REQUEST: Access to full Android clipboard

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,938]

In some apps on my Android phone, the clipboard menu that comes up by long-pressing is a toolbar with not only the Select all, Cut, Copy, and Paste options, but a Clipboard option that gives access to the system clipboard with the 20 most recent items. That is enormously useful when doing research: I can select and copy multiple text items, even in multiple apps, and then go to my main writing/editing app and paste them in in whatever order I need. The Evernote app does not have this capability, and I'd like to make a strong request that it be included in future versions. Thanks for listening! And fellow users, if this sounds helpful to you too, please up-vote the request! (Or if you've already got it, please let me know your Android and app versions.)

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,938]

Slight progress to report: my phone (see signature) just updated to Android Marshmallow, and Evernote updated to v. 7.9.3. I now find that I have full clipboard access in the title area -- only. Long-pressing a blank area there brings up a "PASTE | SELECT ALL | CLIPBOARD" dialog (hate the Android 6 words-not-icons version of these dialogs). If you long-press some text, you get a larger dialog with CUT | COPY | PASTE | SHARE | SELECT ALL | CLIPBOARD | ASSIST. (Depending on available horizontal screen real estate, some options will move to a 3-stacked-dot menu.) Thus it is possible to access the entire multi-item clipboard in the note title -- where it is unlikely to be a great deal of use, but no doubt will be some use.

Once you select Clipboard in the title and the clipboard opens, you can then tap in the text area and it remains open, leading me to hope that I could now select from the clipboard and paste into the text area (as I've seen happen in the stock email app, between the subject line and the main body of the message). But no. You can tap items in the clipboard after moving to the text area, but nothing happens. Very frustrating.

The kludge, then, would be to access the clipboard in the title area, paste in some text from it there, select again, cut it, and paste into the text area. Hardly even worth dignifying with the name kludge.

The reason for the difference in title and text area editing options is discussed briefly here.

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,938]

Thanks for all that, @sssteeve. I've been doing OK adding a quick note from the Android notification bar (as indicated in my earlier post), and accessing the clipboard from there and then copying assembled clips, to make up for this feature that is still lacking in the main Evernote editor (and one or two other apps). Samsung Notes and the older (and in some ways better) S Note also have clipboard access, similar to the Memo app you mention. I appreciate your creative suggestions though!

[sssteeve 3]

For several years now I've been using a Samsung Tab 4 7.0 (SM-T230NU) tablet which has the expanded clipboard described in the initial post here and have found that it does not work in Evernote version 7.9 and higher so I've been sticking to earlier versions like 7.0.3 or 7.2. To do this I do need to turn off automatic updates in the Google Play Store. 

There are Android apps that track and save all entries to your clipboard but the user interface is not as slick as the Samsung expanded clipboard. The ASUS ZenPad S8 (Z380M) has its own expanded clipboard which does work with the current version of Evernote (7.17) but for some reason there are some clips that don't get saved to the expanded clipboard but can be pasted in normally - I have found no rhyme or reason for that.

Steve A.

P.S. The expanded clipboard in the Samsung Tab 4 7.0 has 20 slots for storing the most recent clips, 10 of which can be locked and used for boilerplate text or keyboard macros. Most of the newer Samsung tablets I have looked at have an expanded clipboard but the entries cannot be locked. (The current Galaxy Tab S3 9.7 does allows you to lock 10 entries.)

P.P.S. A note for the OP: in saving the text of webpages I have found that Instapaper works great at an intermediate step between the webpage and Evernote - I will share the webpage to Instapaper and then select the text I want (in most cases all of it) and then share that with Evernote. There are only certain versions of Instapaper that allow me to do that so I do lock in an older version that does work.

BTW I use 3C Toolbox to save APF files from the apps that I install from Google Play, etc., and then sideload as needed to my tablets. (I edit the filename of the APK file to include the version number.)  I think I did find older versions of Evernote in the forums here at one time but have not looked recently. (I've been using the UpToDown website.)

EDIT: The Memo app that comes pre-installed on my Tab 4 7.0 also supports the Samsung expanded clipboard so I often use it for temporary storage of clips. Each clip is limited to 4096 characters as I recall and the app seems to a version of Google Keep made for Samsung.

So one workaround for the OP would be to use Memo or Keep to compile various clips and then copy and paste the whole note into Evernote.

