Database location and OneDrive

[krestor2 7]

I've been thinking about changing my database location to my OneDrive folder. Then I found this on an Evernote help page on backing up Evernote:

Quote

Evernote does not support placing the database file in a location that syncs with 3rd party services. This includes, but is not limited to: Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, and Box.

Anyone know why this might be a problem?

[PinkElephant 8,103]

EN when installed on a desktop as a client app places the data base always on your system drive. It doesn’t even support to install on an external drive, and not on a cloud service for sure. You can’t even pick the place where it will install, nor is there a way to change this later.

However, you can make backups to whatever drive you like (including network drives, cloud etc.), but these backups can’t be opened and run from there.

IMHO it makes no sense to install EN on a cloud service, EN is a cloud service. You can always access the EN server in the cloud (via web client). For the functions like advanced search, OCR and others in a cloud based manner it needs the support of the EN server to run properly. When installed locally on a PC or Mac, performance of the app build to work on a local data base would probably suck if the data would be placed on a cloud server, with the app trying to manage data through an internet link. 

That you can’t install on a local drive other than your system drive is IMHO a leftover of several years of „under development“. 

[krestor2 7]

5 hours ago, PinkElephant said:

EN when installed on a desktop as a client app places the data base always on your system drive. It doesn’t even support to install on an external drive, and not on a cloud service for sure. You can’t even pick the place where it will install, nor is there a way to change this later.

Hi, thanks for the detailed response, but unless we're talking about different things, are you sure the above is correct? I can go into Evernote settings right now and change the location of the DB. In fact, I already have it set up to be in my secondary drive.

As for performance problems, it's not like you're actually creating a link within EN to a cloud server, you're just putting the files in a local folder that the cloud, like OneNote, syncs to. You're not reliant on the OneDrive's responsiveness. The only reason I can think of Evernote not liking people to move their EN database to a sync folder is that there might be a chance of corruption if, say, you shut your laptop before the cloud service (like OneDrive or Dropbox) has a chance to finish syncing back to the cloud. If I open the laptop again, I suppose there's a chance that a corrupt version of the DB files could sync back top the local drive.

[PinkElephant 8,103]

Thanks for looking this up. Then maybe the Windows client was upgraded on this - I have EN on a Win-10-PC, but rarely use it. Would be nice, and even better to have the same on a Mac. Macs are often short on disk space, thanks to the pricing policy of Apple when selling disk space. We have threads in the forum where people run into trouble on these tiny 128GB-SSDs found in basic Mac configurations.

Corruption on sync may be the main issue with cloud based data bases. If it is installed locally, there is at least one uncorrupted copy of everything, be it on the server or local, and if there are differences, it can show notes with detected trouble. If you have 2 corrupted copies, it is much harder to control.

For me it is the desktop data base where I do all the heavy lifting (like TOC, joining of notes, multi note tagging, sending notes from the Inbox to their notebooks etc.). I need high performance and reliability on these operations, which are better when running on a local data base and not through the internet..

[krestor2 7]

Back in 2016, someone asked a similar question about Dropbox, and it was heavily discouraged:

 

[gazumped 11,664]

I'd think there might be two aspects here - one could be responsiveness;  I don't know what happens when a cloud service starts uploading or downloading sync information,  but if that locks a file up,  I can see the app being very unhappy.  Clearly that's not continuous,  but every so often a locked file could be a problem.

The other one is security - if the database is on your local drive and in the cloud with Evernote there are only two places that need protection.  I believe the data is encrypted when in transit from local to EN.  But what about syncing with an external cloud drive?  I don't know what security then applies to data transfer - and any incorrect or corrupted changes synced down from the cloud will get transferred to Evernote's servers.

All speculation,  and just my 2c.

[krestor2 7]

All good points. Bottom line, I think I'll leave this idea alone for now!

[CalS 5,280]

12 hours ago, krestor2 said:

I've been thinking about changing my database location to my OneDrive folder. Then I found this on an Evernote help page on backing up Evernote:

Anyone know why this might be a problem?

This wouldn't so much be a backup as a duplicate.  Any issues on the local machine would be replicated on the web version, so careful what you ask for there.

If you are concerned with local notebooks consider exporting them to ENEX files on some periodic basis and then zip-encrypting the files to OneDrive.  Full disclosure I do this on a weekly basis. 

