GrumpyMonkey

Exactly. The damage is done and I don't trust them anymore. Especially given that they are rolling it back temporarily until they decide to take it away again. Are we supposed to invest our time in creating content for a public notebook just to have them take it away again? I get the impression that the rolling back may have been just to appease us for a while, in that "this will shut them up for a little while and then we will just announce it before taking it away again next month, or within a year, or next year..." Or maybe they will switch that feature over to the business accounts, which amounts to the same thing, really. Yep. I've had my public notebook for many years, and I have been a longtime advocate of public (and private) notebooks, especially in the classrom. I'm shutting mine down, and you'll notice (if you saw my posts before in the forum) that the link is gone from my signature. https://www.evernote.com/pub/mayo-christopher/public I'm not going to spend time (even the little bit that this public notebook entailed) working on a notebook if it might be abandoned any day. I certainly will not ever incorporate sharing into my syllabi again, because as a professional educator, I am unwilling to use tools that might disappear any day. I at least need them to stick around for the semester. I strongly recommend that other educators (many of whom were probably shocked at the beginning of the semester to see one of their tools disappear) consider backup options if they go through with using public notebooks. As you can probably guess, I am pretty flummoxed by all of this. I don't think anyone is asking for a detailed roadmap of future developments at Evernote, but just a few commitments to existing features and a reconsideration of how they go about making radical changes to the service. Unfortunately, I see the way this occurred as part of a longstanding pattern of inadequately notifying users. I really hope they change their approach and consider the 100 million plus lives that are affected every time they do something.

Yep. This is precisely the problem with Evernote's approach. They have never identified what are "core" features that they will keep and "experimental" ones that may or may not stay in the service. Publicly shared notebooks are one of their oldest features, and if that can be abandoned any moment, just like the mobile site (also old, and also dropped without notice), then is Evernote willing to commit to anything? The service aims to stay around for 100 years, but if they cannot commit to features, I don't see how this app will be feasible for users over the long term. My complaint here isn't about what is or is not in the app (I have complaints about that elsewhere), but about their unwillingness to pbulicly commit, notify users in advance of changes, and respect the fact that people are organizing their lives around the wonderful features that developers have created.

I can't help notice that you said you would roll back the change "for now." Sounds like you will UNroll it again in the future? Can you please be more specific? If this will EVER be unrolled again, then I will still have the same problem I have now, and Evernote will cease to be functional for me. i don't mean to disparage evernote here, but i would not expect anything to stick around, especially in evernote's startup phase. everything is pretty much in a constant state of flux, and we can expect more changes in the future. i don't think anyone at evernote can honestly say the feature will stay. i don't like this change. i'm one of those educators / users who has heavily promoted and used shared stuff in many forms. but, they have to do what they think is best.that being said, unannounced, sudden changes wreak havoc on professional educators. the timing of this just as the semester starts in many places really could not have been handled more ineptly. seriously. this kind of disregard for users -- pulling features, waiting to see how pissed off people get, and then putting them back in (called a/b testing by some) is a very bad way to build trust and brand loyalty among professionals who rely on this for their livelihood. in other words, evernote can make whatever decision they want in the future, but when it comes to abandoning support for things (the mobile web site, sharing, text to speech, etc.) they really ought to check themselves before they wreck themselves. announce, get feedback, implement, evaluate please.

i was wondering where this thread went! glad to see the linux folks out beating the drums. keep it up! i may not agree about the need for a linux client, but i strongly agree about the web client. it is ok, but i try to avoid it whenever possible, and i can't even access it at all on ios, so it really is in need of some tlc.

Hi. On iOS (?) you cannot stop this from happening. Sorry.

Thanks for keeping the thread alive with more than a +1 or a bump. I'm also crossing my fingers and hoping something is on the way. Strangely, I don't see a whole lot of movement anywhere for zero-knowledge encryption in the marketplace. Sure, there are services like SpiderOak, but it's been around for a while. Where are the newcomers in the note-taking realm? I don't see any multi-platform competitors (devonthink and voodoopad are solid apps with great security features, but lack Windows support). Maybe people are apathetic after all, there just isn't enough demand, and people think the current situation is good enough. It is true that Evernote has rather strong security features now, but they aren't mining my data, so they have so much less than other companies to lose by offering more encryption options.

