(Archived) REQUEST: Multiple users [OUTDATED AS OF 3.1.0 BETA 2]

[gopherdogs 0]

I couldn't find any information regarding having multiple users for the desktop client. Here's my situation and question:

Both my wife and I use Evernote, and for the next two weeks, I'll be using her machine as mine's in the shop. Her Desktop App is set up to sync with her account. I couldn't find a way to log out and log in with my user name. I toyed with the idea of changing the sync info, but got scared that it would send out her notebooks to my account and possibly overwrite my info, or add her notes to my notes. Neither of which I want to happen. I don't mind using the web version of EN, but I've become so used to the convenience of the desktop version, I'd much rather use it.

So is there a way to switch users shy of uninstalling and reinstalling the app?

Thanks!

Matt

[Metrodon 2,184]

My interest seems to be the mirror image of what others are asking for here. I want to SHARE a single Evernote database between different user accounts on the Mac.

I have separate Mac user accounts for business and personal, and I'm often logged into both simultaneously. I want access to the same Evernote database from both accounts, as it seems silly to have 2 copies of it on my local hard drive, both of which have to be kept in sync with the cloud.

A suggestion would be to allow a user to keep his/her Evernote files in the /Users/Shared directory, where they could be accessed by any logged-in user (perhaps fine-tuned with an Access Control List).

Even better, let me create a standard user Group, and give every member of that group access to the Evernotes.

Possible?

Why not just share the notebooks between your accounts?

[rpankratz 0]

We added "Notebooks" and "Stacks" to Evernote so that you can maintain separate sets of data within Evernote without mingling them together. This is the recommended way to use Evernote rather than trying to use separate accounts for every subset of your data.

On the other hand, you can also use Evernote from a web browser to simultaneously access a second account.

I'm still amazed that a freemium product is over looking the need for multi account access. Usually a clear sign that the developers do not use the product in a business setting like the users might, that's not a terrible thing is just regretful and all too common. Don't get me wrong I like the product and it's very useful; it's just a real shame to see the potential go untapped. Like many others that take the time to post here, I run a business, and businesses have money to spend on good solutions. Unlike others here my business recommends solutions to other companies and implements them. I could convince 90% of my customer base to implement evernote as their paperless office solution if the desktop client supported multiple accounts.

I can give you my reasons in short order:

1) The evernote desktop client continues to be heads and tales above the web version and that's just fine. But that means for real work the web client just won't fly in the business world. Seriously the web client lowers employee productivity.

2) Since shared folders are poorly implemented and are not on feature parity with account folders, full accounts are required to do anything useful.

Scenario (1) We have a single Premium account loaded on the computers of the 3 owners of a business and they use Evernote as their paperless office filing system. It works great. They are always insync and happy. Now all of them have personal lives and personal data. They always ask me this same question; "Can I store my personal data privately in the same system. If they could simultaneously access separate personal accounts they would buy 3 more premium accounts for their personal use in a heart beat. That's lost revenue. We can do this on their ipads to some extent but not completely; as a log out and log in is required.

Scenario (2) Three classes of users in an organization: Accounting, Engineering, and General. The users in Accounting need access to files from Accounting and General. Users in Engineering need access to Engineering and General files; and users in the General class need access to General files. A client that can access multiple accounts at the same time (not shared notebooks) but full feature set would drive more premium purchases even if there was a per seat charge. Add in LAN based client to client syncing to keep the load off the evernote servers and all the better. We could easily replace much more expensed paperless office system at numerous clients with such a solution.

The possibilities are endless; if you just add a layer of security in the system or multi account access. I really really think the developers could benefit from some trips into the small business real-world; there are tons of people dying to hand you money and you are leaving it on the table...

Feel free to contact me directly and I'll spend as much time on the phone as you like explaining the business case behind this need; and the possibilities.

[PeDaSp 0]

I've been using "Evernote Account Switcher" for a good few months now, and have had zero issues with it. I would say it works flawlessly. It also switches very quickly between accounts.

http://www.jazzaround.net/eas/

The other alternative mentioned here, also works very well - having more than one account on your Mac. If neither of the accounts have a logon password, then the switch is very quick indeed. You can always add a password at the end of the day. Or just give the screen-saver a password.

