15 Tips and Tricks for Evernote

Even if you’ve been using Evernote for a while, this list will likely include at least a few skills, tips, or tricks that you haven’t already included.

Many, but not all, advanced tips are for the desktop versions of Evernote, as the desktop versions can generally contain more than the simplified versions of the mobile apps.

Create a quick content index in Evernote

Create an index of multiple notes as a new note. This Evernote trick is so simple that it might inspire you to create a themed series of notes. This is for desktop versions of Evernote.

Just select multiple notes at once. For example, on Windows we kept check or order when selecting multiple files.

You should see a menu option to create a table of contents, which will be a list of hyperlinks to every post in your series.

Use or create your own keyboard shortcuts in Evernote

Hotkeys are hotkeys that you assign. Do it in Evernote for desktop, Windows or Mac.

Find existing keyboard shortcuts here: Evernote Keyboard Shortcuts for Mac and Evernote Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows.

Discover the secrets of searching in Evernote, including saved searches

If you often search for the same keywords, consider adding them to your saved searches.

Do this after performing a search by selecting the icon save query (magnifying glass with plus sign) by selecting Edit > Search > Save Search or Add to home screen †

Need to set up your files with underscores and more?

In addition, in the section Settings you can do things like Delete search history or enable offline search if the connection is not available.

You can also create a label as described on the previous slide. Drag text from the search box to the quick access bar (not available on all platforms).

Explore and pin selected text in Evernote

While note-taking apps like Evernote aren’t great at formatting bibliographic resources like dedicated apps or later versions of Microsoft Word, you can keep up with research, such as capturing selections you make in Kindle, with Evernote Web Clipper ,

If you’re logged into kindle.amazon.com, you can easily see this by going to the Highlights section and then using the Evernote web clipper to send it to Evernote.

Create local notebooks for one device in Evernote

Evernote can automatically sync with other devices, but you can also create a local version of a specific laptop that won’t sync with others. Do this when creating a note in the desktop version of Evernote by going to . to go File > New Note and select the radio button local †

However, keep in mind that this cannot be changed later (you have to copy and paste it into a new notepad).

Merge notes in Evernote

You can merge multiple notes into desktop versions of Evernote.

Hold down a key Command/Ctrl while selecting different notes, select Click Mac/PC or To combine † When we did, we couldn’t go back, so we merged gently.

Encrypt Text Snippets in Evernote

On Windows or Mac, you can right-click the selected text in a note and Encrypt selected text † Unfortunately, you cannot encrypt the entire note.

Choose a password that you will remember.

Select the drop-down arrow for decryption options.

Receive a daily summary of Evernote Reminders by email

If you would like to receive a list of your daily Evernote reminders by email, here’s how to do it.

Go to Settings then Memories and then select Email Reminders/Send Email Digest to set when you want to receive an overview of your daily newsletter by e-mail. Evernote Memories.

Save all Evernote attachments to your device

You can also save all attachments in an Evernote note at once.

Select the three-square icon in the top right corner and select Save attachments †

Annotate images and PDFs in Evernote

Most devices allow you to use Evernote annotation, which is available through the built-in Skitch feature. It allows users to add their two cents to a document using stamps, drawings, and other tools.

Select Mark this note and then Mark the entire note as PDF † The annotated file is saved as a separate note.

Or open an image in Evernote and select the circle icon at the top to open the annotation editor.

View previous versions of notes in Evernote

Evernote saves automatically, but you have options to view or use previous versions of the note.

Users must have the Premium or Business version of Evernote. For example, on the Windows desktop, you can choose from the menu Remark and then Note history †

You can also view the section Account Information at Evernote.com.

Create your own Evernote templates

Using and creating templates in Evernote requires a bit of creative thinking.

The easiest template solution we know of is to create a notebook dedicated to templates. Place notes in it that you can duplicate and modify as new notes.

Evernote also has many templates available. You can find them on the Evernote Help & Learning website.

Consider physical Moleskine laptops to integrate with Evernote

Evernote, in partnership with Moleskine, lets you sync your digital notes with notes written in special physical notebooks.

You can even integrate smart stickers.

This product requires a Premium account.

Consider using Evernote with Post-it Notes

Evernote has partnered with the makers of Post-it Notes (3M) to enable Premium users to encode and work with handwritten and digital notes.

The idea is that you can access all your notes, written or digital, wherever you are.

Consider a dedicated scanner for Evernote

Dedicated scanners like the ScanSnap for Evernote make the paperless process a lot easier.