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,938]

2 hours ago, Jasooon said:

Huh, what do you know, I do have v7.9.4 and clip tray works in the notification bar editor.

Well that's a good enough work around for new notes, but doesn't help with editing a pre-existing note.

Right you are on that; and basically no formatting can be done in the notification-bar editor, so that has to be added later in the main app. It's still a very kludgey situation.

At any rate, your experience shows that the clipboard access is not just a Samsung thing, but available on other devices.

[Jasooon 1]

Huh, what do you know, I do have v7.9.4 and clip tray works in the notification bar editor.

Well that's a good enough work around for new notes, but doesn't help with editing a pre-existing note.

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,938]

On 9/10/2016 at 5:57 PM, Candid said:

Near as I can tell the clipboard memory is strictly a Samsung feature. My Nexus phone doesn't have it, but my old Note 8 does. Personally, I wish windows had it! 

On my note 8 Samsung keyboard, there is an icon in the right corner that to me looks like a D-cell battery, but I think is a clipboard that will bring up that clipboard memory piece. 

Interesting (sorry to be slow responding). As to Windows, there are a number of clipboard manager programs for Windows. I use ClipCache, which gives phenomenal control over previous clips (including reformatting and editing). As to Samsung-only:

On 9/11/2016 at 9:39 AM, Jasooon said:

I am using an LG phone and would also like to see this feature, I am constantly switching between apps trying to copy and paste text which is very slow and tedious.

I have the same experience as one of the previous comments where clip tray is available in the title bar, but not the text body.

This would be a HUGE productivity boost, could easily reduce the amount of time to compose certain notes by a half to a third of the time.

So, if the clipboard is available even in the note title alone (though not in the body) on an LG, that sounds as if it's Android rather than Samsung (assuming I'm understanding everybody right). @Jasooon, note my August 29 comment above:

 

On 8/29/2016 at 3:51 PM, Dave-in-Decatur said:

I recently installed v. 7.9.4 from Google Play. This adds the capability of adding a quick note from the Android notification bar (in the Evernote app, Settings > Notifications > Add notes from notification bar). That's convenient in and of itself; but to my delight I find that when writing such a quick note, I do have access to the full Android clipboard, both in the note body and in the title area.

Do you have v. 7.9.4; and if so, and if you have notification-bar notes enabled, when writing such a note on your LG, do you have access to the entire clipboard?

[Jasooon 1]

I am using an LG phone and would also like to see this feature, I am constantly switching between apps trying to copy and paste text which is very slow and tedious.

I have the same experience as one of the previous comments where clip tray is available in the title bar, but not the text body.

This would be a HUGE productivity boost, could easily reduce the amount of time to compose certain notes by a half to a third of the time.

[Candid 167]

Near as I can tell the clipboard memory is strictly a Samsung feature. My Nexus phone doesn't have it, but my old Note 8 does. Personally, I wish windows had it! 

On my note 8 Samsung keyboard, there is an icon in the right corner that to me looks like a D-cell battery, but I think is a clipboard that will bring up that clipboard memory piece. 

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,938]

UPDATE: I recently installed v. 7.9.4 from Google Play. This adds the capability of adding a quick note from the Android notification bar (in the Evernote app, Settings > Notifications > Add notes from notification bar). That's convenient in and of itself; but to my delight I find that when writing such a quick note, I do have access to the full Android clipboard, both in the note body and in the title area. This is still not the case when creating or editing a note from the app itself (or a widget), but it is definite progress. Quick notes are automatically put into the default notebook, but it's easy to move them from there to one that I want.

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,938]

23 hours ago, gazumped said:

Hmmn.  Not a Kludge,  but a PITA..  thanks for the update!

Now there's a subject for philosophical discussion: what is the fine line at which a kludge crosses over into being a PITA, or vice versa? I'll bet doctoral dissertations could be written on it. 

[gazumped 11,652]

Hmmn.  Not a Kludge,  but a PITA..  thanks for the update!

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,938]

I upgraded to Android v. 7.9.2 yesterday. I find that I (still) have no full-clipboard access anywhere, title or note body. But like I say, I never did. Some of this could be Android-version related too, I suppose.

But don't hold your breath about getting the non-Chrome editor back. It probably takes a lot to switch editors like that, and they aren't going to undo it. Hopefully some improvements could be made, though!

