Solved: Note upload failed on simple text-only note

[IWillMakeANoteOfThat 4]

I have a note created on Evernote for Windows, to which I made a trivial edit on Android and immediately the note failed to sync and went read-only so I couldn't even edit and try again.

In the process of creating a support case for Evernote, I enabled single-note error log uploads and created a log for this note. Within that single-note log I found this gem of an error message:

Event - Note[isLinked=false,contentClass=0] @ 285 15:40:18
Event - NOTE UPLOAD:: server error = BAD_DATA_FORMAT, NoteAttributes.contentClass note updated = 1570919544806 isLinked = false @ 285 15:40:18
Event - Note[isLinked=false,contentClass=0] @ 285 15:37:18
Event - NOTE UPLOAD:: server error = BAD_DATA_FORMAT, NoteAttributes.contentClass note updated = 1570919544806 isLinked = false @ 285 15:37:18

The log also included a copy of the "enml" file, which is the Evernote internal XML. I checked that file for any odd tags and found nothing, however I did notice that the note contained a copy of Unicode non-breaking spaces instead of the usual spaces. Those were probably left over from a copy/paste at some point. It wouldn't surprise me if Microsoft Word were somehow involved, since it seems to really enjoy destroying perfectly good text.

In any case, I made a copy of the note, replaced those non-breaking spaces with normal spaces, and was able to make the same edit on Android and successfully sync the note.

So if you see that error, perhaps check your note for any odd Unicode characters-- it may save you some time and effort.

[John in Michigan USA 129]

Outstanding bit of detective work! Thanks for posting.

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,938]

Thank you indeed for this determined bit of investigation. The error sounds like an instance of the problem reported extensively here:

Did you get the kind of error messages and other behavior reported there? I've got a half a dozen or so notes with this problem. They have a variety of contents, but I don't think any of them--and certainly not all of them--have nonbreakable spaces or other odd Unicode characters. I'm glad you found a solution. For me, alas, it only deepens the mystery.

[30foldBenefits 1]

Argh, in the same boat here. I tired the solution. I duplicated the note. The new note has the same problem right out of the gate. I can't copy the content in order to paste it into a new note either. And it's one of my most frequently used notes, so I bump into it multiple times a day. The note was wholly created and edited in Evernote and I have never used a different app to edit it, and never even pasted content into it from another app. Everything has been typed natively in Evernote.

[PinkElephant 8,077]

If the above solution did not work, you probably have another issue.

Try support on this ?

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,938]

6 hours ago, 30foldBenefits said:

Argh, in the same boat here. I tired the solution. I duplicated the note. The new note has the same problem right out of the gate. I can't copy the content in order to paste it into a new note either. And it's one of my most frequently used notes, so I bump into it multiple times a day. The note was wholly created and edited in Evernote and I have never used a different app to edit it, and never even pasted content into it from another app. Everything has been typed natively in Evernote.

Definitely do contact support. I have suspected that this aggravating problem is more complicated than just non-breaking spaces. Please also take a look at the ongoing thread I linked to above (https://discussion.evernote.com/forums/topic/120419-incomprehensible-note-locks/) and report there if it seems to be the same issue.

[IWillMakeANoteOfThat 4]

I've noticed similar issues happening where there don't seem to be any odd characters, so those remain a mystery.

I used this site on the content of the "upload logs" embedded enml file to confirm there are no non-ASCII characters:

https://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~markm/ascii.html

I was able to test that it's content-related by making a copy of the note using the web interface and then deleting all the text from the original note-- it then uploads fine.

 

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,938]

Thanks for your sleuthing! That would also be good to report to support, since as I understand it they are still trying to figure out a solution for this.