Update: Evernote for Mac gets sharing [read the post]
Update: Evernote for Web gets quick note sharing [http://blog.evernote.com/2011/03/29/the-shiny-new-evernote-web-redesigned-interface-expanded-note-sharing-options-and-more/">read the post]
Update: Evernote for Windows gets sharing [read the post]
Update: Evernote for Android gets sharing [read the post]
Update: Evernote for iOS gets sharing [read the post]
For the past year, we’ve had a single goal: becoming your second brain. We made it easy to capture and find all of your ideas and inspirations using (almost) all the devices you own. We’ve even been called “the anti-social app“, for our unconventional determination to focus on what’s on your mind, not just the mind of your friends. Ok, maybe we call ourselves that. Today, we’re broadening our view.
Now begins Phase 1 of our major effort to help you share (and collaborate on) the stuff you’ve collected with individuals, groups, and the world. Introducing, Evernote Shared Notebooks on Evernote Web.
What’s new?
Using Evernote Web, you can now specify individuals that are permitted to view, and in some cases modify, your notebooks.
How it works
In your Evernote Web account, you will see a new, blue Sharing section in the navigation panel. Click on “sharing setup” to begin the process of sharing your notebooks. Select the notebook you wish to share, then decide whether to share that notebook with individuals or the world.
There are two additional options under the “Share with individuals” category:
- Share with individuals (view only)
- Share with individuals (view and modify) – Evernote Premium feature
For added security, you can require log in, which means that the unique link in the email your invitees receive can only be used by a single person and they’ll be asked to log in before seeing your notes.
Modify my notes (Evernote Premium only)
While all users get the ability to share their notebooks, Evernote Premium subscribers can also grant modification privileges: add, edit, and delete notes. You don’t need to be Premium in order to perform the modification, but you must be Premium in order to allow for modification of your notebooks. It’s important to note that any additions will affect the notebook owner’s monthly upload allowance. Learn more about Evernote Premium »
Linking notebooks into your account
We also made it really simple to keep track of any notebooks that have been shared with you. Whenever you visit someone’s shared notebook, you will see a “Link this to my account” button in the top right corner. Clicking that will add the notebook to your Evernote Web sharing section so you can jump back to the notebook any time you like. Try it now by linking this aspiring super villain’s notebook into your account.
New look
For those of you that published your notebooks in the past, you will see a new interface. The new look is closer to our standard web layout, and is much easier to scan and navigate. We also wanted to make sure that individuals unfamiliar with Evernote would get a consistent web experience throughout the application.
If this is Phase 1, what’s Phase 2?
You (our wonderful users) have been clamoring for selective sharing for some time. So, we decided to make it available in phases as we build out the functionality. Right now, notebook sharing functions are only available through Evernote Web. Soon, you will be able to share right from your desktop or mobile Evernote. Like with everything else we do, sharing will be everywhere. Our developer API has already been updated to support the new sharing features, and we can’t wait to see what you all come up with.
If you want to join us on the first step of this ambitious journey, you can do three simple things: (1) Make some notebooks that you want to share, (2) invite your friends, (3) tell us how to make Evernote better.
Update: Evernote for Mac gets sharing [read the post]
217 Comments
Dan
“Soon, you will be able to share right from your desktop or mobile Evernote”
Please define “soon”, 16 months so far?
Yet another customer who has been sucked in to paying for a years service of something unusable in its present form.
“You (our wonderful users) have been clamoring for selective sharing for some time”
This wonderful user is VERY disappointed and feeling a little ripped off
ak
copy that.
i just payed the year premium in order to have me and my wife clip findings for our trip to japan into the same shared notebook.… but that doesn’t compute ! the web-clip bookmarklet doesn’t show the shared notebook for her… and she only knows the iphone version of evernote (and will only use that) – so promised feature simply not working !
could the staff please clarify here ? i am more than disappointed… actually feel screed.
ak.
Brett
I’ve just signed up myself and three others to Premium accounts for this very purpose. Perhaps the terminology should be changed then to ‘semi-shared’ or ‘almost shared’.
It’s somewhat misleading that this limitation isn’t covered in the promo material.
Jim
Another premium user complaining about that!
Bojan
Doesn’t work for me and my friend also…
LK
hear hear, to be able to share from desktop and mobile devices would be perfect. Can’t wait. When can we expect this feature? Thx..
JM
DITTO!! Shared notebooks MUST be available on Web, Desktop AND Mobile devices!! How can you charge so much money and NOT have these BASIC functions available???
Alex
I’ve had premium for quite sometime and am keen to explore its potential for collaboration.
