There are now over 3.3 billion smartphones in the world, and 2.7 billion of those are Android devices. Or, to put it another way, over one-third of the world’s population now relies on an Android phone to stay connected, get organized, and feel more in control. So it’s crucial that the experience of using Evernote on Android should be seamless and intuitive.
If you’re looking to capture ideas ‘faster than a speeding bullet’ and help your productivity take flight, here are three marvelous tips for using Evernote on your Android device. Some are new features we’re excited to introduce, while others are long-time favorites. May they boost your note taking and simplify your life.
Go go widget power!
One of Android’s undisputed superpowers is its flexibility. You can customize your device’s interface to suit your needs, and even use widgets to access apps without having to open them.
Evernote for Android offers three customizable widget types that make it quicker and easier for you to capture your ideas, add pictures, and search your notes:
- Actions widget (1×1)—Need quick access to a note, the camera, or search? Pull your favorite feature out of the app into a single, dedicated icon to start doing whatever you need to do.
- Action bar (4×1)—Select from 11 different actions to create your own “Best of Evernote” highlight reel.
- List widget (4×2)—Add shortcuts to key actions of your choosing along with a customized view of your notes. The source of these notes is up to you—designate a specific notebook, use your recent notes, or fill it with reminders to help you stay on top of your to-do list.
Check out this article for step-by-step instructions on installing the Android widget on your phone. Choose your favorite or try a combination of all three to create your very own Evernote command center.
Pro Tip: If Evernote is installed on external storage, you’ll only be able to add the action widget. To add the action bar and list widgets, make sure you have Evernote installed on your device’s internal storage.
Collect photos in a single bound
Post-it® notes, receipts, whiteboard images—they’ve all been sitting there in your photo gallery, sandwiched between your selfies, family photos, and vacation snaps. But if you wanted to save them to Evernote, add context to them, or share them with anyone, you had to copy them over one-by-one.
We’ve made it much easier.
Evernote now scans your gallery for any photos containing text. If it detects an image that fits the bill, the app will ask you if you want to save it into Evernote. You can preview the picture and then decide yes or no.
When you save text-based images to Evernote—for example, business cards or meeting notes—you’ll see them in your sidebar under the heading “Collect photos”. From there, you can move them into a note, adding additional information or attachments if you want.
Pro Tip: You can turn this feature off at any time. But we think you’ll love it.
Use x-ray vision on your notes
One of Evernote’s most powerful time-management tricks—and one of the most popular—is tagging. When you create a new note in Evernote, you can add a helpful word or phrase to the note that lets you find it easily later. Tags also help you organize the overload of information coming at you daily by helping you group similar items together.
One Android user who is a firm believer in tagging is Robert Řeřicha, a Czech scientist, musician, and developer. “My advice is simple,” he says. “Tag everything you collect in Evernote.”
In fact, Robert’s experience using Evernote in his scientific career led him to develop his own Android app, TagClipper, that makes tagging in Evernote easier. He says, “Often, I read several e-books or other digital content sources at once and I make notes from each one of those. Since I want to save all excerpts with appropriate context, I use Evernote.”
TagClipper extends Evernote by allowing users to automatically add multiple tags to their content as they clip it. Robert adds, “TagClipper makes Evernote better by upgrading every piece of saved content to a fully annotated research note, with associated tags and a standard format citation.”
Robert’s final piece of tagging advice is, “Don’t use just one tag, use multiple tags. You never know what the future will bring, and what the context of your notes will be several years from now.”
By combining the power of Evernote with the flexibility of the Android platform, developers like Robert Řeřicha are creating applications that empower you capture your ideas faster and leverage them in new and exciting ways. Download Evernote from the Google Play store today to see for yourself.
Have a favorite Android superpower that didn’t make the list? Let us know!
