Evernote for Mac v6.0 and v6.0.1

[SoftwareMarcus 388]

Today we released version 6.0 for the Mac App Store and 6.0.1 for direct download customers.

 

First off, Mac App Store customers are going to get all of the really cool benefits and features that direct download customers have had for a month.  This means faster sync, improved note editing with resizable tables and images, work chat, presence, context where one can see content related to their notes, and great new presentation mode features.

 

The other huge update is a sleek new Yosemite look for Evernote.  We previewed some of this at the Evernote Conference last month.  This means we’ve taken out the black side bar and changed it to the cool translucent Yosemite look and feel, took out all of the textures and big icons and switched them to clean and simple designs and in addition everything has higher contrast and is easier to read.  Overall the word “clean” comes to mind when you see the new design.  I really like it and we hope you do to.

 

We also continue to fix issues and improve existing features.

 

Work Chat Improvements

• We now have pop-ups and some visuals to educate customers about work chat.
  
• Fixed a number of bugs with the chat window and continue to polish the look.
  
• Added support for sharing notebooks via work chat.
  

Bug Fixes

• Improved handling of really long URLs which used to make the note extend off the screen.
  
• Lots of other miscellaneous bug fixes
  

 

Why is the Mac App Store version different?

• We had to submit the Mac App Store version of Evernote to Apple some time ago for their review and approval so we could release it today.
  
• The direct download version includes the changes we've made in the last week.
  
• We'll submit 6.0.2 to Apple today for release next week.
  

 

As always, please post feedback to this new release on this thread to make it easier for me to spot issues.  Also state whether you’re using the Mac App Store version or the Direct Download Version since they are different.

 

You can also download the software at: http://bit.ly/14SxwPz

[Frank Undall 4]

Well spoken Mr. Parker.

I can add that I have just found another failure in the Danish version (besides the hopeless translations like: "Me press button"..etc.): I used partly clipping and saved a note. Gave it a headline and then syncronised the note. Wanted to print it, but cancelled when I came to the printing window. Then the headline disappeared..! I tried it repeatedly and it “works” every time…

Good heavens. Ironically the note I wanted to save was “How to Completey Remove and Reinstall EN Mac”. Maybe that's the reason for the "sabotage"...

/Frank Undall

[diosanagroup 0]

Use to be able to send an email from EN.  I use this for auditing purposes so I knew that the recipient received the attachments INSTEAD of a link!  HELP!

[Metrodon 2,184]

Look in the Note menu or right click on the note - under More Sharing

[rsworden2 1]

Based on the varying comments in this and another thread, I'm starting to think that the washed-out color scheme is experienced differently on different monitors. On my MBP's internal screen, the lines between panels in the UI are a bit more visible. On my external monitor, even after calibrating, the UI elements are much more faded. What's odd is that the UI elements are there, they are just made very faint. In the attached image, see how a dialog box overlaid onto EN causes the line shading and the panel lines to be revealed. They are there, but they are really being washed out. The Mac OS contrast settings don't help. Maybe some other settings available in some other tool such as TweakUI could help.

 

[Roger Worden 11]

For those of you that would like to see higher contrast or more legibility can you tell me specifically in what parts of the app?  It doesn't help me if you say the entire app.  

 

1) Are we in agreement that the actual note has enough contrast since it's on a white background?

2) List View?  I'm hearing a lot of discussion about list view.  It sounds like it's difficult to read the text on the banding (and I'm guessing a lot of this depends on one's desktop background).  I personally don't have an issue here but I understand the point.

3) What about snippet view?

 

Anyway, it would be helpful and more constructive to provide specific areas of the product you think we should continue to refine vs having larger arguments over transparency.  The sidebar of Evernote will be transparent.  This is not negotiable because this is by definition a part of the Yosemite design aesthetic.  

 

The bottom line is I agree with the sentiment that we should build a product that works for all of our users so help me provide our design team with specific details to work with.   I'm not sure we're going to satisfy everyone but I think we may be able to make things better for some.

 

P.S. It's kind of funny because on Twitter the new design is getting generally great reviews maybe because one can't write too much  .

See the attached screen snippet. I've pointed to several visual cues that used to help the user get oriented and quickly find things. All of these cues have either gone white or have been reduced to thin gray lines that are hard to see without searching.

1. The currently selected note was highlighted.

2. The Evernote window was distinguished from the Mac desktop background.

3. The document panel was distinguished from the note list panel.

4. The note frame was distinguished from the note.

 

All of these and other UI elements help the user work quickly and easily in the app. The new UI makes all the data elements blend into each other. Plus it's just too white, leading to eyestrain.

