicting modification thing.  I think I understand why this is happening- I leave evernote open on my desktop and laptop because I use them very frequently, and I have not been manually syncing on my devices.  Apparently this is what you're supposed to do (Sorry, I'm new).  I thought automatic was automatic.  Despite that, many users seem to be reporting conflicting modifications even syncing manually before and after every edit.

 

Maybe I'm missing something- Is there some benefit of a system where I have to manually sync?  Why not just update all notes on the server as they are edited? If I have a note that is a list and I don't know what is on or not on the list, the list is pretty much useless.  So the notes that I've been constantly updating are nonsense.

 

 

Is there a way to have Evernote just update the note to have all of the MOST RECENT changes?  That seems pretty obvious.

 

Is there any plan to address this issue?  Otherwise I'll probably just pop back to Wordflowy and Google docs.

 

[JMichaelTX 4,118]

If you really require "instant sync", Evernote may not be the tool for you.

 

I agree, Evernote could, and should, make the sync process much more effective and bullet-proof.

But until they do, manual sync is your friend, and works very well in my experience.

This may sound like a lot of unnecessary trouble, but if you use it consistently it will become second nature.

Think of "sync" like "save".

 

I have found the following to be helpful in preventing sync issues:

1. Use multiple short Notes rather than one long Note that has many/frequent edits
2. It is best to consistently manually sync, and sync often, especially after:
   1. Entry/Edit of an important note
   2. End of Session BEFORE you close or put your machine to sleep
   3. End of Day
   4. Start using a different device
      1. Even if you notice the Sync icon spinning on EN iOS when you switch to the app, do a manual sync anyway after it finishes spinning
      2. I have noticed that the initial sync does NOT always do a full sync.
      3. I'm not sure about Android devices, but I would do the same just to be safe.

[JMichaelTX 4,118]

I just want to add that I have 3 Macs, 1 PC, 2 iPads, and 1 iPhone.  Since I have been following the above sync practice, I have never lost any Notes, and I have had conflicting changes only 1 or 2 times out of 13K notes.

[CalS 5,307]

New beta just out seems to imply instant sync, upwards in any case.

 

 

 

 

[JMichaelTX 4,118]

@Cal:  It's not clear that it is "instant sync" since the Release Notes say "... sync as soon as they are done being edited".

 

What I wonder is how does Evernote determine when the user is finished editing?

[CalS 5,307]

@JM,

 

Yeah, perhaps not instant sync.  A quick test says it syncs after you switch context.  Though if a timed sync occurs it syncs in the midst of your editing (I got a not responding for a bit when this occurred, older test laptop, less memory and HDD than main machine could be the issue, doubt it though).  There seems to be a 10 second or so lag from switching context to the sync * going away.  Not sure, but it seems to be acting like IOS, other than the timed sync factor.  Same function across platforms, say what!?! 

 

Frankly, I would prefer the IOS method on the desktop to a chatty app which is going back and forth to some server in the sky for every character I type.  My two cents anyway.

[Scott Robinson 0]

Google docs, workflowy, apple notes all have no problem keeping in sync and update in real time with no noticeable lag. What is keeping you guys on Evernote? I like the app and everything but to me this is pretty intolerable/inexcusable unless there is some reason why it should function like this.

[Scott Robinson 0]

Are there Evernote reps in these forums?  I'm just wondering if this is something that Evernote sees as a shortcoming and intends to 'fix' or if it is intentionally part of the design and perhaps has some benefit that I'm not aware of?  Thanks!

[JMichaelTX 4,118]

It is said that someone from Evernote reads all posts in these forums.  I make no such assumption.

Occasionally an Evernote rep will reply, but you can't count on it.

 

If you want to contact Evernote directly, then you have 3 choices:

1. Support Ticket (Free accounts limited to bugs/account issues)
2. Support Chat (Premium only, appears after "Continue" on Support page)
3. Twitter @evernotehelps (all users)