How to search notes You can search for notes by selecting tags or combinations of tags, selecting attributes (e.g., created last month), or entering terms to search for in the note’s text and image content and tags.

Tags First select a notebook, or All Notebooks, from the Notebooks panel. Any tags that you select will only display notes from the selected Notebook.

To display notes that contain all of the selected tags, highlight those tags in the Tags panel using Cmd+Click as shown in the picture below and ensure that ALL is selected from the match drop-down menu in the note header. In the example below, all notes with both Berkeley and East Bay tags are displayed.

You can email text and images into Evernote using the personal e-mail address associated with your Evernote account.

1. Log in using Evernote Web and click the Settings link at the top of the page to get your address.
2. Any e-mail and attachments sent to this address will be placed in a new note in your default notebook.

How to create and assign tags Tags are labels that you can assign to notes to make it easier to group and find them later.

To create a new tag:

• Click on the Actions drop-down menu in the Tags panel and select New.
• Type in a unique name for your new tag and click OK.
• To assign an existing tag to a note, highlight or open the note and use the Note Operations drop-down list to choose a tag to assign.

Search terms To find a particular note or a set of notes, select a notebook, or All Notebooks, from the Notebooks panel and enter one or more search terms separated by spaces in the search box at the top right corner. Evernote searches both the visible text in a note and any text and handwriting that Evernote’s advanced image search is able to identify in photos and graphics.

After completing a search, you can click the Save button to save it as a Saved Search in the Saved Searches panel to use again, or to use when accessing Evernote from a mobile device browser. Clicking the Reset button will remove the search terms and return to the previous note view.

The screenshot below illustrates an example in which the user remembers having a very good Doppel style beer somewhere in the South Bay. Typing these terms into the search box and clicking the Search button yields matching notes in the Note panel.

Clicking on the found note above opens it and we can see it was found because the tag “South Bay” was assigned and the word “DOPPEL” was recognized in the image and highlighted in yellow.

Evernote lets you share notes in a variety of ways.

Email

You can send notes embedded and attached to email messages.

• Click on a note in the tape to open it
• Click the envelope icon in the icon bar
• Enter an email address and an accompanying note
• Click OK to send the message

Public notebooks

Any of your private notebooks can be made public. Once public, a notebook can be viewed by anyone and will be indexed by search engines.

• Select a notebook from the Organizer panel
• Click on the Actions drop down list below the Notebook list and select Setting…
• Give your notebook a name and description. The notebook identifier relates to the URL
• Make a note of the URL
• Click OK
• Your notebook is now public

What is the best way to use Evernote? Evernote supports a variety of access methods that can meet just about anyone’s needs. Some users will be happy to access the Service using only a Web browser. Others may also view their notes while on-the-go, and capture notes and photos from their mobile devices. Still others will use the Service along with rich Evernote client applications for Mac, Windows, and Windows Mobile. We recommend that you register and begin using the Service from a Web browser, then you can learn about and download Evernote client applications for free and see if they are right for you.

How much does Evernote cost? Evernote is free. At some point we will launch a “premium” subscription level that will offer higher quotas and maybe other benefits, but Evernote users will always have a free option to choose from. This applies to all features including the web client, Windows, Mac, mobile, public notebooks, email, etc. We haven’t decided on the exact feature split between free and premium yet, but our goal is to make Evernote an indispensable and ubiquitous tool for million of people free of charge – and to offer a paid version that’s even better.

What types of data can I put into Evernote? The Evernote Service currently supports text, html, jpeg, gif, png, wav, and ink (Evernote format). The Evernote client applications may support additional data types and convert them before synchronizing with the Evernote Service. Please refer to the respective client application user guides for more information. Support for additional data types is planned for future releases.

Why isn’t Evernote recognizing some of the text in an image? The Evernote image recognition technology is pretty amazing, but it’s not perfect. You can use it for things like snapshots of price tags, wine labels, whiteboards, notes scribbled on napkins, web page graphics, and lots of other things. And while we developed the technology to handle some of the most challenging cases, sometimes for a variety of reasons the recognition may not work. Recognition problems may be caused by things like bad lighting, strange angles, blurriness, odd letter spacing or orientation, noisy backgrounds, and insufficient contrast. To improve your results, consider increasing the distance between you and your target, steadying your camera, or using a flash (if you have one). Remember, Evernote is a place to store your memories, so the better the image, the better the memory.

What is a notebook, and what are notes? A notebook is an organizer for your information as a series of notes, like a PC folder except that your notes can be viewed, manipulated, and searched using Evernote applications. Notes are simply “containers” in a notebook for your text, images, snapshots, Web clips, etc.