[jampff 8]

Iiinnnttteeeerrrrreeeeessssttttiiiiinnnngggggg........ 

The new editor uses an embedded version of Chrome. That explains a lot. I like Chrome. But editing text in it is very frustrating. 

I've been editing text in Evernote the past few days, and I don't have time, and you don't have attention span, for me to detail all the strange little things it does. Besides the fact that it just lags horribly. 

Could we maybe get back the editor that isn't related to Chrome? Regardless of features, it had something huge going for it: it worked smoothly. And also, we could access the Clip Tray. I don't remember the last time I needed to superscript or subscript in a note, but that's just me. :-) Could live without that stuff. 

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,938]

13 hours ago, jampff said:

This Clip Tray/Clipboard worked in basically every app that had text editing/insertion of any kind. The only place I discovered the Clip Tray would not appear was when trying to edit my website in Chrome on the tablet... It was a WYSIWYG editor and only the Paste option would show up on a long press. . . .

HERE'S THE CRAZY PART:

If you've noticed the disappearance of the clip tray/clipboard also, try this:

Long press in the TITLE of your note. Did your see the option come back? I did. Weird. But, I need it in the body of the note, and that's where it disappears. 

Aha! Chrome!  When v. 7.8.2 of the Android app came out, with the new editor, I had a problem with another feature (since resolved), and among other things I was told by an EN employee, "Our new editor uses an embedded version of Chrome for Android." So the story seems to be: Google makes a mobile OS, and in that mobile OS there is access to the Clipboard/Clip Tray. Google also makes a browser engine, and in that browser engine's text editor, there is no access to the Clipboard/Clip Tray. Ergo, Google is stupid. 

But we already knew that. There were some gains in the new EN Android editor (superscript and subscript). There were also some losses (such as this one and this one). However, on my Samsung device I've never had access to the full clipboard, not even in the title area. I'm still on 7.8.2, though; maybe clipboard access in the title will show up when I install 7.9.2. At any rate, I hope some way can be found to include this access in writing notes; as jampff says, it's incredibly useful. But if it's a Chrome issue, then probably not.

Would love for an EN employee to jump in about here, but as gazumped said, they're probably swamped.

[gazumped 11,652]

47 minutes ago, jampff said:

Thanks, gazumped... 

I've already done the uninstall/reinstall thing... I did more than just reboot in between... One on occasion I factory reset before reinstalling. Also, as I mentioned above, these issues occurred on two tablets. 

I realize that the new editor has been out for some time. When I say "new", I'm talking about a recent update... These issues starting occurring when the editor starting supporting superscript and subscript... And when they said they "improved support for links in notes" in their Play Store What's New box. (Not that those have anything to do with the problems... Just so you have an idea when it started.) 

And on my tablets at least, the editor just LOOKS different than it used to. Hard to describe. But it was obvious to me that they changed a lot. 

I would love to report a bug... But unfortunately I can't seem to get Evernote to reply to my support requests. :-( I reported all this close to two weeks ago... No response. Sent a followup message... No response. My last support request also from months ago also went unacknowledged.

I'm a Premium user, have been for years. I prefer to pay for products I rely on, not because I need the features, but because I want to be able to get help when I need it. Evernote promises quick support for Premium subscribers, but I've never experienced it, unfortunately. 

I'm sticking with them no matter what. The product is too valuable to me even when it's buggy. OneNote just won't cut it. 

But I would like to hear back from them... Sigh... 

It can take a while during 'busy times' for Support to respond,  and I'd guess -given the recent announcements- that they're a bit busy right now.  If you have the ticket number from one of your support requests though,  please post it here and we can ask an Admin to take a look.  Or you could go back to the support page - you should be able to find a Chat option (depending on your timezone) that will put you in touch directly.  If you Tweet,  try @EvernoteHelps for a comeback.  One or other of those should work...

[jampff 8]

Thanks, gazumped... 

I've already done the uninstall/reinstall thing... I did more than just reboot in between... One on occasion I factory reset before reinstalling. Also, as I mentioned above, these issues occurred on two tablets. 

I realize that the new editor has been out for some time. When I say "new", I'm talking about a recent update... These issues starting occurring when the editor starting supporting superscript and subscript... And when they said they "improved support for links in notes" in their Play Store What's New box. (Not that those have anything to do with the problems... Just so you have an idea when it started.) 

