Feature Request: "Sort by" per notebook

[Manic Panic 54]

A thing that's been bothering me in this great service ever since I started using it 2 years ago, is that it is not possible to set a sorting order for a specific notebook. To me this seems very basic, so I was very disappointed that it's still not available in the new beta.

I mean, am I the only one who wants my receipts ordered by date and my recipes ordered by title? My family photos ordered by date and my art photos ordered by title?

I do sincerely hope this can be implemented!!

Once again, thanks for the great software.

[DTLow 5,736]

I was under the impression different sorts had already been implemented in the Windows platform
I'm patiently waiting for this to make it to the other platforms
In the meantime, I implemented my own solution on my Mac using Applescript (documented here)

[WolfChild 19]

7 minutes ago, DTLow said:

I was under the impression different sorts had already been implemented in the Windows platform
I'm patiently waiting for this to make it to the other platforms
In the meantime, I implemented my own solution on my Mac using Applescript (documented here)

Nope. If I sort a notebook's notes by recently created date and I go into a different notebook it's sorted the same. If I then sort that by tittle and go back into the previous notebook it's all sorted by tittle too. I use the windows desktop platform. I can't speak on any other format. 

[CalS 5,280]

1 hour ago, WolfChild said:

Nope. If I sort a notebook's notes by recently created date and I go into a different notebook it's sorted the same. If I then sort that by tittle and go back into the previous notebook it's all sorted by tittle too. I use the windows desktop platform. I can't speak on any other format. 

After you have selected the notebook for which you want to set the sort, you then have to select Remember View Settings ... from the view drop down before you create the sort order.  Otherwise any changes are made to the default sort order.

[TdeV 88]

@csihilling, what version are you running? I'm on Windows and don't see those options.

[CalS 5,280]

1 hour ago, TdeV said:

@csihilling, what version are you running? I'm on Windows and don't see those options.

6.3.3  You won't see the option in All Notes context, but I think it will be there for all other notebook, tag, or search contexts.

[WolfChild 19]

Thank you! I found it! It's not in the "view" drop down menu it's in the "right click" menu. If right-click the notebook there is an option to "remember view settings". 

Awesome!! Finally! Why doesn't Evernote release this information when it gets updated? Or do they? I'm subscribed to their email list and get emails about things that are not important to me but not functional usage things like this!

[CalS 5,280]

You are welcome.

The view drop down I mentioned is the one just to the left of the search bar, per the picture above, not the menu bar View item.  You can remember the view settings by right clicking on a notebook if you have the left panel open for sure.  I've just found it easier to remember settings for notebooks, tags and searches by using the above drop down, not the menu bar View item,  YMMV,

[jefito 5,589]

59 minutes ago, WolfChild said:

Awesome!! Finally! Why doesn't Evernote release this information when it gets updated? Or do they? I'm subscribed to their email list and get emails about things that are not important to me but not functional usage things like this!

it's right there, in the release notes:

Evernote for Windows 6.3 Release Notes

New:

• You can save setting for viewing notes in a specific notebook, saved search, or tag—as snippets, cards, thumbnails, in a list, in reverse sort order. When you adjust your view of a note list, choose "Remember View Setting for…" from the drop down menu.

 

[Jay Z. 2]

Yeah... no bueno on Mac.

DTLow's AppleScript solution is rather elegant—kudos for the share there : )—albeit should not really be necessary to script around the issue, imho. Has anyone figured out if this is a technical limitation or a philosophical one? i.e. early/foundational code prevents implementation of granular/non-global sort or more a matter of the brass deciding on-high that users *should not be able to* sort as such? I can only imagine what a headache it is to essentially re-write the entire base to fix such a fundamental issue (and we appreciate the valiant efforts if that's what's happening behind the scenes, sincerely) but I'm interested to know what the root level cause(s) are if anyone has the time, info or inclination.

[jefito 5,589]

1 hour ago, Jay Z. said:

Has anyone figured out if this is a technical limitation or a philosophical one?

Just guessing, but this is most likely just a matter of the various platforms getting new features at differing rates. This is a brand new feature, implemented first on the Windows client, and I'd expect it to be implemented on Mac at some point, but the teams are largely independent and this doesn't appear to depend on any Evernote API changes that would require simultaneous rollout across all clients. They do aim for feature parity, though, particularly for larger features like this one; it just takes a while to implement across all of their supported clients.

[CalS 5,280]

Though you cannot set sort by notebook in IOS and Android you can set sort by notebook in the Windows app today.

