Evernote - Note Editing on mobile sucks!

[rkirmeier 1]

I think we can all agree that one of the important thing in Evernote is editing notes so why does Evernote have such a horrible editor? I'm on Android so I don't know if it's better or the same on IOS.

 

So I open note and scroll down till I find something then I have to click edit and it send me back to the top of the page. Now I need to scroll down with half the view-able area (keyboard up) to where i was. Why is there an edit button in the first place? Why can't it put my cursor in the spot I wanted to start editing instead of going to the top of the screen?

 

If you compare to 2 other competing apps (Google Keep and Microsoft OneNote) both of these other apps use a modern mobile note editing tool. You can scroll the note and simply click anywhere on it to start editing it and your cursor drops in right where you clicked. No hitting an edit button, no bouncing back to the top, no additional scrolling. I can edit then dismiss my keyboard and scroll some more then edit again. Why is Evernote so behind on such basic/simple/core technology?

 

Although Evernote is very feature rich it's core functionality like the editor needs to be modernized and fast! I sent a request to Evenote over a year ago to address this and still no change. I'm seriously thinking of moving all my stuff over to OneNote (100's of notes) as it's simply can't stand the mobile editor in Evernote!

 

I just don't get why Evernote does not address this! Do you guys not use your own product?

 

If there is any confusion as to what I am talking about just load up Google Keep or Microsoft OneNote and compare note editing with Evernote...

[ObviousBob 140]

You are absolutely right - the editor on Android is terrible.

 

In a brief discussion with a developer on the Google+ Evernote Beta Community, the developer acknowledged these issues and said there are "technical limitations" with the editor that they are looking into. There is of course no way to know for sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if the editor is very old code that needs a lot of work or a complete do over. I hope they are working on it. In the mean time, I do most of my quick notes using Google Keep, then archive my Keep notes into Evernote.

 

I suspect Phil Libin doesn't carry an Android phone, else this would have been fixed long ago..

[rkirmeier 1]

Why are earth are they using the built in Android editor then??? If Google and Microsoft can over come this on Android then there is no reason Evernote can't.

[gazumped 11,667]

Lots of prior discussion on this - we're still waiting for the complete overhaul,  though bits and pieces have been getting through like image editing and annotations...

 

[android] "Unsupported Formatting" issue on Android - Evernote ...

 

At present the Android editor isn't a full-service operation; it's for text notes and screen clips, and some of the latter include HTML codings and ...

discussion.evernote.com/.../49431-unsupported-formatting-issue-on-android/

 

[android] Editing problem with a note - Evernote - Evernote User ...

 

Editing problem with a note - posted in Evernote : Hi, I am having trouble editing one of my notes. I can edit it on the PC but on the phone I'm ...

discussion.evernote.com/topic/30466-editing-problem-with-a-note/

 

[android] bug: editing a note on Android removes all tabs! - Evernote ...

 

bug: editing a note on Android removes all tabs! - posted in Evernote : Hi, I've stumbled on a really debilitating bug: whenever I edit a note on ...

discussion.evernote.com/.../21587-bug-editing-a-note-on-android-removes- all-tabs/

[rkirmeier 1]

Frankly I don't even care about all the formatting and what not. Been using it long enough that i can overcome those issues. My biggest grip is the BS you need to go through everything you want to edit a note. OneNote Android client was just released and after a day of using it I'm going to switch all my daily stuff over to that. If Evernote does not address these issue soon (so overdue) I'm just going to switch everything over to OneNote. There is simply no excuse for Evernote to blow off this issue on Android for this long.

[jefito 5,589]

While it would be wonderful to have full-blown seamless editing on Android, I'd say that they're hardly blowing it off, as they've made slow, but steady progress improving their capabilities. Sorry to say that given any reasonable definition of "soon", they're probably going to lose you to OneNote, as it doesn't seem likely that they have such a solution hiding away in their back cupboard. If OneNote matches your use case better, then more power to you. I think that Evernote will get there eventually, but not any time soon. Good luck.