I'm definitely one of those who isn't happy about the ribbon interface. Though to be fair, Microsoft does have excellent free tutorials available for all of it's core programs. And the users forum, while not as nicely laid out as this one, does have have a number of very knowledgeable and helpful volunteers. I'm curious, Grumpy, what was the situation where they wanted to charge you to speak to a live company rep, if you don't mind sharing? I don't know if it had anything to do with my problem or not, but (1) problems with memory issues and crashing on the Mac, (2) problems with vertical Japanese text support on the Mac, and (3) license inactivated because it was supposedly used on too many computers. If I remember correctly, they wanted 45 dollars.

Unless you know something I don't, Spotlight remains the same old useless feature. It'll do more with the web now, I think, but still cannot access the content of non-apple stuff.

I've also recommended more than once on these forums that Evernote remove their notebook limit and provide notebook hierarchies, if for no other reason, because it will surely make the app more appealing to users who prefer hierarchies and the notebook / folder metaphor. I'm not against the idea. And, as you said, there is no harm in asking, and I encourage users to continue asking for it. However,I don't think the lesson to be drawn from those two companies is that they failed because they ignored the feature requests of their users. In both cases, the circumstances of their demise (they are both, technically speaking, still eking out an existence on some devices) are quite complex and their fates cannot be reduced simply (or at all?) to obstinate designers. I think academics, lawyers, and others who enjoyed WordPerfect would argue that it responded better to their requests than Microsoft ever did. If you asked developers of the WordPerfect software, they might blame Microsoft's business practices for its failure. Although Novell eventually lost its suit against Microsoft, I don't think the result of the legal case has exonerated Microsoft -- I imagine there is more to be written about this by historians. Microsoft, at least in my experience, has hardly been a model company when it comes to adopting the suggestions made by users. I'm sure there are plenty of users who still loathe the ribbon interface, for example, but Microsoft hasn't backed down on it. When was the last time you had a conversation with a developer there? The last time I tried to contact the company about bugs they wanted to charge me money for the privilege of getting in touch with a human being. All of this nitpicking is just to say that the refusal of a company like Evernote to take a certain direction with its design doesn't necessarily mean that they are "ignoring" the needs of customers or that they will then be subject to inevitable punishment from mysterious market forces. It might simply be (as it seems to be in this case) that they are listening, responding to users, but disagreeing. It happens all of the time in all areas of life. They might have genuinely significant personal, technical, aesthetic, and other reasons for doing what they do. In fact, I expect they do! I doubt it is mere whimsy or stubbornness. Considering the long history of complaints about this aspect of the app, I am guessing it has come up once or twice as a topic of discussion in meetings

They are and they aren't. Google Drive (last I checked) is still unencrypted and mined for data by Google. When there is encryption, who has the encryption keys? In most cases, the service provider, so you still cannot guarantee the security of your data. What's the point of encryption if everyone can still look at it? If Evernote does encryption, then it ought to get it right with zero-knowledge encryption, and (as far as I can tell) very few competing services are anywhere close to having it. The best ones I know of are relatively small operations restricted to OSX (Voodoopad and DevonThink). If Evernote manages it, then it will be a pioneer -- the first among the major companies to offer cross-platform support.

Fortunately, I doubt the software developers are tasked to design backpacks. In fact, a lot of the work is clearly being done by other companies who are designing and manufacturing the products.Also, Evernote's competitors are already doing this. Devonthink has wifi sync for its iOS app through iTunes (avoiding the cloud entirely) and it encrypts is database when synced through Dropbox (sync through Dropbox + iOS isn't here yet). Voodoopad also has a fully encrypted database synced through Dropbox. The problem is that neither app on iOS is anywhere near the sophistication of Evernote's. Moreover, they only work on iOS / Mac. I get a lot of use out of them for sensitive materials, because I am primarily in an Apple environment, but I think very few people will be willing to accept the tradeoffs. What Evernote is doing on every platform is pushing into new territory. Rolling out encryption that works, assuming they are trying to do it, is no small task. This isn't to excuse the delay, which is also extremely frustrating for me (I cannot tell you how many hours I have spent trying to deal with this deficiency), but it might help to explain why there might be one and why no one else has managed (or likely will in the near future) to challenge them in this tech space. The only product I can imagine that is even close would be OneNote, but that app is so anemic on iOS and Mac that even it is unlikely to be a serious contender.