[Roger Worden 11]

I agree with the posters complaining about the brightness and blandness. I understand that may be due to conflict between changes designed to move forward with Yosemite, not playing well with Mavericks. Maybe the testing was insufficient on Mavericks... maybe the test results were ignored. For whatever reason, the resulting display is terrible. Very hard on the eyes. Little contrast to help distinguish the different panels of data. As another poster stated: this is the first time I've tried calibrating my monitor to accommodate an app... unfortunately it did not help. I really hope EN will admit this was an error and roll back the interface changes as much as possible. I'm strongly considering reverting, though I see that is a multi-step process due to the database conversion.

I have reverted to 5.7.2, following the export-delete-import instructions posted elsewhere.

[laaurora 69]

Based on the varying comments in this and another thread, I'm starting to think that the washed-out color scheme is experienced differently on different monitors. On my MBP's internal screen, the lines between panels in the UI are a bit more visible. On my external monitor, even after calibrating, the UI elements are much more faded. 

 

It's definitely experienced differently. And the designers are supposed to be fully aware of it. Subtlety is often a sign of a fine work but that's also something only people with well calibrated monitors can appreciate. Unfortunately, such people are not in the majority. So while showing attention to details is great, it's not something to try on critically important elements. It's inconsiderate and will make a lot of people upset.

 

My posts in past few days had much more criticism than praise. I don't agree with a bunch of recent changes, but as a fellow designer, there are a lot of things I can relate with as well. My monitors are alright. I like subtlety. I wish I could design in confidence that everyone will see things the way I see them. And when I go to this site for example, pick a nice bright color and put my Evernote window on top of it, I can see good intentions behind some design decisions made. I could actually find a lot of excuses and explanations for the way EN looks at the moment. But it wouldn't change the fact that it doesn't work.

 

The problem is, I'll never have that kind of color as my wallpaper, because it would be very distracting. And most of the time, I will have another app window under the EN one - something white, like this forum page. A lot of people will have all that and a poor monitor to top it off. And they need to be comfortable using the app anyway, because this is not a design gallery item, it's a tool for getting work done. This is not even an edge case (though developers on such level are supposed to take care of those as well), it's a reality for a lot of people. Sometimes designer's ego has to take a back seat, no matter how sad it makes me personally as a designer.

[macfixer 702]

when I go to this site for example,

 

 

Whoa. Trippy! 

[NightStalker 407]

For those trying to downgrade, it may be worth checking out this thread - which may or may not be a problem for you:

 

https://discussion.evernote.com/topic/76567-sync-problem/

[El_Flaco 0]

Love the new design.

 

Anyway, it seems like the MAS version still has bugs regarding the helper. If you activate it at boot time, you can't shut it off. Even if you deactivate it, next time you open EN it is activated again at boot time, and still runs even if you chose to close it when EN exits.

[zebras_in_mo 8]

And I would add to the excellent photo with examples:  the sidebar was BLACK. I could easily distinguish the 3 important areas of Evernote:  Sidebar, note list and note itself.

 

AND not so much white = less eyestrain.

 

 

 

For those of you that would like to see higher contrast or more legibility can you tell me specifically in what parts of the app?  It doesn't help me if you say the entire app.  

 

1) Are we in agreement that the actual note has enough contrast since it's on a white background?

2) List View?  I'm hearing a lot of discussion about list view.  It sounds like it's difficult to read the text on the banding (and I'm guessing a lot of this depends on one's desktop background).  I personally don't have an issue here but I understand the point.

3) What about snippet view?

 

Anyway, it would be helpful and more constructive to provide specific areas of the product you think we should continue to refine vs having larger arguments over transparency.  The sidebar of Evernote will be transparent.  This is not negotiable because this is by definition a part of the Yosemite design aesthetic.  

 

The bottom line is I agree with the sentiment that we should build a product that works for all of our users so help me provide our design team with specific details to work with.   I'm not sure we're going to satisfy everyone but I think we may be able to make things better for some.

 

P.S. It's kind of funny because on Twitter the new design is getting generally great reviews maybe because one can't write too much  .

See the attached screen snippet. I've pointed to several visual cues that used to help the user get oriented and quickly find things. All of these cues have either gone white or have been reduced to thin gray lines that are hard to see without searching.

