After my last post about how to get rid of your filing cabinet, I got a number of questions regarding Evernote which is the software I use to manage my digital files. I rely on Dropbox for everyday files such as Word documents, but all of the digital files that I store are kept in Evernote. In today’s post, I want to share some of the most useful features of Evernote.
What is Evernote? Simply put, Evernote is an online app that saves a note (PDFs, documents, webpages, photos, or pretty much any digital files) and works across platforms (desktop and mobile; Apple, Windows, and Android). Each note can be tagged with keywords, placed into folders, and easily searched.
In this post, I will touch some of the major aspects of Evernote that I find useful. However, if you are just starting out, I highly recommend Brett Kelly’s Evernote Essentials e-book. It is a wonderful resource to show you all of the functions that Evernote has to offer.
The Most Useful Features of Evernote
1. Scan directly into Evernote. One of the primary methods I use for saving information digitally is by scanning it using my ScanSnap scanner. The scanner directly scans into Evernote so I can save hard copies of documents into my Evernote with literally the push of a button.
2. Email notes directly into Evernote. My second favorite feature and one of the best advantages of Evernote is the ability to email directly into the app. You receive a special email address and anything sent to that address is saved into your Evernote. I send everything from emails I want to keep to files scanned on our office copier using this address.
3. Searchability. I have never seen a system as easily searchable as Evernote. Using OCR, everything can be searched. You can search for words in a document (or even inside a picture!). You can search within a folder or for a specific keyword. When I first started using Evernote, I put my notes into folders. I have stopped doing this because the search function is to powerful that I don’t really need notes to be kept separate. The ability to search text inside of pictures is particularly useful for taking pictures of a presentation at a conference or a whiteboard from class.
4. Access your files anywhere. I love being able to access my files anywhere and on any device. This is a huge advantage as I’m essentially carrying my filing cabinet around in my pocket everywhere I go.
5. My digital brain. Evernote works great as your digital brain. Can’t remember which toothpaste your kids like- save a picture of the tube in Evernote. Can’t remember which printer cartridge you need- save a note with the model numbers in Evernote. Anything that you need to remember can be saved as an image or text in Evernote. And because you carry Evernote on your phone, you can easily access the information anytime and anywhere.
Evernote has far more features than I could ever possibly use. However, these are the most useful features of Evernote. If you’re looking for a digital storage solution, I highly recommend it.
