Search Query Preview

We’ve just updated AutoCron to allow users to preview the search query that AutoCron would run on your Evernote account.

As an example in the screenshot above, users can have the option of copying and pasting the search query into their Evernote search to easily see which notes would be affected by the rule. In the above example, notes that match the query “nes* notebook:@inbox created:20180414 created:day-2” will have the following actions applied to it.

  1. title changed to “New new nespresso”
  2. a reminder added
  3. tagged “interactive brokers”

Once again, we welcome all feedback from our users! Let us know below if you have any!

New Feature: Ability to Add Reminder

We’re pleased to introduce a new action on AutoCron!

Ps. If you take a look at the screenshot below, you’ll notice a new button.

Introducing a new action. You now have the ability to Add Reminder to your note!

The new action is “Add Reminder”. You now have the ability to add a Reminder on Evernote.

This tool will be handy if you would like a to review a note on Evernote that has been organised by AutoCron. Here’s an example.

Use Case

Say you have a rule on AutoCron that sorts all email receipts from Paypal.

It would probably look like this:

If you set up auto-forwarding of all Paypal receipts on your email account, these receipts would first arrive in your Evernote default Inbox. The above rule on AutoCron would automatically sort these receipts, so you’ll likely not be aware of the Paypal charge on your account.

With the ability to add a reminder to your Evernote, you’ll be able to review such notes on Evernote, and at the same time, have an organised setup on Evernote.

Feel free to let us know what you think!

The Anatomy of a Rule

AutoCron is a simple to use rules engine that can automatically sort your Evernote account every 6 hours.

To begin using AutoCron, after connecting your AutoCron account to your Evernote account, you must create at least one “Rule”. Each rule on contains of a set of conditions and a set of actions. Each rule can be run individually on command by the user, or automatically at an estimated 6-hourly interval as decided by our AutoCron algorithm.

An example of a rule on AutoCron is as follows.

Conditions

Conditions are a set of search criteria that AutoCron will run on your Evernote account. These Conditions are determined and can be set by the user for each rule. Once the matching notes on Evernote are found, a user defined set of actions will be applied to these notes automatically.

Some examples of conditions are as follows.

This set of conditions will search for notes contained in the notebook @Inbox and text and/or bodies containing “paypal transaction id”. This is equivalent to doing a search on Evernote using the following search term [notebook:”@Inbox” “paypal transaction id”]
This set of conditions will search for notes contained in the notebook @Inbox and text and/or bodies containing “dbs” and “revision in fixed deposit”. This is equivalent to doing a search on Evernote using the following search term [notebook:”@Inbox” “dbs” “revision in fixed deposit”]

It is worthwhile to note that the name of the Notebook is case sensitive (ie notebook “Inbox” would not match “inbox”. More examples Home ≠ home, Work ≠ work).

Once the notes matching the conditions have been found on Evernote, a set of user defined actions will be automatically applied on the notes.

Actions

Actions are automatically applied on notes that match the conditions.

AutoCron currently allows for the following actions.

  • Tag – Individual tags are added to the notes on Evernote. One or more tags can be added into a note.
  • Move – Notes are moved into another notebook. For obviously, you can only define one notebook move for every rule.
  • Change Title – The title of the notes are change for every note matching the conditions.
  • Add Reminder – A reminder will be added to the note. Handy if you’ll like to review any important notes that have been handled by AutoCron.

Examples of actions are as follows.

Notes will have the tag “autocron” added, moved to the notebook “Home” and titles retitled “Revision in Fixed deposit Home Rate”
Notes will have the tags “autocron” and “receipt” added, moved to the notebook “Home”.

Others

We will now provide details on the other components you will see in your rule.

(1) Rule title – Your rules will be automatically numbered (starting from 1). Future upgrades could allow you to rename your rule title.

(2) Rule switch – This could be “On” or “Off”. On meaning your rule is currently set up to automatically run every 6 hours.

(3) Last run on – The provides the time that the rule previously ran on your Evernote account.

(4) Test rule – A handy tool to check how many rules would be actioned on. No actions will be applied, this tool will simply let you know how many notes were identified based on the conditions.

(5) Run rule – This button instantly runs the rule. Actions would be applied on rules matching the conditions.

(6) Delete – Deletes the rule entirely. Irreversible. Use with caution.

(7) Switch off/on – Turns on or off for automatic running of the rule. Rule switch (item 2) will change based on the selection here.