Template Options

[Fynn 10]

I use the 'Copy note to..' feature everyday for a daily journal template, however I feel it would be better if I could perform a similar action from the note creation screen itself. It feels more intuitive to do this as I find myself going to the create a new note, for my daily journal, without thinking about it. Maybe because I'm used to using this in another piece of software (agile project tracker).

Would it be straightforward for the user to select notes as "template" in the same way you can select notes as a "shortcut"?

[jefito 5,589]

I understand the utility of this, just a couple of points:

First, there is no "note creation screen", there's only a note editing window, which works on already created notes. So adding a template selection control there is made awkward by the fact that you may be working on a non-empty note. But that's only a little awkward: you enable the control when the note's actually empty. Or maybe if you invoke it on a non-empty note, you toss up a dialog asking whether you want to replace the current note with the template note. Or maybe you offer to insert the template note at the current cursor location. So a little awkward, but maybe a benefit as now you have a way to insert boilerplate items into a note. Oh, and by the way, the suggested location for the note template control is not a good one: it's been stuck right in the middle of the note formatting controls, just not a good UI choice. Gotta move that somewhere else.

Ok, second: just drawing a little button that says "Select Templates" is easy, but picking individual notes in Evernote isn't. There's a whole UI in Evernote (in fact, it's a large part of the main Evernote UI, the other main part being note editing) built up to do that, and it's not trivial, and even so, it identifies not individual notes, but a range of notes that meet a specified filter (and then displays the first in that range). But you need to build up that list somehow. Well, so the spec further says "selection of user defined notes similar to shortcuts", so maybe we'll go with that: how do you define those notes as special in such a way that Evernote will find them and populate the template list? There's no such thing as a template note in Evernote; all of that is on the user to define (I have a special notebook called, unoriginally, "Templates"), but one could equally use a special tag, So now you need to build in a way to make Evernote be able to identify your special template notes. Exercise left for the reader.

But thinking about this, this approach just seems backwards. You're creating a note first, and them telling Evernote what note to base your new already-created note on. In my usage, I always go to my Templates notebook, and do a "Copy Note" operation. That's pretty easy and straightforward. But the downside is that every once in awhile, after performing the "Copy Note" operation, I forget to switch from the current note to the new note, and find myself editing the template, mistakenly.

So what I would want is an operation that does the note copy and then make the new note the current note. That just seems like a more natural approach.

[frogdude 10]

Perhaps in the web back-end users could add a directory of templates, both personal and default Evernote created.

There should be a icon shortcut  in compose note (in all. Erosions Mac, Win, IOS etc) which pops down this list as a prepoplated options list of templates to select. 

eg week planner, travel checklist, gym routine checklist, meeting notes pro forma and so on.

 

 

[frogdude 10]

Just added a similar request 

[DTLow 5,736]

1 hour ago, frogdude said:

Perhaps in the web back-end users could add a directory of templates, both personal and default Evernote created.

There should be a icon shortcut  in compose note (in all. Erosions Mac, Win, IOS etc) which pops down this list as a prepoplated options list of templates to select. 

eg week planner, travel checklist, gym routine checklist, meeting notes pro forma and so on.

fwiw  I have a set of templates tagged !Templates

          This tag is in my shortctcuts for easy access.

The more important request is for the templates to be used when creating a  note.  Currently, I have this scripted on my Mac; which also has a Duplicate Note feature.

 

[DTLow 5,736]

On 2016-10-03 at 02:03, Fynn said:

I use the 'Copy note to..' feature everyday for a daily journal template, however I feel it would be better if I could perform a similar action from the note creation screen itself. It feels more intuitive to do this as I find myself going to the create a new note, for my daily journal, without thinking about it. Maybe because I'm used to using this in another piece of software (agile project tracker).

Would it be straightforward for the user to select notes as "template" in the same way you can select notes as a "shortcut"?

 

 

34 minutes ago, jefito said:

Oh, and by the way, the suggested location for the note template control is not a good one: it's been stuck right in the middle of the note formatting controls, just not a good UI choice. Gotta move that somewhere else.

...

So what I would want is an operation that does the note copy and then make the new note the current note. That just seems like a more natural approach.

