Read-Only Option for Notes

[alexferen 31]

Hi... Tried EN many moons ago, then went with OneNote but EN's cloud and accessible anywhere features are bringing me back...Enough kudos...

Is there a way to mark a note as "read-only" so I cannot accidentally erase or modify it? Thanks. Alex

[Shane D. 1,627]

Hi All,

You may have noticed that all threads requesting the ability to lock notes and make them read only have been merged into this thread, regardless of platform specificity. 

This was done in order to better enable us to quantify and qualify user requests, and amplify their voice.

While this does not mean this is a feature that will be coming, we certainly want to relay user feedback/sentiment to our various teams.

Moving forward, please put all commentary and votes for the ability to lock notes and make them read only support here!

[Wilf Forrow 9]

+1  It's just too easy to lose data to accidental edits.  Even if I spot it, its hard to undo on iOS, but often I don't until too late.

Here's what I would like, in descending order of importance:

1) Specify that all notes are read only until edit mode is specifically enabled on each note - eg by button or menu.  Ideally a user setting per platform, so that people could better protect their iPad, which is often left around, without restricting their PC.  Read only notes would still allow non-destructive operations such as searching, selecting, copying, printing, etc.  Ideally, the first time the editor detects a change on a read-only note, it would prompt to ask whether to enable edit mode.

2) If that is too hard, then show a highly visible 'change marker' whenever an edit is detected, so I can undo it if was accidental.  Ideally, a brightly coloured button in the note title, which would be cleared automatically when I closed the note window, or when I clicked it to acknowledge the change, and showing the time it was last edited (to distinguish previous deliberate edits in the same session).  Ideally the button would include an 'undo' option, especially for iOS if you have disabled the 'shake to undo' function.

3) Less important, but very useful (to me anyway).  Specify that individual notes or notebooks are read only.  Perhaps by a special tag of 'ReadOnly'?  Perhaps require elevated authorisation to enable edits - perhaps by Evernote password.

[The_Diamond_Z 4]

+1 - just a lock to prevent accidental editing would be a start.

[Eduardo Estefano 76]

Bump. Extremely useful for Business users.

[Crunchy 0]

+1, Strongly agree!

I have my new phone with incredibly sentitive screen and tons of false movements/scrolls are mistreated as edit request to the app, often starting to edit the note, when I am just reading and scrolling over it. Insanely annoying.

 

Devs, please, add one simple checbox to the mobile app, which forbids editing either this one or all the notes.

 

Thanks!

[Ryan Chen 1]

Need it!

I usually accidentally edit my note... I really need read-only mode or some lock mechanism.

Please help us to add this new feature!!

[Seafood 0]

Need it!

[elnino0606 0]

Need it!

[Xelrash 0]

YES! I need this option :(

 

[foo 4]

+1 for a ready only note feature also

[Libor1988 1]

Damn, it is more than 2 years since this request arose. 

We can vote here like fools but it leads nowhere. So now, (1) I will vote here and then (2) I will go to use www.Notion.so wich is much more progressive on the development side and now fully interchangeble with evernote (moreover, Notion.so is free). 

Ok, last item - No  (3) - In 2020 I will check again if Evernote has finally noticed this request and start developing this feature

Edited September 3, 2018 by Libor1988
I do not want this post to be hidden!

[JarnoP 3]

I want this to keep important information safe from (own) accidental edits.

[MAmirN 1]

This option is so necessary like what Android App already has, really I don't know why Ever_Note programmers neglected it for Windows.
Thanks

[Mikhail Osher 0]

Not sure if it happens really often, but it will make my life such easier. Every time I open my notes with sensitive data I'm scared to erase something by accident.

[gngyyen 0]

Need it!

[Ram KK 2]

I SOOO need this feature. I would like to use Evernote as my Read-it-later like service. But with accidental edits, it is discoursing me from using it. just have a button or something that converts a note into a read only mode so we can customize what becomes read only and what can be edited.

[GeoffT 3]

+1 
It would be great to have a little 'padlock' in the heading of a note, to lock the subject, body and attachments in a note... to prevent accidental changes.