True. "Soon" would have been sometime in 2010 or so for me We don't know why it hasn't happened yet. Trouble behind the scenes? Maybe. A push to get it right? Probably. A lack of interest? I doubt it. But, we don't know, so the best we can do is to keep pushing for it. In the meantime, as I often say, adapt to the app that is rather than the one you want it to be. Local notebooks work pretty well for some use cases, using different apps for sensitive materials works for others.

Paying or not, we all have a voice, and we're free to make suggestions here (or elsewhere). That's what the discussion boards are here for, and Evernote staff read all of it. Personally, I think that encrypted notebooks are critical for Evernote to develop, because even the "average" user has significant needs for encryption (tax stuff, work stuff, bank statements, health records, your kid's report cards, and anything else that isn't anyone else's business). When you deal with other people's confidential information, it is even more important. Yes, you can encrypt each file or text passage one by one (something I've recommended up until recently), but it is quite a pain when you are talking about hundreds or thousands of instances, and I'd sure like to see something more user friendly. My guess is that Evernote recognizes the necessity and is working hard on providing an elegant solution ("sexy" in their words) to the problem. I just hope that we see it sooner rather than later.

Hi. Welcome to the forums. Try cmd + ctrl + k. I'm not sure why it is hidden either. I think the shortcut is preferable to the menu, so at least we have that

hi,your post made me wonder whether titling everything by date is redundant or not, 'cuz can't we already do that with sort by created?? just curious... let me know if there are any differences. Thanks in advance. Hi. Yes, it is redundant. But, it makes my notes more portable (unique titles help to avoid problems and ensure that they retain some semblance of order when I carry them in and out of other apps), it means I don't have to change sorts, and I can adjust the dates as needed (a pain on the Mac and impossible on the iPad using the fields). The ultimate minimalist workflow would be to just toss everything into your account and rely on the search features and sorts to manage it. This is entirely doable. However, you may have a tough time moving out of Evernote if you need to in the future, and you'll probably be better off working on the desktop versions of Evernote. It's up to you, but the string of numbers (20140528) at the beginning doesn't hurt anything.

Hi. The data is not encrypted on Evernote's servers. It would be nice if they did encrypt it, but I don't want Evernote (or anyone else) to have the key, so I am hoping that if/when they implement a more powerful encryption method that it is "zero knowledge."

Hi. Great to see you on the forums, and it's nice to have lots of different viewpoints, but I think this criticism isn't quite accurate. The Evernote employees are clearly listening -- they are right here in this thread. http://discussion.evernote.com/topic/45551-request-notebook-stack-sharing/?p=120529 From my perspective, though, there are going to be lots of suggestions, and not all of them will fit in with the vision the developers have for the app, so we can't expect everything to be implemented.

As long as you have them synced to Evernote, there should be no problem. Of course, if you deleted everything and emptied the trash, then they will be gone. Have you checked the Web at www.evernote.com? If they are not there, then contact support and see if you can have them restore the data (note histories ought to exist).

Hi. Evernote stores its data on Evernote's servers. When you log into your account from the Web or from a client on your device, it communicates with the servers (uploading and downloading data to "sync"). The third-party Linux client (built by an Evernote forum member like yourself) communicates with the servers just like the apps that Evernote builds. The only difference is that Evernote isn't working on the Linux app. In fact, every app that uses the Evernote "API" is working the same way, except that some of them have more/different functionality than others.

The min height and width restrictions on Evernote are unwelcome, especially on the 11" MBA. The best solutions that I have found for it is to (1) use full-screen whenever possible, (2) double-click on a note to open it in its own window -- this allows you to shrink the note size down a lot more, and (3) close the sidebar. Ideally, like nvALT (notational velocity) we'll eventually gain more flexibility.

