Last week, in preparation for the release of iOS 7, Evernote released a beautiful new app for iPhone and iPads. The new app is packed with nice little features, but today, I wanted to focus on what I thought was the best feature of all: the ability to create notes quickly. Previous versions of the Evernote app made it a little difficult to create notes quickly. So much so that, for a time, I reverted to paper as a quicker means of jotting down notes. Thanks to the thought put into the new app, I no longer need to do that. If you haven’t yet seen the new app, here is what the home screen looks like on my iPhone:
Note the Quick Note section at the bottom of the screen? There are 6 ways to create a note quickly from the home screen. I’ll run through several of them briefly to show how it is done.
1. Creating a text note
Need to jot down someone’s name, the title of a book or movie, or perhaps the idea for the perfect ending to the novel you have been working on? Open up the Evernote app and tap in the section that says “Type a quick note.” This will jump you to a blank note screen where you can just start typing:
You can change other properties of the note, like the note title, notebook or tags, but you don’t have to. For quick text notes, I rarely do. The note simply goes into my default notebook (my “Inbox” notebook) with the current date/time and it is easy to find when I review the notes later in the day.
2. Take a quick reminder note
Sometimes, I’ll jot down a note to which I need to attach a reminder to take action later. The new Evernote app has made this very easy to do. In the Quick Note section, tap the Reminder icon:
This will open up a reminder note. Type your note:
When you are finished typing your note, click the Notify Me button to set up a reminder for the note you just created:
Select a date/time to be reminded and save your note. It is quick and simple and the note will appear in your reminder list as well.
3. Take a quick photo note
Suppose you have a document that you want to quickly capture in Evernote. With the new app, it is easy to do using the document camera and a quick note.
From the Camera note, swipe to the left to get the document camera:
Snap a photo (or photos) of your document and then save the note. The resulting note will look something like this:
4. Quickly create list notes
Have a list that you need to create quickly? Whether it is a bulleted list, or a checklist, it is easy to do using the Quick Note feature in Evernote. You start with either the “bulleted list” or “checklist” quick note buttons:
For bulleted lists:
Tapping the bulleted list button will take you to a blank note that is pre-configured for bulleted lists. All you have to do is start typing to add items to your list:
For checklists:
Tapping the checklist button will take you to a blank note that is pre-configured for checklists. All you have to do is start typing to add items to your list:
I have been using the new Evernote app for almost a week and have already used the quick notes dozens of times. It is great to have a way to quickly create a variety of note types right from within the app. And they are quick. It takes just a few seconds for each one.
There are many more new features of the new Evernote app for iOS, but so far, the quick notes are by far my favorite, and the most useful for how I work.
Did you know that this week is Evernote’s big annual conference, EC3. It looks to be a great one and loaded with some fantastic guest speakers. If you are interested, you should go check it out. I really wanted to go this year, but my schedule just wouldn’t allow it.
If you have a suggestion for a future Going Paperless post, let know me. Send it to me at feedback [at] jamietoddrubin.com. As always, this post and all of my Going Paperless posts is also available on Pinterest.
Last week’s post: 7 Ways I Use Reminders In Evernote to Avoid Embarrassing Myself.
I’d love to hear other people’s opinions about whether or not this new version is quick. I’m on a 4s running iOS7 and evernote is slow and crashes frequently.
The biggest concern happens when evernote crashes while inputting the passcode. When you re open the app after a crash it does not require a passcode. Anyone could get full access to my notes.
Jeremy, good point. I am running on an iPhone 5 (not the new ones, just a plain vanilla 5.) I had a syncing problem when I first installed the app. I removed it, reinstalled it, and have had no problems since.
Ah, the old “remove and reinstall”. Excellent point. I never think to do that.
The quick note is a nice feature. Though it doesn’t quite match the ease of the Evernote widget on Android devices, it’s nice that this panel is front-and-center when you open the app.
I’ve been using the updated iOS7 Evernote app without any problems. (touch wood)
This is maybe a dumb question, but how can you create audio notes in the new app?
Sara, here’s how to do it quickly:
Hope that helps!
Excellent, thanks!
I think this is a great app.
I do think the home page on the iPad for the new iOS7 version is a pity, as they could use so much more of the screen.
It would be great to have an option to always open on the homepage, when you open the app. Then you can quickly snap a photo etc.
I don’t understand why its called the “home page” since it doesn’t open automatically. I love the arrangement of it -quick notes, notebooks, shortcuts. But I want it to open first – not the last random notebook I opened.
I also use a 4s and have not had any problems with it being slow or crashing.
Is the Quicknote feature only available on premium accounts? I upgraded to iOS7 and updated my Evernote app but my home screen looks nothing like this. I’m still running the free version though….
Where does the title come from on the Quick Notes? I see you have note from the Fashion Centre on each of your notes. Mine keep saying Note from “a friends name” birthday in Newport Beach on every note.
How can I get rid of that and where is it coming from?
Thanks!
Pam, by default, the mobile app will use your calendar entry for the time you created the note as the title. If you have no calendar entry it will use your location (if Location Services are enabled). You can turn this off in the settings under Note Editor. Set the “Suggested Note Titles” option to “Off.”
Thank You! 🙂