A quick Q if I may:
If I share a notebook with others, is it possible right now to know who added a new – or amended an existing – note? Perhaps I’ve overlooked something.
cheers,
Alex
John Syrinek
Yeah, when can we expect sharing to work on desktop? Mobile?
m.albinali
I am a premium member and(for now) an iPhone user. Unfortunately I’m forced to use other note services for sharing notes on the go. For example Notespark; it’s only text notes but it allows for full seamless sharing/syncing with Push notifications.
I would love to see my shared folder in the mobile app and have it notify me whenever someone makes a change to the note.
Dan K.
I too thought desktop sharing was available when I signed up for the Premium plan. However, I stuck with Evernote as they’ve assured me a couple of times that they’ll have this feature available before the end of the year. At the end of the year I have to decide to either move forward and deploy the software to all my staff throughout the company or find another solution. I pray that Evernote gets this out!!
BinauralBeats
I just updated my Account to Premium, cause I want to share my Notebooks with our Team. This great Idea MUST BE extended! Please make the Sharing Option available on our Devices. I wanna drag and drop the Notes from a sharing-notebook to my own for example. How long do we have to wait for this feature??
Stephane
I need to see the shared notebook on my devices. This functionality is a must. When will it be implemented?
Neomie
My Evernote account is beginning to look like my brain, which some might think would be reassuring: It isn’t. LOL
Mark
Rumor has it that this feature won’t be available by the end of the year……ugh….
Viktor
Gosh.. wish i read this post.. just sign up for premium to get sharing features which i think would be added… but unfortunately, i’m stuck as you guys…
Don’t know if its complicated for evernote.. technically, i think this one should be easy… but i think the problem arise with the server resources as many people will use this feature a lot..
Hoping google buy evernote.. he he he he.. i think problem solved faster
Carlos
I am also looking for sharing right on my desktop application, not through the web version.
Ric
So far this is the only solution that take my stuff from my desktop to anywhere my Palm Pre Plus will take me. Very cool!
Irene
Hi, even after the most recent release (Dec 2010) it’s not possible for users of my shared notebooks to add web-clips to them. The shared notebook doesn’t appear in their list of notebooks available to put the clip in.
I am a premium user, I found evernote very effective for team working in many respects, but this problem is really hampering our ability to share inspirations.
Do you plan to do something for the new release? By when? Thanks!
Slade
Just circling back around to this post – is there any updatd on shared folders that would work on a windows platform and not just the web ui?
Andrew Sinkov
Shared notebooks are coming to Windows. They have been implemented inside the Mac version.
Chris Whitehead
Does anyone find it interesting that the Mac version has sharing but the Windows does not. Windows is more widely used.
Andrew Sinkov
We are working on adding sharing to Windows.
Chris Vening
bought 2 premiums before I saw this thread. If I have this right I now have a shared notes on the web and only on the web and I have synched but not shared notes on my laptop and ipad and iphone. So I can synch with myself and have to use the web to share a note. What more the ipad/iphone browser isn’t supported so I can’t access the shared notes anyway. Until we can share everything on every platform we can’t leave onenote. Glad I didn’t buy the annual sub. I think it would have been good business practice for evernote to disclose this major shortfall. Now I am untrusting of their ethics
Andrew Sinkov
Evernote Sharing is coming to more platforms. It’s currently available on Evernote Web and Mac.
Austin A.
Can the Evernote team give any timeframe for such a thing?
Thanks,
Austin
Andrew
I feel ripped off too. I am going to request a refund. I need to be able to share a notebook
Dan K.
I’m going nuts… My friends with the Mac can share via the desktop application and I’m still stuck in Windows/Web mode!
Owen Fraser-Green
Please can we have sharing on the other platforms too!
Louis
Wow! I got so excited when an update was available for 4.2 thinking it was finally the update of being able to share via other platforms that we’ve been waiting for over a year now…..sadly it wasn’t….
Brett Burky
Jeez Guys,
You guys act like because you can’t share something this is the worst product ever. Think back 2 years ago, none of this was an option. Evernote has revolutionalized how we handle work and do stuff in the cloud. God forbid you guys pay for a month and it doesn’t have that. Its $45/year, if you don’t have that and you are complaining, then put down your ramen noodles and go back to text editor and Windows 95.
I want this feature too, because I’m PC and everyone on my team is Mac. I guess I have to use the caveman thing – email.
Whinners
Matt D
An option to share at the Tag level instead of the entire notebook would be great. I use one notebook with tags.
Eric R
Yes, I need sharing on my PC as well.
