Having a computer is necessary not only for recreation and entertainment, many users use the capabilities of a PC for work. But in any case, this remarkable invention turns out to be indispensable when you need to store a large amount of information, be it documents or media data (music, photographs, films). But over time, when this information becomes too much, the understanding comes that it would not hurt to organize this data, and not by alphabet, file size or creation date, but by its internal content.
Applications called notepads do a good job with this task. The electronic version differs significantly from the paper version, primarily in terms of functionality. A good example is the Evernote program, which is a representative of the new generation of this kind of software. The usefulness of electronic notebooks is undeniable, especially if you store them in the cloud – in this case, all your important notes, records, files will always be at hand, wherever you are. It is enough to have access to the Internet and a device on which the program is installed, from a smartphone and tablet to a laptop and desktop PC.
Evernote – what is this program
The logo with the image of the green elephant is known to many users, but few people know what is behind it. Meanwhile, Evernote Corporation is a fairly well-known software developer. Its flagship products are the eponymous software package and web service designed to create, store and organize huge arrays of notes, and not only text notes, although here the program’s design abilities are impressive, but also audio recordings, graphic files, handwritten documents, and even addresses and copies websites along with attachments.
There are possibilities for editing content, and the data itself is organized in a hierarchical structure, somewhat reminiscent of a tree-like scheme for storing folders on a hard disk.
The Evernote application allows you to create about 250 such structures, and any notebook, as well as their contents, can be shared with friends. Other users, if they have been delegated the appropriate rights, can also make changes to the pages of notebooks, but this option is available only in the paid version.
What else is Evernote for? Many users note the ability to work with the browser version of the program, which is available for any device with Internet access. If such a device connects to the service for the first time, the synchronization procedure will be performed , and in the end all the user’s work will be available to him. We also note the multi-platform nature of the package – it can be used with equal success in the Windows environment, and on Linux-like OS, and on MacOS, and on all three common mobile platforms.
Pros and cons of the package
There are several benefits to using Evernote to create, store, and organize electronic notes:
- the ability to manipulate data of different types and formats;
- quick access to information arrays;
- simplicity and high speed of searching for notes;
- the ability to synchronize between any devices, making the program cross-platform;
- compatibility with all common browsers;
- a considerable set of tools that allow you to create and modify notes;
- efficient ordering of records;
- the ability to share notes with friends and colleagues;
- support for co-creation and editing of notes;
- the free version has extensive functionality sufficient for most tasks.
Among the minuses, it is worth noting the not too high download speed of notes in offline mode, the duration of synchronization (the procedure is performed completely without the ability to specify specific notebooks or a range of notes), a weak set of functions in the web version of the package, and the lack of Russian-language support.
Installing and registering Evernote
Regardless of which version of working with the package you choose – online or desktop, first you will need to register with the service.
The procedure for creating an account is simple:
- go to the official website of the company ;
- press the button “Login”;
- on the new page, click “Create an account”;
- we go through a simple registration, first specifying the login credentials – e-mail and password;
- choose the version of the service – free or any of the paid options.
The site offers to download the program itself first, and if you did so, you can create an account when you first start the program.
Installation is quick, as a result a new shortcut will appear in the tray and on the desktop .
Note that registration is optional – you can use your Google account, which will transfer your credentials to the program.
Create a note in Evernote
Now let’s look at how to use Evernote, and let’s start with the basics – taking notes. This will help us understand what the package is capable of. We note right away that if you are afraid when you first start the program, then this is normal. The main thing is to start, then everything will go much easier. Your skills will determine how effective the use of this software product is.
Create a notebook
When you start Evernote for the first time, you will already have access to a notebook named “My Notebook”, where future notes will be entered. We recommend to immediately rename it by right-clicking on its name and selecting “Rename”. The same action is available by pressing the F2 function key.
If you want information to be stored in a structured way, a single notebook is not enough for this. Therefore, it is better to immediately learn how to create new notebooks, and this can be done in several ways:
- select the “Notebooks” item in the main menu, and in the window that opens, press the “New Notebook” button;
- on the item “Notebooks” of the left menu of the program, right-click and select “Create notepad” from the context menu;
- hover the mouse cursor over the section and press the “+” sign on the keyboard;
- select the item “File” in the upper menu, and in it – “New notepad”.
As you can see, nothing complicated, out of the four options, choose the simplest one for yourself and remember it.
Create notes
Any notebook is a repository for notes. To create them, just click on the “New note” item in the main menu. A new window will appear in which you can type the text of the note according to the selected template, transfer content from any other source, insert files (images, documents, videos). As soon as you start working with a note, a toolbar will appear for editing the entered text, as well as adding media content (audio, photo, video) from your computer’s hard drive or Google Drive.
An alternative way to create a new note is through the top menu (in the “File” section there is an item “New note”). Here you can also specify the type of recording – plain or handwritten text, photo from a webcam, screenshot or audio recording.