1. The currently selected note was highlighted.

2. The Evernote window was distinguished from the Mac desktop background.

3. The document panel was distinguished from the note list panel.

4. The note frame was distinguished from the note.

 

All of these and other UI elements help the user work quickly and easily in the app. The new UI makes all the data elements blend into each other. Plus it's just too white, leading to eyestrain.

 

[pgdahl 133]

 

Well spoken Mr. Parker.

I can add that I have just found another failure in the Danish version (besides the hopeless translations like: "Me press button"..etc.): I used partly clipping and saved a note. Gave it a headline and then syncronised the note. Wanted to print it, but cancelled when I came to the printing window. Then the headline disappeared..! I tried it repeatedly and it “works” every time…

Good heavens. Ironically the note I wanted to save was “How to Completey Remove and Reinstall EN Mac”. Maybe that's the reason for the "sabotage"...

/Frank Undall

 

 

I am glad I am not the only Danish (ex)-user to cringe their toes at the translation issues. Some of them are funny - until you try to convince people that Evernote is a serious multi-million dollar company.

[XMG 18]

Here's a quick before and after. (I found this image of 6.0 in Google images to make the sample)

 

Attached is a BEFORE and AFTER.

 

Basically this is a 2 minute example based on reading a few comments:

 

1. more contrast

2. add a line under the title

3. color palette (this is my request)

 

BEFORE:

 

AFTER:

 

This is a quick mockup - there's got to be at least a few UX/UI guys here. Let's show Evernote what we want no?

 

Of all the responses from Evernote on the design, I can't understand the point of Evernote's such utter ignorance and stubbornness in not listening to their user base.

 

They are not Apple. They are not Steve Jobs. Evernote needs to be agile and provide a service people will want to continue to use and especially pay for. Otherwise, as a service, people will simply go elsewhere.

 

To the UX/UI designers at Evernote: take a moment and stop trying to do something 'cool' or 'award winning' or whatever 'you' want to do. Spend time on mockups that users want. It most certainly will suck. But start with what people want. *Then* start to hack away and refine it. This should be your number one goal.

 

Ask yourselves: who asked for a Yosemite user interface? Seriously. If you go through your own forums, people are asking for simple things.

 

NO ONE IS ASKING FOR MARKET PLACE. Who buys an Evernote mug??? Who is asking for Chat features? Really?

[XMG 18]

For Roger Worden,

 

Here's a version for you. In your custom version of Evernote, there is a setting in Preferences to give you an option to set the color of your choice. And save a preset. Adobe has come around (a bit) in giving options like this with interface presets.

 

 

Roger's Evernote:

[XMG 18]

For Frogwell,

 

Here's your version with highlight of sidebar items.

 

 

Frogwell's requested change:

 

(It looks like my upload capability is being limited so images will be smaller...)

[mathiepe 44]

A lot has been said about the latest release of the Mac app that I kinda lost my way.

 

Another issue that I have, none v6 specific, is that large notes won't sync. Even worse...they will make sure that any other note edited within the Mac app won't sync either. The only thing you can do to make the app work again is to delete the big note (although notes can be up to 100MB) from your Evernote as well as from your bin. As long as it's not deleted in the bin, the big corrupted note will still make sure that nothing else will be sent to the Evernote servers. Sometimes I need 'bigger notes' so I would like to make use of the max. of 100MB's.

[JMichaelTX 4,117]

Evernote has released an update to EN Mac (direct D/L):  Ver 6.0.2

See:  https://discussion.evernote.com/topic/78123-evernote-mac-v602-released/

 

[ammulder 2]

Happy to say 6.0.2 is working better for me -- notes are visible (I know, sorta sad that I have to say that), and the titles don't constantly revert to Untitled (ditto).  And least I can get past the panic now in order to actually consider the UI change....  

[lpr 35]

Can we please please please get a color customizable UI so that I can go back to a darker interface. My eyes are getting tired so quick on this new one, and it's ugly to look at.

[lpuerto 16]

Who is the responsible of this new look!!?? Really it is very horrible in general speaking and also very difficult to read... I really do not understand!!!! guys, do you not experiment these things in different computers and with people not involve in the design before to roll it out? 

 

It is pretty awful to read this on it now...  

 

Please!!!! We need a darker skin!!! 

[Saturn1217 1]

For those of you that would like to see higher contrast or more legibility can you tell me specifically in what parts of the app?  It doesn't help me if you say the entire app.  

 

1) Are we in agreement that the actual note has enough contrast since it's on a white background?