But I too am amazed that Evernote does not have the ability to allow multiple accounts open at the same time. I have 3 premium accounts at the moment. It's a no-brainer really, and would be an instant revenue stream.

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

But I too am amazed that Evernote does not have the ability to allow multiple accounts open at the same time. I have 3 premium accounts at the moment. It's a no-brainer really, and would be an instant revenue stream.

FWIW, most people seem to think a feature they desire is "the one" that will bring an instant windfall to EN.

Also, FWIW, EN is geared towards individuals, not enterprise, as stated in this post. While there may well be individuals with multiple accounts, I'm sure those individuals are in the minority.

[EvernoteConnoisseur 18]

FWIW, most people seem to think a feature they desire is "the one" that will bring an instant windfall to EN.

Also, FWIW, EN is geared towards individuals, not enterprise, as stated in this post. While there may well be individuals with multiple accounts, I'm sure those individuals are in the minority.

Isn't there a space for "small and medium businesses" between "individuals" and those large "mega-enterprises"?

[Bart Bartholomay 0]

...................

I can give you my reasons in short order:

1) The evernote desktop client continues to be heads and tales above the web version and that's just fine. But that means for real work the web client just won't fly in the business world. Seriously the web client lowers employee productivity.

2) Since shared folders are poorly implemented and are not on feature parity with account folders, full accounts are required to do anything useful.

Scenario (1) We have a single Premium account loaded on the computers of the 3 owners of a business and they use Evernote as their paperless office filing system. It works great. They are always insync and happy. Now all of them have personal lives and personal data. They always ask me this same question; "Can I store my personal data privately in the same system. If they could simultaneously access separate personal accounts they would buy 3 more premium accounts for their personal use in a heart beat. That's lost revenue. We can do this on their ipads to some extent but not completely; as a log out and log in is required.

Scenario (2) Three classes of users in an organization: Accounting, Engineering, and General. The users in Accounting need access to files from Accounting and General. Users in Engineering need access to Engineering and General files; and users in the General class need access to General files. A client that can access multiple accounts at the same time (not shared notebooks) but full feature set would drive more premium purchases even if there was a per seat charge. Add in LAN based client to client syncing to keep the load off the evernote servers and all the better. We could easily replace much more expensed paperless office system at numerous clients with such a solution.

The possibilities are endless; if you just add a layer of security in the system or multi account access. I really really think the developers could benefit from some trips into the small business real-world; there are tons of people dying to hand you money and you are leaving it on the table...

Feel free to contact me directly and I'll spend as much time on the phone as you like explaining the business case behind this need; and the possibilities.

Ditto all the above. I am constantly having to transfer photos, links, and whatnot to my wife, another Evernote Premium user. What I would like is a Notebook whose permission could be define as shared between user accounts and limited to only user accounts I select. That way, during the day, she can save off her photos and notes to one place that I have immediate access to.

Frankly, I'm surprised that this is so low on your priority. I agree with the previous poster that is would open up a significant business market if Evernote had this capability.

[EvernoteConnoisseur 18]

I've been using "Evernote Account Switcher" for a good few months now, and have had zero issues with it. I would say it works flawlessly. It also switches very quickly between accounts.

http://www.jazzaround.net/eas/

Is anyone using EAS on Lion? It crashes on start-up on my MacBook Pro 2010 with Evernote 2.2.3. Already emailed the developer but I haven't heard back yet.

But I too am amazed that Evernote does not have the ability to allow multiple accounts open at the same time. I have 3 premium accounts at the moment. It's a no-brainer really, and would be an instant revenue stream.

Agree, I guess maybe it's an OS limitation? Or is it really that "EN is for individuals"?

[burkedroppings 0]

The other alternative mentioned here, also works very well - having more than one account on your Mac. If neither of the accounts have a logon password, then the switch is very quick indeed.

The major problem (aside from the inconvenience of having to switch between accounts) is that data placed on the clipboard in one account isn't available once one has moved to another account. I've been sending email back and forth to move information -- an unsatisfying workaround.

I'm heading for the jazzaround site, hoping for a less cumbersome fix.

[EvernoteConnoisseur 18]

I'm heading for the jazzaround site, hoping for a less cumbersome fix.