[rkirmeier 1]

While it would be wonderful to have full-blown seamless editing on Android, I'd say that they're hardly blowing it off, as they've made slow, but steady progress improving their capabilities. Sorry to say that given any reasonable definition of "soon", they're probably going to lose you to OneNote, as it doesn't seem likely that they have such a solution hiding away in their back cupboard. If OneNote matches your use case better, then more power to you. I think that Evernote will get there eventually, but not any time soon. Good luck.

 

I brought this issue to attention of Evernote support well over a year ago. It's well over due to fix the core functionality before adding more features like drawing in a note!

[rkirmeier 1]

Just want to keep this thread towards the top. Maybe if enough people realize OneNote has highly superior mobile note editing functionality they will switch and Evernote will take notice of this major shortcoming.

[jefito 5,589]

Just want to keep this thread towards the top. Maybe if enough people realize OneNote has highly superior mobile note editing functionality they will switch and Evernote will take notice of this major shortcoming.

Please do not do that again. First thing, it's against the Forum Code of Conduct (see below). Second, it's just plain impolite: if everyone else did this as general practice, how would you feel if your posts were bumped downwards? Third: why is your issue more special than others? Fourth, Evernote staff already read all posts on these forums, so there's no point in rubbing their noses in your issue again.

 

From the Forum Rules of Conduct:

 

5. Don’t overdo it.

Try to refrain from double posting, topic bumping or spamming the forum with copied/repeated posts. Flagrant abuse will get you a warning, then a temporary ban if you keep it up.

[rkirmeier 1]

 

Just want to keep this thread towards the top. Maybe if enough people realize OneNote has highly superior mobile note editing functionality they will switch and Evernote will take notice of this major shortcoming.

Please do not do that again. First thing, it's against the Forum Code of Conduct (see below). Second, it's just plain impolite: if everyone else did this as general practice, how would you feel if your posts were bumped downwards? Third: why is your issue more special than others? Fourth, Evernote staff already read all posts on these forums, so there's no point in rubbing their noses in your issue again.

 

From the Forum Rules of Conduct:

 

5. Don’t overdo it.

Try to refrain from double posting, topic bumping or spamming the forum with copied/repeated posts. Flagrant abuse will get you a warning, then a temporary ban if you keep it up.

 

 

To answer your question as to why it's more important than others... BECAUSE IS THIS IS THE MOST BASIC CORE FUNCTIONALITY THAT EVERY COMPETITOR DOES RIGHT. Its not a new issue, I reported this to support well over a year ago. Clearly Evernote does not care about the Android user experience. Like the other guy noted, this would have been fixed a long time ago had the right key people at Evernote been Android users. 

[jefito 5,589]

To answer your question as to why it's more important than others... BECAUSE IS THIS IS THE MOST BASIC CORE FUNCTIONALITY THAT EVERY COMPETITOR DOES RIGHT. Its not a new issue, I reported this to support well over a year ago. Clearly Evernote does not care about the Android user experience. Like the other guy noted, this would have been fixed a long time ago had the right key people at Evernote been Android users.

Your feelings that this issue is more important than others on the forum (trust me, it isn't, and you'd understand that if you read the forums day in and day out as I do), that's wholly irrelevant to my point. You now know the rules. Please abide by them.

[rkirmeier 1]

Well the more I use OneNote the more I like it so I guess it really does not matter much anymore for me as I'll be switching over. Honestly though it's despicable that Evernote would release higher quality application on iOS then on Android. And blaming Android for having a inferior built in text editor is no excuse as everyone else can easily overcome this. Get the basics done right before trying to do everything else with the app!

[e in albuquerque 0]

I too HATE editing on my android. By the time Evernote takes me nbac,to the top of my note, I've forgotten what I wanted to edit. I've asked the question more than once. Why can't you fix this Evernote? Seems elementary.

[PeeJayTee 99]

Wow - this one is tough to read.  As some of you may be aware, we've recently made some changes at Evernote - one of the biggest is a re-investment in our core experiences like note editing, searching and syncing.  Here's a blog post with a little more detail:

 

https://blog.evernote.com/blog/2015/09/22/the-future-of-writing-in-evernote/

 

TLDR; We're completely overhauling the editor in all of our Evernote clients. The baseline for Mac and Windows has been released, and Android is hopefully going to be in beta in the next 3 weeks. This includes the "tap to edit" behavior described in this thread.  It also focuses on some long standing inconsistencies in the way notes are displayed - especially with images, tables, and lists.