[DTLow 5,736]

6 minutes ago, csihilling said:

you can set sort by notebook in the Windows app today.

I assume we'll get the same feature on Macs someday, but in the meantime I use a script (documented here)

[jefito 5,589]

3 hours ago, Robert David said:

Open to feedback.

Not sure why you posted this here; doesn't seem to have anything to do with Evernote. 3rd Party Application Discussions or Off Topic Discussions would probably have been more appropriate forums for this information.

[Denzil Dragon 0]

Does anyone know whether this is any closer to being an option on Mac? It seems it's been possible on the Windows version for ages.

[bdeclee 7]

Earlier in this thread someone mentioned that you can open the app in different windows, thereby allowing you to sort notes differently that way. In my case (using the Mac app), I can open different tabs and view my notebooks with the sort order that's appropriate for that notebook. For now, it's a decent workaround. 

[DTLow 5,736]

13 minutes ago, bdeclee said:

I can open different tabs and view my notebooks with the sort order that's appropriate for that notebook

Yes, but you have to manually set the sort order for each of those views
Windows has a feature where the sort order is saved for each notebook

[gecha14 1]

Currently, folder sort view is managed by a global setting that affects all notebooks.  So if you sort one notebook by alpha, then all notebooks are sorted by alpha.

I propose making this global setting a checkbox in preferences.  The default is this setting is "checked," meaning one global rule for sorting all notebooks (the way things are now).  But if you "uncheck" the box, then each folder could have its own sorting parameter. For example, you might sort an inbox folder by date, but you'd sort a folder of favorite recipes by alpha.

What happens when you uncheck the box in preferences?  All folders would have a default initial sort parameter equal to the one that existed immediately before the unchecking of the box. That is, if you're on the global setting and sorting by alpha, then if you uncheck the box, all folders would have an initial parameter of alpha sort.  But then you could subsequently change this in each folder by choosing a new sort parameter (which would then obviously be remembered on a folder specific basis).  

[twkrol 2]

I would like to see it too!

[DTLow 5,736]

On 2017-09-22 at 4:36 AM, gecha14 said:

Currently, folder sort view is managed by a global setting that affects all notebooks.

My understanding is the Windows platform allows view options to be specified per notebook

[CalS 5,280]

18 minutes ago, DTLow said:

My understanding is the Windows platform allows view options to be specified per notebook

Here's what it looks like on Windows.  Also applies to tags and searches.

[twkrol 2]

Thanks! It was not easy to find it.

[CalS 5,280]

You are welcome.

[Bestranger 0]

It is really important for me..

[CalS 5,280]

17 hours ago, Bestranger said:

It is really important for me..

You don't mention which platform, but notebook sort order can be set if using the Windows desktop.by selecting the view drop down (just to the left of the search box).

[Scottster 2]

Almost all my notebooks are sorted by updated time so I see my most recent notes first.  But a couple I really want to sort by Title - but if I do that, it messes up the others.  It would be neat to be able to set this on a per notebook basis. 

[jefito 5,589]

You can do this in the Windows Evernote client: set up your notebook the way you like it, click on the notebook name in the left panel, and select "Remember View Settings". I don't know whether Evernote clients on other OS's support this, or whether view settings are synced to other devices or Evernote instances.

[Scottster 2]

to clarify: this feature is available on the Windows native client; it would be nice if it was also available on Mac. 

Here's how to use this feature in Windows:

- in the notebook on which you'd like to change sort order, click the grid dropdown to the left of the search box.  Set your sort order.  Then click at the bottom of the dropdown to set "Always use for Notebook "name-of-notebook."  Then go back to another notebook, and change the sort order back to the default. 

[Scottster 2]

Thanks @jefito - we both posted this at the same time.  You are correct - it's a feature on Windows but not on Mac. 

[jefito 5,589]

Note that the current subforum that this is in is for general (i.e., not platform specific) requests. But it would be a nice feature for other platforms, too, particularly if these settings were syncable to other platforms. I'm guessing that there's a case a user wanting different sort criteria on a different devices, and also there's a case for having the settings sync for shared notebooks, though they should be overridable if the person that the notebook is shared to wants a different ordering.

Upvoted, as amended.