What are the differences between the Windows and Macintosh versions of Evernote? The main difference is that the Mac version relies on the Evernote Service to process notes for searching text and handwriting in images, and it features more advanced note visualization that may be added to the Windows version in a future release.

How can I use Evernote on a mobile device? Virtually every mobile phone sold today can be used with Evernote, including all the popular models from Apple, HTC, LG, Motorola, Nokia, RIM/Blackberry, SonyEricsson, Samsung, and more. You can simply send snapshots into your Evernote notebooks via e-mail or MMS. You can view and search your notes using Evernote for Mobile Web from a mobile browser by visiting preview.evernote.com/m, and using IMAP on iPhone or Windows Mobile 5 devices as illustrated here. And you can enjoy automatic text, ink, and photo capturing from Windows Mobile devices by installing the Evernote for Windows Mobile smart client. Future releases may support this downloadable smart client approach on other platforms as well.

What is synchronization and how does it work? Synchronization is the process of periodically comparing your Evernote notebooks on the Evernote Service with those in Evernote for Windows or Evernote for Mac installed on your computer. It transfers data over the Internet and ensures that all of your notes are the same so you can access them from anywhere, any time, on just about any device. If you are an iPod user, it’s the same as when you connect your iPod to your computer and iTunes automatically begins to sync your stuff, except that Evernote uses the Internet rather than a cable. During the Evernote 3 beta test, login authentication is performed with secure https, but notes are transferred using http, with https support planned for the open product release.

Is synchronization supported in Evernote for Windows Mobile? No, Evernote for Windows Mobile supports one-way capture of notes and images from a mobile device into the Evernote Service and does not support storing notebooks locally. Evernote for Windows and Mac have full copies of your data and synchronizing them with the Evernote Service ensures that all of your notebooks contain the same notes.

Can I use the Evernote for Windows or Macintosh client without connecting to the Evernote Service? Yes. After installing and registering your application, Evernote for Windows users can select the Account>Work Offline menu item and the synchronization function will be turned off. Evernote for Mac users can select the Evernote>Preferences menu item, click the Sync button, and set the Sync with Evernote option to Manually. This will allow you to create and edit notes while offline, such as on an airplane, then have them synchronized with the Service when you connect to the Web and manually synchronize, or turn the automatic mode back on.

How secure is my data stored in the Evernote Web Service? Evernote is committed to protecting the security of your information and takes reasonable precautions to protect it. Your Evernote password is protected by encryption and only you have access to it. Your personal information and data stored in our systems is protected by various physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards, and is housed in a secure facility with restricted physical and network access limited to select trained staff. For more information, please read our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Can I export notes? Yes, you can export one or more notes from a notebook as an HTML formatted document from within Evernote for Windows using the Note > Export… menu. You can also export via e-mail using the Note > Send by Email… menu. This feature may be added to the Macintosh version in a future release.

Can I import notes? Yes, you can import notes into Evernote for Windows in Evernote 2.x database (.enb), Evernote 2.x XML (.enx), and (in a future release) Evernote XML (.enx3) formats using the Note > Import… menu. There is also a Note Import Wizard menu that for importing selected image, text, and HTML files. This feature may be added to the Macintosh version in a future release. To get databases onto a Mac, we recommend importing the database in Evernote 3.0 for Windows, synchronizing with the service, and then synchronizing the Mac client with the service.

I have been using Evernote 2.0, should I switch to version 3.0 Beta? Yes, but maybe not in one-fell-swoop. Firstly, Evernote 3.0 is currently Beta software, which means it will be constantly upgraded and made more feature-rich. Also, Evernote 3.0 for Windows is different, and in many ways better than any previous version of Evernote, especially now that you can synchronize notes across virtually all of your devices. Much of the functionality you have come to expect from Evernote is present, or will be present, in 3.0, although sometimes the names have changed. We encourage you to run Evernote 3.0 in parallel with the version of Evernote you use, as you get to know the new software. Certain features are not yet available or are different in Evernote 3.0 for Windows Beta, including:

• Categories are now called Tags with no icon assignment.
• History notes are not supported (they will be ignored in imported EN2.2 databases).
• The Category intersection panel and Tools-Options-Category tab are not supported.
• Text/image and ink are the only supported note types. Templates and RTF notes are no longer supported (even unofficially). Note that you may use inline todos instead of todo templates.
• Flags are not currently supported.
• Advanced Search has been replaced with Saved Search and Attributes.
• Automated local database backup options are not currently supported.
• Mail auto-import is not currently supported.
• Linking multiple notes is not currently supported.
• Google Desktop Search of Evernote databases is not currently supported.