And on my tablets at least, the editor just LOOKS different than it used to. Hard to describe. But it was obvious to me that they changed a lot. 

I would love to report a bug... But unfortunately I can't seem to get Evernote to reply to my support requests. :-( I reported all this close to two weeks ago... No response. Sent a followup message... No response. My last support request also from months ago also went unacknowledged.

I'm a Premium user, have been for years. I prefer to pay for products I rely on, not because I need the features, but because I want to be able to get help when I need it. Evernote promises quick support for Premium subscribers, but I've never experienced it, unfortunately. 

I'm sticking with them no matter what. The product is too valuable to me even when it's buggy. OneNote just won't cut it. 

But I would like to hear back from them... Sigh... 

[gazumped 11,652]

Hmmn.  The 'new' editor has been around for a while now,  so it may not be the change-over that you're noticing,  just a glitch from a recent update.  Best advice here would be to uninstall / restart device / reinstall the app to confirm that what you see is what's intended,  and if the unwelcome behaviour continues,  report it as a bug - it may be that your device behaves in unexpected ways (a problem with Android's multiple candy flavors) and Evernote may need to address the issue in a future update.

[jampff 8]

Hopefully it's not too late for me to chime in. I'm a daily Evernote user... Premium subscriber... And now have Evernote 7.9.2 running on my new Samsung Galaxy Tab S2. I just replaced my old LG G Pad 8.3, on which I created thousands of notes during the 1.5 years I used it. 

I CONSTANTLY used the feature mentioned above (LG products call it the Clip Tray... Samsung just calls it Clipboard). Whenever you're in any text editor, you can long press anywhere you want to paste, and you see two options by your finger: Paste, and Clip Tray. Paste just pastes whatever you last copied. Clip Tray opens a view of the last 20 things you've copied, and you can pick the one(s) you want to paste. Very very very useful. 

This Clip Tray/Clipboard worked in basically every app that had text editing/insertion of any kind. The only place I discovered the Clip Tray would not appear was when trying to edit my website in Chrome on the tablet... It was a WYSIWYG editor and only the Paste option would show up on a long press. Also, the whole thing was WONKY. When updating the website, the cursor would randomly jump to another place while entering text... If I tried to delete a word, the cursor would move and start deleting somewhere else, or DUPLICATE??? the very word I was trying to delete. Paragraphs change their spacing constantly. I skip one between paragraphs, like most people... But after saving the note, each paragraph had two lines between.

I share all that for a reason... 

Near as I can tell, last Evernote update changed lots on tablets, but not on phones. I have to say I have great difficulty with the new tablet text editor and desperately want the old one back. For me, the new Evernote text editor is now EXACTLY THE SAME as the weird one I had to use in Chrome. Precisely same symptoms: randomly jumping cursor, large gaps between paragraphs (sometimes 4 lines), and... No more Clip Tray. 

I first experienced this after updating Evernote on my old LG tablet. Thought maybe it was a glitchy install, so uninstalled and reinstalled. No change. Ending up needing to factory reset that device, so reinstalled Evernote AGAIN, and still same problem. This week, I replaced the device with my current Samsung Galaxy Tab S2, brand spanking new. Same experience. 

What's strange is nothing has changed on my phone, even though all devices have always updated Evernote immediately and consistently. Both phone and tablet have Evernote 7.9.2. The text editor on the phone is just like it always was... And if I want to use the Clip Tray, I use the phone now. For the tablet I discovered that I could download a third party clip tray app, accessible from Notifications. It works for now. 

HERE'S THE CRAZY PART:

If you've noticed the disappearance of the clip tray/clipboard also, try this:

Long press in the TITLE of your note. Did your see the option come back? I did. Weird. But, I need it in the body of the note, and that's where it disappears. 

Evernote, I love your product, but I gotta say, I don't think your new text editor is an improvement. :-( I really really want the old one back. 

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,938]

It will probably depend on your Android version and the apps on your phone, i.e., in part on the make and model of the phone. On my Samsung Note Edge, it is available in S Note, the default Calendar app, an app I downloaded called Color Note, another app called Business Calendar (but only in landscape position!), and a few others. It ought to be universally available, IMHO--once you've used it, it becomes indispensable.

[gazumped 11,652]

Wow! I've never seen the extra options... Any examples of apps that offer this?