We have a big announcement to make…the new Evernote for Windows is here, kinda.
Windows has always been a big deal for Evernote. Fully 46% of our desktop users log into their Evernote accounts through our downloadable Windows version, compared with 38% on Mac and 16% on the web. However, over the past few months our Windows users may have felt a little left out, especially given all the rapid development on our other platforms.
It was all part of our cunning plan… Deep inside our secret lair, we’ve been discreetly (errr not so discreetly) working on a complete, from-the-ground-up rewrite of Evernote for Windows. The goal: make it faster, sleeker, more powerful, and—most importantly—easier to enhance in the future. Now, you can see the results in the brand new Evernote for Windows 3.5 Beta. We think it’s pretty neat. Get Evernote 3.5 Beta »
What’s new?
Evernote for Windows 3.5 has dozens of visible and under-the-hood improvements. In a nutshell, you’ll be able to capture stuff faster, find it easier, store more of it, and manipulate it in more powerful ways. It’s also quite handsome. Here are some of the changes:
Three different ways to view your notes
- Thumbnail view: Rendered thumbnails showing the contents of your notes, images, and PDFs for easy browsing and filtering
- List view: Multi-column “List View” with sorting on any column
- Mixed view: Mixed thumbnail + detail view
- Can zoom thumbnails to see more detail
- Can display thumbnail or mixed views in visual groupings by date, size, source URL domain, and start of title
Note editing
- Auto-complete tagging and easier tag creation
- Spell checking as you type
- Better support for advanced markup
- Can now create tables within notes
- Can specify default font size for text in notes
- Better handling of longer text notes
- Creating ink notes in easier with the new canvas-like layout
More functions available in single-note editor window
- Detailed note information and attributes
- Emailing notes
- Printing notes
Editable description of the search filter
- Ability to add or remove individual criteria from current search filter
- Save the current search for use later as a Saved Search
And so much more…
- Find and Find next/find previous (both within and across notes)
- Better consistency across the Mac and Windows versions of Evernote
- New icons and buttons
- More user-friendly “Folder Import” feature to automatically create notes from a watched folder–great for scanner and other integrations
- “View on Map” button opens geo-tagged notes in Google Maps
- Evernote for Windows introduction video included on launch
- Multi-lingual spell check included in application
- Quick access to your online account information
- Improved screen clipping requiring fewer steps, with on-screen explanations
- Menu options for attaching files to notes without requiring drag-and-drop
- Extend note search capabilities with ANY or ALL search criteria
- Remove tags from notes with a single click
- Advanced note text editor based on Google Chrome
- Improved synchronization performance via networking optimizations
- Improved database performance for faster searching and sorting of notes
- Single binary for all supported languages
Why is it in Beta?
We see Evernote 3.5 as a big (BIG) improvement in terms of features, performance and stability, but it’s such a big change that we want people to use it for a couple of months before it becomes the official version. This means that we won’t be auto-upgrading current users just yet. If you’re new to Evernote for Windows, by all means download and start using the 3.5 Beta. If you’re an existing user of 3.1, you’ll have to follow a few simple steps to migrate to 3.5:
- Export any local notebooks
- Completely quit Evernote 3.1 (including the taskbar clipper)
- Install Evernote 3.5 Beta
- Allow Evernote to sync your notes from the server (this make take some time)
- Import the local notebooks
Once Evernote 3.5 is ready for primetime, we will allow everyone to automatically upgrade to it. In the meantime, you can use both on the same machine or just keep using 3.1.
Which versions of Windows?
The Evernote 3.5 beta uses the latest Microsoft development frameworks so it runs great on Windows 7 and Windows Vista. If you’re running Windows XP, particularly on a fairly old computer, you may notice some graphical glitches. We’re working to fix these problems, but if the 3.5 Beta doesn’t work well on your configuration, you should switch back to 3.1.
What’s next?
Now that we’ve made the investment in modernizing the Evernote for Windows codebase, we’ll be able to release future enhancement much more rapidly. Look for lots of exciting features in the near future.