[Kool 0]

To enable sorting by notebook (this is in the Evernote program on Windows):

Click on the note view button

Select the sorting you want then check the Always use for Notebook at bottom of list 

Thanks to Evernote for adding this awesome feature. Admins if you are reading this please update your help documents. According to "https://help.evernote.com/hc/en-us/articles/208313628-How-to-change-the-sort-order-of-your-notes" the document states "The sort order is an application-wide setting, so all notebooks, search results, and other note lists are all sorted the same way. You cannot set different sort orders for different groups of notes." Please update your Evernote help document so that users are aware of how to use this feature.

 

[kreisimatti 1]

Our company would also appreciate it, if this function were added. We host our documentation for the coworkers on Evernote and would like to keep them in the order we choose, and let the coworkers arrange their other notebooks as they wish. This feature would be very helpful for us.

[Denzil Dragon 0]

I have some notebooks that I always view in date order, some I always view with the most recently edited at the top, and some I always have alphabetical. Whenever I switch to a new notebook though, it's always shown in the order of whatever the previous notebook was set to, and I have to keep switching the order manually. (I just had to do this a dozen times in the space of a couple of minutes.) It'd be great to have some way to set a notebook to always having a particular view order.

[DTLow 5,736]

1 hour ago, Denzil Dragon said:

Whenever I switch to a new notebook though, it's always shown in the order of whatever the previous notebook was set to, and I have to keep switching the order manually. 

I understand Windows has a feature that saves the sort order with the notebook

The other platforms have a single setting for the note list.  
As a work-around, I use scripting (Mac) to assign sort order to saved searches.

[CalS 5,280]

Windows option is under the view icon, will remember whatever view and sort sequence for tags, saved searches and notebooks.

[parich 0]

Sort by notebook is also the number 1 feature I would like to see added to this awesome app.

[RJLUK 307]

On 3/16/2019 at 9:53 PM, Life of Joseph said:

I have the same needs. For journaling, I would prefer them to sort according to the most recent dates. For writing project, I would prefer them to sort according to chapter number or section number. 

It seems that many have requested this feature for some time. Maybe a separate issue but manual sorting would be really useful notebook by notebook. If one uses Evernote for research, perhaps with a view to writing a book or preparing a presentation then the ability to manually sort a sequence of notes within a specific notebook would be awesome. I have read up about this and am aware of the work rounds but it would be really useful to many. For those, paying perhaps it could be a pro feature?

[DTLow 5,736]

6 hours ago, rob24hrs said:

Maybe a separate issue but manual sorting would be really useful

The request discussion for "manual sorting" is Here

Currently, Evernote only supports "manual sorting" in the Shortcuts and Reminders section.

My work-around for "manual sorting" is to prefix the title with a special character.  
For example "-Project Master  Note" sorts at the top in title sequence

[CalS 5,280]

5 hours ago, rob24hrs said:

It seems that many have requested this feature for some time. Maybe a separate issue but manual sorting would be really useful notebook by notebook. If one uses Evernote for research, perhaps with a view to writing a book or preparing a presentation then the ability to manually sort a sequence of notes within a specific notebook would be awesome. I have read up about this and am aware of the work rounds but it would be really useful to many. For those, paying perhaps it could be a pro feature?

You don't mention which platform, but notebook sort order can be set if using the Windows desktop.by selecting the view drop down (just to the left of the search box).

[WolfChild 19]

This issue has already been fixed. Everynote admins need to archive this thread. You can very easily change the default sorting for individual notebooks. I think as someone else mentoned it's only in the desktop version. But I'm not certain. 

[DTLow 5,736]

18 minutes ago, WolfChild said:

This issue has already been fixed.

A sort/save option has been added, but only on the Windows platform

[RJLUK 307]

9 hours ago, DTLow said:

Currently, Evernote only supports "manual sorting" in the Shortcuts and Reminders section.

Yes I am aware of that hence the request...which has been request many times it would appear. I use Evernote web, Mac OS and iOS.

[RJLUK 307]

1 hour ago, WolfChild said:

This issue has already been fixed. Everynote admins need to archive this thread. You can very easily change the default sorting for individual notebooks. I think as someone else mentoned it's only in the desktop version. But I'm not certain. 

No it hasn't - it is not available on Mac or IOS or Web. Please check your facts before suggesting threads be closed.

[DavidJR 14]

YES!! I want this feature too. I organize my daily diary by the date I created the note for obvious reasons but I want all other notes to be organized by the last date they were edited. This feature is badly needed!!

