REQUEST: ad handwriting / drawing possibility and typed text combined in one note

[Jildert 5]

I would like to have the opportunity to add handwriting and drawings direct in my typed text notes.

Also to highlite text, circle it, etc.

Like App Penultimate e.g. but INSIDE Evernote for iPad

[David Sarnowski 21]

I completely agree!

[petew 3]

This should be a no brainer. It has kept me from really diving into using Evernote as my primary method for taking notes during walkthroughs and meetings. I would love to leave my notebook at home, but I need to type, handwrite, and draw seamlessly to do so.

[rupertp 7]

I really support this as well.

There's currently no way to combine both text and written notes in one -- I don't want to have to go to penultimate or skitch just to put a small diagram or equation into my notes. All that is needed is a small field which can be drawn in, which is then added to the main note.

It would make Evernote a very flexible app, without being bloated -- pretty essential stuff, I would think.

Eg. If I'm writing a text note, and then want to add a tiny diagram of what I'm talking about, I currently have to:

1. Exit out of evernote

2. Open penultimate

3. Draw

4. Export back to evernote

5. Open evernote

6. Sync

7. Open the penultimate note

8. Copy the drawing

9. Go into the original note

10. Paste the drawing

And even then, I have a full page drawing, not the small diagram I wanted.

It seems broken

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

I really support this as well.

There's currently no way to combine both text and written notes in one -- I don't want to have to go to penultimate or skitch just to put a small diagram or equation into my notes. All that is needed is a small field which can be drawn in, which is then added to the main note.

It would make Evernote a very flexible app, without being bloated -- pretty essential stuff, I would think.

Eg. If I'm writing a text note, and then want to add a tiny diagram of what I'm talking about, I currently have to:

1. Exit out of evernote

2. Open penultimate

3. Draw

4. Export back to evernote

5. Open evernote

6. Sync

7. Open the penultimate note

8. Copy the drawing

9. Go into the original note

10. Paste the drawing

And even then, I have a full page drawing, not the small diagram I wanted.

It seems broken

I am not a programmer, so this is all just my impression, but I think implementing this capability (making a drawing and putting it anywhere in the note) would probably require Evernote to rewrite the entire service from the ground up, because it is based on XHTML, which isn't well-suited to this kind of thing. I think this is why notes in these notetaking programs are in proprietary formats, and only get converted to more general ones when you try to export them (usually as PDFs).

Anyhow, my point is that the Evernote service is geared towards typewritten notes, and its strength lies in the ability to combine literally any file format together with text inside a note, and to have this accessible on any client exactly the same. That is why it uses XHTML. It isn't "broken." It just isn't designed to do what you want.

I am not saying it is impossible, or that the Evernote developers couldn't find a way to manage, but I doubt it would be an easy task, and it would almost certainly take a lot more coding. I don't know if we want to call that bloat or not, but I do wonder if expending resources like that is a good idea.

By the way, this (being built using XHTML) is probably the same reason we are unlikely to ever get true plain text (something that I would like). The design decision to encase everything in XHTML made created this problem as well. Again, it isn't broken. It is (to my eyes, at least) one of the many tradeoffs that developers have to make.

It's great to ask for features and give developers a sense of what we want to do with the app. Perhaps they will see a way to do it that I do not.

[rupertp 7]

I think implementing this capability (putting a drawing anywhere in the note) would probably require Evernote to rewrite the entire service from the ground up

I don't think that's correct -- it should be as simple as inserting an image into a post, which is a very basic feature of Evernote already. All it requires is for a drop down pen input box before the image is placed in.

Anyhow, my point is that the Evernote service is geared towards typewritten notes, and its strength lies in the ability to combine literally any file format together with text inside a note, and to have this accessible on any client exactly the same. That is why it uses XHTML. It isn't "broken." It just isn't designed to do what you want.

Yes, I agree -- Evernote is certainly not broken, I just felt that my workflow was, and I have a feeling it's not an uncommon workflow. The ability to add a small drawing or schematic, even as I mentioned, a formula or equation, seems to have popped up around the forums a fair bit.

I am not saying it is impossible, or that the Evernote developers couldn't find a way to manage, but I doubt it would be an easy task, and it would almost certainly take a lot more coding.

Though, I don't think it's a good idea to base this on exactly how much more coding it will take -- after all, the Evernote developers did just finish rebuilding the entire app on all platforms, so if a feature has enough purpose it should be implemented.

