Saved Searches Missing in Latest Version? (EN 6.0.4.1688)

[jayp79 29]

I upgraded. A lot to like. But one thing that is utterly unintuitive and seems broken is the Saved Searches, which I depend on.

1) Existing saved searches aren't showing up anywhere in the new Windows client. Surely this is a bug?

2) I finally figured out how to create a new saved search. It took me 30 minutes before I finally gave up and found it by searching the forums. Not intuitive and not like the Mac either. I am frustrated by the frequent lack of consistency between platforms.

3) At first the new saved search (created from Windows client) didn't show up on the iPhone, but now it does. Perhaps I had to sync first on Windows or restart the app on the phone.

4) Even after creating new saved search, existing searches do not show up on Windows client. They are visible in iPhone and Mac though.

At any rate, am I supposed to recreate all Saved Searches and delete previously existing ones?

This seems like it should work out of the box without effort on the user's part.

I also couldn't agree more that Saved Searches should be exposed from the search bar. I'd make an interface like the Mac's, so that it's easy to not only click on prior saved searches but crucially, so that there's an intuitive GUI to create Saved Searches.

[EdH 1,670]

8 minutes ago, csihilling said:

Ctrl-Q is less likely to give one carpal tunnel....  Just as well documented.

And what does CTRL-Q do on the Mac?

Exactly. Reason enough to stay away from that shortcut if you use both platforms.

[EdH 1,670]

How? I am not asking for a place to put them, but a BUTTON to save them, like 5.x had, and like iOS and Android have. 

[gustavgi 311]

10 hours ago, EdH said:

Please fix this Evernote. 5.x had this, as do iOS and Android. And it has been requested on the Mac side to. Just give us the magnifying glass with the "+" sign to add a search on the desktop versions.

I have been an evernote user since 2004. I don't create saved searches that often, but I shouldn't have to go googling for it either. This should be within the Search area. Given where it is in the menu, I wonder how many EN users that don't visit these forums even know you can save a search?

Creating a saved search is done by right clicking in the search description, in the search area. Still not very intuitive though for those who do not know about it. But I, who do know about it, am glad that it's not taking up any UI space.

[jefito 5,598]

16 hours ago, EdH said:

How? I am not asking for a place to put them, but a BUTTON to save them, like 5.x had, and like iOS and Android have. 

Ah, ok, gotcha. Here's what I see in the current beta. Do a search. Right click in the search info area ("Viewing 30 notes in <blah> matching <...>"), and the context menu contains "Save Search..." and "Clear Search". Save Search allows you to save a named search.

[EdH 1,670]

12 hours ago, gustavgi said:

Creating a saved search is done by right clicking in the search description, in the search area. Still not very intuitive though for those who do not know about it. But I, who do know about it, am glad that it's not taking up any UI space.

Right. Because the "click to add tag" button there in the search area is providing a useful service during a search. Changing this to a "Save Search" icon while searching would be:

1. intuitive
2. easy to use
3. not take up any space not already taken up by an icon that provides no benefit during a search.

 

[gustavgi 311]

55 minutes ago, EdH said:

Right. Because the "click to add tag" button there in the search area is providing a useful service during a search. Changing this to a "Save Search" icon while searching would be:

1. intuitive
2. easy to use
3. not take up any space not already taken up by an icon that provides no benefit during a search.

 

Well, to me personally the "click to add tag" was, and now certainly is, the single most important button in Evernote. I use it all the time as:

- an additional shortcut list only for my most important tags (drop down list is sorted alphabetically)

- a way to make a new search to find tags

- a way to filter among the current search content, including that it's working like a suggestion box for further filtering (which works even better since v6.2 also implemented the possibility to uncheck "Close Tag picker when selection is made" in options).

- a way to make the left panel instantly automatically scroll to the right place in my tag nest, by also checking "Scroll left panel item into view when the item is selected" in v6.2 options.

 

Saving searches will for most people be an operation which is only done occasionally (though the use of saved searches are an often recurring action). Therefore I myself believe that it should be enough that you can save searches by either using the file menu, or by right clicking in the search bar, or by using the left panel.

But like with Quick Search, I see no reason why Save search shouldn't be added as an optional customization button in the toolbar, so that people themselves could choose to have it up front if their individual workflow depends on it.

 

[jefito 5,598]

4 hours ago, EdH said:

Right. Because the "click to add tag" button there in the search area is providing a useful service during a search. Changing this to a "Save Search" icon while searching would be:

1. intuitive
2. easy to use
3. not take up any space not already taken up by an icon that provides no benefit during a search.