Attributes Attributes are automatic labels that Evernote assigns to notes when they are created to make it easier to group and find them later. Attributes include the date and time the note was created, when it was last modified, whether it contains images, audio, or digital ink, and its source such as email, web page clip, mobile device capture, or desktop application.

First select a notebook, or All Notebooks, from the Notebooks panel. Any attributes that you select will only display notes from the selected Notebook.

To display notes that contain a specific attribute, click on the arrow next to the Attributes header in the left panel, then click on an attribute to display any notes that meet the criteria.

To display all of a note’s attributes, open the note and click on the Note Attributes arrow at the top of the note.

Saved searches Saved Searches are searches that you have performed and saved using the Save button after a search has been completed.

How to add notes and content Evernote lets you add notes in a variety of ways.

• In the Organizer panel, click to highlight the notebook where you want to add a note.
• Go to the Web page you want to clip in a separate browser window or tab.
• If you want just a portion of the page, highlight it.
• Click the Evernote WebClipper icon in your browser’s favorites or bookmarks list, or link bar. If you do not have it installed, you can get it here.
• A confirmation page will appear, allowing you to go to the notebook view, or return to the clipped page.

• In the Organizer panel, click to highlight the notebook where you want to add a note.
• Click the New Note link.
• Click OK.
• Enter your note title.
• Click Done to save the note, or Cancel to exit without saving.

You can also send notes into your Evernote account from the Evernote client applications via the synchronization feature, or via e-mail by following these steps:

• Notes added on the web are instantly available on both the web and mobile web. If you use a desktop version of Evernote, your notes will be automatically synchronized with your account at scheduled intervals, or manually if you choose that option. Click here to learn about and download other versions of Evernote.

The Organizer panel contains five sections: Notebooks, Tags, Attributes, Saved Searches, and Trash as discussed below.

Notebooks This section contains a list of your notebooks and the number of notes in each one. The highlighted notebook contains the notes being displayed in the main Viewer Panel. The default notebook (the one into which new notes are automatically placed) has an arrow next to it.

The Actions menu enables you to create, rename, delete, publish, and set the default notebook.

Tags The Tags section contains a list of tags and the number of notes each tag is assigned to.

The Actions menu enables you to create, rename, and delete tags.

To create a tag hierarchy, simply create a new tag, then click and drag it onto the tag which you want to be its parent. See for example the North Bay tag above; Marin and Sonoma are its children.

Attributes This section contains Evernote’s built-in recognition features, automatically classifying and enabling you to search for notes by attributes like creation date, date range, and the source where the note originated.

Saved Searched This section contains a list of searches that you have performed and saved using the Save button after the search has been completed.

The Actions menu enables you to rename and delete Saved Searches.

Trash This section contains any notes that you deleted using the Note Operations menu in Single Note view mode. If there is a number in the header, it indicates how many notes are in the Trash.

To view these notes in the Note panel, click on the Trash icon. If you then switch to Single Note view by clicking on a note, the Note Operations menu enables you to Delete Forever or Undelete Note.

p>The Actions menu to permanently delete all notes in the trash. Important note: any note in the trash is automatically deleted permanently after 30 days.

How to create a notebook Notebooks are simply containers for your notes. You can create a new notebook and perform the other operations shown in the picture below by right-clicking on the Notebooks header in the Organizer panel.

The Notebook Settings… option above allows you to view and change various attributes as shown in the picture below.

Notes in Evernote Web are organized into a scrollable list called the “tape”. Notes are arranged chronologically by the date and time created or edited, with most recent notes at the top.

To view and navigate a notebook or All Notebooks, select one from the Notebooks list in the Organizer panel. You can change the view in the Note panel between thumbnail, list, and note views, and scroll through the list with the scrollbar as shown in the picture below.

March 3, 2008 E-Commerce Report Putting Innovation in the Hands of a Crowd By BOB TEDESCHI

IF executives are going to rely on the wisdom of the masses for business help, it’s probably time the masses get a little compensation for it.

That’s the theory behind Kluster, the newest in a lineup of companies using the Web to channel the collective wisdom of strangers into meaningful business strategies. With a cash reward system for contributors and a big beginning at the TED conference last week in Monterey, Calif., Kluster hopes to attract just enough visitors with just enough business smarts to gain early momentum.

Along with members of the public, the 1,000 attendees of TED, a conference named for technology, entertainment and design that attracts leaders from many industries, used Kluster to generate ideas for a new product, then chose the most promising one and collaborated on the design. The result was “Over There,” an educational board game intended to promote cultural awareness, with questions like, “What percentage of the world’s population lives further than one mile from their nearest pure water source?”