2) List View?  I'm hearing a lot of discussion about list view.  It sounds like it's difficult to read the text on the banding (and I'm guessing a lot of this depends on one's desktop background).  I personally don't have an issue here but I understand the point.

3) What about snippet view?

 

Anyway, it would be helpful and more constructive to provide specific areas of the product you think we should continue to refine vs having larger arguments over transparency.  The sidebar of Evernote will be transparent.  This is not negotiable because this is by definition a part of the Yosemite design aesthetic.  

 

The bottom line is I agree with the sentiment that we should build a product that works for all of our users so help me provide our design team with specific details to work with.   I'm not sure we're going to satisfy everyone but I think we may be able to make things better for some.

 

P.S. It's kind of funny because on Twitter the new design is getting generally great reviews maybe because one can't write too much  .

 

Hi,

 

I've never used these forums before but I wanted to provide some feedback since Evernote is probably one of my favorite apps!

 

I agree with others that an increase in contrast in evernote is needed after the latest 6.0 update (I'm on 6.0.1) on Yosemite. 

 

The note itself does not have enough contrast. The boundary between the white note on a very light gray background is almost invisible on my computer (13" Macbook Air 2013 version). If the background gray color that is used for the evernote interface could be darkened a couple shades that would improve things greatly. 

 

I also don't need the "drag files here or just start typing" text in every new note. After the first time I upgrade that message can go away. 

 

I only use snippet view so I can't comment on list view. I personally don't have issues with transparency as it is applied in evernote and find the snippet view legible (but again too bright in color). 

 

If there could be a 'high contrast' option for the interface (with much darker colors for anything that isn't supposed to be white) it would be greatly appreciated.

 

I would also add that I am loving other parts of this update particularly the changes you made to lists and I still love using evernote!

 

Edit: just updated to 6.0.2. I now realize that the main issue with contrast is that not only the note/snippet side bar but also the background for the main note is transparent. The sidebar being transparent makes sense and is part of Apple UI guidelines. I haven't seen any other apps that insist on making the body of the app transparent too though. This is a mistake. If you have any other app open in the background (such as Safari) then the contrast on evernote decreases dramatically. The background for the main note should absolutely NOT be transparent. That will solve like 90% of complaints. Another option is you can use solid lines to demarcate the note canvas, and other important separators. 

[XMG 18]

Based on the latest comments, here is a compilation of various requests. (minus the dark side bar as per Yosemite guidelines etc.)

 

(this forum won't allow me to post anymore images... I'm using tinypic - if you  have a suggestion on easier way to upload images let me know...)

 

Here is 6.0.2 now:

 

 

 

Here is an update with various requests from the forum:

 

 

 

[XMG 18]

For those of you that would like to see higher contrast or more legibility can you tell me specifically in what parts of the app?  It doesn't help me if you say the entire app.  

 

Hi Marcus,

 

 

In case your designers feel this is a subjective complaint about the usage of colors of the latest app, let's use 2 popular websites as a comparison below.

 

Hope your team will notice how lines and colors are used to help create clear(er) focal points. It's still not the 'best' (subjective), but hope it gives a starting point of what people are currently accepting as a benchmark.

Evernote, the app, is not an art project. It's not a designer's expression of his or her tastes. It's to help get the job done.

 

When it comes to contrast, it's just doing basic fundamental changes to make sure you don't use colors that are only a few points different from each other.

 

Right now, your designers chose these 3 colors to make a distinction of 3 areas of your interface:

 

Sidebar: #e9e9e9

Notes sidebar: #f6f6f6

Background of note: #f9f9f9

 

The difference between f6f6f6 and f9f9f9 is simply too close for your older demo. It's not subjective. It's good business sense to try to make things easier to use.

 

Me? I'm fine with 6.0.2 as long as you're working on adding a custom color picker that even your website has...

 

 

 

Comparison to 2 (arguable) popular websites:

 

 

 

[Steve13 5]

 

NO ONE IS ASKING FOR MARKET PLACE. Who buys an Evernote mug??? Who is asking for Chat features? Really?

 

Lol... yes. I get sent emails about an Evernote backpack, pencil holders, laptop sleeve? I honestly thought since they had good industrial design, they would be able to make an impeccable user interface for the mac. There is nothing wrong with the web and iOS versions. It looks as if someone different made the mac version. Maybe they should go to the people that created the market place products and ask them what they think. They seems to have good taste and could point out what is wrong. 

