How NOT to scan as business card?

[MCShults 4]

When I scan a business card Evernote insists on treating it as a separate note.

 

Is there a way to scan a business card as if it were any other document, so it will stay inside the note I'm working on?

 

In other words, if I'm making a note to document a meeting, and want the business card to be with other documents I scan which are inside THAT meeting note, how do I accomplish that?

 

I'm brand new to Evernote, so I hope this isn't a stupic question...

[freevees 1]

Try setting the Capture Mode to "Manual." The app should then recognize the card simply as another document page. I'm not sure this will work as I don't have my Scannable set up for recognizing business cards, but worth a try.

[MCShults 4]

Freeves: Thanks for the suggestion. Can you tell me where this Capture Mode setting can be found?

• FYI - I am a "Premium" user so I should have all the bells and whistles.
• I'm looking at my iPhone Evernote app and I don't find "Capture Mode" anywhere in settings. There is a "Camera" option, and a "Business Cards" menu, but no "Capture Mode" or anything else pertinent...
• On the Evernote PC application, I looked under Tools => Optons:  No "Capture Mode" there either.
• I logged in to Evernote via my browser and searched through all the options under my account: Nada on "Capture Mode" there.
• Don't see anything buttons or controls or anything else with the word "Scannable" anywhere either....?

[freevees 1]

@MCShults, I actually stumbled upon this thread after I'd posted a question re "Scannable," an Evernote app for scanning documents and business cards so I apologize if I've given you false hope...

[briancaldwell 202]

MCShults, I would like to suggest an alternative for you.

 

Capturing a business card as a business card note is a good thing because it a) preserves the card as an image, and c ) extracts the contact details into the note body, and c) pulls the persons contact details from their LinkedIn profile to enhance the card note with more details, and d) adds the new contact to your Contacts app, and e) allows you to immediately send your contact details to the person that you just met. This can lead to a magical first meeting with a new contact. I would recommend that you continue to let this happen.

 

In your meeting note, you can link to the business card note instead of only embedding the card image. This way you can have the best of both note types, while also tying to two notes together. 

 

You can get a link to the business card note by right clicking on the note, then selecting "Note Link" from the menu to copy to the link to your clipboard. The go to the meeting note and past the link in.

 

This is my daily process and it works very well for me.

[MCShults 4]

Wow Brian Caldwell, thank you for your response...

 

If a separate business card note works for you, great, I'm not trying to take it away, I just want the option to keep it simple and straightforward, and opt out of the unnecessary-for and unwanted-by me, overly complicated extras you describe.

 

I figured out and have been using a WORKAROUND, which is to stick the business card or cards onto something else I want to scan to the meeting note, or onto a larger piece of paper onto which I write other notes, so EverNote doesn't just grab the business card or cards off an otherwise blank page. This can be a pain, and time-inefficient, and as such, not what I want Evernote for, but it accomplishes the simple need to put the attendee's cards in the meeting note.

 

Thank you for pointing out the "Link" capability. I see what you mean there, but I think I'll stick with the workaround for now, because it gives me what I want.

 

I'll take your word on the Linked In connection, I don't use that, though I can see how it could be useful, because pulling data from a business card scan is a difficult and error-prone process. Since one OFTEN doesn't get good information from business card scanning, maybe using Linked In to buff the business card data will yield less garbage-in to contact apps.

 

I don't have Evernote connected to a contacts app (I hope), because I don't want every business card from every meeting junking up my contact list anyway. I REALLY just want to be able to attach the business card, and any other documentation, to the "meeting note" and leave it at that.

 

I should point out that there is no apparent reason why what would seem a prima facie "best practice" of leaving the business card attached to the note would necessarily preclude any of the "benefits" you describe. A business card attached to a meeting note would still preserve the image, and you could still run that data by LinkedIn and feed it to contacts & etc.

 

At this point I gather the answer is that I will have to use the workaround to opt out of the business card grab-away. If one has to split the business cards off to provide the functionality you describe for others, so be it;  but for those of us who want the obvious value of having business cards stay with the notes, it sure would be nice to have a "spare me" button somewhere that turns off some or all of your fancy schamncy business card solution; thanks.