[CalS 5,280]

2 hours ago, DavidJR said:

YES!! I want this feature too. I organize my daily diary by the date I created the note for obvious reasons but I want all other notes to be organized by the last date they were edited. This feature is badly needed!!

Particular platform other than Windows which already has the capability?

[MatS14 19]

+1(000000000000)

[JanW 3]

Right now it seems what ever i set the 'sort by' to covers every notebook, i'd like to be able to sort my notebooks individually...i need some sorted by date created, some by title and so on but right now one setting is all we have for all our notebooks.

Can we please have individual settings for each notebook, not one setting for all.

[Stephen at Too Many Dreams 3]

Hi,

I have just shy of 100 Notebooks, which I consider the higher level folder for subsequent notes.

Currently, if I chose to sort the Notes within a Notebook by one criteria - most frequently used, title, etc - this updates the sort functionality within every single Notebook.

To my mind, it would be more helpful to have this higher-level sort option within the default settings menu, but then have the ability to sort each Notebook individually.

I usually default to having my Notebooks sorted by Most Recently Used, so I can quickly get to the Note I need when I open the relevant Notebook. However, Notebooks that aren't opened so frequently and are used more for reference would be useful if they could be sorted alphabetically. 

I know it doesn't take long to do one search and then change it again once complete, but this seems somewhat unnecessary.

Greater flexibility, without detracting from the simplicity of execution would be great.

Thanks in advance.

Stephen

 

[DTLow 5,736]

32 minutes ago, Stephen at Too Many Dreams said:

To my mind, it would be more helpful to have this higher-level sort option within the default settings menu, but then have the ability to sort each Notebook individually.

This is already an option on the Windows devices

 My request is for view/sort options to be attached to saved searches (I have minimal notebooks)

[Stephen at Too Many Dreams 3]

Mac, iPad and Google Pixel phone

[pizazz 0]

Hey guys, love Evernote, use it to organise my entire life.  Mostly I sort my notebooks by date updated.  But with some notebooks that are organising study notes for reference, I want to organise them by Alphabetical order. But was disappointed to realise that changing the Sort By setting in one notebook, changes the settings for ALL notebooks, so I will have to turn that setting on every time I go to use that notebook.

Would be amazing if we could implement a "sort by" function specific to each notebook so it saves your viewing preference for each notebook.

Thanks!

[DTLow 5,736]

Requests have been merged for this topic

[loynis.armitage 8]

I wish you could implement the feature to the Mac client too!

[BEHA 70]

In the Evernote Android app, I can set "sort by" in a notebook as I need it, but this then applies globally to every notebook in the app.

 Different in Evernote Desktop (Windows): I can set "always use for this notebook" and there the sorting option only applies to the respective notebook.

 Apparently there is no such thing in the app, or have I overseen something?

What I want to achieve: I need some notebooks sorted by "last updated" and others alphabetically by title - and I would also like to be able to do this via the app.

Isn't this possible in the Android app?

[DTLow 5,736]

6 minutes ago, BEHA said:

What I want to achieve: I need some notebooks sorted by "last updated" and others alphabetically by title - and I would also like to be able to do this via the app.

I merged your request with an existing feature request.      
To indicate your support, use the vote button at the top left corner of the discussion

[jefito 5,589]

12 minutes ago, BEHA said:

Different in Evernote Desktop (Windows): I can set "always use for this notebook" and there the sorting option only applies to the respective notebook.

A useful thing for Evernote for Windows, for sure, but ultimately a very unfortunate -- and disappointing -- thing for Evernote in that they didn't carry this feature out to the other Evernote clients..Here's hoping that this gets carried over as they explicitly move towards feature parity across all Evernote platforms, which they've talked about in their Behind the Scenes video series: https://discussion.evernote.com/forum/306-behind-the-scenes-series/.

[DTLow 5,736]

1 hour ago, Pastor Wynn said:

Please bring the individualizing of sorting to Mac.

Moved to the feature request forum, and merged with an existing request

To indicate your support, use the vote button at the top corner of the discussion   
This request currently has 34 user votes

[katazap 0]

I've always been a Windows user and recently got an iMac for work. I am shocked that this feature is not available for Mac! I though it was just an android/iOS annoyance

[Mr_Neffets 1]

Just another person voicing that this basic feature needs to be added to Mac, (and preferably, it should be mirrored in mobile as well). As others have noted, finding different types of information are facilitated by different types of sorting methods. 