 

By the way, is there a reason when I go to upload an image it says I can only upload "59.04KB of files". That seems small, compared to what I see above. I want to post some pictures as well. 

[XMG 18]

I'm using tinypic.com to get the url to post images here... Although I started out with 500kb allowable uploads here, I'm now down to less than 30kb... 

 

Agree, iOS and web are fine. And to define 'fine' - it's not to say I don't have suggestions. But this would be specific to my personal tastes. The current Mac OS version is simply an extreme swing of the pendulum that is probably getting everyone on these forums lol. It's just the small simple things.

 

When Marcus is asking for specifics on what to tell the designers, this kinda shows a sign that the designers are either:

 

- using the wrong gamma on their screens since they feel it has enough contrast (perhaps they are using PC's to choose colors for the Mac?)

- using old CRT screens (not probable)

- love minimalism that it invades into their profession too much (probable)

- cannot distinguish levels of priority in ux/ui (not probable hopefully)

- are listening too much to user feedback that they make all areas of the interface the same level (hence everything is too bright)

 

It's kinda fun watching this space though.

 

Every design has haters, but it's that fine line when you do a tiny bit too much...

[Maedhros 1]

I'm a big time and long-time Evernote fan and user and haven't had anything to complain about over the years, but now I felt I had to sign up for the forums to comment on the new design.

 

I can see how Evernote (especially the designers(?)) wants to align the design with Yosemite and whatever Apple is promoting or doing. However, Evernote is a productivity app that needs to focus on simplicity not in design but in ease of use and clarity. To me, everything looks too washed out and bleak, there is no distinction between areas and my eyes just wander across this wasteland of what was until recently an almost perfectly tuned user interface. Also on Mavericks and my monitor almost everything is just a bleak grey/tan color which seems to be even worse than what users on Yosemite (which I will never use since they've dropped support for 3rd-party SSDs) get.

 

Personally I had to downgrade to 5.5.1 which has awesome UX with three clearly distinct sections that makes it clear where to focus.

The leftmost dark/black section correctly almost fades out of ones consciousness and the actual notes with the card design (with proper edges) really highlights what is the content.

 

Just my 2 cents, I hope Evernote will reconsider and revert to the old design. Until then I'm on 5.5.x which I use daily and really like.

[NightStalker 407]

@XMG: Great work on that mockup above, based on JMichaels' screenshot, and incorporating fixes for many of the complaints. It is a distinct improvement.

 

Personally (and I stress that it is my own personal preference) I'd be happy if the far left sidebar reverted to dark grey with inverted (pale grey or white) text the way it has been in the past. Even put some (gulp) GREEN in there somewhere..!

 

One comment from a couple of people that I don't understand, is when they say the previous design looks "dated" - what exactly does that mean? If it looked good before, then it still looks good.  Or are those posters the type of folks who have to paint their house in different colours every couple of years?

 

We had a fairly significant change in UI with v5, but we've got used to that now. But v6 is too many steps too far, and removes all traces of Evernote identity. Now a couple of people have said that's a "good" thing.  I'd disagree.

 

Blindly following the current trend to being cool, and heading for complete and utter blandness by removing colour, demarcation lines, highlighting of selections, etc etc, in my own 'umble opinion, is a BAD thing.

 

Which is why I'm staying with v5.  And having tried Yosemite on a "spare" iMac, and hating it, I've reverted that one to Mavericks, which is where all my Macs will be staying.

 

As I've posted elsewhere, I hated the bland, flat, "nothing" look of Yosemite, I hate translucency (yes, I know it can be turned off), and it has no character. But above all else - it is badly broken for those who use Apple Mail. That app is my email mainstay for multiple accounts, including my work Exchange account.  And the Yosemite Mail app has all sorts of problems playing nicely with Exchange, the Address Panel has gone, there is no way to select multiple email addresses from a list (they have to be added one at a time), etc. Also, WiFi is still badly busted in Yosemite, even after the .0.1 update which was supposed to fix it.  It didn't.

 

The point of the last paragraph is that Yosemite is not ready for prime time yet, and if they don't change Mail back to the way it was, it may never be for many. And Evernote has blindly followed it into "coolness" - but got it so badly wrong. Especially for those who are on Mavericks or earlier. Interestingly, at the University where I teach (I teach in the Faculty of Medicine), which is a VERY large Uni, our IT department has issued a warning NOT to upgrade to Yosemite, and they are busy reverting all those who did jump early, using Time Machine or SuperDuper clones (which we all use). The same thing applies to Windows, by the way - by decree from the IT dept, everyone must be on Windows 7 or XP. Windows 8 or higher is banned and blocked. 

