Outline Format Options

[ehu86 2]

Can you guys incorporate more outline formats such as the alpha numeric style of outlining: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/544/03/

I'm a student who enjoys outlining my lecture notes and medical conditions in Microsoft OneNote.

I want to replace OneNote with Evernote because your tagging system is much better.

I'm currently using Microsoft OneNote because I can select a cleaner outline formats for note taking.

For Example:

I.

A.

B.

1.

2.

a.

b.

C.

1.

2.

D.

II.

A.

C.

 

Thank you!!

[Wilf Forrow 15]

For me this needs to include selective hiding of topics and levels, live MS Word has done for ever.  So for example, I can just show levels 1 and 2 at heading level, but expand one section that I'm working on to show the detail, and lower level text.

The reason it's so important is that you can see the overview of a big document, but dive into the detail as and when you need to.  As has been said so many times, we currently have to break down big or complex notes to multiple notes, which is a pretty poor workaround.

[Lakerzphan 0]

I'd prefer the simplified outline version built into Word:

1.  North America

      a. United States

           i. California

 

Three levels would probably be enough for most, but 5ish would be even better.

[DTLow 5,697]

4 hours ago, Wilf Forrow said:

The reason it's so important is that you can see the overview of a big document, but dive into the detail as and when you need to.

For notes, outlining is a feature not currently offered by Evernote
For big documents, you might want to stick with Word, and attach the file to the note
In addition to outlining, Word offers many additional editing features

[terablade2001 5]

On 10/1/2017 at 11:24 PM, DTLow said:

For notes, outlining is a feature not currently offered by Evernote
For big documents, you might want to stick with Word, and attach the file to the note
In addition to outlining, Word offers many additional editing features

I hadn't realized it until now that I read your comment, that evernote is provided for "notes" and not for "documents".

From one point of view the two major differences between the two seems to be firstly the Headings/Ouline and secondly the Styles support.

Evernote can do so many things, including Tables handling, importing images and video files, add other files, but doesn't have any Headings/Outline support neither support styles.

Things that end-users request and want, as they want their paid and favorite tool to have the extended ability to keep also documents and not only notes, without having the need to use other programs.

For example when I'm in a meeting and want to access some information, I want to access it directly from a note, checking via Outline or scroll-through the note, without having to open all .doc files in the note trying to find out where is what I want, and waiting all files to be opened by external viewers in my "slow &low-memory" android device, making me looking "funny & lost" in the meeting!

Unfortunately recently I started to use Google-Docs to write structured documents easily accessed from PC and Android, with Headings/Outlines, which I could write them in Evernote if Headings/Outlines where at least basically supported (like e.g. as Google-Docs does)! Thus now I'm sharing Google-Docs with others, instead of Evernote-notes, with the following negative impacts:

1. I don't have the docs direct organized in my Evernote folders/tags (as I have my notes); thus I have issues on notes/docs organization which means evernote is not working efficiently (as main use of evernote is for organization/retrieval of ideas, notes, documents etc).
2. I have to redirect colleagues to use Google-Docs, instead of Evernote (which is a negative for Evernote!). This is like advertising Google-Docs instead of Evernote just because Evernote doesn't want to support basic (numbered) Heading/Outlines making a "non-productive" discrimination between "Note" and "Document". Just with this add-on Evernote note could compete Google-Docs much better!

And I'm here "complaining" somehow, because

1. I don't want to use Google-Docs but Evernote which I prefer (due to it's organization abilities) and pay for...
2. Using applications out of Evernote for editing/sharing notes/ideas/documents etc breaks/degrades the whole "organization" that evernote provides.
3. Evernote doesn't seems to want to cover our needs (and the needs of all others that want to write and share something more structural than plain notes) by simply including Headings/Outlines, anchors to them (easy access topics per heading/outline) and secondary styles at least for the Headings/Outline (for users custom format; as Google-Docs simply does).