But the Jazzaround developer has been unreachable so far about the Lion update

Vacation?

[RobLewis 26]

My interest seems to be the mirror image of what others are asking for here. I want to SHARE a single Evernote database between different user accounts on the Mac.

I have separate Mac user accounts for business and personal, and I'm often logged into both simultaneously. I want access to the same Evernote database from both accounts, as it seems silly to have 2 copies of it on my local hard drive, both of which have to be kept in sync with the cloud.

A suggestion would be to allow a user to keep his/her Evernote files in the /Users/Shared directory, where they could be accessed by any logged-in user (perhaps fine-tuned with an Access Control List).

Even better, let me create a standard user Group, and give every member of that group access to the Evernotes.

Possible?

[EvernoteConnoisseur 18]

This application lets you use multiple accounts on the same mac without logging off: http://www.jazzaround.net/eas/

Thanks for the link, delphis, but that is for "switching" from one Evernote account to another. What I prefer is to be able to work on multiple Evernote accounts at the same time.

[EvernoteConnoisseur 18]

Jazzaround just released an update that makes it compatible to Lion, yay!!!

[RobLewis 26]

Why not just share the notebooks between your accounts?

I don't fully understand how this works. Doesn't everyone who wants to access a shared notebook have to have their own Evernote account? Then wouldn't the contents of the shared notebooks get copied to their local file system anyway? That's what I'm trying to avoid: multiple redundant copies of the note database on the same machine. Plus, if this works like I think, then I'd have to have another Evernote account for each Mac user. Would I have to make these premium accounts like the one I have now?

Enlightenment, please.

[Metrodon 2,184]

Personally, I wouldn't take the risk of using a 3rd party workaround.

If I were 2 run accounts then I would set the both up online first, pick the most 'important' to me to have running on my local machine and use shared notebooks to ensure I had access to what I needed locally from the other account.

[EvernoteConnoisseur 18]

Been using Evernote Account Switcher for months, what a life saver!

[graceclerk 0]

rpankratz this past April 22 wrote the following: "Scenario (1) We have a single Premium account loaded on the computers of the 3 owners of a business and they use Evernote as their paperless office filing system. It works great. They are always insync and happy." My team at work would like to do the same thing: one account that can be accessed on multiple computers. We would like to know if different team members can access the same notes at the same time while working with Evernote on their computers (rather than via the web).

[ivan308 1]

Evernote Account Switcher rules !!

I have tried using one account and shared folders however unfortunately as long as shared notebooks are "second class citizens" I have to use Evernote Account Switcher to switch between my personal and my professional account.

Until I can Print to Evernote to a shared notebook, Clip to a shared notebook and search All of my shared notebooks and move a note to a shared notebook Evernote Account Switcher is my savior.

I wish Evernote would build this in as a standard feature on all clients especially the iPhone and iPad.

[graceclerk 0]

Ivan, I have used Evernote Account Switcher myself. Generally, it has worked well, although one time I ended up with a mixture of notebooks from two different accounts after using Switcher.

What I need to know is if a group of us can successfully use one premium account.

[ivan308 1]

graceclerk

Yes one account can be accessed on multiple computers. My business partner and I both access our business account from multiple devices. Mac, PC, 2 x iPhones and 2 x iPads.

I am not sure how Evernote resolves conflicts if the same note is changed on multiple computers simultaneously. It is not something that we have run into.

The only thing that you may want to think about is do you want everyone to have access to everything.

[jsiegers 0]

Hi,

I'm the developer of Evernote Account Switcher and I also don't understand why Evernote won't make this on there own. I mean allow multiple accounts in one application. Sort of like identities. This can be done. The only thing that might be a problem is spotlight searching. But I think most people search within Evernote.

What I do with Evernote Account Switcher (EAS) is the following.

In your Library/Application Support/Evernote folder is the place where Evernote looks for its information. This done through subfolders like data, external edits, logs, etc.

EAS makes an extra folder with this folder called Accounts. Within the accounts folder are folders for every account you own with there own data,external edits, logs, etc folders.

And what EAS does is link to this account folder when you switch. This way Evernote looks at a different set of folders when you switch.

Now in the last week released version of EAS the keychain is also changed for easy switching.

I've found this a pretty easy but stable solution...

