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Small but useful feature that I accidentally discovered on EN


idoc

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I have a few folders on my hard drive that contain pdf's that I constantly use. I came up with the idea of copying those pdfs into EN. However, while doing this I discovered a much easier trick: by simply right clicking and copying on the folder itself I can paste its link directly into an EN note. Now when I click on the link in Evernote it takes me directly to the folder on my hard drive which I want to see. In this way, I can now populate my various notes with links to any folder I need to go to. I do not recall seeing this tip in any previous guide on EN but it works very well.

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Hi Alliance Lackey,

Seems a good idea if you are only working on one device/computer. But the moment you need the pdf on another computer you are out of luck!

Best regards

Chris

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  • Level 5*

I'm sure it wasn't meant to be a secret, and I've been aware for a while that you can create a hyperlink to anything - files on your local hard drive, network, web pages, searches etc. If you can link to it, you can embed that link into Evernote as a clickable connection.

If you link to a file that requires external software to run (and provided that software is installed on your computer) the file will open in the appropriate window - just like it will if you embed the complete file. Likewise you can embed a link to a saved Evernote into anything - usually a diary page - to show more information about a specific item.

If you link to an executable file, the software will start up - which means Evernote can act as a searchable bookmark library if, like me, you have so much rubbish installed on your laptop* you sometimes forget what the thing you use to take the spots out of pictures is called**.. where a quick search for "spotty pictures" will show the link.

* it helps those of us suffering from occasional Senior moments too..

** Inpaint, in this case..

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Hi,

Browncoat, how do you create the links to a file on your hard dirve. The easiest way I found was to create a shortcut in Windows explorer and in properties copy the link there and apply it using the Hyperlink tool in Evernote (ctrl-K). It would be nice if Evernot would include a dialog in that tool to select a file from your system.

But I understand what Chris says too - that it will only work for that one PC where you have the file - and that lack of platform independence might be why Evernote does not make it easier to do. Maybe it can be offered as an Option you can turn on or off. I know that links about my work will only work from my Work PC, so I know and dont care if they do not work on my private PC or mobile.

Cheers,

Grant

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  • Level 5*

I'm lazy - right-click the file (in Windows Vista) and choose ~send to.. Desktop (create shortcut) to do exactly what it says. Click and drag shortcut to Note. Should be the same / similar in XP.

If you want to be a bit more general you can copy the path to the file from Explorer (click in the box at the top of the window) and paste that so you jump to the folder containing your file rather than directly into the document. Good if you want to create sequential backups of the work and don't want to change the link all the time.

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  • 4 weeks later...

To C6REW, if you save your file to Dropbox, you'll be able to access that file from your note no matter which computer you're on so long as your computer is connected to your dropbox.

As an aside to make Mac OS X users, when you create your note, drag-and-drop the file into the note to create a link to the file.

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Yeah, obtaining a directory link in Win XP Explorer was always a little tedious. Fortunately, Win7 has a single click solution. Simply hold down the shift key, then right click on the folder (or file) and the drop-down menu will show "Copy As Path". This copies the full path to the clipboard. Very Handy!

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 years later...

for some reason, the link is not clickable for me when i "copy as path" and paste into note.

 

when i create a shortcut and paste into note, when i click the link it wants to download the file instead of open it.

 

i am using the free version of EN right now...is that why this is not working for me?

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for some reason, the link is not clickable for me when i "copy as path" and paste into note.

 

when i create a shortcut and paste into note, when i click the link it wants to download the file instead of open it.

 

i am using the free version of EN right now...is that why this is not working for me?

You have you add file:// in front of the path after you paste it in evernote. It is simply a URL to a file. Move the cursor at the end of the path, click Enter and EV will recognize this string as a clickable URL.

 

For example:

 

file://C:\Windows

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You're still using Vista? My deepest sympathies. And I mean that sincerely! I *hated* Vista. Too many bugs.

I'm lazy - right-click the file (in Windows Vista) and choose ~send to.. Desktop (create shortcut) to do exactly what it says. Click and drag shortcut to Note. Should be the same / similar in XP.

If you want to be a bit more general you can copy the path to the file from Explorer (click in the box at the top of the window) and paste that so you jump to the folder containing your file rather than directly into the document. Good if you want to create sequential backups of the work and don't want to change the link all the time.

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  • Level 5*

You're still using Vista? My deepest sympathies. And I mean that sincerely! I *hated* Vista. Too many bugs.

 

I'm lazy - right-click the file (in Windows Vista) and choose ~send to.. Desktop (create shortcut) to do exactly what it says. Click and drag shortcut to Note. Should be the same / similar in XP.

If you want to be a bit more general you can copy the path to the file from Explorer (click in the box at the top of the window) and paste that so you jump to the folder containing your file rather than directly into the document. Good if you want to create sequential backups of the work and don't want to change the link all the time.

 

 

That quote was a couple of years ago - even I move with the times.. eventually.  We speak Windows 8.0 here now.  I miss Vista though...   :P

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for some reason, the link is not clickable for me when i "copy as path" and paste into note.

 

when i create a shortcut and paste into note, when i click the link it wants to download the file instead of open it.

 

i am using the free version of EN right now...is that why this is not working for me?

You have you add file:// in front of the path after you paste it in evernote. It is simply a URL to a file. Move the cursor at the end of the path, click Enter and EV will recognize this string as a clickable URL.

 

For example:

 

file://C:\Windows

 

Thanks Kotya, but this doesnt work.

 

i have come to realize that if i use the desktop version of evernote, i can get the links to work.  when i use the web version it does not work.  

 

i was trying to avoid having to install more junk on my computer, hence wanting to use the web version only.

 

but even when i use desktop to input hyperlinks, they only work on the desktop version.  

 

i am still tweaking this.  i want all pertinent files to open when i click them, and i may have to store them in the cloud or something, using a combination of MS skydrive and dropbox. etc.

 

using dropbox, i can get images to open in another browser tab.  when using MS skydrive, i can get the wanted MS office file to open when i click the hyperlink.

 

when i use the desktop version, i can get all the hyperlinks that are tied to local files to work properly.

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  • 1 year later...

This is VERY useful for situations where I like to have a mix of Evernotes and conventional folders and files - thanks for the tip.  :D

 

I use Mac OS and it's not quite a straightforward as in Windows but it's still possible. Here's what I did:

 

1. Created a right-clickable Service in Automator (http://osxdaily.com/2013/06/19/copy-file-folder-path-mac-os-x/); but you could just drag and drop the file/folder into Terminal or a Firefox search bar to get the text for the file/folder path. 

 

2. My path format needed to be edited to work but I just needed to add file:// to the beginning of the path

so...

 
/Users/me/Dropbox/HolidayPhotoFolder/
...needed to turn to... 
file:///Users/me/Dropbox/HolidayPhotoFolder/
 
3. Now in Evernote after highlighting some text and hitting ⌘K, file:///Users/me/Dropbox/HolidayPhotoFolder/ can be the destination for "Enter Web Address for this link".

 

 

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