 

I think it is all symptomatic of software companies, both for OS and for apps, all feeling this pressure to "update" all the time, mostly for the sake of it. But there is nothing wrong with getting the basic app to work perfectly through refinement, and then - and ONLY then - adding the occasional new feature (WITHOUT removing features that are already there and that work just fine).

 

Adobe Photoshop springs to mind - I've been using it since v2.  Yes it has evolved over time, but the differences between versions are small, the look and feel really hasn't changed (does that make it look "dated"??), but it works flawlessly.  It has to. And new features, like the Smart Healing Brush, are introduced only after everything else is working perfectly.  And they did NOT remove the old Spot Healing tool or the Clone tool - two other ways of achieving a similar result but more fiddly. They remain to this day, and many people still prefer to use them.

 

If Evernote were to take a leaf out of Adobe's book (and I am NO Adobe lover, believe me), then it should be that perfecting the base, and slowly building ON it rather than replacing it, should be the way forward.

[Bruno Melo 0]

Found a bug in the first 10 seconds of using 6.0.1 for the Mac. Print a note, click cancel, note title is changed to "Untitled." Do you guys test your software? I will submit a formal bug report...maybe it's fixed in 6.0.2.

 

Thanks,

Ken

 

Same problem here. Also notes take forever to open.

[JMichaelTX 4,117]

All of the "Untitled" bugs seem fixed in Ver 6.0.2.

And, after reindexing is complete, performance is very good.

 

See Evernote Mac v6.0.2 Released

 

 

 

Found a bug in the first 10 seconds of using 6.0.1 for the Mac. Print a note, click cancel, note title is changed to "Untitled." Do you guys test your software? I will submit a formal bug report...maybe it's fixed in 6.0.2.

 

Thanks,

Ken

 

Same problem here. Also notes take forever to open.

 

[zebras_in_mo 8]

+1 Bravo. Well said.

 

@XMG: Great work on that mockup above, based on JMichaels' screenshot, and incorporating fixes for many of the complaints. It is a distinct improvement.

 

Personally (and I stress that it is my own personal preference) I'd be happy if the far left sidebar reverted to dark grey with inverted (pale grey or white) text the way it has been in the past. Even put some (gulp) GREEN in there somewhere..!

 

One comment from a couple of people that I don't understand, is when they say the previous design looks "dated" - what exactly does that mean? If it looked good before, then it still looks good.  Or are those posters the type of folks who have to paint their house in different colours every couple of years?

 

We had a fairly significant change in UI with v5, but we've got used to that now. But v6 is too many steps too far, and removes all traces of Evernote identity. Now a couple of people have said that's a "good" thing.  I'd disagree.

 

Blindly following the current trend to being cool, and heading for complete and utter blandness by removing colour, demarcation lines, highlighting of selections, etc etc, in my own 'umble opinion, is a BAD thing.

 

Which is why I'm staying with v5.  And having tried Yosemite on a "spare" iMac, and hating it, I've reverted that one to Mavericks, which is where all my Macs will be staying.

 

As I've posted elsewhere, I hated the bland, flat, "nothing" look of Yosemite, I hate translucency (yes, I know it can be turned off), and it has no character. But above all else - it is badly broken for those who use Apple Mail. That app is my email mainstay for multiple accounts, including my work Exchange account.  And the Yosemite Mail app has all sorts of problems playing nicely with Exchange, the Address Panel has gone, there is no way to select multiple email addresses from a list (they have to be added one at a time), etc. Also, WiFi is still badly busted in Yosemite, even after the .0.1 update which was supposed to fix it.  It didn't.

 

The point of the last paragraph is that Yosemite is not ready for prime time yet, and if they don't change Mail back to the way it was, it may never be for many. And Evernote has blindly followed it into "coolness" - but got it so badly wrong. Especially for those who are on Mavericks or earlier. Interestingly, at the University where I teach (I teach in the Faculty of Medicine), which is a VERY large Uni, our IT department has issued a warning NOT to upgrade to Yosemite, and they are busy reverting all those who did jump early, using Time Machine or SuperDuper clones (which we all use). The same thing applies to Windows, by the way - by decree from the IT dept, everyone must be on Windows 7 or XP. Windows 8 or higher is banned and blocked. 