At first I was enthusiastic about Evernote - having the impression that those basic feature extending notes to simple organized accessible documents (like Google-Docs for example) will be implemented in the future. I proposed it to my colleagues and they use it a lot. Recently I send a Google-Doc (simple Headed-Text Document with some structured ideas not just small note!) to a colleague and his first answer was: "Why didn't you send it in Evernote?".. Answer: "Ehm.. It was difficult for me to organize the document". Yes. I didn't felt very proud for the motivation I had done to them; to use evernote for our needs! I'm feeling that I did the wrong choice. Maybe!

Now, after a year and so, I'm starting to worry if this was never the plan for Evernote. This is why I got back to forums and search if there is any case these user-requests, which I believe are relative simple to be implemented,  are to be ever implemented. And when I read the above commend with the discrimination about "Note" and "Document" I became really disappoint, and decided to write all the above with good will.

I don't want Evernote to replace Word functionality in documents, but at least provide the possibility to users that seriously use it (i.e. for their work, and not just for hobby) to be able to do something more serious than just keeping plain notes and files like a "file cabinet in cloud". At the end, with the different free-templates that Evernote provides it seems that Evernote creators wants this application to be used not just for notes! Thus why to deny the use for something more useful like Simplified Organized (Outlined) Documents? Why to force us to use other applications for our relatively minor extra needs?

So, please think about the move to provide us with:

1. Headings / Outlines
2. Anchors to Outlines
3. Styles (for the Outlines at least)

thus we can have the motivation to still promote evernote as a "all-in-one tool that you need to have" when it comes to notes/ideas/simple docs/lists/collaborating and other organization issues.

[DTLow 5,697]

On 4/15/2018 at 7:25 AM, terablade2001 said:

I hadn't realized it until now that I read your comment, that evernote is provided for "notes" and not for "documents".

It is called Evernote; not Everdocument  

Actually, Evernote can store files of any format.
My data contains many documents.

[terablade2001 5]

1 hour ago, DTLow said:

It is called Evernote; not Everdocument

I agree about that.

But I think what I've write below as a Demo is also a Note (and NOT Document), that Evernote should help to easily made and support (-update) by anyone shared-editor without a lot of effort and without messing up with Headings Styles and Numbers!

And I think such kind of note, is a really useful note as you can understand it's contents with just a glance (time optimized!) (Especially if it had an a Table Of Contents preview).

 

Note-Title: Evernote and Headings dialog

 

1. About

In this dialog notes some users want Evernote to provide the ability of easy adding and handling Headings and Outline in the notes.

2. Pros & Cons of Headings in Evernote

After a lot of talking and ideas sharing I've concluded to the following Pros & Cons.

2.1. Pros

1. A lot of Evernote users registered to the forum and wrote down ideas about adding Headings/Outlines, Styles and Anchors (or Table Of Contents) inside a note.
   1. The fact that they registered and lost time to write and propose ideas, means that they really interested for the product, and they have needs that they expect the product to cover.
2. Headings/Outlines seems not to be relatively very hard to be added to the software.
   1. However they are very useful, specially when someone tries to write a note with more information that just a few lines.
3. Headings/Outlines does not correspond to strictly to Documents. They are part of notes, and in some cases they are essential - specially when keeping notes:
   1. Outlines are used for notes ([1]). → Outlines.
   2. Mind-Maps for example, which are relatively-corresponding to Outlines are used for note taking too ([2]).
4. Using other files for just to have Heading/Outlines structure on your notes
   1. Requires the use of other applications by you and your collaborators
   2. Inserts delays on access
   3. Make documents unnecessary larger (files contains extra meta non-textual information).
5. Using Headings in our notes, help us to have more structural and official notes for more serious works!
6. For notes that are relatively large Anchor links (Aka, Table Of Contents) would be useful for someone to detect easily the Outline of the note and focus on what he is interested most!
7. Evernote support collaboration (chatting, shared notes editing, etc). Without common easy-accessed (e.g. Google-Docs) Headings Style and Anchoring a collaborative note can easily become a mess!

