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Escaping the current Mac Evernote client


upnix

Idea

I did something recently that made me so happy I decided to share. I downgraded from Evernote 6.13 to 6.9. Let me tell you why -

In Evernote 6.10 the old text editing code was replaced with new (Javascript-based, I believe) editing code. This was done to pave the way for new enhancements, and likely to create a common code base for the editor across all their platforms. It's the reason why tables got a lot more fancy soon after the 6.10 release. Further, somewhere around 6.12 Evernote started trying to synchronize your notes in real time. So, version 6.9 was the last version before all that started; it was released September 8th, 2016.

Here is why I'm basking in the glow of "outdated" code:

  • Memory use no longer grows without bounds. 2+GB was normal by the middle of the day previously. Now, I sit at a steady 400MB of memory use.
  • Power use is no longer through the roof (which I think came with the continuous syncing). macOS 'Monitor' displays a metric for energy use, and those numbers are most interesting in relation to each other. Entering plaintext on the newer EN clients, the "Energy Impact" would sit around "66". Now, with 6.9, the average is well below "1", and editing is always under "5". Much more concrete, I can work the day at the library and leave with over 50% of my battery left. Previously, with 6.13, I was leaving with ~30% left.
  • After a couple of hours after starting Evernote, my cursor doesn't stutter as I type
  • Text editing with bullets doesn't do inexplicable things sometimes.
  • Tables, although less pretty, happily resize with my note window
  • My search bar is spacious
  • My Atlas is back

Want to do this too?

  • Backup your notes! In particular, your local-only notebooks.
  • Delete your old Evernote
  • Rename/move the following directory: ~/Library/Application Support/com.evernote.Evernote
  • Install Evernote 6.9. You can get the official binary here:
  • Run Evernote 6.9, log in, get all your settings the way you like it, let it finish syncing
  • Import any local-only notebooks
  • Uneasily enjoy as you hope Evernote fixes their Mac client faster than they decide to block your old client!

What could go wrong?

  • Evernote is changing a lot in their new clients,
    • Sync might slowly become incompatible is non-obvious ways. Data loss/mangling is a possibility
    • Notes created in the new/old version might start to work less well in old/new versions.
  • Evernote may just decide to block older clients
  • There was a version 6.9.2 released, which was probably released for a very good reason, but I couldn't find that official file.
  • 6.9 (or 6.9.2) aren't without their own bugs. Choose your poison!
  • There might be security issues? I'm not sure the real risk here, but prior to being burned so badly with new EN releases, I would have said always stay up to date with software. I have no knowledge of security problems in older versions.

 

There you go. My experience has been flawless. I was happy to see that the tables I created in the new client look just fine (better, in fact) in the old client.

And, to be clear, this is an attempt at constructive criticism of the current Mac client situation. I'm incredibly entrenched in my Evernote ways, but I'm suffering from death by a thousand cuts with the current client. At some point the pain of reworking my workflow and foregoing some EN features is going to outweigh the pain of trying to work with the new client.

Good luck! (?)

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49 minutes ago, upnix said:

I did something recently that made me so happy I decided to share. I downgraded from Evernote 6.13 to 6.9.

Good for you.  I'm a fan of installing the version that works best for you.
I'm not into the "weeping and gnashing of teeth" we see in user posts when they encounter feature changes or bugs

>> Delete your old Evernote,  Rename/move the following directory: ~/Library/Application Support/com.evernote.Evernote

The app AppCleaner is recomended for completely removing Evernote, ensuring you're not mixing versions in the components

>>Backup your notes! In particular, your local-only notebooks

All users should have proceses in place for backing up Local Notebooks. 

Evernote will automatically rebuild databases from the servers - except for Local Notebooks and unsync'd notes

 

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