My thoughts are that in a tablet-based world, drawing directly onto the screen seems a very natural thing to do. Mind you, for something like Evernote, a full Notability or Penultimate-style implementation wouldn't be the right thing (that's why Penultimate is there), though an easily insertable sketch option just may be, for when those large scale features don't apply. Same as you can make an audio recording (a very useful feature), I think you should be able to insert a small sketch.

Also, Gmail on the iPhone has a similar feature to what I'm talking about, and it's really handy.

[jaysmomma 2]

Or maybe a "go to penultimate" icon that shows up in Evernote (and vice versa)...touch it and viola penultimate corresponding notebook (ie, the notebook in pen that you have linked to the one you are currently using in evernote) is opened. Draw or write whatever you need to in penultimate, touch the "go to evernote" icon and be returned to evernote right where you left off. With an auto syncing option, this would allow you to make your penultimate drawing, and have it added as a new note in evernote. Doesn't quite get it where you want it, I know, but would make work flow much better.

I face much the same difficulty as a student, I use evernote for PDF and web page readings from class and would like to be able to switch back and forth Bowen readings and note taking more seemlessly. As it is, I have to open evernote,locate whatever we are discussing in class and start the painful task of switching back and forth over and over brown evernote and penultimate to view readings and take paperless, handwritten notes which I prefer because it is easier to make things stand out. Right now, I think both evernote and Penultimate are great apps so long as you aren't looking for easy (let alone seamless) integration between the two.

[foxyroxy 3]

Me too :-)

[pendolino 6]

I am going to add my voice to this one as well. I was just wondering how I could simply COPY TEXT on my iPad (using the system copy feature) and paste it into a Penultimate note (using the Penultimate app and not evernote) and realized that it is currently IMPOSSIBLE. 

 

Dunno but it struck me as something that should intuitively work (maybe treat the text as an image) but the workaround (clunky) is to take a good screenshot (home/power button on iOS for y'all newbs) and then paste it into Penultimate as an image.

 

Shortfalls of this method are that you are limited to one page/screenshot at a time, etc, etc.

 

I am sure this is coming but I wanted to commend Evernote on (finally) moving ahead in the right areas.

 

Huge GAPING hole still: Can't highlight notes (just a plain highlight in yellow as you can do in a PDF!) in any of your iOS, Mac or other (?) apps. This would be so great for highlighting passages or works in text and, even better, searching through your highlights.

[brookwarner 0]

Totally agree. The two apps Penultimate and Evernote are awesome by themselves, but they need to work together! Totally need to have the ability to insert text into penultimate and drawings into Evernote

[stefania m 0]

Handwriting in Evernote is beautifully integrated in Android and particularly easy to use on a Samsung Note, which comes with a stylus that works much better than the $40 jot I just had to buy to use Evernote on my new iPad, only to find I've got to use a separate app to use handwriting. I'm shocked this feature isn't available to iPad users. It's a no-brainier that users would want to combine a drawing with text and is one of the reasons I used Evernote and talked it up to my friends. If they do this for Android why not for iOS?

[marax 8]

OneNote on iPad or Notability have that feature. Why not Evernote?

[Hel10s 12]

I whole-heartedly agree. It is the main reason that I have been using OneNote over Evernote as of late. Being able to type and write is a big part of my workflow. As someone who works in IT, I often want to type notes, and then annotate them, or the reverse: draw a diagram and type of the details because they are too long to write by hand.

 

By having the two on a single canvas, I can easily have all of my thoughts in one place.

[anjoschu 67]

Agree, especially since it's possible (and apparently beautifully integrated) on Android.

 

I am using Evernote to take notes in meeting sessions and was hoping to be able to go completely paperless by also capturing the ad-hoc diagrams that I end up drawing on scraps of paper.

 

Currently, I am better off taking a photo of the scrap of paper at the end of the session.

 

I can't even consolidate text notes with my Penultimate drawings after the meeting.

[charlali 6]

I should like to add my voice to these requests for the ability to hand-write or draw directly into notes.

Before Evernote became the multi-platform note app that it is today, (when it was blue not green - yes I've been a loyal user that long  ), it had this amazing feature on the early Windows tablets. It also had template notes for things like meetings, project plans and the like. I've just found a project plan template note in a blog article and it's made my day  - now please, please, make my year and listen to the people on this thread - please add in the ability to write notes directly into Evernote for iOS like the Android App! 

[SidJ 0]

I completely agree. This is an absolutely essential feature!

 

Can the Evernote development team please take note of this request!

 

 

An easier way to do this could be to add a typing feature to Penultimate. That way, the user can draw and write and switch to typing when required. The final result can sync with Evernote.