11 Tools that help me leverage Evernote

If you know me, then you know I am a huge fan of Evernote. I use Evernote to capture everything, and therefore, have everything at my fingertips. While Evernote is extremely powerful, it is the integration with other tools that brings it to the next level. When I select tools for my iPad or Android phone, I try to find tools that integrate with Evernote. Here are tools that I rely on while using Evernote:

Using Evernote to track education notes

Here are two quick tips I want to share for using Evernote.

Saving program announcements

I just recently finished graduating from the University of Wyoming, and included as part of the graduation was a booklet highlighting all the graduates. I also attended the commissioning ceremony for one of my Civil Air Patrol members. It also had a brochure with the details. Normally, I would collect and later discard these booklets; however, this time, I am going to first scan them to a PDF and save them in Evernote.

Since I use Evernote as a relationship management application, if I ever conduct a search in Evernote or Google for a name included in one of these documents, the document would be listed in my search results. It would be nice to track the results of these successful individuals through the years.

Capturing training notes

I have repeatedly mentioned that I type in all my training notes as I attend workshops, Webinars, and conferences. However, I also have a wealth of notes in binders and notebooks that I have not touched in years. This was brought to my immediate attention when I moved three bookcases over the weekend; it is time for me to lighten the load.

In the very near future, I plan to pick up a Fuji iX500 or s1500 scanner to digitize all my notes that I have accumulated over the years. This idea was inspired by The Nerdy Teacher‘s article, Fujitsu ScanSnap iX500 Desktop Scanner #Evernote and the weight of heavy binders. Aside from a lighter load, the greatest benefit will be able to find notes as I do a search in Evernote or Google. Evernote has the ability to even search through written notes. Note: this depends on the clarity of the writing.

Tool Review: Handy Scanner

Handy Scanner

This is another tool review that is part of Jane Hart’s 10 Tool Challenge. While I do not use this tool on a daily basis, it is an important tool in my effort to go paperless. This tool is called Handy Scanner. This program simply lets me scan a document to PDF or JPG using my smartphone. The document can be multipage and the results can be forwarded to Dropbox, Evernote, Gmail, or any other program that you wish.

Handy Scanner is an Android application that costs approximately $4. For what it can do, I am pleased with the price.

With Handy Scanner, I have been able to capture receipts while on the road, scan documents at meetings and file them in Dropbox, and scan meeting notes and send them to Evernote.

Here are the steps for using Handy Scanner.

1. Start the program.

2. Select the camera button in the lower left corner.

Click on camera button.

3. Press the center blue button (1) for each page of your document, and then click on the check mark (2)  in the lower left corner.

Take picture for each page and then click done button.

4. Crop image (1) as appropriate, then click on the arrow (2) to move to next step.

Crop photo and move to next step.

5. Give the document a name and select OK.

Give document a name.

6. Select the share icon when document is done processing.

Share document to other applications.

I personally use Andmade Share Pro to get my document to all the places I need it to go. I can send a document to Dropbox, Evernote, and Gmail all at the same time.

Andmade Share Pro

Once I have a document in Evernote, I can then search through the document using Evernote‘s search feature.

Handy Scanner is a great little program that helps me be more productive. There are many other smartphone scanner  programs available. The most important concept to walk away with is the fact that you can scan with your phone and send it to the programs you want. It is a great marriage of technologies.

How to scan docs as a PDF to Dropbox or Evernote with your Smartphone

Earlier today, I encountered a problem, and my smartphone (Android) came to the rescue. I needed to send out an application but I failed to scan it and file it before I left home. As I mentioned, my smartphone helped me solve this problem.

Basically, I used Handy Scanner to scan the application to a PDF document. Handy Scanner is a free application that converts documents to PDF. Handy Scanner allows you to scan multiple pages to a single document. With this application, you can also scan documents to a JPEG files.

Once I finished scanning the document, I then sent it to Dropbox. To send the document to DropBox, I use Andmade Share Pro. Andmade Share Pro allows you to send a document to multiple applications at the same time. I have personally been very pleased with this program. In Dropbox, I was able to select the exact folder where I wished to place the file.

The simple fact I could do this without going back to my home scanner saved me a considerable amount of time. The convenience of being able to do this anywhere has made my life easier.

I would like to add that if you send the PDF to Evernote, you will be able to search the text of the PDF. Evernote does a fantastic job of making text searchable on images and PDFs. Imagine going to the library for research and taking PDF scans of books and articles with the ability to search through them at a later date.