Thinking of leaving evernote, convince me to stay...

[elevennails 2]

I've been a payed up member for 3-4 years and a user since 2013. Recent issues with:

• table highlighting between browser and windows client
• loss of highlighting in code blocks
• loss of code blocks in tables

combined with functionality i've been craving for ages which have been a constant frustration

• Linux Client
• markdown
• more code block functionality
• deeper nested notebooks

 

 I'm struggling to stay, i've been so patient. you're so close to being the ideal solution for me, yet you're missing the mark. Evernote could be a killer app!

It's been nearly a year since Ian promised big changes, i know the back end has been upgraded but I've not seen much UI functionality change (except templates) are we nearly there yet?

What features are coming? what is the road map? timeline?

Only 485K forum posts since the forum refresh implies your customer base is not very active or shrinking are you going to survive the competition from other vendors? If you don't what happens to all my data!?

 

Joplin is starting to look like a good alternative. Convince me to stay i have nearly 1000 notes with detailed information, it would take me some time to make a switch.

 

 

[DTLow 5,736]

No, I'm not going to bother "convincing" you    
If you've found a better product/service, you should leave   

Some people see things as glass half full; others focus on the empty half
   
For myself, I've looked at the features I need being delivered by Evernote     
I've not found a product/service that better delivers that combination of features   
As long as Evernote continues delivering those features - I'm staying

[elevennails 2]

If the road map for some of the things that are bugging me is close, i'd be prepared to wait! What i'm trying to say is, am I just waiting for the bus that's never coming

[gazumped 11,664]

Sometimes you just need to be patient...  https://evernote.com/blog/staying-focused-on-the-road-ahead/

 

[Escaped to Keep It 88]

20 minutes ago, gazumped said:

Sometimes you just need to be patient...  https://evernote.com/blog/staying-focused-on-the-road-ahead/

 

Yeah, waiting forever. Rewriting from scratch is always a big mistake. Never seen an example that was successful.

Don't be surprised if the new Electron client isn't finished this year. Maybe they release a half-finished product. The current state of the Preview doesn't give much hope ....

[gazumped 11,664]

I'm not that bothered. Like @DTLow I'm finding that Evernote does what I need it to -mostly- as it is.  I'd like a new shiny version, but it's not essential to my workflow.  So I'm not moving - and there's no danger long-term of my notes being 'lost' in some way. If Evernote ever falters there will be a long list of competitors to take over their position and my notes. Which I'll have either way on my laptop hard drive. If you gotta go,  you gotta go... 

[WilliamL 654]

I would echo what others have said - if you have found something you feels suits your usage better then better going for that. 
 

If it’s down to frustration due to waiting, which isn’t always easy then I would say wait it out. I don’t know of another notes app that has the flexibility of stacks and tags and for me that is the fundamental feature I’m using a lot as I settle back into Evernote (I was a subscriber and have just returned). 

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,959]

@elevennails, as may or may not have become clear from the answers to your post, these are primarily user-to-user forums. You're not actually addressing Evernote directly here. I assume you've looked at the very recent post by Ian Small to which @gazumped linked. Almost no software company gives a detailed road map of where they're going with development or a detailed schedule on when they plan to get there. Things just happen in the course of software development, and then people get mad if there is a deviation from a map or schedule. It's not only safer for companies but kinder to users, IMHO, not to make promises that you know may depend on things you can't control.

8 hours ago, elevennails said:

Recent issues with:

• table highlighting between browser and windows client
• loss of highlighting in code blocks
• loss of code blocks in tables

Can you give some details about these problems? That's the sort of thing these forums are able to address. E.g., I find that table highlighting is consistent between the Web beta and Windows clients; by "highlighting" I mean using the drop-down in a cell to choose a cell background color. What are you seeing go wrong? (I haven't used code blocks, so I can't speak to them.)

8 hours ago, elevennails said:

combined with functionality i've been craving for ages which have been a constant frustration

• Linux Client
• markdown
• more code block functionality
• deeper nested notebooks

Of course, most of these have been requested more than once, in particular nested notebooks. One response by an Evernote staffer to the latter request is here: https://discussion.evernote.com/topic/114231-why-evernote-refuses-to-implement-multi-level-notebook/?do=findComment&comment=553790. Evernote's structure has intentionally deprecated nesting of notebooks. Will they make that fundamental change? Or will they persist in offering the notebook/stack/tag combination as organizational tools? My money's on the latter, and I recognize it could be the deal-breaker for some. (Personally I love nested hierarchies. Wiser heads here are very, very slowly persuading me to get serious about tags.)

WRT Linux, markdown, and code blocks, my guess is that the priority placed on these may be based on the percentage of users who need them, or new users who might be drawn by them.

 

[elevennails 2]

Arh i know i'm just so frustrated. it's been so long. I really use code blocks a lot. However, since the last few releases the highlighing between the windows client and the web client has thrown a bit of a wobbly. I did raise it with support a few weeks back, so they are aware and i know covid has broken everything too. If you want to test it yourself do this

 

1. On windows create a note add a title add a code block, type stuff in to the codeblock (doesm't matter what it is, code blocks are just text really).

2. Now highlight the text

3. sync the note

4. open and view the note in the web client.

you'll notice the highlighting is missing.

5. now type some more text below the code block

6. sync the note and view it in your windows client.... highligting is now gone.

I've got some big notebooks with lots of information in  loosing the formating has been a heart ache. of cause i didn't notice for a while so lots of my notes got messed up and i could tell you when it broke or what i've changed since it broke.

 

Code blocks in tables. We used to have this as well (but it's been broken for ages and i sucked it up and use a work around).