Big, big thanks to the hundreds of people who participated in our alpha testing!
Updates!
Evernote for Windows Beta keeps getting better:
- Evernote 3.5 Beta 2: read about it
- Evernote 3.5 Beta 3: read about it
- Evernote 3.5 Beta 4: read about it
- Evernote 3.5 is out of beta: read about it
365 Comments
abcd
I want to be able to view shared notebooks in the local evernote program as well! please integrate this functionality ASAP!
Scott H
I have been a biggest fan of OneNote since I started using it several years ago… but I’m becoming a big fan of Evernote, and trying to leave OneNote behind.
The biggest thing that is stopping me from leaving OneNote completely is the robust editing available in OneNote. I can easily put anything anywhere in a note. Margins, line feeds, etc. have no bearing on how a note is formatted. I can drag things around and drop them anywhere. For free form note taking that is a huge feature.
If I could have just ONE request to improve in Evernote, that would be it… Make the editor more robust and free-form.
At this point I think that is the only thing making me hold onto my OneNote.
Eleasar
- is it only me or does the advertisment reload makes the focus beeing lost on the note input window
- the font size changes more or less randomly after a note was saved
otherwise i did just start with it and looks really great!
Augustus
Great looking. But it does not seem to have all the great old import/export features, which is a hassle.
anna
yes, bring back the tape view!!!!!! please!!!
tullibo
Guys the new screenshot tool in 3.5 sux bigtime!
I don’t like the fact it auto generates notes. I’d like the option to turn this off and it should also auto add to clipboard.
The old capture selection method is also much better than the new one
Sanjay
Göran Öberg, I have the same issue as you.
Using 3.5.437 (58716) and trying to update to 3.5.0.486 (59556) by clicking the “Download and Install” button, but nothing happens.
Taylor
I also like the beta but I am very sad at many of the features you you took away for seemingly no reason. I like the new note views you have included but i also think they tape view option so should stay in the program as well. Also you have removed alot of the functionality behind opening a note up in the separate editing window! There are no formatting buttons at all anymore like bulleting, numbering, indents, to do checkmarks
Andrew Sinkov
@Taylor The formatting options are available. You can find them in the right-click menu.
Ken
Where is the File Import Wizard in 3.5?
Joseph M Ramirez
mostly liking the Beta; definitely like the looks and added functionality in the single notes, but i’m also missing the tape view.
and perhaps i’m being dense, but is there an obvious way to tag notes that i’m just missing? especially now that the Tag button is no longer on the top toolbar?
Bjorn Corneliussen
Please, please, please bring back the tape view.
I have been a fond user of Evernote for years and the tape view was (hopefully IS) the best part of Evernote.
For now I have rolled back to the 3.1 version.
Zedi
Hey, like the program, but the buletpoints are quite messed up. After syncing with the web app random bullet points appear which make the notes look ugly.
Also changing the font can really mess notes up. Hoping this gets fixed soon.
Martin Packer
Can I raise again the question of .NET Framework level and WINE – to suddenly give you a client that works with Linux?
Thanks!
Toby Burnett
Just starting to use it, very happy to have spellchecking as I type! But I’m disappointed that there isn’t more flexibility for the editor.
Can’t reproduce that now, and can’t complain, it is beta.)
I really would like to be able to select a default font color for stuff I type in, to easily distinguish from text that I cut and paste from another window. The ^D dialog has no color chooser???
I just managed to hang it up, by selecting text, right clicking. Had to kill it.
bill
I’am a chinese, why and when does evernote support chinese word searching?
Martin Packer
@prabh 3.5 doesn’t work with WINE (whereas, of course, 3.1 DID).
Mark Herskovitz
3.5 looks great but I can’t reliably clip stuff and have it show up in evernote. how can i go back to 3.1?
Andrew Sinkov
@Mark While in Beta, Evernote 3.5 can run on the same computer as 3.1. So, feel free to re-install 3.1.
Julie
I have 3.5.0.486, and I like the new look.
