First Post - BULLET BUG in EVERNOTE/IOS

[Renfrew 1]

AFAICT, this issue seems to be limited to my iPhone/IOS, because my pc version does not have the problem.  No other platforms have I tried.   

 

There is an insidious bug in Evernote/IOS that happens when you convert a plain list to a bulleted list because this action will quietly step on any already-bulleted list sitting adjacently prior to the one you're working on.   

 

I use the term insidious because this erasure happens so easily beneath one's usual notice.  I don't know how many sublists I've stepped on & lost forever before I finally realized what was really going on.  

 

To summarize:  Grrrrrrrr. 

 

To summarize more constructively:  Find your happy place ... Then say Grrrrr. 

 

To summarize more assertively:  GRRRRRRRRR!!! 

 

While it is certainly fortunate that two immediately successive UNDOs will restore that prior list for you (albeit annoyingly stripped of bullets), it is preemptively more UNfortunate that this recovery is only possible when you've noticed that the prior list has disappeared in the first place.  This is the really insidious part of the problem: If the selected list you're about to convert is long enough to occupy your entire screen then you won't be able to see that prior list disappear in the first place because it will be happening entirely offscreen.  By the time you eventually figure out that you're missing that data it will be too late to recover it.    

 

Now that you are aware of this problem you can avoid it fairly easily by sticking a non-bulleted string between the lists you're working on, prior to doing any bullet-conversions.  Not a very convenient solution, as you will probably need to return later on to remove said string, but at least that is a better alternative than quietly losing data.

 

Humbly yours,

Renfrew

 

 

[Dan Wilson 85]

Please define a "plain list" for me? I'd like to try and replicate this on my device.

If possible could you post an example note so I know what to start with and what edits to make.

From what I can tell this sounds insidious indeed!

[Renfrew 1]

My apologies for taking so long to get back to you sir. Death in the family. Seriously.

Here is how to recreate the bullet bug problem that I am talking about in 3 easy steps:

FIRST: Paste the following plain 6-line list into a note...

<begin list>

Aaa

Bbb

Ccc

Ddd

Eee

Fff

<end list>

SECOND: Mark the first 3 lines, and convert them to a bullet list.

...At this point you should be looking at a 3-item bulleted list followed immediately by a 3-item plain list. So far so good...

THIRD: Mark the last 3 lines, and convert them to a bulleted list in same manner as before.

...The conversion itself will be successful, BUT, those first 3 lines ("Aaa" thru "Ccc") are now gone. Completely and quietly gone.

So, when these kinds of steps are carried out on a larger scale you'd never ordinarily realize that the preceding/unmarked list has disappeared because you will only be seeing the "successful" conversion of the current/marked list.

That is why I'd cluelessly lost a lot of list data over a long period of time before finally realizing what the flock was really going on here!

Let me know if you have any trouble recreating the problem.

[Dan Wilson 85]

I have tried this on my iPhone and can confirm that I have replicated the bug.

[corpjester 2]

I confirm this bug too. Here's another, although not about Bullet lists, it's worse than that:

take that same plain list of text you paste into a note, and then highlight it.

Now, click the 'checklist' button'.

Watch your nicely pasted list DISAPPEAR COMPLETELY and be replaced by a single, textless check box.

Seems wrong to me that this is the default behaviour.

[Renfrew 1]

I have to agree that the checklist problem you're talking about certainly is annoying – it really should return your selected list intact with each line preceded with a checklist box, instead of stepping on all of them with a single checklist box.  I hope they can fix that, too. 

 

However, I would have to argue that the bullet bug problem is many times worse than this checklist problem, because at least the checklist problem happens quite noticeably right in front of you; you can see what is happening just as soon as it happens, so now you can easily issue an UNDO command to recover your data. The bullet bug problem, OTOH, often happens completely behind the scenes, and you simply don’t realize it until later, if at all.  Data be gone.     

[Tcellguy 71]

Text and list editing is so broken on iOS I gave up using it. Try pasting text into a bulleted list and watch the text disappear. i don't think anyone is working on the notes editor anymore.

[Tcellguy 71]

This bug still exists on the most recent version of iOS Evernote.  I still can't copy and paste within a bulleted note. 

This has been a problem for at least a year or more. 

Does anyone else still have this problem? Has a fix been suggested?

[corpjester 2]

I think it's utterly atrocious that they haven't addressed this bug or even acknowledged it. Are they too busy introducing new features to fix the old ones??? Seriously, this has gone on far too long.  If someone doesn't address this soon from their end,  I may have to start tweeting about it.  #EvernoteCan'tGetItRight. 

[Tcellguy 71]

 It looks like they may have finally fixed it with the newest update.

I'm seeing a lot of positive signs that the editing is improving.

 

[Tcellguy 71]

I guess I spoke too soon. I still have the issue on the iPad version. 

[Tcellguy 71]

I think they finally fixed this with the new update!

[RenfrewTheJust 1]

I am quite happy to offer second confirmation that the bullet bug -- at least the one that I'd originally posted about -- is resolved!  

 

Sincerest thanks and salutations to Evernote engineers (... or programmers? ... pilots?... wizards?) for fixing this nasty glitch.  

 

Side note to all my imaginary followers:  

Been quite  a while since I've been to any of these forums... could not recover my login info so I just started a new one.  

You can still call me Renfrew though. <crooked grin>

 

 

[Dan Wilson 85]

2 hours ago, RenfrewTheJust said:

I am quite happy to offer second confirmation that the bullet bug -- at least the one that I'd originally posted about -- is resolved!  

 

Sincerest thanks and salutations to Evernote engineers (... or programmers? ... pilots?... wizards?) for fixing this nasty glitch.  

 

Side note to all my imaginary followers:  

Been quite  a while since I've been to any of these forums... could not recover my login info so I just started a new one.  

You can still call me Renfrew though. <crooked grin>

 

 

This is good news.  Sadly I'm not using Evernote enough to recognise these kinds of bug fixes.  I have had to fall back to Keep in order to have a bit more confidence that my data is safe.