[MortimerCat 5]

+1  I access my notes on a tablet whilst on a train, many times I have accidentally inserted/deleted/moved/lost formatting as the train bumps along.  Yes, we have the history but that is not a quick click to restore an earlier version - That would be an alternative feature - the ability to restore an earlier version without any kerfuffle.  I also discovered that the versioning is not 100% reliable - The versioning is not a record of edits, they are snapshots taken at random intervals. The earliest version of my document was the initial webclip plus my accidental edit, i.e. the snapshot was taken too late for me.

[Steve Pringle 0]

yes

[Caul 4]

+1

[muhadi 4]

+1

[kmkonline 3]

+1

[rbhandacs 0]

+1

[ddcen 2]

So many reasons this is a good idea.

Receipts and invoices come to mind...

[dorothea 4]

Me too.  Would hopefully help the accidental deletion/modification of notes, especially in shared notebooks.

[stof 2]

+1

I really need this functionality.  It's very easy to accidentally make changes and not realize it.

[wiseboy303 1]

+1 - would really like this feature after accidentally deleting important information whilst looking at it for reference. It's the reason i keep more important information in an alternative app that has a read-only feature, but i would much rather keep everything in Evernote.

[tavor 662]

+1 

It's easy to accidentally alter a note and not even realize the note has been unintentionally altered. Having the option to toggle selected notes as read-only is a good compromise between easy/quick editing and preserving the integrity of notes that the user considers 'finalized' or notes the user deems important enough that he/she is willing to take the extra step to unlock for editing.

[taro yamada 0]

+1

[Andrey Prokhorov 0]

+1

[z3rostr1fe 0]

This is definitely useful when you have a handful of templates that you use for some notes. +1

[Pete Wylie 0]

A read only option will be a great feature. It will be very useful as many of the notes I create are needed in the future for me to

copy and paste from but the data they contain is constant and I can't have it getting overwritten, alot of my notes are made so I can reference them later but it would be great if they were better protected from myself making a mistake with them.

 

 

[AndrewZav 0]

+1 Great idea!

[Mojomama22 1]

I completely agree this feature is vital.  I've lost several important notes or sections or notes due to a swipe of the keyboard mistakenly.  +1 and then some

[amberdawn 1]

+1 It would be so beneficial to have the ability to do read-only notes. Please make this a feature!

[Manu__ 0]

+1

[ketchup6 2]

+1 

I want this feature because I keep a journal in Evernote where the dates matter, and making any edit to an old note will change its date to today.

[epc049 0]

+1

[annbelievesinwhales 0]

+1

I noticed there have been requests for this for many years. What's happening with it? Is it currently in the works? Has evernote ever addressed why this hasn't been added? I think the last thread I read was from 2011 so I wonder if they just decided not to. If it's not going to happen I'll see if onenote or something else has this option cause I really need it.

Signed,

Someone with a cat who likes to walk on her keyboard... lol

[hiperfocal 0]

+1

[Maarten Impens 0]

+1

This is absolutely necessary when using Evernote for collaboration in large groups.

Accidental deletion is all too easy and a real problem.

[Eduardo Estefano 76]

+1 Please implement on all platforms!

[OliverR 4]

+1 It would be very useful to remind yourself to no longer update a note. 

[Bank_Thailand 0]

I also need this function. +1

[DouglasFerguson 0]

+1 - I have a note with my EIN and another with my KTN. I'd love to be able to "lock" these notes.

It is especially troubling on the iOS app. WAY too easy to accidentally edit things.

[bb18 0]

it is a needed feature. so many accidents created enormous loss. 

[pgielzak 5]

Do it! its great idea to have some kind of lock button (like in layers in photoshop) to lock/unlock notes. 

[Mr Martinez 0]

+1 Yes please. This seems like a wonderful idea.

Although if you are accidentally deleting just the content, keep in mind that you can see a history of your edits and revert back to that one by copying the content.

 

[UncleRic 19]

I really don't understand why Evernote™ isn't looking into this.

There's an obvious demand for it.