 

There will be a broader announcement when we're ready, but I wanted to reply here because, frankly, it's a little embarrassing to have let this go so long without a response.  We really our sorry and are working to make it better.

 

P.J.

[scruggles 48]

To follow up on PJT's note... You can sign up for the beta community by following the step-by-step here: https://www.evernote.com/shard/s76/sh/01157eeb-9e09-4ae9-9694-a3b5efa14d0f/aa73f9be7382b91ef29be31a59ac2e13

We will put out a beta with the new editor (as week as some other awesome features and improvements) in the next week. Sign up and stay tuned

Wow - this one is tough to read. As some of you may be aware, we've recently made some changes at Evernote - one of the biggest is a re-investment in our core experiences like note editing, searching and syncing. Here's a blog post with a little more detail:

https://blog.evernote.com/blog/2015/09/22/the-future-of-writing-in-evernote/

TLDR; We're completely overhauling the editor in all of our Evernote clients. The baseline for Mac and Windows has been released, and Android is hopefully going to be in beta in the next 3 weeks. This includes the "tap to edit" behavior described in this thread. It also focuses on some long standing inconsistencies in the way notes are displayed - especially with images, tables, and lists.

There will be a broader announcement when we're ready, but I wanted to reply here because, frankly, it's a little embarrassing to have let this go so long without a response. We really our sorry and are working to make it better.

P.J.

[Mauly 0]

Well it's Aug 2016 and the Android Note editor still sucks!  You have to click on the edit button, which disappears if you scroll down to far, and when you do it scrolls to the top.  Then if you try to click where you want the edit to start, the curser jumps somewhere else.  After about 10 trys you might get it in the right place.  Not you try to backspace or delete but nothing happens.  But it is actually deleting so you've now screwed up your note.  And when ever I add to a note on Android and then look at it on a PC the additions are in a random size and font.  I can't seem to control that whatever I do. 

This has been going on for over a year.  I'm so fed up I seldom use Evernote any more and if I find another app to replace it, I'm gone.

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,960]

Are you using the latest version of the editor? There have been some improvements. Here's what I find when I select a long note from a notebook: If I scroll down into the middle of the note, I can double-tap and the note becomes editable. Or if I want the Edit button and it disappears, a slight scrolling movement up or down gets it back; when I tap the button, the note opens for editing and the cursor is placed at whatever point was at the top left of the screen; it no longer jumps to the top.

I have seen some font errors with pasted text, even text cut and pasted within the same note. This is strange; but the menu option Simplify formatting helps.

[rttrent 0]

Android 6.0:  I love Evernote but now, when I try to update a list, every keystroke sends the line I'm editing off screen.  I can scroll to it and find my typing has been properly accepted but this input experience is unacceptable.  I can put my data in another application then cut and paste but that's pathetic.  I do not have the problem on Windows desktop but would much prefer the convenience of smartphone editing.  Previous versions of Evernote did not have this problem.  Is there some Android editor that could be utilized by Evernote?  Have others experienced this problem?  Might it be addressed soon?

[paytonchung 0]

"So I open note and scroll down till I find something then I have to click edit and it send me back to the top of the page. Now I need to scroll down with half the view-able area (keyboard up) to where i was. Why is there an edit button in the first place? Why can't it put my cursor in the spot I wanted to start editing instead of going to the top of the screen?"

Five years later, and nothing's changed. Now I'm try to have shorter notes instead, just so it's not so difficult to find where I was. However, now I've got thoughts split between multiple notes, which is a pain given that the Android editor (even on a Chromebook) only allows one note open at a time. Sigh.

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,960]

I find that my suggestions from 3 years ago have to be modified slightly: tapping the Edit button, wherever one may be in scrolling the view of the note, does move to the top of the note and open it for editing there. But a single tap on any point in the note opens it for editing at that point.