How to view attached Word docs as attachments

[PVB 2]

I attached a word file to a note on a desktop. Now I can see on my mobile device that the note has a file attached, in the list view. But I can not open the attachment on mobile device by any program.... is that the way it should be? Then what's the use of this attachment? Or there is a way to open it somehow? Under desktop version you simply click the file and Word opens it.

[gazumped 11,666]

Hi.  Attachments aren't immediately available on mobile devices - notes are not downloaded to the device unless you select that notebook for 'offline access',  because of the limited storage associated with most mobiles.  So you have two choices.

1. Put anything that you might want to view into an offline access notebook if you have sufficient storage space or
2. copy the content of your word file into the note as text.  It won't necessarily be pretty or laid out very well,  but you will have the full content for immediate access.

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,959]

I hate to disagree with the venerable gazumped, but in fact I can and do view and edit attachments on my Android phone. I presume they are downloaded when you access them.

The key is that there must be an app on the phone capable of opening the file; Evernote can't do it itself (any more than any other app could). I just created a test note on my desktop and dragged 2 files into it, one .DOC and one .DOCX. I then went to my phone and did a sync, and the note with the two attachment indicators was there. I long-pressed on one of the attachments, and it opened in the app on my phone that I have designated as the default for Office documents.

So, to PVB, be sure you have an app on your phone that can open the attachment. For Office files, I like Hancom Office Hword, but it looks like that may not be readily available anymore. There are also Polaris Office and OfficeSuite, and of course MS Office itself. Check these out on the Google Play Store. But if you already have an app on the phone that is capable of handling Word files, then there is some other problem.

[Matt W. 174]

Hi @PVB,

Thank you for posting and welcome to the forums.

@Dave-in-Decatur is very much correct with this, as I do the same when needing to access a document that is in my Evernote. Opening it up with something like Polaris or in some cases Google Docs or Sheets is possible and then saving the document back into the note itself when done with the edit.

[gazumped 11,666]

Yep - my bad explaining; @Dave-in-Decatur covered it with -

7 hours ago, Dave-in-Decatur said:

I presume they are downloaded when you access them.

I interpreted the query as being 'why doesn't the document show inline' but I could have said that better. 

[PVB 2]

Hi and thanks all of you for your input. The problem has been resolved. What actually happened was that I could see the attachment in the list view only. When I opened a note, there was no file attached first, then after some time I could see the file in the note itself, but could not open it. I have WPS Office and Hancom Viewer, so there should be no problem. Then the issue somehow was resolved on its own. Now everything works fine.

Another question is a bit off topic but still... When I tap the attachment to open it, I have only two options for .doc files to choose: WPS Office and HancomViewer. While other software like File Manager offers those and other apps to open it such as AlReader. Can I configure my Samsung Note 4 so that Evernote and other apps use only AlReader to open this type of attachments?

[gazumped 11,666]

Hi.  I think that's more of an Android problem.  If you go to Android Settings > Application Manager and choose an app,  you'll see an option to 'clear defaults'.  That's because when you have a choice of apps with which to open a file,  you also see 'only this once' or 'always' as options.  If you can find a way to get Alreader to open a Doc extension and choose the 'always' option,  you've set the default.  Might be worth looking at the other two apps you're offered and see whether they are set as defaults for anything.

Don't know how to get Alreader onto the choice list though - anyone else got any ideas?

[Matt W. 174]

@gazumped I am right there with you on this. Clearing the defaults will prompt you to reselect the default application to open the file, however it is at the Android OS/ Application level as to what can be used to open the application. So if the application doesn't appear in the list of apps to open the file, I do not believe there is a way to select it.

[gazumped 11,666]

Hmmn.  Only thing I can suggest (and it's a complete guess) is to uninstall and restart / reinstall Alreader to clear out any preferences that  may be set when the app is initially installed.  If that doesn't work,  and you're really really keen to get it to do so,  you could do the same again with Evernote.

If no-one here comes up with any more ideas I'd suggest you contact support for your phone / your carrier who may have better ideas for fixing this... 

[calebcupp22@gmail.com 0]

I absolutely can not open my attachments.  I only see a paper clip picture and that is it.  The only thing I can do is open and view the picture of the paperclip.  The names of my documents are gone. Please help.  These were word documents and they were very important to me and I can't find them anywhere else.   

[gazumped 11,666]

On 03/09/2016 at 9:02 PM, calebcupp22@gmail.com said:

I absolutely can not open my attachments.  I only see a paper clip picture and that is it.  The only thing I can do is open and view the picture of the paperclip.  The names of my documents are gone. Please help.  These were word documents and they were very important to me and I can't find them anywhere else.   