[sonieee 0]

+1

I am amazed that this is not a thing! I use Evernote for recipes and other home reference notes and am always accidentally editing the notes on my iPhone/iPad when using them. It’s so frustrating. Since this post has been around for two years without any change, I guess I won’t hold my breath

[Eduardo Estefano 76]

120 Votes; bump

[EWest 3]

This is a great idea. I'm a scientist who uses Evernote as an easily searchable lab notebook that is accessible to (and sometimes editable by) labmates and collaborators, and it's very important to me to have the ability to prevent accidental or intentional modifications of scientific records. The read-only feature would also help to ensure that notes remain in chronological order, whereas now, an accidental keystroke while reading an old note bumps it up to the top of the notebook, making it harder to stay organized.

Finally, much like writing lab notes in pen, allowing users to make a note read-only (especially if it could be done automatically after some time interval) would help to build confidence in scientific integrity by alleviating concerns about fudged data; descriptions of methodology tampered with after the fact; and inadvertent, uncaught deletions of records and results.

I love your product, Evernote, but I'm always keeping an eye out for alternatives with similar functionality plus the ability to lock notes. If you added this feature, I would be much more likely to stay.

[Andy Brown 1]

I've been wanting this option for years. If it's read-only by choice, where the user knows the consequences of unlocking if prior to editing, then there shouldn't be an issue. 

[Riccardo La Monica 2]

PLEASE make notes readonly via tag.

Another year is passed away and we are still waiting this option that is easy to implement!!!

Thanks

[alexferen 31]

No, but you could tag it and then be careful when you empty your trash.

But I guess I would be careful in first place, but that's not what I'm after - anyone can delete something by an accident.

[jorneyr 1]

My Laptop is 15', so I would want to more space to read the note.

I think it would be better if it provides a read-only mode for the NoteEditorView, using a button to toggle the mode between read-only mode and readwrite mode.

In the read-only mode, hide the title bar, format tool bar, link and css bar etc, only retain the contents panel is enough.

[heather 604]

Actually, as of January, we added the ability on the back-end to make specific notes Read-only in the clients. It's currently only available via API.

This is an interesting idea, to allow users to turn on that switch.

[meyu 2]

I love keeping track of recipes in Evernote and clipping ones I find on the web.

 

I hate that often in the middle of cooking I accidentally edit and delete parts of the recipe. Its extremely frustrating, and it happens often enough that I'm trying to find another option browse my recipes.

 

Please consider adding an option to lock notes from editing!

[Maur9ice 2]

I found this thread not because I'm trying to prevent myself from messing up my notes, but a "Read-only option for individual notes and notebooks alike is useful when you need to share a note or notebook with someone but you don't want that other person or people modifying the note.

It's hard to believe when the Evernote team conceived this app that they wouldn't consider the usefulness of making some notes read only; especially shared notes and notebooks.

[lmhaskins 0]

I also came to this note looking for a way to make a note "read-only" so that I do not accidentally modify it.  Also, l like sorting by last-modified, and I hate it when I have a years-old note and I fumble-finger something and now it's considered modified, and therefore shows up at the top of my list.

 

I'd like the read-only checkbox in the Info box (web version), if I had my choice of where to mark it read-only.

 

(I use the web interface the most since Evernote doesn't have a Linux client)

 

Edit: another thing is that I copy from articles I've stored, and when I try to copy some text, it goes into editor mode, which unselects the text I've selected, and takes a while for it to calm down for me to select the text again (web version).

[Daniel Perez 0]

The feature to make a note read-only is a MUST HAVE feature.

Trash is not an option, we're talking about editing by mistake a note, even deleting some content, image or something else. So it's very important to make a note readonly.

[MorningSong 0]

I would like to have this feature too! 

It's been many times I accidentally edited my notes.  

Suggestion:

Make current version by default, so if people like the current way, they will not get effected;

Make a "Lock Notes" flag somewhere, for people would like to have their notes locked by default, they could do so buy setting the flag. 

 

Thank you! 

[Don Dz 159]

Hello.  Currently the Android app default is to show a note in read only mode, then tap the pencil symbol to edit.  This additional step is helpful to prevent accidental edits or deletions.  I would like to request the same in Windows as a general setting under options.  Too many times an accidental brush of the keyboard or mouse has cause a disaster, which is a discouragement from keeping Evernote open all the time.