 

Actually, adding a tag to the search can be useful, in terms of refining a search you've started, and easier than typing "tag:xxyzzy" to the search (I type-add tags and normal text search terms fairly often). The popup tag adder is also context dependent, and so suggest tags that are in use in the search result (ok, if you're doing AND search, and not using -tag: terms, which is most common for me by far) I can see adding a save search icon as well; there's room, but the right-click works for me as well and I don't save searches all that often any more.

[EdH 1,670]

a month later, saved searches in windows continues to be a hidden obscure feature with no intuitive way to access them or create one. I wish Presentation Mode was this obscure, and saved searches were front and center.

[CalS 5,307]

25 minutes ago, EdH said:

a month later, saved searches in windows continues to be a hidden obscure feature with no intuitive way to access them or create one. I wish Presentation Mode was this obscure, and saved searches were front and center.

Agreed when left panel is open.  Not quite so bad when left panel is closed, and reasonably in the open..

        

[EdH 1,670]

ALT-F3. Just rolls right off the fingers. 

Useless.

If I had to guess, I'd say 0% of new Evernote for Windows users, plus or minus 0%, know saved searches exist. It is too bad there is no place on the Evernote for Windows UI for this kind of thing to be added. We need the right amount of white space, and shouldn't clutter with functional buttons.

 

[CalS 5,307]

22 minutes ago, EdH said:

ALT-F3. Just rolls right off the fingers. 

Ctrl-Q is less likely to give one carpal tunnel....  Just as well documented.

[EdH 1,670]

On July 6, 2016 at 7:37 AM, EdH said:

I'm not. Shortcuts shouldn't be a crutch to get around a bad design choice. 

Please fix this Evernote. 5.x had this, as do iOS and Android. And it has been requested on the Mac side to. Just give us the magnifying glass with the "+" sign to add a search on the desktop versions.

I have been an evernote user since 2004. I don't create saved searches that often, but I shouldn't have to go googling for it either. This should be within the Search area. Given where it is in the menu, I wonder how many EN users that don't visit these forums even know you can save a search?

[CalS 5,307]

Never went to the dark side myself so not an issue for the unwashed.  

[EdH 1,670]

Oh look. I fixed it so I don't have to Google this thread every few days when I want to do a saved search.

And your support page is wrong on this too. It has this ludicrous idea that you should click on the search bar and the saved searches will show up in a dropdown. EN 5 did this, but I know that was insane and was removed, but the support page still shows this unhelpful advice, and nowhere on that page is ALT-F3, this my sticky-note enhancement to my $1,800 Surface Pro 4.

Quote

Use a saved search

To recall a saved search, click or tap in your search box. You'll see a list of your saved searches appear below the search box

I did send that info on the support page being wrong to support. I am anxiously awaiting the reply requesting my sync log.

Yes, am being sarcastic. Yes, I am very frustrated. No, I don't care.

Oh, the advice to create a saved search is also wrong.

Quote

Save to shortcuts

In Evernote for Mac and Windows Desktop you can create a shortcut for your saved searches. Just click into your search bar to show your list of saved searches, then drag your search into the shortcuts bar.

good luck with that.

 

[jefito 5,598]

@EdH: geez, you should at least be using Evernote Post-its...

 

 

[EdH 1,670]

4 minutes ago, jefito said:

@EdH: geez, you should at least be using Evernote Post-its...

I am, but I am on the beta of Evernote-Post-its 1.2.39 and they only stick when applied upside down, and I kept getting confused when I read ALT-F3 upside down.

[John in Michigan USA 140]

Wow...great discussion. Delighted to see that others are as frustrated as I am with Evernote's design choices, features that come and go with no notice, etc. and that EN support (Directly) is now able to quickly point me to this discussion topic when I opened a ticket on the issue of, when you click in the search box, why does the list of saved searches no longer appear in the Win client. I hope EN devs will take to heart my strong desire to have this feature restored, and the many other excellent points on this discussion!

One angle I haven't seen discussed here...if my reading of the keyboard shortcuts page at https://help.evernote.com/hc/en-us/articles/209004807 is correct, Ctrl + S is not currently in use. Wouldn't it make a great deal of sense for the "Quick Search" window to be accessed by Ctrl + S instead of / in addition to Ctrl + Q?

Perhaps Ctrl + Q could be freed up for a new (?) feature,  a more generalized "Quick Commands" pop-up window that you can customize for your most frequently used commands...

 

[jefito 5,598]

11 hours ago, John in Michigan USA said:

Ctrl + S is not currently in use

The web page is out of date. Ctrl+S is already in use; it syncs the current note to the Evernote server ("saves" the note, in other words) saves the note to the local database. See https://discussion.evernote.com/topic/31409-ctrls-for-syncing/. Ctrl+S is such a common Windows shortcut for a "Save" operation, than making it be anything that's not a save-like command would probably be a bad idea. 

