Tiny wish: Evernote drag-n-drop behaviour

[quietbyday]

I love Scapple and I really, really want to use it to map out clusters of ideas gathered from notes in Evernote.

Currently, if I drag an Evernote note into Scapple, it shows as a note containing the Evernote http link in plain text - not that useful.

If I drag the same note into Scrivener, I get an Evernote note title, hyperlinked to the online Evernote (http link).

Simple request: can Scapple's behaviour be changed so that if an Evernote note is dropped into Scapple, it behaves the same way as in Scrivener, i.e. converts into the EN note title, hyperlinked to the note?

Bonus points (since we all love working directly on our MacBook): could it simply convert it to the EN note title, hyperlinked with the *in-app* link, so that it opens the note in the local Evernote app, which is way more useful for a review/editing process? https://dev.evernote.com/doc/articles/note_links.php

With gratitude as always for all your hard work.

p.s. I've found a workaround for now, I think. If I first make a 'table of contents' in Evernote (basically a meta-note with in-app links) for the notes I want to bring in to Scapple, then I can copy and paste those in. Not as much fun, but better than hand-coding the links.

[AmberV]

I’m not an Evernote user so I might need a pointer on what I should be doing differently, but when I drag a test note into a Scapple board all I get as an HTTPS link; nothing special or specific to this software in terms of technology? I’ve added a note to look into supporting URI detection and the possibility of hyperlinking URL text to itself when dropped into a board.

Meanwhile though, I think most of what you are asking for can be accomplished by merely opening a new Scapple note for editing and then dropping your link into the note, instead of dropping it bare onto the board. I think having two options available is good, as some people might want the bare link for printing purposes.

Bonus points (since we all love working directly on our MacBook): could it simply convert it to the EN note title, hyperlinked with the in-app link…

Isn’t there a way to copy this kind of URI from Evernote itself?

[quietbyday]

Thanks for the quick response!

1) The idea of automatically recognizing links dropped into Scapple is a nice one. I understand what you mean about some users maybe not wanting it for printing purposes. Maybe it could be toggled in preferences so users aren't locked in?

2) Following your suggestions, I did a bit more research and found this way to do what I want to do:

a) right-click an EN note while holding down the Option key and choosing 'Copy Classic Note Link'

b) open a new Scapple note and paste into it.

The result is a note with the EN note title, hyperlinked to open the EN note in the local EN app.
Selfishly, I wish I could achieve this simply by dragging the note into Scapple, but at least I've found a fairly straightforward workaround.

Just for technical context on Evernote, from the EN documentation I linked to in my previous post, a web link is in the form

Code: Select all

https://[service]/shard/[shardId]/nl/[userId]/[noteGuid]/

while an in-app link is in the form

Code: Select all

evernote:///view/[userId]/[shardId]/[noteGuid]/[noteGuid]/

Either link could theoretically be constructed from the data in the clipboard, since they contain the same elements. And the note title should be available as well, although I'm not savvy enough to know how--Scrivener manages to capture it on a simple drag and drop.
EDIT: I also imagine it would be pretty straightforward to recognize the "evernote" link to handle it as an exception, if necessary.

I do think that building this functionality would be very useful for the large group of people who like both Evernote and Scrivener/Scapple, e.g. using EN to clip and collect research, Scapple to plan/outline, and Scrivener to draft/write.

In any case, congratulations on your amazing work. I've been using Scrivener and Scapple on Mac since their respective inceptions and they're among the few apps that I still use and love on a daily basis after years.

[AmberV]

The idea of automatically recognizing links dropped into Scapple is a nice one. I understand what you mean about some users maybe not wanting it for printing purposes. Maybe it could be toggled in preferences so users aren’t locked in?

Sorry if I was unclear on that point, a block of text that was hyperlinked using its own text as the URL of the link would suffice to service both purposes at once. The link is printed in text so that it can be transferred to paper, but at the same time it is link that can be clicked on to load it. I.e., what I get in Scapple right now when I drag the URL of this conversation in from my browser’s URL field:


Methods for pasting URLs and editing them.

The result is a note with the EN note title, hyperlinked to open the EN note in the local EN app. Selfishly, I wish I could achieve this simply by dragging the note into Scapple, but at least I’ve found a fairly straightforward workaround.

Yeah, I guess my underlying point is that for programs that support the ability to locally link to content, they tend to support methods of producing such links, so it makes more sense to better facilitate the standard usage of these links at a broad scale, as a category of technology. I.e. if we can make it easier to paste or drag in an evernote:// link, that simultaneously means x-scrivener-item:// links are made better, as well as message:// links, and x-devonthink-note:// links and on and on and on, never mind the popular external protocols like ftp://, mail-to://, etc.

After all, if we did spend a bunch of time hand-crafting better link drops from one very specific program, I think we’d start with x-scrivener-item links!

In any case, congratulations on your amazing work. I’ve been using Scrivener and Scapple on Mac since their respective inceptions and they’re among the few apps that I still use and love on a daily basis after years.

Thanks! Glad to hear it.

[quietbyday]

Thanks, that makes sense. I'll keep using my workaround for now.

I completely agree that Scrivener compatibility should be the top priority, I'm just usually moving from EverNote -> Scapple -> Scrivener rather than the other way.

I guess the same behaviour for a Scrivener document would be nice, i.e. if you drag a Scrivener note into Scapple, it could produce a note with the Scrivener document title, hyperlinked using the x-scrivener-item link. Right now, I either get just the plain text of the document title (simple drag 'n drop), or I have to right-click on the document, choose 'Copy document link' and paste into an open Scapple note (and then I would still need to manually type in the document title as the visible text).

Ok, definitely a wishlist item. Thank you so much for your response! Best of luck