Thanks for listening.

[DTLow 5,560]

I added my vote.  I'm thinking this request for read-only access should apply to  all platforms.

You might check the forum for existing requests before posting.  There are other requests for this feature, and multiple requests cause the vote to be split.

Its interesting that Android has this feature

[kev wags 0]

Would love to see a "read mode" added to the UI so that all notes are locked from editing when switched on. I have inadvertently edited notes multiple times while simply attempting to reference a note and scroll to read on my iPad. I'm sure others have experienced this as well - seems like a simple thing to implement. Thanks!

[tavor 662]

On Android, by default, all notes are locked, and requires pressing an onscreen button to enter edit mode. In my opinion, this is the perfect solution for mobile devices, where the vast majority of note access is for reading, not editing.

Desktop is a different story, where editing may be very common. But as @JMichaelTX mentioned earlier, multiple concurrent windows and multiple monitors are common these days. I have multiple monitors and more windows than I can count open at any time, including multiple EN note windows. There have been many times where I start typing thinking the desired window is active and it turns out some other window is the active window.

Seems to me the optimal solution here is not to default to locked state for all notes (which would require an unlock step prior to editing every note - this could become very onerous very quickly for those who edit notes frequently - think about journals, task lists, etc.), but to give the user an option to lock notes. So notes are unlocked by default and editable. But the user has the option to put the note in a locked state, which requires an unlock step prior to editing (can be a simple one-click unlock). Users can then lock down all their reference notes and other notes they don't anticipate updating frequently.

[Eduardo Estefano 76]

+1 

I would also like to see some sort of protection for an encrypted block. It is very easy to delete the block accidentally. And if you are not premium with access to Note history, you are in trouble.

[neekk 0]

+1   I will be lovin' it!    Especially for mobile devices.

[eric99 280]

Evernote just lost  17 new users due to this missing feature:  in our organization we considered  Evernote for our shared  database for shared documents and collaboration. Unfrotunately we rejected evernote because we can't afford our precious data  be accidentally deleted without knowing it.

All team members need to be able to change and add documents, so we can't solve this with the sharing access levels. We really need a read-only option per note or at least a delete confirmation dialog.

I'm baffled that this is still not implemented,  I can't believe that Evernote will ever be used as a professional collaborative database without this feature...

 

[Surya Halim 5]

7 hours ago, eric99 said:

Evernote just lost  17 new users due to this missing feature:  in our organization we considered  Evernote for our shared  database for shared documents and collaboration. Unfrotunately we rejected evernote because we can't afford our precious data  be accidentally deleted without knowing it.

All team members need to be able to change and add documents, so we can't solve this with the sharing access levels. We really need a read-only option per note or at least a delete confirmation dialog.

I'm baffled that this is still not implemented,  I can't believe that Evernote will ever be used as a professional collaborative database without this feature...

 

If my understanding is correct regarding Evernote Enterprise having feature parity with Evernote Premium, then note versioning is supported so that you can revert to previous versions of a note in case of accidental edits. It still would be much better to prevent accidentals in the first place by having an explicit 'edit button' to change to edit mode and 'finish button' to change back to read-only mode for a note. A feature that seems to be easy to implement, but without any knowledge of what the technical backlog looks like, source code, or in-depth understanding of Evernote architecture, it is difficult to tell.

As for delete confirmation dialog, Evernote always asks for user confirmation on note deletion even for Free version (I think) -- there is a post in one of the forums asking an option to turn delete confirmation off for being too annoying.

[eric99 280]

4 hours ago, Surya Halim said:

If my understanding is correct regarding Evernote Enterprise having feature parity with Evernote Premium, then note versioning is supported so that you can revert to previous versions of a note in case of accidental edits.

Note versioning doesn't help if you don't realize that something was accidentally removed in your note. In Evernote for windows, it is much too easy to delete a pdf attachment thumbnail, especially because it is automatically selected while opening the document. Once selected a spurious delete is sufficient to remove the thumb accidentally.