Or zip-encrypt your data base to OneDrive on a periodic basis.  ENEX files are easier to manage in recovering a note in my view.  FWIW.

[CalS 5,280]

1 hour ago, PinkElephant said:

Then maybe the Windows client was upgraded on this

For clarity, it's been this way since dirt was brown best I can remember.  Though I don't think the data base folder could be placed on a non system drive in the early days, may be wrong on that though.  Definitely not a network drive.

[krestor2 7]

19 minutes ago, CalS said:

If you are concerned with local notebooks consider exporting them to ENEX files on some periodic basis and then zip-encrypting the files to OneDrive.  Full disclosure I do this on a weekly basis. 

Yeah, I do the same. I guess I'm just being overly cautious. I suppose there's no direct need to backup up the core db files, which I do by default anyway by cloning my data drives once a week too.

[CalS 5,280]

2 minutes ago, krestor2 said:

Yeah, I do the same. I guess I'm just being overly cautious. I suppose there's no direct need to backup up the core db files, which I do by default anyway by cloning my data drives once a week too.

I think the EN servers and history provide good coverage for synced notebooks for anything other than a DAA delete.  To protect myself there I use Backupery to perform automated backups of all my notebooks at zero dark thirty every night, typically six or maybe eight if there is anything in INBOX and Scans.  I cycle the backups every 7 days.  So if I delete a note in a synced notebook more than 7 days ago I have a problem.  But I'm okay with that risk.  Only the Local notebooks are zipped to OneDrive so as to "simulate" the history function.  🤷‍♂️

[DTLow 5,736]

1 hour ago, CalS said:

If you are concerned with local notebooks consider exporting them to ENEX files on some periodic basis and then zip-encrypting the files to OneDrive.  Full disclosure I do this on a weekly basis. 

 

1 hour ago, krestor2 said:

Yeah, I do the same. I guess I'm just being overly cautious. I suppose there's no direct need to backup up the core db files, which I do by default anyway by cloning my data drives once a week too.

Warning; a restore of local notebooks from .enex files destroys all note links   
The only way to prevent this is to restore from a raw database backup

I have incremental database backups via Mac TimeMachine

[CalS 5,280]

36 minutes ago, DTLow said:

 

Warning; a restore of local notebooks from .enex files destroys all note links   
The only way to prevent this is to restore from a raw database backup

I have incremental database backups via Mac TimeMachine

Never restored a whole notebook, just notes.  I'm comfortable with the potential of having to repair a messed links when restoring from an ENEX backup as opposed to losing all updates between raw data base backups.  Nothing says the restored note will be the target of links, better chance not actually.    Not to mention the potential chaos of moving EXB files about.

As infrequently as its happened I just import notebook, grab a note, delete imported notebook.  Fits my risk profile.

[Vidalia 23]

It is not EN's best interest to allow storing database in a cloud drive. Then would be possible to bypass EN free tier limitation to sync into multiple devices potentially having a local notes system bypassing EN server completely.

EN wants your data to be in their server for a reason.

[krestor2 7]

2 minutes ago, Vidalia said:

It is not EN's best interest to allow storing database in a cloud drive. Then would be possible to bypass EN free tier limitation to sync into multiple devices potentially having a local notes system bypassing EN server completely.

EN wants your data to be in their server for a reason.

I don't see how setting the local DB files to live in a local OneDrive or Dropbox folder would bypass EN's servers: for example, if, on my Win 10 machine, I set the EN database folder be  in my local OneDrive folder, my MacBook is not going to sync from that: it's going to open from its own local DB storage and sync new notes from EN's servers. Anyway, it's allowable now: All I have to go to settings and tell EN to put the DB storage folder in my OneDrive folder. The real concern in doing this is file corruption. 

[CalS 5,280]

31 minutes ago, krestor2 said:

I don't see how setting the local DB files to live in a local OneDrive or Dropbox folder would bypass EN's servers

Agreed should not effect free tier.  Not clear to me what would happen with local notebooks on a Windows to Windows basis.  Would they sync so to speak via OneDrive?  Seems they should.  But the sync cycle could be way SLOW.  Not sure but it seems OneDrive waits for a file to close before syncing?  Chaos ensues if notes are updated on both systems in a short time window per your point.