You would think a company that seems to have a large number of Premium users would’ve addressed this…. in 2009 when it was announced.
Jonas
Didn’t even know this wasn’t available on Windows as I’m happily using Mac & iPad, and it just works perfectly. Evernote seems to take some time for some but boy are they all on board after a little testing. I’m still awaiting the Affiliate Network stuff for outside the US though… come on guys.
Matthias
I can’t wait for the Evernote Shared Notebooks for desktop. Now it’s kind of a half-finished funktion.
Michelle
I really need this ability. I was hoping that I could create the notebooks from my account to share to a “student-use” account for them to access/edit on iPads. This won’t do me much good if shared notebooks don’t show up on mobile versions.
Any updates on a timeline for when mobile apps will get this? I can still manage the sharing via the web or Mac app, but need students to be able to see/edit the notebooks via the iPad.
Andrew Sinkov
Michelle, sharing will be coming to all versions of Evernote soon.
Harold Jankowiak
How soon is “soon” because the post from 6-25-09 said “soon” and that was 20 months ago? Are we talking within the next 2-3 months? I know developers never want to nail down an exact date and I respect that, but those of us using Evernote for our business really need to know how to plan things out for our people.
Michelle
That’s good to hear. Maybe it will happen before the iPads arrive.
Matt C.
We’re dropping Evernote for now – until sharing is available for at least Windows. I’m hoping when it does become available I can convince my company to move back. I should have never mentioned that sharing would be available when Evernote said it would be available…oh well…I’ll still use it for personal use.
Jeff Brotherston
I have been preaching Evernote for years so now my wife and employees are on it. I think Sharing is a critical feature, including using an Android in the field to update notes. Part of being an Evernote evangelist and paying for premium features includes….sharing. Sharing on the web is a mediocre experience we could get via Google docs. Having the app work natively on smart phones is what gives Evernote a great part of it’s charm. I hope you Evernote developers are listening – please keep collaboration a priority!
Andrew Sinkov
We hear you. Sharing will be coming many Evernote versions soon.
Eddie Marquez
Although I’m not quite as beside myself as some of my fellow commenters, I do feel similarly duped regarding the sharing feature. Thankfully, I didn’t commit to the full year, opting instead to sign up for the monthly plan to limit my losses in the event of an unexpected wrinkle (such as this one).
I wouldn’t have bothered teaching my wife how to use the iPhone app, nor would I have updated our accounts, had I known the limitations of the sharing feature. At worst, I’m out $10, but along with everyone else, I’d appreciate this feature available on iPhone apps sooner rather than later.
Hank
Any update on sharing yet? Windows and Android
Andrew Sinkov
We’re working on it.
Dan
When sharing becomes available on more platforms, can it include a push notification or notification system that alerts others that there have been updates to the shared notebook?
Mark
–02/07/2011 09:07AM
–Michelle, sharing will be coming to all versions of Evernote soon.
3/19/2011 – 2/7/2011 != soon
– June 25, 2009
– Soon, you will be able to share right from your desktop or mobile Evernote.
3/19/2011 – 6/25/2009 != soon
Don’t mean to add to the complainers here, but, come on Evernote. You just came out with a huge change to the iPhone client adding all sorts of very nice new features. The thing is, these may have been requested by some users, but most were not promised as a premium service. The sharing feature was, so this really needed to be bumped up in priority, IMHO.
As a software developer myself, I’ve learned from two companies I respect. Apple and Barebones software.
1. Never announce features until you release a product.
2. Never give timeframes (even vague “soon” ones) for new products.
I know you guys will get this right and people will chill out afterwards, but your marketing group might want to offer a carrot too. Maybe 10% off each additional premium account down to some minimum. Or a reduced renewal fee for loyal subscribers.
Richard Duffy
Syncing a shared notebook is now possible on the latest pre-release client for Windows – 4.3.0.4167
Thanks to the team at Evernote!
Andy
Sharing works great via the web and Mac app. However, those that I share some notebooks with would love to have mobile app (iPhone/iPad) access to these shared folders. Any chance this is coming down the pipe soon?
Keep up the good work.
Steve Cameron
Love the sharing that I can do via Evernote. I use the Evernote Mac client, my ‘partner in crime’ uses the Evernote Windows client and it flat out works! Thanks! And now for a request. We can transfer ownership of our Google docs but have not figured out how to transfer ownership of Evernote notebooks.
Ankit G
Again , same question as many have already been asking here – When the SHARING thing coming for Android and Windows. Also lots of features in Mac r missing in other platforms , will they b ever available for Windows and specially Android !