1. create a 2x2 table on your windows client

2. move to a cell. click the code block button.

Nothing happens

3. create a code block below the table.

4. put some stuff in it.

5. cut the code block.

6. paste it into a cell in your table.

now you have a code block in a table.

So why do i use code blocks? They not a trutype font so every character is the same length. This is handy if your pasting stuff from a command line as it preservse the commandline spacing format.

I've tried a work around by using a single cell table and setting the font to monospace. with some limited success.

I know stacks and tags i get them i use them a lot. but the code block thing has upset my work flow. I used to find them really useful for documenting code snippets. Its the loss of functionality that really hurts.

it's slowly messing up my notes unfortunatly I need both  clients, I can't install the fat client on my work machine (no rights) but I can use the web app which was fine.

I've been using the product for 7 years, i guess it's made me a bit salty. I've invested a lot of time into my notes, I'm just worried it was a waste. If anyone has any better work arounds i'm all ears. Some kind of inline plugin i've not found, anything. I'm a bit desperate.

 

 

[WilliamL 654]

I’ve just grabbed the 40% for a year deal and I’m happy to give the year. In that time I expect the updated release of all clients and for greater stability. I do think they are working hard to do this so I’m not too worried but things like the iOS app refreshing every time I leave the screen to multitask must be resolved by the new version or I would have to review the app I use. 

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,959]

@elevennails, thanks, that's clear. It's just not a feature I use, but I can certainly see how it would be necessary for that sort of work.

[ObviousBob 140]

17 hours ago, wbutchart said:

I’ve just grabbed the 40% for a year deal and I’m happy to give the year. In that time I expect the updated release of all clients and for greater stability. I do think they are working hard to do this so I’m not too worried but things like the iOS app refreshing every time I leave the screen to multitask must be resolved by the new version or I would have to review the app I use. 

I hope you are right.. but almost exactly one year ago I grabbed a similar deal, with exactly the same expectation. A year later, still no new version and still the same bugs in the existing apps.

[WilliamL 654]

48 minutes ago, ObviousBob said:

I hope you are right.. but almost exactly one year ago I grabbed a similar deal, with exactly the same expectation. A year later, still no new version and still the same bugs in the existing apps.

Yeah, it does seem there has been some pretty big delays. My hope is that we see some change soon, I’m trying to get into the iOS beta to see how it is, will wait and see if that happens. I’m learning a system of notes and tags that is really working for me so I do hope that they get things going soon as I don’t know any other notes app that has a similar system and I mess about with them all lol. 

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

On 5/26/2020 at 10:36 PM, elevennails said:

I've been a payed up member for 3-4 years and a user since 2013. Recent issues with:

• table highlighting between browser and windows client
• loss of highlighting in code blocks
• loss of code blocks in tables

combined with functionality i've been craving for ages which have been a constant frustration

• Linux Client
• markdown
• more code block functionality
• deeper nested notebooks

 

 I'm struggling to stay, i've been so patient. you're so close to being the ideal solution for me, yet you're missing the mark. Evernote could be a killer app!

It's been nearly a year since Ian promised big changes, i know the back end has been upgraded but I've not seen much UI functionality change (except templates) are we nearly there yet?

What features are coming? what is the road map? timeline?

Only 485K forum posts since the forum refresh implies your customer base is not very active or shrinking are you going to survive the competition from other vendors? If you don't what happens to all my data!?

 

Joplin is starting to look like a good alternative. Convince me to stay i have nearly 1000 notes with detailed information, it would take me some time to make a switch.

 

 

Not much to add except a suggestion to be cautious about jumping from one app to another, reading too much into the news or numbers of forum posts, and playing the waiting game. In particular, though, a comment on the waiting game: if the app isn't worth it for you now (I have my own frustrations with bugs and limitations, some of them mentioned in this thread already), and the good doesn't balance out the bad, I'd recommend leaving. Make do with what we have and don't give too much thought about what could be--there's a lot of could-have-beens and should-have-beens, but there's stuff to get done right now :)

[TechPerplexed 222]

Agree with everyone here, the only one capable of convincing yourself to stay is you. If you feel you need convincing, it might be time for something else.

I too was tired of waiting for Evernote development and made the leap to Joplin a few months ago. Never looked back... they keep on adding features and improvements almost weekly - and seem to add exactly the ones I want/need. That is not an endorsement to switch though, just my personal experience.

[ExNihilo 26]

On 5/26/2020 at 9:36 AM, elevennails said:

 I'm struggling to stay, i've been so patient. you're so close to being the ideal solution for me, yet you're missing the mark. Evernote could be a killer app!

Joplin is starting to look like a good alternative. Convince me to stay i have nearly 1000 notes with detailed information, it would take me some time to make a switch.

1000 note import into Joplin is quite simple. Sometimes you just have to wade in. I made the switch 6 months ago, and have never looked back. Joplin just keeps getting better and its developer is quick to add capability.

Best of all, I control my data... and it's in a portable form... not some propriety mismash.

Just try it. You don't have to delete Evernote until you are comfortable with its replacement.

[DTLow 5,736]

2 hours ago, ExNihilo said:

not some propriety mismash.

On my Mac  
- Evernote's format for notes is enml; basically html    
  Attachments are stored in native format
- Metadata is maintained  in an SQLite database   
As backup, I maintain an export in html format - readable by any web browser app

[fla030 0]

I was thinking of switching to Apple Notes until I went to my passwords that I keep there and noticed they were somehow all deleted. You can't go back in history in Apple Notes like you can with Evernote. 

Staying with Evernote just for this feature alone is enough reason for me.