Hopeful Theologian

I have the free version of Evernote. I have always had either a trial or free account and I was told that while my account was limited, it was permanent until and unless I chose to change it or to end it. However, I have just tried to open my desktop app - after a long period of illness after injury and recovery from surgery. What I get is a brief glimpse of my Notebooks and then a screen pops up saying I have reached my limit. An email that I never saw until I deliberately searched for it - although is in my inbox! - says I have reached a limit of one Notebook and 50 notes, but I still have the ability to view, edit and delete my notes, etc. But I can't. The limit screen only offers two choices - a monthly option or a 40% discount on a yearly account. Neither of these is free! I cannot even open the Desktop long enough to simply export everything. While I have far less than 50 notes, I do have more than one Notebook - indeed, I was specifically told that I could have more than one note book and have notes in each one and I have had multiple Notebooks for at least the last 3 years!. Since 4th December 2023, this is supposedly no longer possible. However, I have opened Evernote a number of times since December and had no problems and no warning at all within the app. It is true that I seemed to have more problems signing in since the most recent updates and getting locked out has only occurred since an update today. So pre-update, no problem, post-update big problem. It is fair enough that "free" accounts are limited. Evernote did not have to offer them, but having offered them and permitted me to create my note books without any negative indicators, it is very very frustrating that an app that opened with the same content a month or two ago now locks me out. This is a one-sided change of contract. All I want is to retrieve my work - and it is all work.

I totally agree, although from a different perspective. I like having the extreme left pane, with my name, the "new note" and the trash can, etc. Then I like the rest of the space to be occupied by the current note I am working on - i.e.; most of the screen. I do not need the "All Notes" pane. In its current configuration, it takes up too much space and reduces the amount of space to write in. I understand people may want it and may wish to hide the extreme left pane, etc. But at least give us the option! I spent months being told by my desktop version that there was no update. Finally decided to look online and check. Lo and behold, an update several numbers higher than my version. Once I installed it, it began trumpeting the new features - BUT no mention of removed features and reduced functionality. I appreciate that I have a free version, but I can't understand any upgrade that removes a useful feature and makes the potential workspace more cluttered. I have tried other software, but kept Evernote because I liked the interface and the way that I could organise and view my notes. Now, I feel that it is much less attractive, simply because my writing space is compressed. Yes, I can remove the extreme left hand pane, but I do not want all my notes visible in little boxes. This is not just about privacy when working near others, but about having a less cluttered work area - this does not just mean physical space, but not being distracted by notes which may have nothing to do with the current topic. Other software has better functionality for things like databases/calendars, list views and so on, but is not as easy or natural for writing with. If Evernote wants to keep its customers, including those who might upgrade, then they need to do something about this. Sadly, the fact that my software has told me for a year that there was no update, when there was, makes me think they won't bother. In which case, I have a notion that some of us will, regretfully, go elsewhere.