However, I’m looking for the File Import Wizard / how to set up a Watch Folder. Has it moved somewhere, or hasn’t it been included yet?
adamol
I tried the beta version on my two Vista machines, one 32, the other 64 bit. No luck! They kept crashing during the initial synch. I didn’t see the time band and also the subject date which some of us are using for implementing a GTD system with EN.
I am concerned that with 3.5 we’ll be losing some functionlity. By the way, I am still missing certain features of 2.2 like copy link which was very important to me.
Tamas
What I really liked with 3.1 is the pop-out to focus on one note and do the editing. With 3.5 most of the window is taken by information I do not need when I work on a note. Anybody else facing the same? Any solution?
polocanada
I don’t like 3.5 at all. Step back. No proper NOTE LIST, everything is very sluggish, time band – forget it. Thumbnails is nice to have but don’t need at all if mostly text notes. Navigation in note window is pain. It is still beta, but unacceptable one. I am staying with 3.1. (using Windows 7 final, 64-bit and a fairly fast machine).
Maria
I like Beta 3.5 even with its current hickups and challenges but two things must be added–I should be able to launch the full page view from the icons above the note I am writing. I should not have to scroll to options or right click or click on the thumb note, it seesm. And, PLEASE bring back color flags for highlighting notes. Those flags help so much to organize at another level…
Last, this was never in the other versions but a yellow highlighter would be great for notes!! Thanks for such a great product! M
Rui Ferreira
This is totally broken now.
No tape view; then no more evernote….
Period.
If that feature just showed up because of a programmer’s whim then I want that programmer back.
I can not believe you just didn’t think this was a core feature of your program. Its nuts…! This is like thinking Apple made Multitouch because it was just affordable to do so.
Graham
I have other (better) methods to check for grammar and spelling. Evernote is an innovative instrument for creativity and quick-and-not-so-dirty note-taking. Spelling is not an issue at all (at least, not at this stage): how can I disable unneeded feature?
Why can’t I indent new paragraphs with TAB?
Graham
Evernote for Windows version 3.1 is a tool I’d recommend to anyone writing book summaries or college notes. However, the devil seems to be in the details:
No option to specify font-size (e.g. 16). No option for heading as well.
Missing a ‘text only’-paste (cf. Puretext by Steve Miller), a special paste option which removes all the markup.
Chad
Add my vote to the “bring back tape view” list!!!
yfwu
Hi, I’ve been using Evernote 3.5 beta for a while. Here are several feedbacks.
1) Clicking on the links within notes seems not working
2) Dragging a pdf to the note will embed it, rather than give you the choice to insert only the link to the pdf file (like in 3.1)
3) when linking to local files, it would be good to have a PATH variable for cross machine usage
4) Can we highlight text with background color in future release?
After all, I am enjoying the beta version!
CDT
Evernote 3.5 is quite promising, and runs like a champ on my Quad-core PC with 3G ram and Windows 7 Business.
However, it dies horribly and won’t even launch on my Dell Mini 10 netbook (not the 10V) also running Windows 7 Business. It usually just locks up and sits there forever, but once I caught a glimpse of an error about a missing Just in Time debugger. I can’t even kill it now using Task Manager.
Jan
Cannot install on company computer :-S
John Morris
Agree on the 3.5 Screen Capture. Its terrible. I’m going back to 3.1 as we speak for this reason alone.
Toby Burnett
I agree with the comment about the new note clipper: the 3.1 version is great, I clip only to the clipboard with ^C, then paste where I want it a note that I’m working on. (And sometimes annotate it, a nice feature.) The only option with 3.5 is to create a new note?? What where you thinking of?
Oh, I don’t use the tape, so wouldn’t miss it. But I do miss the EN2 capability to link other notes.
trastomatico
In my opinion you need bring back the tape view, now is unproductive. The same screen cliper, now no coontrol over the capture I always use ctrl+C method. Still 3.1 in my computers
ethan
I miss the tape view!!! Bring it back! And it takes forever to open/load on Windows 7.
pawel
evernote is great but BETA SUCKS (performs realy bad, no single software update, I’d suppose to have several update a month since it’s beta version).