Having multiple accounts upon at the same time however can't be done at the moment. I'd suggest you use the sharing option when you want this.

[dlu 628]

Thanks for posting, glad your account switchers been working well

[engberg 89]

Yes, multiple different people can use Evernote on the same Mac computer just fine, but they should have separate Mac desktop logins. Then each will have their own "home directory" on the Mac, and each will have their own notes stored within their Mac home directory.

The "small number" of people I was referring to is the people who want to use Evernote from the same computer but won't make separate Mac desktop logins.

[engberg 89]

On the Mac, two different people can use the same computer with Evernote, but only if they log in to the Mac using different OS X accounts. We store your Evernote user account information in a place that is associated with your Mac user. If you log in to your Mac as a different user, you can associate a different Mac client.

Otherwise, a second person could just use the web interface, of course.

[Stecchino 0]

How do we handle multiple accounts for ONE user? I have one for personal and one for work related. On the Windows client you can "sign out" of one Evernote account and easily sign in to the other. Is there a way to do this on the Mac client? If not, may I make this request?

[engberg 89]

You may want to consider using notebooks within a single account to separate (e.g.) work from home notes rather than making different accounts within Evernote. If not, you could access one account via the web interface and the other from the desktop client on your Mac.

[Stecchino 0]

If not, you could access one account via the web interface and the other from the desktop client on your Mac.

I guess that'll have to do. Since I share physical access to the work notebook with my assistant so using multiple notebooks vs. multiple accounts doesn't help. Any guess as to why it's implemented so differently on the Mac? Based on what I've read it appears there's only one database per Mac OS X user account whereas it doesn't seems to matter on the Windows client.

[engberg 89]

On Windows, we needed to implement a custom database management scheme because Windows doesn't offer an integrated data storage framework.

On Mac, we were able to save a lot of time (and get easy integration with Spotlight...) by using the OS X "Core Data" framework to manage data. This made the development much smoother and more Mac-like, but OS X implements this data management at the Mac user account level. Getting things like the Spotlight integration to work correctly with different accounts per Mac user would be a huge amount of work.

Since you can always log in to the Mac as different users (or use the web interface), there seemed to be enough of a solution to handle the small number of people who need to use the same Mac computer.

[Stecchino 0]

On Mac, we were able to save a lot of time (and get easy integration with Spotlight...) by using the OS X "Core Data" framework to manage data. This made the development much smoother and more Mac-like, but OS X implements this data management at the Mac user account level. Getting things like the Spotlight integration to work correctly with different accounts per Mac user would be a huge amount of work.

Cool. Much obliged for the detail.

[EvernoteConnoisseur 18]

On Mac, we were able to save a lot of time (and get easy integration with Spotlight...) by using the OS X "Core Data" framework to manage data. This made the development much smoother and more Mac-like, but OS X implements this data management at the Mac user account level. Getting things like the Spotlight integration to work correctly with different accounts per Mac user would be a huge amount of work.

So based on this, I guess we'll never Evernote supporting multiple accounts on Mac?

Since you can always log in to the Mac as different users (or use the web interface), there seemed to be enough of a solution to handle the small number of people who need to use the same Mac computer.

Just curious what Evernote considers as "small"? Isn't the number of Evernote users shooting through the roof exponentially, then whatever that was small at the time could easily become big? But then we're talking the Mac platform which I have a feeling does not contribute to the majority of Evernote user base?

[jefito 5,589]

Just curious what Evernote considers as "small"? Isn't the number of Evernote users shooting through the roof exponentially, then whatever that was small at the time could easily become big? But then we're talking the Mac platform which I have a feeling does not contribute to the majority of Evernote user base?

Possibly small relative to the number of Mac Evernote users, supposing that it scales linearly.

[JMichaelTest 19]

. . . but OS X implements this data management at the Mac user account level. . .

So based on this, I guess we'll never Evernote supporting multiple accounts on Mac?

Since you can always log in to the Mac as different users . . .

If I am reading Dave correctly, you CAN have multiple EN accounts on a Mac. You simply need to login to the Mac as a different Mac user.

Although I use EN on the Mac, I have not tried this, so you may need to confirm for yourself.