Here, in the note window, there is a field at the top in which you can enter or change its name. Saving the entered records occurs automatically after the time interval specified in the settings, so all entered records will soon be available on any other devices – you just need to log into your account with your credentials. If the autosave speed does not suit you, and there is a need for the content to be available to others instantly, you must select the “Synchronization” item in the menu (the same effect will be given by pressing F9), after which the updated content of the records will become available on all devices connected to the notebook.
You can use labels and tags assigned to records as additional tools to make it easier to access your notebooks / notes and find the records you want.
Using the web clipper
Advanced Evernote capabilities allow you to insert entire web pages or fragments of them into notes, but for this you need to install the Web Clipper extension in your browser.
The presence of an installed clipper will be indicated by the elephant icon located on the top panel of the Internet browser (usually on the right). To activate the extension , you need to click on the icon and log in. In order not to enter your credentials every time, check the box next to the phrase “Remember me”, and then click the login button.
To save a web page or a link to a site, just click on the word and select the desired action. Saving a fragment of a site is done by selecting it with the mouse and clicking on the Web Clipper icon with the option “Save selected fragment”.
Using Evernote on a Smartphone
The Evernote application can run on a phone or tablet, for which you need to install the mobile version of the program on the gadget – there are three options for different platforms.
For owners of Android devices, download the application from Google Play, which is the official store for this OS. For smartphones and tablets under Windows Phone, such a store is the Microsoft Store, for fans of the apple brand – the App Store.
In terms of functionality, mobile applications do not differ in any way from the desktop version, but due to the smaller screen size, the interface does not match, but these are technical details that do not really matter.
What is the difference between paid versions of the service
For those users who always want to have the most of the possibilities, Evernote Corporation offers several paid versions of the program. Their capabilities are much wider and depend on the tariff plan. Let’s take a look at what additional features are available in these paid versions.
The Business option is characterized by the ability to work with a large team on specific projects, as well as data management functions and new data access capabilities. The amount of data that can be uploaded to the company’s servers per month is 24 GB (the free version has only 60 MB).
There are many more changes in the Premium version:
- monthly volume of data downloads – 10 GB;
- the size of the note has been increased from 25 to 200 MB (this also applies to the Business account);
- synchronization is available for any number of devices (only two devices can work together in the free version);
- important transactions are protected by a PIN code set for the mobile application;
- in addition to searching in text, you can search in PDF documents;
- you can work with notes offline;
- there is a function of showing notes by means of one button press;
- e-mail forwarding is available;
- the possibility of two-factor authorization has appeared (except for the login / password pair, confirmation by SMS is required during authorization).
Since in our country it is considered bad manners to pay for software with a free version, most users use basic Evernote. But if the program is used at a professional level, the number of notes is too large, as well as the volume they occupy, the advantages of using the paid versions become obvious, especially when using the service within the framework of business structures.
Removing a program
You can uninstall Evernote using the standard tools of the operating system you are using. Alternatively, you can use special utilities from third-party manufacturers that can do this job better, removing not only the program itself, but also its traces on the computer (registry, cache, cookies).
On PCs running Windows, you need to launch the “Control Panel” (the easiest way is through “Start”), select the “Programs and Features” tab, and then find Evernote in the list of installed programs, right-click on it and select the item Delete. In Windows 10, you can do the same in a different way. There is a “Settings” service, which can be called through “Start”, from “Explorer” or by pressing the Win + I combination. In the snap-in window, select the “System” tab, and in it – the “Applications and features” section, after which a list will open programs installed on the computer. Select Evernote and delete.
On smartphones and tablets, the procedure for uninstalling the application will also not cause difficulties, since it is done in a regular way.
But removing the program does not mean automatically deleting the account – you just need to install the program on another device, and you can work with notebooks, knowing the login credentials. If you’ve decided to permanently get rid of the service, you need to know how to delete your Evernote account.
Things are a little more complicated here. If you subscribed to a paid subscription, you need to cancel it. Then copy important information that you do not want to lose to your computer’s hard drive (later it can be transferred to the cloud). Notes can be saved in a variety of formats, including XML as well as HTML. All other notebooks and notes are deleted manually (they will not physically disappear when you delete your account).
To deactivate an account, in the web version of the program, go to the settings, select the “Security” section, click on the “Security Summary” button and then on the “Disconnect Evernote Account” button.
ATTENTION. Once again, we remind you that deactivation of an account does not lead to its deletion on the company’s servers – you simply will not be able to log into your account. To physically delete your account without the possibility of restoring it, you must send a corresponding request to the support service.
The option of deleting an account allows you to restore access to it at any time, while a complete physical deletion of the account makes the recovery procedure impossible. You just have to register again, but without using the old e-mail address – it is saved in the database forever.
Conclusion
Many users are accustomed to storing documents on the hard drive without worrying about cataloging them or doing it at the file system level. This approach is highly ineffective. It is worth trying to use Evernote for these purposes, and after a few months you will be surprised how you did without this application before. This is a really very useful tool that allows you to show your organizational and design skills in terms of structuring a variety of information to the fullest, without cluttering your computer hard drive or cloud storage.
