Windows app opens old version of note then overwrites the newer version

[John Stimson 0]

This has happened to me numerous times.  The Windows 10 app does not update the notes when you open it.  It allows you to edit an older version of a note, and then when it syncs the newer version is overwritten with no "NOTE CONFLICT" version being saved.  The newer version is completely lost and cannot be recovered.

To get the Windows app to load the latest version of a note, you need to select a different note, then click the sync button.  Clicking sync does not update the note that is currently selected.

 

[John Stimson 0]

More explicitly:

The note starts out as version A.  The computer has synced with it and the phone has synced with it.

Monday the note is edited on the phone, producing version B.  This edit appears when the note is opened on any other phone that the note is shared with.
Tuesday the app is opened on the Windows 10 PC using the Evernote app for Windows.  The note is opened.  It is version A.  The user makes a minor edit.  This produces version A2.  Now all devices that the note is shared with see only version A2.  All the edits that produced version B have been irretrievably lost.

Unless you have premium, I guess.  But Evernote isn't supposed to be ransomware, is it?

[PinkElephant 8,756]

There is no difference in basic functions like syncing between the payment models. Even most advanced functions run for the Basic accounts as well, they just can’t be accessed by the user. Once you would upgrade to Premium, they get accessible.

What you describe sounds like a syncing issue. To see what happens you probably should use the web client on a browser. It is never counted as a device, so you can open it in parallel with your devices. It shows the content of the EN server for your account. This is the master copy of your notes, but it can be modified by actions on the clients.

The logic is: Mobile devices call every note fresh from the server when a note is opened. After editing it is closed and synced back to the server again. There is no local data base. Mobiles work on a one-note-at-any-Time mode, they Never have more than one note at any given time to work on.

On a windows PC, there is a local data base. A note that is opened is called from that data base, edited and written back to local memory. The syncing to the server is an independent process - it syncs changes from the local data base to the EN server, and vice versa. On the desktop clients you can work on several notes at the same time, for example for tagging, moving or joining.

The local data base can collect differences to the server data, when syncing goes afoul somehow. Usually this is an issue of a few notes. If you fear or see a larger corruption, you can uninstall the windows application (use a program that erases all parts, including the data base) and reinstall. The syncing will restore the data base from the server. Local mistakes will be eliminated (CAUTION: Local notebooks will be destroyed. Make sure to back them up before you delete the app and data base).

With this information you should be able to see what is happening with your notes when working with the different clients. 

[Dave-in-Decatur 4,004]

16 hours ago, John Stimson said:

More explicitly:

The note starts out as version A.  The computer has synced with it and the phone has synced with it.

Monday the note is edited on the phone, producing version B.  This edit appears when the note is opened on any other phone that the note is shared with.
Tuesday the app is opened on the Windows 10 PC using the Evernote app for Windows.  The note is opened.  It is version A.  The user makes a minor edit.  This produces version A2.  Now all devices that the note is shared with see only version A2.  All the edits that produced version B have been irretrievably lost.

Unless you have premium, I guess.  But Evernote isn't supposed to be ransomware, is it?

WRT the material I highlighted in the quote: Did you perform a sync after the app opened and before editing the note? I know, it should sync automatically, but depending on the settings in Tools > Options > Synchronization, that may not have happened.

[CalS 5,307]

17 hours ago, John Stimson said:

More explicitly:

The note starts out as version A.  The computer has synced with it and the phone has synced with it.

Monday the note is edited on the phone, producing version B.  This edit appears when the note is opened on any other phone that the note is shared with.
Tuesday the app is opened on the Windows 10 PC using the Evernote app for Windows.  The note is opened.  It is version A.  The user makes a minor edit.  This produces version A2.  Now all devices that the note is shared with see only version A2.  All the edits that produced version B have been irretrievably lost.

Unless you have premium, I guess.  But Evernote isn't supposed to be ransomware, is it?

If a sync was not performed when the Windows 10 app was opened before version A2 was created then version B never made it to the Windows machine and version A2 becomes most recent and propagates to the phones.  Rule of thumb is to sync before you do anything else when you enter a platform.  That will stop conflicts.

[kronhead 4]

My experience has been that the Windows app is just about always up to date with the server. The app gets launched at boot up, and sits there - presumably asking the server periodically ‘has anything changed since the last time I asked?’ Unless there are LOTS of notes getting frequent updates (and we need to define LOTS), keeping the windows database up to date should be trivial. And, when the user goes to a specific note to make changes, there should be a similar, instantaneous check for changes, and pop up a note saying the note has changed, wait while we sync. Don’t tell us later ‘oh - you forgot to sync - too bad.’

My main complaint about all this is that Evernote does not notify you that a conflict has occurred, or will occur if you don’t sync. Fix that ON ALL PLATFORMS if you want happy customers. (The new iPad version seems to do that.)

Just a customer who (wants to) love Evernote
Dan

 

[CalS 5,307]

4 hours ago, kronhead said:

My experience has been that the Windows app is just about always up to date with the server.

For sure if EN is left open on the desktop computer.  The OP stated "... the app is opened...".  Hence the issue I would guess.