According to Ben Kaufman, Kluster’s 21-year-old founder, there were a few parameters, including provisions that the product could not be wider or longer than eight inches and only specific materials, like single-injection plastic, could be used. Going into the process, Mr. Kaufman said he hoped the product would “be something that doesn’t just serve an uninteresting consumer need, but a humanitarian product that can be used by everyone.”

Mr. Kaufman said that would actually be a departure for him. As a founder of Mophie, a manufacturer of iPod accessories, Mr. Kaufman last year held a product design contest at the Macworld conference, with attendees submitting ideas and using a company Web site to refine designs and vote on the winner.

Out of that came the Bevy — a key chain and bottle opener built into the case for an iPod Shuffle — which Mophie sold by the thousands to retailers around the world. On the heels of that success, Mr. Kaufman in August sold Mophie for an undisclosed sum, then set out to build a business out of the process he used at Macworld.

Kluster includes a number of refinements to that process. Those who join are given 1,000 units of Kluster scrip, called “watts,” and they may earn more by telling the site more about themselves, like their area of expertise, age and income. Meanwhile, businesses are invited to post specific tasks to be addressed, like creating a new product, logo or corporate event.

Participants browsing the ideas offered by Kluster members can bet some or all of their watts on the ideas they most believe in, or post ideas of their own. Those who had winning ideas earn at least 20 percent of the bounty offered by the company that sought the idea, as well as more watts, while those who bet on the winning idea earn watts. Those who bet wrong lose what they wagered.

•

Mr. Kaufman said several well-known manufacturers would offer projects on the site after the TED contest. He would not disclose the identities of those businesses, but some, he said, would offer $50,000 or more for winning ideas, while others expect to give far less and hope that they have enough good will among their customers to spur ideas.

Kluster will make money, he said, by taking 15 percent of any rewards offered to projects and by charging fees for prominent placement of projects on the site, among other things.

Don Tapscott, the business strategy consultant and co-author of the book “Wikinomics,” said executives were quickly warming to the strategic value of “P.F.E.” ideas, or those “proudly found elsewhere.”

“Throughout the 20th century, we’ve had this view that talent is inside the company,” Mr. Tapscott said. “But with the Web, collaboration costs are dropping outside the boundaries of companies, so the world can become your talent.”

Mr. Tapscott, who credited Procter & Gamble with the P.F.E. concept, said executives can go overboard with the idea of outsourcing innovation if, in seeking such help, they expose too much of a company’s trade secrets. But so far, he knows of no business that has done so.

“They always err on the other side,” he said. “They don’t do enough.”

Among the obstacles in Kluster’s path are sites like InnoCentive and Cambrian House, which operate similarly. InnoCentive, based in Waltham, Mass., was until late last year a forum for solving science-related problems, typically for cash rewards. In September, it expanded into business, engineering and computer science, among other things. Since then it has grown by 15,000 participants, to 140,000, the company said.

Cambrian House, which is based in Calgary, Alberta, and has 64,000 participants, will also expand its Web site this year to accommodate projects across a broader range of industries. Until now, said Jasmine Antonick, a Cambrian House founder, the site has attracted mostly software and Web entrepreneurs.

Ms. Antonick expects the site to be profitable later this year, when it receives a share of payments made by businesses to several of Cambrian House’s participants, like two men who created Gwabs, an online video game that is to be distributed by an undisclosed company this summer.

•

Next month, it will introduce VenCorps, a site on which venture capitalists and other investors will review business ideas from the public and, after about 30 days, reward the best idea with $50,000 in exchange for a share of ownership.

VenCorps is a partnership between Cambrian House and Spencer Trask Collaborative Venture Partners, a division of the New York venture firm Spencer Trask. Sean Wise, a Collaborative Venture Partners founder, says he has high hopes for the site.

“No matter how good a V.C. I could be,” he said, “I could never be smarter than the wisdom of a collective community.”

Josh Bernoff, an analyst with Forrester Research, said that Kluster had “commercial potential.” “Asking communities for help with solving problems is certainly going to help businesses,” he said. “It’s just not something you can count on delivering business value yet.”

Ben Kaufman, founder of Kluster, goes on stage to tell what he and his team have been doing - with the help of TED attendees and 1200 people around the world - since the beginning of the conference. Kluster is an online collaboration and decision-making platform. They set out Wednesday morning to develop a product, with some basic guidelines but “we didn’t know what it would be”. They set up a studio in the conference’s venue, and got 208 ideas submitted in 24 hours. Collaboratively, it was decided that it would be an education board game; the content for it was developed; a name chosen (“OverThere”—the logo was submitted by a participant online); the rules set; a tagline developed; a full prototype developed (photo). 72 hours, 1200 participants, a board game “of social awareness” collectively invented, developed and prototyped: a pretty awesome piece of work.