Hello,
I’ve been an Evernote user since 2012.
However, due to their increasing costs, and serious lack of accessibility on windows. I am looking for something new.
Ideally, I want something that does what Evernote does, that’s Accessible, and works on windows, Mac, iOS, and the Apple Watch.
I would like something that allows both audio and text notes, as well as images, and links with previews.
I have a bunch of stuff in the notes app on my iPhone, but I don’t know if there’s a way to make that available on a Windows PC. I am hoping that Apple adds the ability to make audio notes in iOS 16, but that may just be wishful thinking.
I recently heard about an app called Notebooks, which I’ve actually used previously, but the windows version is not accessible at all. However, you can write something down in notepad, save it to the notebooks folder in dropbox, then have it available on your other devices. That app is available on iOS, macOS, the Apple Watch, and as stated previously, windows.
Another requirement each candidate app must have, is that it be able to open the Evernote export format, including Notebooks.
I realize I could probably use the Voice Memos app for audio notes, but I would prefer my notes to be in one place.
What apps would everyone in this wonderful forum suggest?
Thanks, & happy terrific Thursday!
By KE8UPE, 1 April, 2022
Forum
iOS and iPadOS
Comments
One Note
The only one I can think of that is fully accessible is One Note from Microsoft. There are also apps like notion and obsidian but they are not fully accessible. I too have tried notebooks and it is still not accessible on windows. I am finding that to be an issue with most of these style of apps. They seem to work okay on iOS but when you try out the windows version, they are not accessible.
Things3
Things3 app could be a consideration, although its mac version is very costly. Although there is no windows version, you can use email to import stuff into Things, which is a nifty feature.
I have tried Relanote which available in the windows store (has an IOS app as well); but it is very clunky and basic.
Cross platform accessibility is always missing
Hello, once I tried:
- IA Writer: quite OK on iOS, but not accessible on Windows (you can write text but it's complicated to access menu bar, as far as I can experience); latest versions make me crazy also on iOS because options screens do not always open when I press related buttons.
- Drafts: it's for iPad, iPhone and mac, but not for Windows. But they do not have ability to audio note, as far as I know.
I write on Windows notepad++ or other text editors the Markdown part -i use this method very often- and then save it on dropbox, where I later manage to open in the Drafts app on my mobile devices.
I suppose people who suggested Microsoft Word and Office 365 are right somehow, that is the most cross platform, or you may also try Simplenotes, which has no audio features.
I am a blogger so my needs may be different from a student needing to take notes in class or lessons, I need something which allows me to write whenever I have an idea and Drafts is the solution on the go.
I did not study complex actions it has, but it may help.
I also had another app called Byword, available only on iPhone and iPad, but it has syncing issues.
Is there a way to get Apple notes on Windows?
Hi,
I don’t necessarily need audio notes, but it would be nice.
Does anyone know if there’s a way to get Apple notes on a PC? Since my Apple ID is an Outlook email address, if I write a note in Outlook, it will show up on my phone. That’s really nice.
The same actually goes for calendar. If I put something in my calendar on my computer, nine times out of 10, it will sync to my phone.
Simplenote
I'm not sure if they support audio recordings, but you could check out simplenote. The app and website are great and it's definitely cross-platform. Not sure if there's an actual windows program for it but the website works perfectly IMO
Yes, it does work on windows
Hi,
Yes, Simplenote does work on windows, but does not support audio notes.
I’ve edited my original post to add something else I initially forgot. In order to make this list, the app in question must also be able to open and import the files that Evernote exports, including its notebooks. I don’t want to lose any data in this transition.
OneNote, Outlook, MarkDown
Re: OneNote, what always sends me running away from OneNote are (1) lack of export to text files (maybe this has changed lately) and (2) its annoying way of putting the page in "container" elements that end up either being very verbos or difficult to navigate. I was also having dropped character and line issues in speech output on Windows. If this last one has been fixed, I'd try hard to love it if I were a student.
Re: Outlook, if your outlook account is an exchange account, it's dead easy to add it to the Notes app and the two will sync. Then the limitation is how limited the Notes feature is in Outlook. Don't know if it works with a free outlook account or not. Worth a try. Google Notes can also be added, but that becomes Web-only on Windows.
Re: Notepad++, this is what I've ended up doing. Just use txt files put on a cloud service. The apple notes app is nice, but also has a lot of somewhat annoying formatting features that I don't want for my grocery lists or jottings.
Re: SimpleNote, definitely going to try that.
Also check out the "Noted" app for annotated audio recording. Haven't tried it since I posted the app directory entry.
btw
I've come across *something* that allowed import of Evernote material. I'm guessing it was Drafts, which is free and could be used to move it from Evernote to txt, assuming Evernote doesn't have this functionality built in. At least one of the options being discussed does allow Evernote import, though, to the best of my recollection.
Google Keep?
I'm not sure about audio notes or import/export from Evernote.