Create multiple notes from a list

[DrGaellon 1]

I have a list of items (in Word or txt format). I want each item to be its own note. Is there a way to do that in bulk, or do I have to individually create each note, then cut-and-paste the item text? (That's what I've been doing, but it's laborious, and this is something I do on a regular basis.)

[jefito 5,586]

No way in Evernote that I can think of, except with some sort of external scripting solution. With Ms Word, you could perhaps do some sort of scripting that runs through a document, identifies list items, and exports them as, say, an HTML file to your Evernote import folder.

[DTLow 5,680]

Are there tools you can use on the Word side to export your list to separate files.  You can then move the files to an Evernote import folder.

On my Mac, I can use a script to create notes from a text file.

[gazumped 9,563]

It's actually pretty easy to set up a 'mail merge' session to create envelopes, letter or labels using data fields.  convert your Word data into a table with headings and export that to CSV or copy/ paste it into a spreadsheet and save as a mail merge database file.  Do the merge - on a trial set of 5 records for the first time.  You'll have an option to either print,  or save the output as files for printing later.  You should now have separate files for your data that will import to Evernote.  (If you use Windows,  see import folders.)

That may be a little complicated to set up,  and YMMV depending on your version of Word or Office (mine's Office 2013).  The method has worked for me in the past...

OR

You could just leave your list as is,  paste the entire content to a note and use the search function to jump to whichever entry might be applicable to your needs...  just sayin' 

[DrGaellon 1]

Mail merge tried to create each entry as its own page, not its own file. However, I was able to fake it by creating a two-column table, one with my data and the other with my Evernote mail-in submission address. I then ran the merge with output to email, and it sent each line as a separate note. I had to manually delete the "Mailed in Note" title so the text would copy up, but it was still faster than the manual way I was doing it before.

[thatdingo 4]

I was able to do this using XML to create an "export" file of my list.

You will need a text editor. Create a file and paste this into it:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE en-export SYSTEM "http://xml.evernote.com/pub/evernote-export3.dtd">
<en-export>
<note><title>Item 1</title></note>
<note><title>Item 2</title></note>
<note><title>Item 3</title></note>
</en-export>

Place your items between the title tags. I had a long list, so I used some of the text processing features of my text editor program (Textwrangler, on a Mac) to insert the tags before and after each item. You could also use Word or concatenate cells in Excel to create the same thing. But the final file must be text only.

Once you have your list formatted, save the file with the extension .enex

Open Evernote and under the File menu select Import Notes. Find your file and select it. It will import it into a new folder called Import Items, creating a separate note for each item.

If you want to add content to the notes at the same time, add a content tag to each note item:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE en-export SYSTEM "http://xml.evernote.com/pub/evernote-export3.dtd">
<en-export>
<note><title>Item 1</title><content>Content for Item 1</content></note>
<note><title>Item 2</title><content>Content for Item 2</content></note>
<note><title>Item 3</title><content>Content for Item 3</content></note>
</en-export>

 

[hafeesh 2]

i tried this..but for some unknown reason, it is not  working

[_jmes 15]

On 5/7/2018 at 8:53 PM, DTLow said:

On my Mac, I can use a script to create notes from a text file.

Would you be willing to share your script? I'd love to be able to convert a list (in Evernote or otherwise) to a separate notes.

[DTLow 5,680]

On 6/1/2020 at 7:05 AM, _jmes said:

Would you be willing to share your script? I'd love to be able to convert a list (in Evernote or otherwise) to a separate notes.

Darn; now  I have to actually write the script  
Here's a quick and simple version   textfile.scpt

1. The input code is simple  edit; adjust for the filepath to your file
           set theFile to POSIX path of "/Users/DTLow/Desktop/textfile.txt"
           set fileRef to open for access theFile
           set theContents to (read fileRef)
           close access theFile
   The file content are now stored in variable theContents

2. Next, we want to partition the data
           set the textList to every paragraph of theContents

3. Next, we want to process each item and create a note
           repeat with textItem in textList
               tell application "Evernote" to create note title textItem with text textItem
           end repeat

[_jmes 15]

Thanks for sharing (and writing)! Initially it wasn't working, but I now it is (I just had to leave it a while for anyone encountering the same issues) – I'm delighted 🙂

Also for anyone else as script-illiterate as me, change the first line from ”DTLow” to whatever your computer name is 👍🏼