Can you please explain me how I can activate the confirmation box for this kind of deletions?

[onatbas 10]

1 hour ago, DTLow said:

Thanks for the post on a read-only solution for notes

I like that your solution runs in the cloud. I investigated implementing read-only by updating the contentClass field, but could only implement on my Mac

Your unlock process is awkward.  I'd prefer a simple unlock of the note instead of: 

• This will create a duplicate of the same note in your default notebook, which you can edit (title and content only). After you're done with it, add "makemigration" tag to this duplicate, without changing prior tags, and sync. After a minute or so, this duplicate will be deleted and your original will be updated with the content you provided in the duplicate.

Haha yeah. Unfortunately, there’s absolutely no way of reverting a readonly note to a modifiable state. ContentClass is immutable and you’re not allowed to change it. What i did is a workaround. 

[UncleRic 19]

This concern has been discussed for nearly TWO years.

What's the intent/status from Evernote™?

[Eduardo Estefano 76]

Yes! Specially when you have encrypted text. Please please implement!

[tricacel@gmail.com 1]

Yes, Evernote should have the option to set a note in read-only mode, I usually use software code, and I have critical software code in Evernote, I would be better if I can lock my note.

Thanks for listening.

Tito

 

[UncleRic 19]

It's about time we heard from Evernote™ about having some sort of locking or equivalent paradigm.

[UncleRic 19]

I'll move back to the end of the line here with a chant: "Lock it Up".☝️

[marc_k 0]

+1

Just a simple "Lock Notebook" option would suffice. To edit any Note in that Notebook, user can "Unlock Notebook". That's it.

It would help A LOT.

Across all platforms.

Thank you guys. Great product! I love Evernote!

[U M C 0]

+ 1   Lock note.

Baffling and disappointing that this type of most basic note functionality hadn't been available from the outset and has not yet been implemented in spite of the genuine demand and need. 

Serious user for 6 years and premium for 3 years now. 

Use it all the time but finding Evernote ridiculously limiting, lacking in features, and beginning to feel unsophisticated in every way. No impressive improvements - came to a standstill.

Going to have to start looking elsewhere. Heaps of similar apps on the market now.

[greg w. 0]

Marking notes or entire notebooks as read-only is a must-have feature.

[Ammein Nashrin 0]

I NEED THIS FEATURE ! As a UIUX Designer , I agree that this should be implemented in Evernote. There are a lot of types of users who are using this app with specific purpose. Important to make this feature to those user who wants to lock sensitive notes. In mobile, the tap area is wider to make it "Accidentally" press the content to edit. For user who did not notice this "accidental" behavior , they might change / edit / or even remove and accidentally update the content. For PRO users , they can revert back the history. But not for Normal User , which will affects emotions and frustration , finally quit and uninstall the app. This feature is truly needed for EVERY USERS. 

For better solutions :

Make an option for user to enable this READ-ONLY/LOCK NOTE in each note setting or notebook setting. This should be set manually by user themselves.

[eric99 280]

On 12/11/2018 at 4:25 PM, DTLow said:

Evernote has a revision history feature; more info at https://help.evernote.com/hc/en-us/articles/208313858-How-to-use-note-history-to-view-older-versions-of-a-note

I also maintain my own version using incremental backups

 

What good are these backups if  you don't know which notes have been  altered accidentally?

[DTLow 5,560]

53 minutes ago, eric99 said:

What good are these backups if  you don't know which notes have been  altered accidentally?

The backups provide for recovery when I know a note has been altered/deleted accidentally.

As to the unknown; I have no detection process in place.  
But when a problem is discovered, I'm able to recover.  
In most cases, it's not a serious problem until I need to access the note.

[AlbertWritesNotes 0]

I would also like to second the idea of some sort of locking mechanism for the notes. I have been using evernotes for almost a decade, and this feature is very much needed.

[Govind Krishnan 0]

This feature will help to avoid accidental modification of crucial notes.

[DmitriE 0]

A must-have!  Can't believe this essential feature hasn't been implemented, after 2.5 years since the original request

[Bestranger 0]

4 years and still nothing ? We need this function !