Mladen Mihajlovic
I don’t like the beta at all. I’m missing the tape view, adding notes sucks, also absolutely no progress notification on syncing and on updating…
Renger
Hi
I just installed 3.5 and it works fine. One thing: it looks like the setup of my screen is wrong: all text is not crystal sharp like in all other software I use on the same computer. The same is true for the icons.
Keep going: Evernote is a great application
Renger
michel
The beta is nice, though it needs some polishing. But I’m going to downgrade to 31 because I’m a heavy users of the Firefox clipper which, for reasons unknown to me, does not work with 3.5. I hope the downgrade does not cause me any problems.
Thanks for a great application and service!
Best,
Michel
lee
Just a suggestion for the new version:
I would really like to be able to add a link to an earlier note (i.e. – to create threads). This would make it much easier to post updates to an earlier note without creating a new tag for every thread.
I love 3.1; 3.5 is OK, but still somewhat flakey! I tried creating a complicated table and gave up…
Jethro Null
Getting over my original dislike of some aspects, generally it IS an improvement. Couple of minor details but ones that need sorting at some point:
When the notes list is in list mode (my preference) and when that pane is narrowed to give more room to the note pane, it would be nice if the ‘Updated’ label would drop under ‘Created’ and ‘Tagged’ so that the details would not be cropped and the view would be much less messy.
It would be great if you could move the title, tags and url labels above the note up into the space above to bring the top of the note pane up in line with the top of the notebooks and notes list and provide more visible note area.
An ‘Attach File’ menu option on the right click dialog in a new note pane would be handy.
Btw, I’ve got used to the new clipper now, it’s fine, though doesn’t always respond reliably.
tom g
what’s happened to the clipper in 3.5??? what were you thinking, removing one of the best features; clipping to the clipboard?! i don’t always want everything to go to evernote, i always used evernote to screengrab, being a web developer it was an invaluable tool as well as the obvious benefit of allowing me t grab to evernote instead!! going bac kto 3.1 until this is resolved…..nudge nudge!
Erik Florida
Does not install on Windows 7 Ultimate RC.
Jeff Nebraska
I’m struggling to enjoy the 3.5.
1. I’m a premium user and still get ads.
2. Where’s the bullet point or number lists?
3. The thumbnail view isn’t all that attractive.
4. I had to readjust the frames every time I used it.
5. Didn’t seem that much faster to me.
Augustus Loi
This new version is SO buggy. I thought the original version was sluggish, but this Beta takes the cake! Really regret installing it on my computers. Going back to 3.1 now.
As a paid customer and supporter of Evernote, I hope they seriously fix this version before they release it officially. I’ve always loved Evernote, but the Beta is really disappointing.
Shawn Christy
Is this ‘Comments’ area the best place to leave feature requests & feedback regarding the new features and changes in the Beta releases?
If I should share this someplace else, please reply by email and let me know. I want to make sure that I’m heard! Thanks.
haardvark
Looks good and polished. However, my workflow habits take a real hit with the tape view gone. Another vote to bring it back!! PLEASE!
Art Gelwicks
Just removed the BETA from my machines. Too many design issues and usability challenges to make me want to struggle through using it. Get out your whiteboard and markers guys, you need to do some reworking.
Craig
Sorry guys, but unfortunately I think you are moving backwards. Interface seems clunky, slow, screen clips crash constantly. Missing shortcuts for tags, triple clicking on title of note (standard fair for windows) does not select the entire string, etc… I’m going back to the 3.1 version.
shota
there is a bug in writing title using japanese kanji. problem is that pressing enterkey occures unfocus.
see my screencast http://ninjyazone.com/files/evernote.htm for detail
Jörg
Still not possible to mix pen and keyboard input in one note? Still no support for math formulae? (Imagine Evernote as the app students could use for math notes in class! They even could cooperatively alter these notes – like in a math wiki, but with group privacy and support of pen-based formula input and easy keyboard-based formula input as well. Sounds great?)
kevinws
I also miss the tape view. Please bring it back.