 

I think it is all symptomatic of software companies, both for OS and for apps, all feeling this pressure to "update" all the time, mostly for the sake of it. But there is nothing wrong with getting the basic app to work perfectly through refinement, and then - and ONLY then - adding the occasional new feature (WITHOUT removing features that are already there and that work just fine).

 

Adobe Photoshop springs to mind - I've been using it since v2.  Yes it has evolved over time, but the differences between versions are small, the look and feel really hasn't changed (does that make it look "dated"??), but it works flawlessly.  It has to. And new features, like the Smart Healing Brush, are introduced only after everything else is working perfectly.  And they did NOT remove the old Spot Healing tool or the Clone tool - two other ways of achieving a similar result but more fiddly. They remain to this day, and many people still prefer to use them.

 

If Evernote were to take a leaf out of Adobe's book (and I am NO Adobe lover, believe me), then it should be that perfecting the base, and slowly building ON it rather than replacing it, should be the way forward.

[Rebecca123 0]

6.02 seems to have fixed some of my biggest problems so thanks for that, I'm going to unfollow the thread now. Good luck everyone.

[macfixer 702]

I'm using tinypic.com to get the url to post images here... Although I started out with 500kb allowable uploads here, I'm now down to less than 30kb... 

 

Yeah, I ran into the same problem. What I do is take the screenshot with Skitch, or drag a screenshot into Skitch. Then, use the "direct image url" option when sharing it (and switch off the short URLs). Poof "unlimited" image sharing.

 

Kinda kludgey, but it works. I hope that helps!

[Roger Worden 11]

The 6.0.2 version looks like it should help out those of us who are still on Mavericks (and I think there are more of us than Evernote does). In the image here I compare 5.7.0 on Mavericks, 6.0.1 on Mavericks and Yosemite, and 6.0.2 on both as well (taken from VM's running under Parallels). I think the shock I experienced when upgrading to 6.0.1 on Mavericks was due to three factors:

 

1. 6.x imposes the Yosemite motif, which I had not seen before. The UI elements in Y are much simpler than those in M, to the point of being crude. They are smaller, no longer three-dimensional (no outline shadows), etc. For example, the previous and next icons now look like thin less-than and greater-than signs instead of filled-in arrows. And so on. The net effect is that everything is a little harder to spot quickly.

 

2. 6.0.1's choice of colors was just too narrow.

 

3. My external monitor on my work computer was not calibrated well, making everything brighter and washed-out. Now that I see it on the internal Retina display of my work MBP, and compared it to my home external and home internal non-Retina MBP, I see that one monitor needs to be tweaked.

 

Combined, those three factors made 6.0.1 on Mavericks on my work external display nearly intolerable. Thanks to the 6.0.2 upgrade, and learning more about monitor calibration, I'm hoping I can make 6.0.2 work well when I get back to the office on Monday. It seems that Evernote was already working on 6.0.2 a few days ago when this storm erupted, so I thank them for getting it to us so quickly.

 

Unfortunately it has given me a glimpse of how Yosemite will look when I finally upgrade my real machines. There are lots of reasons to upgrade to it, but I think the user interface is a definite step backward. Up through Mavericks, OS X has had an increasingly sophisticated-looking UI. Now both IOS and OS X have dumbed-down interfaces which may have helped performance, but IMHO did not help the users.

 

** Updated to point to a tinypic here instead of uploaded document... hope this works... unable to upload a big enough file to be legible. Green arrows indicate sophisticated / textured / easy-to-read UI elements. Yellow arrows indicate less-easy-to-use UI elements or those starting to look flat and simple like Yosemite. Red arrows indicate UI elements that are small, thin strokes, or too little contrast.

[JMichaelTX 4,117]

@Roger:  Thanks for the comparison, but it is too small to really see anything.  Can you please make it larger, like 2X larger?

[Mel Matsuoka 18]

 

Nightstalker has made the point, I think, that towing the corporate line that the UI change to version 6 is because of Apple Yosemite, and 'we are not going back' (to paraphrase) is trying to shift the criticism towards Yosemite, and Apple (correct me if I misread that). I found it interesting that he, and others, have made the point that they are not averse to Yosemite necessarily, but that other apps like Curio seem to have managed to shift to Yosemite, retain their visual identity, update their UI, allow customisation, and still keep users happy.

 

It is not Yosemite, or Apple's fault if you make your UI the way it is, and people react adversely.

 

+1 on this.