[Julian Winter 0]

Incredible that this issue has still not been dealt with 15 months after the initial post.

I love Evernote but this is the sort of thing that kills applications and there is too much of it in Evernote - people will just drift over to new apps which offer the facilities they want.

Having "recent searches", and "saved searches" instantly there when you click on the search box is what people expect to see in even fairly basic web sites these days and not to have it in an app as sophisticated as Evernote is kinda shocking. It's only a small issue, but it matters. (And keyboard shortcuts don't count - remember Wordstar? No, no one does).

Every time I run up against this sort of friction using Evernote I take another look at OneNote and think, "Maybe I am backing the losing horse?"

And what is it with no folders (sorry "stacks") within folders. Sometimes I think it's as if Evernote speaks a different app language from the rest of us.

Getting this stuff done is not an option. These things move very quickly and either you give people ("the public" - not your core users) what they are looking for soon or someone else will and you will be toast. 

Get a grip.

[EdH 1,670]

I think they want to get rid of saved searches. Hiding a feature is the first step in depreciating and ultimately removing a feature.

[jefito 5,598]

On 8/6/2017 at 10:39 AM, Julian Winter said:

And what is it with no folders (sorry "stacks") within folders. Sometimes I think it's as if Evernote speaks a different app language from the rest of us.

In this instance, yes, they do (I think that the term "stack" came from iOS, awhile back). Tags are equivalent to labels, keywords, or categories in other application languages; essentially the same thing. Notebook, folder, whatever.

They do seem to be pretty wedded to the flat organization structure and uninterested in nested notebook hierarchies; that works for some people, others, not so much. GMail works similarly, for that matter. Tags are seen by Evernote as more flexible than hierarchies, at least that's what they've said when they comment on that.

[DTLow 5,744]

On 2017-08-06 at 7:39 AM, Julian Winter said:

And what is it with no folders (sorry "stacks") within folders. Sometimes I think it's as if Evernote speaks a different app language from the rest of us.

Evernote files are stored in folders (within folders) on Mac and Window platforms
For notes, the Evernote organization concept is to assign a Notebook and/or Tags
Stacks are a collection of Notebooks

Some people are happy thinking that Notebook = Folder, but are disappointed at the lack of hierarchy
Tags have unlimited hierarchy (Mac/Win)

[EdH 1,670]

41 minutes ago, DTLow said:

On 8/6/2017 at 7:39 AM, Julian Winter said:

And what is it with no folders

Evernote files are stored in folders
 

Not on Windows. All notes, tags, notebooks, etc. are in one big database file. There are a few other file for logs, dictionaries, etc, but I think if you lost everything but the EXB file, you'd be ok after a reinstall and restoring the EXB database even if you had never sync'd to the clould in your life.

[EdH 1,670]

On 6/29/2016 at 3:24 AM, gustavgi said:

What do you mean by still not working? The issue raised in this thread was where the saved searches went after v5. In v6.1 they are back, and located between Tags and Trash in the left panel.

Saved searches are since v6 created by right clicking in the search panel.

which is not a great place for them. It should be next to the search bar. Click on the search bar and saved searches drop down for quick use, just like on the Mac or earlier Windows clients, and the save button for a new saved search should be right there.

Having it way below your tags is fine if you are doing saved search maintenance, but not so much for day to day use. I have over 700 tags, so it is a LOT of scrolling. 

[keisoko 56]

13 hours ago, jayp79 said:

I upgraded. A lot to like. But one thing that is utterly unintuitive and seems broken is the Saved Searches, which I depend on.

1) Existing saved searches aren't showing up anywhere in the new Windows client. Surely this is a bug?

2) I finally figured out how to create a new saved search. It took me 30 minutes before I finally gave up and found it by searching the forums. Not intuitive and not like the Mac either. I am frustrated by the frequent lack of consistency between platforms.

3) At first the new saved search (created from Windows client) didn't show up on the iPhone, but now it does. Perhaps I had to sync first on Windows or restart the app on the phone.

4) Even after creating new saved search, existing searches do not show up on Windows client. They are visible in iPhone and Mac though.

At any rate, am I supposed to recreate all Saved Searches and delete previously existing ones?

This seems like it should work out of the box without effort on the user's part.

I also couldn't agree more that Saved Searches should be exposed from the search bar. I'd make an interface like the Mac's, so that it's easy to not only click on prior saved searches but crucially, so that there's an intuitive GUI to create Saved Searches.

