DayEntry - App Review

Do you keep a diary, or even just notes?

Do you attempt to be organised?

If you answered no to both those questions, there's no point reading on.

Still here? Then, if you don't have Evernote get it now and then try DayEntry.

Now for the ACIDS test:

Aesthetics
The first thing you need to do is allow DayEntry access to Evernote.

In my opinion, there are only 2 types of user interfaces that work; those that are totally uncluttered, and those that have everything to hand (usually for those who know what they want and where they expect to find it); DayEntry falls into the former category.

The screen has the 7 days of the week, starting with Monday, and their respective dates. The bottom of the screen has only three icons: DayEntry, Alarm Clock, and an Evernote green arrow.

Tap the screen and start typing; it's as easy as that. At its simplest, that's all you need to do and then hit the Evernote green arrow at the bottom right of the screen.

You can however get much more sophisticated by tapping DayEntry, this brings up a number of icons that allow you to personalise the process:

Keyboard (the same as if you had just tapped the screen)
Notebook (choose the notebook in Evernote to which you would like your note(s) added, rather than the default 'DayEntry'.
Tags - this is Evernote, after all
Camera - take a photo to add to your entry
Recent (recent photos) or Library (all photos on your iOS device)
Check Box - these are so useful in lists and, most importantly, Evernote correctly displays those boxes that are ticked, or not. Those of you who have experience of other systems will know that this is more the exception than the rule
Bullets - only as bullets, not numbered
Copy All - fairly obvious but also very useful if you are sending information to Evernote and also want to duplicate it somewhere else
Undo and Undo - no explanation needed but so useful
Settings - Although the default settings are pretty good, this enables you to further customise the use of the App. Just an example of the thought that's been put into building the App... there's even the time when yesterday is still today (default is 3 am); brilliant.

Cost
The App costs $3. Whether you are using Evernote for free, or have a premium account, the sum of the parts is definitely worth the modest investment.

Indispensability
If you use Evernote for anything other than web clipping, this is an absolute 'must have'.

Dependability
The diary page doesn't have the month name at the top so, you need to be a bit careful that you are on 'today'. In practice, this is easily ensured as dates before today are highlighted in grey, dates after in green, and today is in purple.

Security
The fact that you can enter a note, tap the green Evernote icon at the bottom of the screen and whoosh, your note is sent, stored in Evernote and, you are back to a blank screen; this is brilliant for keeping your notes from prying eyes.

Sure, you need to share your information via Evernote but, this is a calculated risk that you are taking anyway.

ACIDS Test Rating:

Evernote without DayEntry is like writing notes while handcuffed!

To find out how the ACIDS Test works, click here.

You can get DayEntry here and support for the App here.