Hi.  What device are you using,  and were able to open word documents at one stage?  What changed?

[DTLow 5,736]

On September 3, 2016 at 1:02 PM, calebcupp22@gmail.com said:

I absolutely can not open my attachments.  I only see a paper clip picture and that is it.  The only thing I can do is open and view the picture of the paperclip.  The names of my documents are gone. Please help.  These were word documents and they were very important to me and I can't find them anywhere else.   

The master version of your notes is on the Evernote servers.
Are you able to log onto the web platform (www.evernote.com), and verify your note attachments are valid.
If yes, the problem is with our device

Some troubleshooting solutions are

1. Reboot your device
2. Delete and reinstall the app

[JerrySNB 5]

I have a .DOC file attached to a note. If I try to view or edit it, I'm asked if I want to use Docs or Hancom Office. I have the real MS Word installed on my phone, but it isn't offered as a choice. If I download the attachment from the note, the downloaded file opens up in Word just fine.

I can also tell my file manager that Word is the default application for opening DOC files.

It appears that this is some limitation of Evernote. Am I missing something?

[gazumped 11,666]

I've not had problems opening attached files in the correct software - have you tried syncing Evernote,  then uninstalling / restarting / reinstalling?  There's no way that I'm aware of to force an app to be 'available' in a pop-up window for opening an attachment.  You could try submitting a report/ feedback via Evernote > Settings

[JerrySNB 5]

35 minutes ago, gazumped said:

I've not had problems opening attached files in the correct software - have you tried syncing Evernote,  then uninstalling / restarting / reinstalling?  There's no way that I'm aware of to force an app to be 'available' in a pop-up window for opening an attachment.  You could try submitting a report/ feedback via Evernote > Settings

I did exactly what you suggested. I was hoping that reinstalling Evernote would force it to take a look around and see which apps were installed, but that didn't happen. I'm still offered the choice of Docs or HanCom.

I see an option to send the activity log to Evernote, but I have no idea what to put in the "To:" field. I don't see any option to send feedback, per se.

[DTLow 5,736]

2 minutes ago, JerrySNB said:

I see an option to send the activity log to Evernote, but I have no idea what to put in the "To:" field. I don't see any option to send feedback, per se.

I usually send the activity logs to myself.

Then I have them when I'm opening a ticket or replying to support

[gazumped 11,666]

Yup - apologies:  having a senior moment.  It used to be possible to send an email to Evernote from Settings/ Support,  but now the idea is to send on an activity log after you've reported via the website.  Your current log probably isn't going to be helpful to anyone,  since nothing is going 'wrong' as such.  If you can submit a support request (if you're a paying user) I'd certainly suggest you do so.  I'm about out of ideas at this stage - any Android super-gurus out there?

[JerrySNB 5]

1 hour ago, gazumped said:

Yup - apologies:  having a senior moment.  It used to be possible to send an email to Evernote from Settings/ Support,  but now the idea is to send on an activity log after you've reported via the website.  Your current log probably isn't going to be helpful to anyone,  since nothing is going 'wrong' as such.  If you can submit a support request (if you're a paying user) I'd certainly suggest you do so.  I'm about out of ideas at this stage - any Android super-gurus out there?

Aye, there's the rub—I'm not a paying user. I have sent in bug reports in the past, and not only have they responded but they even had me test some beta software for them. I don't blame Evernote for limiting support for freeloaders, but it does leave me stuck.

The two apps that Evernote offers are both pre-installed on my Samsung phone. That's probably a clue, but a clue to what? I have no idea.

[gazumped 11,666]

OK I'm intrigued - what are the 'two' apps?  AFAIK Evernote's main app is the only one available for Android - unless you also still have Food installed...  Can you see what version these apps are?  The main one will be listed in Settings > Support.

[JerrySNB 5]

Sorry. I meant that when I try to open a .docx file, Evernote offers me the choice of two apps to use: Hancom Office and Google Docs.

It doesn't offer MS Word. Android Word is buggy, but it does integrate well with the desktop application. I could use different apps at different times, depending on how the files are opened, but that's a PITA.

[gazumped 11,666]

Hmmn.  Anyway here's an option you may have missed so far... https://discussion.evernote.com/announcement/53-reach-out-to-evernote-support-on-twitter-evernotehelps/

 

 

[JerrySNB 5]

I've never used Twitter, but I'll give it a try.

Thanks.

[danx55 0]

hi guys,

thanks for the info here - im just trying out using a docx with encrypt password set - evernote wasn't able to find an app on my device that could open this ... although it has onenote built in - assume that is the defaults mentioned here ..... but I did get around this by downloading the docx and then opening it on the device

....shame that evernote doesn't have built in file/doc encryption :/

 

cheers

dan