[engberg 89]

Please be very careful if you use that application (or any third-party utility that mucks with the local files on your computer). I know it screwed something up for some users a while ago, so you should make sure you have a good backup of any non-synchronized data.

[EvernoteConnoisseur 18]

The "small number" of people I was referring to is the people who want to use Evernote from the same computer but won't make separate Mac desktop logins.

It's just not practical for users with two accounts that need to be accessed at the same time, one for business and one personal.I guess we will never see Evernote supporting this? I am hoping to know now so I could forget the idea of getting more premium accounts in the future.

[JMichaelTest 19]

It's just not practical for users with two accounts that need to be accessed at the same time, one for business and one personal. . .

Can't you easily achieve this by sharing Notebooks between the two accounts?

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

The "small number" of people I was referring to is the people who want to use Evernote from the same computer but won't make separate Mac desktop logins.

It's just not practical for users with two accounts that need to be accessed at the same time, one for business and one personal.I guess we will never see Evernote supporting this? I am hoping to know now so I could forget the idea of getting more premium accounts in the future.

Possibly not "never." But probably very low on the priority scale. As has already been mentioned, one account can be accessed via the Mac client & another via the web. The number of users who "need" to access two accounts, simultaneously, using only a desktop client, is probably only a very small percentage of the 6 million + users. I would guess adding the ability to access multiple accounts simultaneously from a desktop client would require a lot of man/people/engineer hours & would only benefit a few. So a very low return on investment.

[EvernoteConnoisseur 18]

I would guess adding the ability to access multiple accounts simultaneously from a desktop client would require a lot of man/people/engineer hours & would only benefit a few. So a very low return on investment.

I would then argue Evernote could dramatically increase ROI by promoting the idea of "one user-multiple premium accounts" strategy.

for example, I could easily subscribe to a few more premium accounts for the multiple businesses ventures that I am starting, the different areas of my life and a couple of volunteer organizations.

In fact, Evernote's ROI may increase several folds if users all of the sudden realize they have a conveniently way to manage these different accounts simultaneously not possible before.

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

I would then argue Evernote could dramatically increase ROI by promoting the idea of "one user-multiple premium accounts" strategy.

for example, I could easily subscribe to a few more premium accounts for the multiple businesses ventures that I am starting, the different areas of my life and a couple of volunteer organizations.

In fact, Evernote's ROI may increase several folds if users all of the sudden realize they have a conveniently way to manage these different accounts simultaneously not possible before.

Or not.

[engberg 89]

We added "Notebooks" and "Stacks" to Evernote so that you can maintain separate sets of data within Evernote without mingling them together. This is the recommended way to use Evernote rather than trying to use separate accounts for every subset of your data.

On the other hand, you can also use Evernote from a web browser to simultaneously access a second account.

[EvernoteConnoisseur 18]

We added "Notebooks" and "Stacks" to Evernote so that you can maintain separate sets of data within Evernote without mingling them together. This is the recommended way to use Evernote rather than trying to use separate accounts for every subset of your data.

Hi engberg, kudos on the notebooks and stacks feature, they are certainly major leaps from before. Looking forward to see the same implementation on iOS devices. However, I am not merely managing "subsets" of data.

On the other hand, you can also use Evernote from a web browser to simultaneously access a second account.

As stated in a thread I started (which hasn't had any responses yet), I am handling data from a company account, which is accessible by other users, and I would like to keep my personal Evernote account separated. Yes although it's possible to access from a web browser, but productivity is lower due to inability for the web version to paste screen shots, drag and drag files among other missing features such as stacks.

Even if Evernote is not interested in working on a future version that allows simultaneous access by multiple account, I would at least want to hear that so I could explore other options instead of aimlessly waiting.

In the meantime, any news on feature parity between the Mac and web version? Perhaps enabling html5 for the web version that allows drag and drop or direct paste of images/file?

[engberg 89]

Thanks for the feedback. We are working on improving the web UI ... we've supported dragging and dropping files onto the web client for a while (http://blog.evernote.com/2010/05/27/eve ... nd-safari/) and things like Stacks are being implemented in the new web UI redesign:

viewforum.php?f=57

[delphis 0]

This application lets you use multiple accounts on the same mac without logging off: http://www.jazzaround.net/eas/