2.2. Cons

1. Evernote  is not Everdocs
2. For Headings/Outlines you may use other software!

3. External Links and Information

1. http://sachachua.com/blog/2008/01/note-taking-random-notes-journal-entries-outlines-and-hyperlinks/
2. https://www.mindmeister.com/blog/effective-note-taking/

 

 

[DTLow 5,697]

39 minutes ago, terablade2001 said:

But I think what I've write below as a Demo is also a Note (and NOT Document), that Evernote should help to easily made and support (-update) by anyone shared-editor without a lot of effort and without messing up with Headings Styles and Numbers!

I was just having fun with the note vs document thing.
Yes, Evernote could improve the editor and add features.  The only limitation is the enml/html format used for notes.

My point was was that I'm not going to be restricted by any limitations with the Evernote editor.
I am going to use the tools that provide me the features I need.

[Jaemaz 2]

Please implement a basic outline hierarchy that differentiates between levels.

[DTLow 5,697]

7 minutes ago, Jaemaz said:

Please implement a basic outline hierarchy that differentiates between levels.

What kind of differentiation are you looking for?

Evernote's list feature is very basic - you get bullets/numbers and indentation
 

[Eric Goldstein 0]

Found this cheap app that does the outlining and ties to Evernote:

Cloud Outliner:  https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cloud-outliner-2-pro-outline/id1024917449?mt=12

[Wilf Forrow 15]

3 hours ago, Eric Goldstein said:

Cloud Outliner:  https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cloud-outliner-2-pro-outline/id1024917449?mt=12 

Thanks Eric.  I just tried Cloud Outliner 2 on my Mac and iPad.  It is pretty amazing and very cheap, and isn't far off what I think is the solution, EXCEPT for the fact it's not integrated into EN. 

I was hoping that any changes I made in EN would be maintained in Cloud Outliner, so you could switch backwards and forwards pretty easily, editing in either.  It started off looking as if it would work, based on a few simple changes, but as soon as I did anything complicated, like adding new lines, indenting, etc, it started losing some of the EN data, and that's a huge no-no for me.  It might not be far off, and the sync itself worked better than I dared hope.

I'll carry on testing, but for me, it's probably not integrated enough and solid enough to be useful - yet.  For others it might be ok.

[bmat 5]

On 12/3/2018 at 10:13 AM, DTLow said:

On 12/3/2018 at 10:04 AM, Jaemaz said:

Please implement a basic outline hierarchy that differentiates between levels.

What kind of differentiation are you looking for?

Evernote's list feature is very basic - you get bullets/numbers and indentation
 

Just came across this thread.  @DTLowit appears all google evernote searches lead to you!

I'd really love to see basic markdown style headings at the least.  ie

# for heading1

## for heading 2

etc... with adjustable styles

if you haven't already, check out https://typora.io/.  it is an amazing tool for creating quick structured notes / documents.  evernote's editor would do well to grab some of their tricks... feels really clunky not to be able to quickly do styled outline headings...

 

[DTLow 5,697]

6 hours ago, bmat said:

I'd really love to see basic markdown style headings at the least.  ie   
# for heading1   
## for heading 2

A different topic but we've actually seen this in the latest beta versions   
Fixed format though; no option to adjust the format styles

[bmat 5]

On 5/12/2020 at 5:11 AM, DTLow said:

A different topic but we've actually seen this in the latest beta versions   
Fixed format though; no option to adjust the format styles

ah. right. quick look thought this thread was on outlining in general (which styles support), not outline format...    fixed formats is a positive step

[pwdennis2 2]

This is desperately needed, and I just can't believe so many years have gone by without implementing it. The distinction between a note and a document is meaningless. A note is a kind of document. Clearly Evernote isn't meant for manuscript preparation, but more complex outlines and pre-defined styles are important to organize thoughts and information meaningfully and usefully.

[RubyRed 4]

I've been a paying premium member for over a decade now and am amazed that the outlining feature hasn't been improved beyond the very basic level that's available. This post is right on and this is the level of outlining that should be available. 

1. It's the right thing to do.
   1. As you can see, this form of tabbing in and getting a sub 1. under 1. makes zero sense. 
      1. who the heck outlines like this? 
         1. I rest my case.