It is pretty much like clockwork these days. If you see a major Evernote update for Android it is a good bet that an update for the iOS app in coming soon. If you see a major update for the Windows application there is often a major update for the Mac version coming in the not-so-distant future. And if you see one specific aspect of Evernote seemingly forgotten it is a pretty good bet that a major overhaul is on the way. No, there are no guarantees that this pattern holds but, at least since Evernote came out of Beta not so long ago this has been the pattern. And this pattern is the reason I was not surprised to learn that a new interface for Evernote’s web access was coming.
Well, the update is here and it just went live. Evernote is introducing it in this way; “The Shiny New Evernote Web: Redesigned Interface, Expanded Note Sharing Options and More”. Fact is, it is an impressive overhaul that it makes the web interface something I will actually begin using again. As they explain, “The new Evernote Web is not just visually different, it’s also completely rewritten to make the underlying architecture faster, more responsive and more modern.”
Here are some key features:
Optimized Performance: The new interface is FAST! I have almost 10GB of content in Evernote and the new interface moves through it quickly. That was not the case in the past.
Notebooks Stacks: These visual groupings of notebooks let you organize your various notebooks into a hierarchical “tree”. I didn’t think they were a big deal until I started using them. If you have a lot of notebooks they are quite useful in staying organized.
Snippet view: Note Snippets let you see important information from your notes without actually opening them. This is a great feature if you have a lot of similar notes and want to find the specific one that is relevant to you.
Sharing: You can now quickly share individual notes over Facebook, email etc.
There is much more including, Saved Searches, Multi-selecting and dragging and Auto-save. It is a big update and one that makes using Evernote on the web better than ever. It is, however a work in progress. In fact, that is exactly how Evernote describes it when they explains,
Work in progress: There are several features that we have not yet implemented in the new Evernote Web. These include: filtering notes by attributes, viewing your note history, printing your note, and creating saved searches.
Those features are coming but, for now, if you want to use them you simply need to switch back to the old interface.
You can check it out here. The full announcement follows.
The Shiny New Evernote Web: Redesigned Interface, Expanded Note Sharing Options and More
Over the past several months, we’ve released completely new versions of our four most popular product versions: Windows, Mac, iPhone, and Android. Today, we’re excited to unveil the fifth newly redesigned member of the Evernote family: Evernote Web.
All of our recent redesigns have had several key intentions in common:
Improving the user experience
Optimizing performance
Getting the most out of each platform’s native capabilities
Incorporating as much user feedback as possible
Each one of these core intentions played a critical role in our decisions around the new Evernote Web. Take a look for yourself.
Consistent, easy-to-use interface
The most obvious change you’ll notice in Evernote Web is the entirely new interface. For those of you that use our desktop versions, the new three-panel interface will look pretty familiar. From left to right: the notebook panel shows your notebooks and tags, note list can be found in the middle and single note view on the right allows you to view and edit your notes. We moved Search into a more convenient location, just above the note list.
Here are some additional notable features and capabilities:
Notebooks Stacks: You can visually group your notebooks into Stacks by either dragging one notebook onto another or by clicking on the arrow that shows up when you mouse over a notebook and choosing Add to Stack.
Snippet view: The note list Snippet View allows you to get the most useful information about your note without needing to open it–perfect for quick browsing.
Saved Searches: You can perform any searches that you’ve saved using a desktop version of Evernote by clicking into the Search bar. Saved searches will appear in a drop down list.
Multi-selecting and dragging: The new Evernote Web allows you to select multiple notes by holding down the CMD key on Mac or the CTRL key on Windows as you click. Once you’ve selected desired notes, you can drag these notes into a new notebook, tag or into the trash.
Auto-save: When creating or editing a note you can now select whether you want Evernote to autosave your note as you write, or to save it manually by clicking on the Autosave switch above the note editor.
Quickly share individual notes over Facebook, email and more!
Our focus is on your memory–helping you save and find all of your ideas, projects and inspirations wherever you may be. As you add more and more stuff into Evernote, you’ll likely want to share bits and pieces with family, friends and colleagues. That’s why we’re excited to announce a major expansion of our sharing capabilities to include quick sharing of individual notes through Facebook, email and your instant messenger.
Now, you have two great options for sharing your notes. If you’re working with a team or class on a project, then you can share a notebook. Or, if you have a single note that you want to share with your friends, you can do that too. In the web interface, we’ve placed both sharing options into a new Share button located at the top of each note. Click the button to beginning sharing. It’s quick and easy. If at some point you decide that you no longer want to share a note, you can simply click on the word “Shared” that appears in the Note details to deactivate sharing.
Here’s an example of a shared note from my account. It’s a list of restaurants in San Francisco that I want to try.
We’re launching this feature as part of our Evernote Web redesign and will be adding it to other versions of Evernote very soon.
Work in progress
There are several features that we have not yet implemented in the new Evernote Web. These include: filtering notes by attributes, viewing your note history, printing your note, and creating saved searches. If you’re looking for any of these features, or just want to take your time diving into the new layout, you can go to the old Evernote Web interface, which is accessible via a link at the top of the login page.
The new Evernote Web is not just visually different, it’s also completely rewritten to make the underlying architecture faster, more responsive and more modern. All of this means that Evernote Web will be better for you today, and that we’ll be able to add more great features in the future. Stay tuned.