[Tracy Love 0]

Yes! I need this, it's too easy to accidentally change a note and not realize it until months later after you've made other revisions (deliberately), so restoring it to a previous version isn't a good option in this instance.

[onatbas 10]

On 1/22/2019 at 4:17 PM, flaviof said:

I'm getting a 404 for that link. then again, it is almost 2 years old. :^)  Anyone have news on this?
 

Hey! Thank you for noticing that. It was broken for a little while as I was doing some updates, moved the server etc. It's up and running now again.

I actually made some simplifications to the usage. Please have a look at this page:

http://onat.me/readonlymaker
 

Sorry for the inconvenience caused by the downtime. 

---

Here are the changes, a release note per se:

1. It's just "lock" for locking and "unlock" for unlocking. 

2. No makemigration, as it was virtually never used.

3. Optimizations for the rate limit. heavy users, won't be blocked out due to rate limits of evernote.

4. Servers moved to google cloud from predix, so uptime will not suffer platform issues anymore.

 

 

Happy locking!

 

[Rizputin 1]

Way overdue for this, especially on touch/iOS devices. Every time I open a note (recipes) it gets edited by accident.

[GogBoggs 0]

Love this idea!  Make it a user-option for existing notes to "default to editable" or "default to locked".  Make "default to editable" the default option so current users aren't surprised by a change.

[eric99 280]

On 1/8/2019 at 3:42 PM, gazumped said:

 This particular suggestion has 11 votes - some current requests have over 100. 

Actually, a similar readonly request has 161 votes, which is the 9th place in the popularity list !

https://discussion.evernote.com/topic/99143-read-only-option-for-notes/page/2/

 

[Guo, Yong Kang 0]

Vote + 1

Because I'm the user who is often accidentally typing to a wrong window. When I notice what I've done, I cannot restore what's previously in that note.

Sometimes the note is important. I would like the EN to at least warn me before the content is changed.

[lot 332 0]

I really want this feature too. I know on android the default is to lock the note but on the PC I've sometimes edited and deleted things which is very annoying if you're not paying attention.

 

If they simply add another setting to notes to be either locked (read only) or unlocked. (You could have the option to default to either option in preferences. But also then just have a little icon on the toolbar with a padlock or something intuitive. It would take next to no extra data to store that feature and make things so much better.

I've considered using an online wiki instead because you can open the notes in read only mode or editing mode. And when I just want to look up my notes without editing them accidentally that would be really important as a feature to me.

[lot 332 0]

I completely second the idea of having a read only button that can be toggled on and off  and also set as default or not in preferences.

[Eyklee 0]

It's been 2 years and it's too long.  There were so many times that my notes were accidentally edited just by holding the phone in my hand or in my pocket.

[Tburgueso 2]

I’ve asked for this repeatedly, and for years. If I’m bouncing along with a handheld device on some sort of public transportation, it’s just far too easy to inadvertently modify or remove content that I was simply attempting to consult. I don’t understand why a response to a problem statement which is obviously widely recognized is always answered with a boilerplate “That’s a great idea!” response. I don’t even care if the ability to protect the state of a note requires the equivalent of simultaneously patting my head, rubbing my belly, and standing on one leg; if I believe the state of a document to be precious, I want to be able to mark it as such.

[Eduardo Estefano 76]

4 minutos atrás, UncleRic disse:

Fortunately, paid users have the history option so it's possible to revert any inadvertent changes; via

the three dots (...) menu in the upper right corner.   

This helps partially only.

You can't tell if the note was changed unless you look for it specifically in the history. This read-only feature is to prevent these changes from happening.

[Tburgueso 2]

3 hours ago, DTLow said:

My work-around solution is using a feature provided by third party Filterize.

>>I’ve asked for this repeatedly, and for years.

Your account shows a single post

Yes, I’m new to this forum. However, the oldest Evernote note I still have filed is dated 28 October, 2008. I’m uninterested in talking about Evernote. I’m interested in talking to Evernote, so they can build a tool which is better suited to my needs. I’ve used hammers for about 70 years, and am equally uninterested in talking about them.

[DoctorLex 0]

This is vital !!!