[Dick M 16]

Some notebooks have notes which are best sorted by Title, others by date created. Although it is easy enough to pick the sort option for each notebook when I use it, I would like to see and option to store the order selected for each notebook, so it does not have to be changed each time I do work in that notebook.

[BeEfficient 44]

any news regarding individual "sort by" for each notebook?

[WorldThatWorksForEveryone 0]

I agree! I need this feature also. I switch between notebooks 30-40 times an hour and want them to have different sort styles. I've resorted to crazy work around methods: I sort by creation date most of the time so I'll create a blank note and then move the notes below it one by one until I get a blank note in the say 4th slot and then can insert my new notes.

Quite a pain in the butt to work around like this and it obviously only works for small notebooks (that have 10 or less notes).

[Reinier van der Hoek 12]

Sorting on notebook is essential for me and prohibit now from using Evernote 10.

This also counts for sorting on labels.

[bcdrane42 0]

Just another user asking for sorting type to stick that way for each notebook.

To be honest, it's concerning to me that after 8 years of asking for this, it still doesn't exist. I'm a windows user and it does not work even though it appears it used to.

[CalS 5,280]

6 hours ago, bcdrane42 said:

Just another user asking for sorting type to stick that way for each notebook.

To be honest, it's concerning to me that after 8 years of asking for this, it still doesn't exist. I'm a windows user and it does not work even though it appears it used to.

This was implemented in legacy Windows desktop which I still use some time ago.  Saved display settings for notebooks, searches, and tags.  It is a great feature particularly for saved searches.  Don't think the feature has made it into V10 for Windows desktop.

 

[Edmond Lau 2]

+1 to "by notebook" sorting order

[DTLow 5,736]

1 minute ago, Edmond Lau said:

+1 ...

To indicate support for a request, use the vote button at the top left corner of the discussion

[AdamWu 4]

This isn't a feature yet???????

[PinkElephant 8,066]

No - give it a try if you want to find out.

If I look at the number of posts and votes here, it is not really the hot stuff 🌶️

[PinkElephant 8,066]

To contact EN, issue a support ticket; or use the feedback function build into the clients.

The forum is user2user.

[spikyman 0]

Several commenters have noted that this feature appeared in the windows client version. It seems to have been removed. 

I have 2 notebooks that I frequently flip between, and having to change the sort every time is becoming a pain point. 

Dear Evernote: C'mon guys, this isn't rocket science.

[Rkeely 2]

🚨 For anyone like me who couldn't figure it out, as of Aug 2022, you can do this in the Mac version!!! (haven't tried the other ones) 🚨

First, change and move around your columns, and add a sort order.

Then, click the "View options" icon under the Notebook title. You should see a dropdown with sections for "Note list view" and "Columns", then at the bottom an option that says "Save current view options for this notebook".

That's what you're looking for!

[Reinier van der Hoek 12]

20 hours ago, Rkeely said:

🚨 For anyone like me who couldn't figure it out, as of Aug 2022, you can do this in the Mac version!!! (haven't tried the other ones) 🚨

First, change and move around your columns, and add a sort order.

Then, click the "View options" icon under the Notebook title. You should see a dropdown with sections for "Note list view" and "Columns", then at the bottom an option that says "Save current view options for this notebook".

That's what you're looking for!

This option works only in a notebook notulist, you still cannot sort on label. If you have a notelist from a stack of notebooks (or label with notes form different notebooks)  and you cannot  sort on notebook of label. The option "save current view" is not showing. Thanks for the tip, but it is unfortunately not a solution.

[Bertrand35 1]

Hello.

I fully agree with this idea which was available in the "legacy" (6.x) Evernote version and strangely has not been kept in 10.x version.

I was about to suggest this feature when I saw it was already there. So I cross my fingers to see it again soon 🙂

Bye

Bertrand D.

[PinkElephant 8,066]

This is a mid-runner among feature requests, so it could be a long wait.

If you want to promote it, send your ideas at 

feedback@evernote.com

Tell them WHY it is important for you, not only that it is.

[Pooja Karole 1]

On 11/2/2012 at 2:53 PM, Manic Panic said:

A thing that's been bothering me in this great service ever since I started using it 2 years ago, is that it is not possible to set a sorting order for a specific notebook. To me this seems very basic, so I was very disappointed that it's still not available in the new beta.

I mean, am I the only one who wants my receipts ordered by date and my recipes ordered by title? My family photos ordered by date and my art photos ordered by title?

I do sincerely hope this can be implemented!!

Once again, thanks for the great software.

Same i want to say