Thanks Christopher, this is very helpful! Thanks for these tips! Local notebooks are ok, but I really want it on my phone too... Looks like both Voodoo and Devon are iOS only, any recommendations for Android? Maybe local notebooks + BoxCryptor? Scott--your point is well taken, and for that reason I *can't* use evernote for any sensitive material, despite all indications being that the efficiency boost might be life-changing. But having lurked on the sidelines for years over this issue, I thought I'd speak up with a couple of specific user stories on why full-notebook encryption should be moved up in EN's development backlog. In the meantime, I will continue watching and waiting... Thanks for speaking up! I have no answers for Android. Sorry. My Samsung phone is not getting a whole lot of note-taking use because there doesn't appear to be anything wih convenient encryption (I assume a handful of notes is doable on an app somewhere, but I see nothing remotely able of handling hundreds or thousands of notes,). It's too bad, but it looks like this market (note-taking across platforms with encryption) is extremely under-developed at the moment. Even if I had an iPhone, the options are shockingly limited with hundreds of thousands of apps in the stores If Evernote can nail this, I think it will be a huge mark in their favor when people are comparing apps and considering which one they want to use.

Hi. Welcome to the forums! To follow up on what Scott said, I recommend you consider some of the powerful tools you have available at the moment to ensure you are fulfilling your obligations. 1. Local notebooks in Evernote http://www.christopher-mayo.com/?p=425 2. Alternative apps for sensitive information on mobile http://www.christopher-mayo.com/?p=1605 I very much want to see Evernote implement encryption (zero-knowledge at the notebook level), but they don't right now, and they make it clear in their terms of service what the current limits are for the service. As users, we have to make sure we have chosen the best app for our use cases.

I agree. Encryption on the client side, zero-knowledge (only I have the key and can un-encrypt it), and at the notebook level (one text passage at a time won't cut it) would be perfect for my needs. I think it is a pretty critical feature to have these days -- it's been a year since the Snowden leaks and I am sure some people are wondering why Evernote hasn't done it yet. Then again, hardly anyone else has either! My guess is that this is easier said than done. Still, it is worth the effort, and I sure hope we get the encryption soon.

If you've noticed, we're just reporting what Evernote have said publicly about their position on a Linux client. That's really all we know, and it appears not to have changed in some time. You can draw your own conclusions. Beyond that, we're allowed to have opinions, just like you.Yep.@biocyberman - I'm simply relaying what EN has said publicly. I find it odd that you object to that. (Edited to fixed the second broken link)I think the knowledge base link (the second one) is the most recent and authoritative statement by Evernote on the topic, but it basically re-iterates what the chief technology officer stated four years ago. http://discussion.evernote.com/topic/22658-request-evernote-for-linux/?p=47633 I think BnF is simply trying to connect interested users like yourself with the information that is available in order to explain why a client does not exist, why it probably won't anytime in the near future, and what you can do about it. However, you are certainly welcome and encouraged to ask for features (including a native Linux client) on these forums!

If you are a professional/certified therapist, I suspect you would be running afoul of HIPAA by syncing confidential / sensitive information about your clients to Evernote and I would strongly advise against it. Evernote is not HIPAA compliant and they are quite clear about this (see the link below). I don't know enough to speak to say more about HIPAA. I would recommend you talk with colleagues and perhaps legal counsel to make sure the procedures you use to handle patient data are HIPAA compliant. More generally (this applies to everyone, especially people handling others' data), my advice would be to encrypt your local drive (if you are not already--it is quite simple on a Mac), use local Evernote notebooks (these don't sync to the cloud) for confidential information, and be very careful to never sync anything confidential / sensitive to the cloud before applying 128- or 256-bit AES encryption to it. I have more detailed advice on my blog about how I try to stay secure with mobile devices, but in my case (as a teacher dealing with others' confidential / sensitive data) I use a separate app with more security. I am afraid Evernote is (in my estimation) insufficient for handling student data (the FERPA requirements I am subject to are unclear about this and seem to be a lot more relaxed than the HIPAA ones that would presumably apply to you). There is a way to use local notebooks in Evernote (not synced to the cloud) and still have access to them on a mobile device, but it involves using a remote login service (I talk about this a little bit in the link below). <LINK REMOVED> Evernote has promised to bring us "sexy" encryption in the future at some point, and I am definitely looking forward to that! Perhaps, it will even become HIPAA compliant someday. [EDIT:] Following your suggestion, I have split this off into its own thread.