The same here. The only saved searches I have access to are the ones I previously pinned to the Shortcut bar.

[billjohnson 18]

I too have the same issues with searches.  I have 2 or 3 that I use daily and cannot seem to be able to find them in the new version.

I do like the look of the new version but we need to get the saved searches back ASAP.

 

 

[CalS 5,307]

EN says there will be a fix soon to address saved searches.

 

[billjohnson 18]

I also would like the option to not have the saved searches show up in my shortcuts.  I have created 4 new searches that I need based on my daily workflow (because I can't wait for the hot fix) and cannot figure out to stop them from showing on in my shortcuts.  Maybe that will be part of the new hotfix?  

[Stephane Lo 39]

Saved Searches are coming back in the upcoming hotfix. Your old saved searches are still there so nothing is lost. Stay tuned!

[Winti 0]

Hi could you tell me how do do a saved search in the actual version. I tried for hours, search even longer but still didn't find how to get a new saved search.

 

regards

 

Daniel

[CalS 5,307]

3 hours ago, Winti said:

Hi could you tell me how do do a saved search in the actual version. I tried for hours, search even longer but still didn't find how to get a new saved search.

 

regards

 

Daniel

Alt-F3, or if you have the left panel closed (F10) click on the magnifying glass icon.

[weaverh 4]

Has this issue been resolved?

[oldmankit 4]

Version 6.1.2.2292, still not working.

[gustavgi 311]

5 hours ago, oldmankit said:

Version 6.1.2.2292, still not working.

What do you mean by still not working? The issue raised in this thread was where the saved searches went after v5. In v6.1 they are back, and located between Tags and Trash in the left panel.

Saved searches are since v6 created by right clicking in the search panel.

[CalS 5,307]

They also appear when using the Ctrl-Q search.

[jefito 5,598]

The current beta has the ability to put the shortcuts up on the existing toolbar, or on a separate toolbar. It would probably a good idea to allow the left panel to be ordered as the user wishes, too.

[gustavgi 311]

1 hour ago, EdH said:

which is not a great place for them. It should be next to the search bar. Click on the search bar and saved searches drop down for quick use, just like on the Mac or earlier Windows clients, and the save button for a new saved search should be right there.

Having it way below your tags is fine if you are doing saved search maintenance, but not so much for day to day use. I have over 700 tags, so it is a LOT of scrolling. 

Yeah that a different story. I only access mine through Ctrl+Q/Alt+F3 now.

[oldmankit 4]

OK, turns out I was wrong. It is working. But it's not working as described in the documentation, and that's why I couldn't find it:

Quote

To recall a saved search, click or tap in your search box. You'll see a list of your saved searches appear below the search box.

 

[weaverh 4]

Thanks, @oldmankit!

[Archimedes 1]

On 6/29/2016 at 3:24 AM, gustavgi said:

Saved searches are since v6 created by right clicking in the search panel.

Right-clicking in the search panel does nothing for me (under Windows 7).

[CalS 5,307]

7 minutes ago, Archimedes said:

Clicking on the magnifying glass icon does nothing me (under Windows 7).

EN 6.1.2.2292,  Should see the list of your searches like below after clicking on the hourglass, when the left panel is closed.

 

[EdH 1,670]

That is useless. My left panel is open, and my notebooks and tags are expanced, so my "saved searches" are about 30 screens down. With 60 notebooks and 700+ tags, that is not an exaggeration.

[Archimedes 1]

54 minutes ago, csihilling said:

EN 6.1.2.2292,  Should see the list of your searches like below after clicking on the hourglass, when the left panel is closed.

 

Whoops; I overlooked the "or if you have the left panel closed" in your preceding message.

[CalS 5,307]

3 hours ago, EdH said:

That is useless. My left panel is open, and my notebooks and tags are expanced, so my "saved searches" are about 30 screens down. With 60 notebooks and 700+ tags, that is not an exaggeration.

Yep, useless for sure if you use the left panel, I don't.  You can always use Ctrl-Q.  

[oldmankit 4]

10 hours ago, Archimedes said:

6 hours ago, csihilling said:

Yep, useless for sure if you use the left panel, I don't.  You can always use Ctrl-Q.  

 

Since Ctrl+Q is an amazing shortcut in general, I'm happy to use it to access saved searches…and OK with the fact that other ways to get to saved searches seem somewhat opaque.

[EdH 1,670]

9 hours ago, oldmankit said:

Since Ctrl+Q is an amazing shortcut in general, I'm happy to use it to access saved searches…and OK with the fact that other ways to get to saved searches seem somewhat opaque.

I'm not. Shortcuts shouldn't be a crutch to get around a bad design choice.