Issue when converting notes with photos to PDF

[mookien 2]

When I save/convert a note to PDF (using the Evernote desktop program) which contains a photo, the photo will often be distorted/broken up in the resulting PDF, meaning that it'll appear in several separate portions. 

For example, a note that I create and attach a photo (which was taken with an iPhone 6 and attached in the Evernote app on my iPhone) will ultimately result in a three page PDF with the photo split up into three portions when I save/convert the note to PDF using the desktop Evernote program.  Is there any way to prevent the photo(s) from being split up into separate portions when converting? 

I’ve attached a PDF of how the conversion appears when converted using the Evernote desktop program to illustrate the resulting conversion (Evernote Backup (converted to PDF in Evernote) REV.pdf) and another PDF of how it should appear and how it looks in Evernote prior to converting (Evernote Backup (as it appears in Evernote) REV.pdf). 

I have many notes with photos attached and typically back them up in PDF format but haven't been able to reliably save/convert the note when there are photos attached.  I would really like to preserve the original look and format of the note.

Here are some details about the software I'm currently using: Evernote Premium; Evernote desktop version 6.4.2.3788 (303788) Public; Windows 10 Home, version 1607, OS build 14393.447.

Thanks!

Evernote Backup (as it appears in Evernote) REV.pdf

Evernote Backup (converted to PDF in Evernote) REV.pdf

[gazumped 11,652]

Hi.  How are you converting the note to PDF?  Evernote Windows doesn't have a feature to do this,  though if you have a PDF editor installed on your system you will have a 'print to PDF' option under the main Print function.

Your iPhone takes big high resolution pictures which the PDF process is trying -and failing- to cope with.  The ultimate fix would appear to be to reduce the size and/ or resolution of the picture before conversion.  I'm not sure whether a PDF editor would have any optimization tools that would help...

[DTLow 5,736]

23 hours ago, mookien said:

When I save/convert a note to PDF (using the Evernote desktop program) which contains a photo, the photo will often be distorted/broken up in the resulting PDF, meaning that it'll appear in several separate portions. 

So, the Windows convert-to-pdf workflow stinks for pictures

How about doing the conversion on IOS

Here's a third party app called Workflow
and a workflow I created in a minute

I just dragged the actions from the left to the right side

 

>>I have many notes with photos attached and typically back them up in PDF format

You might want to revise your backup process.
There are better methods.

[mookien 2]

4 hours ago, gazumped said:

Hi.  How are you converting the note to PDF?  Evernote Windows doesn't have a feature to do this,  though if you have a PDF editor installed on your system you will have a 'print to PDF' option under the main Print function.

Your iPhone takes big high resolution pictures which the PDF process is trying -and failing- to cope with.  The ultimate fix would appear to be to reduce the size and/ or resolution of the picture before conversion.  I'm not sure whether a PDF editor would have any optimization tools that would help...

gazumped: I have Adobe Acrobat Pro XI on my Windows PC and use the Adobe driver to convert.  Reducing the image size--in my case, I can just adjust (drag and resize) the image in the note itself--does seem to resolve the issue in most instances.  I just need to come up with a workflow to do that prior to converting to PDF.  I may also try another PDF creation driver like doPDF or primoPDF.

2 hours ago, DTLow said:

So, the Windows convert-to-pdf workflow stinks for pictures

How about doing the conversion on IOS

Here's a third party app called Workflow
and a workflow I created in a minute

I just dragged the actions from the left to the right side

 

>>I have many notes with photos attached and typically back them up in PDF format

You might want to revise your backup process.
There are better methods.

DTLow: I will look into Workflow, but my backup process is simply for posterity, and has previously worked with the least amount of intervention, with the added bonus of OCR functionality.  When I did use DayOne for journaling, I was a big fan of the ability to make backups to PDF directly from the app, with a date range option.

[DTLow 5,736]

3 minutes ago, mookien said:

my backup process is simply for posterity, and has previously worked with the least amount of intervention, with the added bonus of OCR functionality.  When I did use DayOne for journaling, I was a big fan of the ability to make backups to PDF directly from the app, with a date range option.

Is there a reason you're using pdf for backup
You're starting with the note and photo attachments - why change the format
Also, as a premium user, you are paying for the Note History backup feature

[gazumped 11,652]

This might be worth a look too...  (from the web page) 

Export from Evernote to PDF and HTML

ExportNote is the only application for Mac and PC that can export all your notes (including local, synchronized, shared and business notebooks) into a free and standard format while preserving the organization in stacks, notebooks, and notes.

[mookien 2]

9 minutes ago, DTLow said:

Is there a reason you're using pdf for backup
You're starting with the note and photo attachments - why change the format
Also, as a premium user, you are paying for the Note History backup feature

I'm hedging that in the future, I'll have an easier time referencing a PDF file rather than a native Evernote format but I'll likely take advantage of the Note History feature, which I need to familiarize myself with since I wasn't previously aware of its existence.  Thanks.

10 minutes ago, gazumped said:

This might be worth a look too...  (from the web page) 

Export from Evernote to PDF and HTML

ExportNote is the only application for Mac and PC that can export all your notes (including local, synchronized, shared and business notebooks) into a free and standard format while preserving the organization in stacks, notebooks, and notes.

I checked this out recently and have a query in with the folks at ExportNote to see if there's an option within the program to export within a date range and not an entire notebook.  I don't think that currently exists though. Thanks.

[DTLow 5,736]

7 minutes ago, mookien said:

I'm hedging that in the future, I'll have an easier time referencing a PDF file rather than a native Evernote format ....

Hedging is a good idea
Right from the beginning, I made sure there was an exit strategy from Evernote
I have no concerns with Evernote, but I will not allow myself to get trapped into a proprietary service

I'm content with Evernote's HTML export option as backup
Its ubiquitous, readable by any browser
Attachments are preserved in their original format
I have this scripted on my Mac; each night changed notes are exported to my backup folder

 

[mookien 2]

34 minutes ago, DTLow said:

I'm content with Evernote's HTML export option as backup

Good point.  Couldn't hurt to play around with exporting as HTML in parallel with PDF.