 

There is obviously something to be said for "rolling with" the UI standards and conventions set by the underlying base OS. However, just because Apple unilaterally sets a UI convention, does not automatically make it a good or correct convention that developers should implement unquestioningly as if it were the infallible word of God. 

 

Case in point: The monochome Finder sidebar, introduced in OS X Lion.

 

When they first introduced this "feature", I actually thought it looked "nice", "clean" and "tasteful". But the more I used Lion in real-world, it became painfully clear to me that––aesthetics nowisthstanding–Apple made a horrible mistake in draining the color out of the sidebar. I found myself having a difficult time quickly scanning and targeting sidebar items, because where before I subconsciously associated sidebar items by both shape AND color, losing the color from the icons forced my eyes to work harder to find the item that I needed to click on.

 

40 months later, and nearly 20,000+ hours of living with the monochrome Finder sidebar, I STILL have great difficulty finding sidebar targets without having to actually think about it. I have to resort to using unstable Finder tweaks like "SideEffects" or Finder replacements like Path Finder, just to restore an important usability feature that shouldn't have been removed to begin with.

 

Things like this aren't simply a matter of aesthetic taste, or resistance to change. When I switched to the Mac full-time, 12 years ago, I hated a lot of Mac conventions, such as sorting folder-names alphabetically with file-names. 12 years of being a Windows user will do that to you.  But after using OS X on a daily basis, I quickly came around to the wisdom of sorting folders the Mac way. So I'm totally open to new and different ways of doing things.

 

But the fact that even after 3 years of daily "monochrome-sidebar" Finder usage, I still have problems scanning and targeting it's sidebar items indicates to me that Apple was--and continues to be--totally wrong about this UI change, despite what the HIG may say in its defense. Even CocoaTech relented on Path Finder 6's strict adherence to Lion's monochrome sidebar when they released Path Finder 7, no doubt due to many usability complaints from its user base (it's now an Appearance option in the preferences, so they at least give you a choice, in case you happen to like the monochrome sidebar). 

 

New UI ideas are great, but to blindly (no pun intended) overturn the UI and usability of a tool that countless people use every day for important workflows just because "that's the way Apple does it", is to miss the point that the "G" in HIG stands for "guidelines", and not "gospel". Evernote's continual deflection of the 6.0 criticism back onto Apple is disingenuous, because Apple is not forcing them to have 100% pixel-perfect adherence to Yosemite's UI conventions. 

 

Evernote, you need to do the right thing for the app and the way your users want to use your app, even if the best way to meet those goals is to "violate" portions of the Yosemite HIG. 

[Roger Worden 11]

@Roger:  Thanks for the comparison, but it is too small to really see anything.  Can you please make it larger, like 2X larger?

I updated my post with a link to an annotated image of the comparison.

[Nadya De Angelis 24]

 

On the advice of an Evernote forum, I uninstalled and got 6.0.1 from direct download. Now I can see my notes but a lot of the formatting has been lost. 

 

Line breaks have been removed, so my nicely formatted notes are now a series of giant unformatted paragraphs. 

 

Carolyn, we completely rewrote our note editor from scratch so that we could support resizable tables and images and a host of stuff we have planned for the future.  However, any big change like this has some translation issues from the old to the new.  A couple of things have come up.

 

 

 

Just curious: if you completely rewrote the editor, then WHY are old bugs still there? Like the cursor thing? 

 

Another thing I'm curious about is if you can finally copy paste tables as tables, not as a plain text.

 

Thank you. 

[goldfilm 19]

Right now my two top choices to improve in the new Evernote version are:

 

1. Make it faster again, especially in to do list editing

 

2. Make the check marks in the to do lists darker or even with color again 

 

Thanks! 

[RicD 10]

In version 6.x Tables have peculiar behavior. Create a table, say four columns three rows. Adjust the columns the width desired. Now, pull in the far right column right boarder, notice that the other columns are adjusting as well; not a good thing.

 

When I pull in the far right boarder I want the other columns widths to remain as I set them, not adjust. Pulling in the far right boarder should only adjust that column not the others. Though these new tables are better than the previous table, this new one is frustrating as well.

[Jackolicious 808]

 

All of the "Untitled" bugs seem fixed in Ver 6.0.2.

And, after reindexing is complete, performance is very good.

 

See Evernote Mac v6.0.2 Released

 

All feedback has been read and noted through this point. Since we're on a newer version now, let's use that thread.

 

Mac App Store will get the latest version as soon as we're approved by Apple. If you don't want to wait, feel free to download the latest version directly from Evernote.com.