I upvoted the request, but agree with @jefitto

I see this as a new note from template function, more than a format function.  I would attach it to the new note  selectors

I'm not concerned too much on how templates are identified;  maybe a Tag or Notebook

[jefito 5,589]

I think even a checkbox on the existing Windows "Copy Note to Notebook" dialog (that we get when right-clicking on a note in the note list and selecting "Copy to Notebook...") which says something like "Edit new note" would work for me. I would always leave it checked, much as I do with the "Preserve tags" setting.

[Sayre Ambrosio 520]

I use 3D Touch on my iPhone quite a bit and would love it if there was a way to define templates inside EN and then have it pop up as an option when using that feature. Upvoted.

[Mdd 12]

I would love to have templates option

 

 

 

 

[Jonathan Michael Copeland 13]

+1

[jginter 25]

I really like this idea. I would definitely make & use templates if that was available. Of course, I guess for now I can copy paste layouts. & I do do that sometimes.

[Sayre Ambrosio 520]

http://sayrestemplates.postach.io/

[Urbano Freitas 9]

I would also love the following possibilities:

1. Capability of we can create our own notes templates. And when we choose the button "New Note" we could choose one the templates we created or other we choose to use from the community;
2. The capability to use "advanced" templates like the ones Evernote have been making available. (https://blog.evernote.com/blog/2017/05/05/uncovering-templates-hidden-gem-evernote/)

 

Thanks in advance.

[DTLow 5,736]

20 minutes ago, Urbano Freitas said:

Capability of we can create our own notes templates. And when we choose the button "New Note" we could choose one the templates we created or other we choose to use from the community;

I have this scripted on my Mac
My scripts are stored with tag !Template

The templates are also available for use on my iPad, however I have to use the duplicate note function

 

>>The capability to use "advanced" templates like the ones Evernote have been making available.

To create templates I have options

1. Create the template using EN's editor
2. Create the template in a third party product (example MS Word); copy/paste into an EN Note
3. Export the note, modify the html code, import

[Urbano Freitas 9]

@DTLow

Thanks for the tips.

 

Although this works, I do think is not a productive solution. We need something better and available in the Evernote tool itself.

 

 

[Andy Helms 28]

I love the idea of templates, but not the execution of them in Evernote. From my seat, templates are currently a hack and not a feature (although Evernote seems to be promoting them a lot recently, which I find interesting...). I would love for the "New Note" button to have a drop-down arrow next to it; if you just click on the button, it would open a blank new note but if you click on the arrow, you could choose from your pre-defined templates.

[Joy @ The Cafe Scholar 1]

I would like to be able to set up an entire "Template" Notebook, and create an entire new notebook from that template - with all of the internal links, reminders, etc.

For example, I have a notebook for each research project.  It has several notes, a few reminders, and internal links from the planning note to other notes in the notebook.  But there isn't a way to copy the whole notebook with all those features; right now I have to create a new notebook for the new project, copy all the notes into the new project, and then set up the internal links.

[DTLow 5,736]

19 hours ago, Joy @ The Cafe Scholar said:

I would like to be able to set up an entire "Template" Notebook, and create an entire new notebook from that template - with all of the internal links, reminders, etc.

You could export the notebook, and then import it into a new folder
This is the method I use for note templates on my Mac
Note: This method destroys the internal links 

On my Mac, I have a script for New Projects

1. Creates a new Project Master note from a template
2. Creates a Project Tag

I could expand the actions although I'm more of a tag person than notebooks
In the script, I could recreate links if needed
I am interested in the other items you need (notes and internal links)
I do use reminders as start date but that's more at the task note level

[CalS 5,280]

1 hour ago, DTLow said:

Note: This method destroys the internal links 

Yeah, that is the crux of the issue for this kind of template process, links in the copied/duplicated notes always point to the original notes and have to be redone.

[AllThatEvil 4]

One of the things, which could be a HUGE win in time, nerves and money for many of us.. Dreaming about it for.. I dont know how many years..
;)

[Marco T 1]

On 12/10/2016 at 7:19 PM, DTLow said:

I see this as a new note from template function

+1 to this feature and especially with this quote from DTLow

[bitcohen 3]

When I try to download any template, I get the following error: I don’t have permission or it has been moved.

Is there anything I can do to access it.
Thanks

[Joy @ The Cafe Scholar 1]

1 hour ago, bitcohen said:

When I try to download any template, I get the following error: I don’t have permission or it has been moved.

Is there anything I can do to access it.
Thanks

Hi there,

You said "any template," but you linked to a specific page.  I would recommend you reach out to the owner of that template, as he or she may have moved the file or changed the permissions and not updated the link you are using.