Loss of creation / modification dates with copied notes

[JDEvolutionist 2]

When copying a note from one notebook to another the new copy of the note loses its Creation / Modification dates. While these can be changed by the user manually this is a significant disadvantage especially when a number of notes are being copied - for a start it makes sorting such notes impractical on either of these criteria.

In addition, while shared notes update, copied notes do not, so far as I am aware, there should be options available when copying notes that allows the user to select whether or not a copied note will subsequently be updated when changes are made to the original note and / or changes are made to the new copy.

[EdH 1,670]

So, I am not at my Mac to test this, but on the Windows client, in the Copy dialog box there is a checkbox to "preserve created and updated dates" and "preserve tags." I think I recall that there on the Mac too

Can you look at that dialog box again before you press "ok" to execute the copy?

[gazumped 12,074]

I also believe there already is a 'preserve dates' option when copying.  Interestingly if you move a note,  there's no such choice.

[JDEvolutionist 2]

Thanks for your replies Edh and gazumped. Have check to see if there is a check box for this and no there is not. Also had a look in Preferences but can't find anything there either. Also tried it with both single note selection and multiple notes but still no check box for preserving the data. Interestingly when you select multiple notes the notes selected show up on the righthand side of the screen with various option available including a move option (no check box for preservation) but no option to copy the notes. I'm using a MacBook Pro with the latest software and updates.

[jbenson2 2,149]

The following suggestion has been offered by several Evernote power users over the years.

Use a structured format for the titles of each note. Part of the structure includes a date code YYYYDDMM as the prefix in the title

This prefix has many advantages (easy sorting, searching, range selection). And it does not disappear if you COPY or MOVE or EXPORT the note.

Example:

20160812 Texas Dallas - JB meeting notes with ABC Realtor 

[DTLow 5,745]

14 hours ago, jbenson2 said:

The following suggestion has been offered by several Evernote power users over the years.

Use a structured format for the titles of each note. Part of the structure includes a date code YYYYDDMM as the prefix in the title

....

Building on this idea, I have a script that appends the metadata to the bottom of the note as per the example below

This would be notational only. You can search on the data, but you can't sort on it.

 

[EdH 1,670]

1 hour ago, DTLow said:

Building on this idea, I have a script that appends the metadata to the bottom of the note as per the example below

 

That should NOT be required to copy the tags, creation, and modification dates of notes when you duplicate them. It isn't on Windows. There is nothing wrong with doing that of course, but hacks shouldn't be necessary to perform basic functionality.

[JDEvolutionist 2]

Thanks EdH. Interesting but way beyond my knowledge!

How would the script be applied?

Is it just a case of adding it to each note to be copied, if so can it be located anywhere within the note?

Is the appended metadata then picked up by Evernote in the normal way for note sorting etc. and can the appended script then be removed?

Where do I learn about this?

[EdH 1,670]

14 minutes ago, JDEvolutionist said:

Thanks EdH. Interesting but way beyond my knowledge!

How would the script be applied?

Is it just a case of adding it to each note to be copied, if so can it be located anywhere within the note?

Is the appended metadata then picked up by Evernote in the normal way for note sorting etc. and can the appended script then be removed?

Where do I learn about this?

@DTLow has the script, but your response is exactly my point. users should not have to resort to scripts and hacks to do this, especially when the feature already exists in the Windows version.

[DTLow 5,745]

37 minutes ago, JDEvolutionist said:

Thanks EdH. Interesting but way beyond my knowledge!

How would the script be applied?

Is it just a case of adding it to each note to be copied, if so can it be located anywhere within the note?

Is the appended metadata then picked up by Evernote in the normal way for note sorting etc. and can the appended script then be removed?

Where do I learn about this?

Anytime I want a feature that's not supplied by EN, I try to implement it using Applescript on my Mac

As an example, this discussion is regarding the update/creation date on copying notes and retaining the original.
I would write a script to copy the note and apply the original dates.
If the requirement was to add the dates to the title, I would put that into the script.
If the requirement was to add the the dates to the bottom of the note, I would put that into the script

Here are my notes on a couple of scripts
- create note from template
- append metadata to a note

Applescript is built in to the Mac OS
The script can be executed directly, or filed in a library folder, and executed via script menu on the top menu bar
I use Fastscripts so I can launch scripts with a shortcut key