Had Enough - Quitting Evernote (Mac version) for DevonThink

[patrickduggan 3]

I've been a premium customer of Evernote since 2015.

I've renewed each year in the hope that things would get better.

They haven't.

I only use Evernote on my Mac OS.

As such there are none syncing issues that other people have experienced.

The new version of Evernote for Mac has been a disaster.

It's so slow beyond words.

It hangs.

It crashes.

I've had enough.

I just want something that works.

I hear DevonThink is expensive and it has a shrp learning curve - but It built solely for Mac OS.

1) How do I transfer my notes from Evernote to DevonThin?

2) How do I completely remove Evernote from my Mac OS machine?

I've had enough of Evernote and it's wasted too much of my time. There's no going back on this decision.

[PinkElephant 8,799]

Question 2:

https://help.evernote.com/hc/en-us/articles/360056549574

Use the app AppCleaner to remove any app without traces from a Mac. Make sure to tick all options in the selection window.

Question 1: Do a search here, or better read a little before you move:

https://discourse.devontechnologies.com

Personally I have done my research, decided to run legacy for a while and see how v10 evolves.

 

 

 

[patrickduggan 3]

19 minutes ago, PinkElephant said:

Question 2:

https://help.evernote.com/hc/en-us/articles/360056549574

Use the app AppCleaner to remove any app without traces from a Mac. Make sure to tick all options in the selection window.

Question 1: Do a search here, or better read a little before you move:

https://discourse.devontechnologies.com

Personally I have done my research, decided to run legacy for a while and see how v10 evolves.

 

 

 

Thank you very much PinkElephant for your reply and advice.

I will follow your advice regarding AppCleaner.

I went back to Evernote Legacy several days ago while I was considering my position.

Please note that in addition to Evernote for Mac the only other non-Apple Apps (aside from Numbers and Pages) on my Mac is Scrivener. My Mac OS is BigSur OS. I run a very clean and simple setup.

I've given matters a lot of thought and I've really had enough of Evernote. I can't afford to waste any more time waiting for Evernote to get their act together.

I've decided to give DevonThink a try because it's Mac focused.

I just need to:

1) Find out how to transfer my Evernotes to DevonThink,

2) Remove Evernote from my Mac

3) Cancel my Evernote account.

Once again PinkElephant many thanks for your reply.

[toao 148]

have been in a similar situation to yours and have migrated to devonthink in october - only regret not having done so earlier. for me and my use cases / my setup devonthink is truly an upgrade in comparison to any version of EN.

I have summarized my experience with the migration over at their forums. here's the link, if you are interested: https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/moving-from-evernote-to-devonthink-in-2020/59211

[aukirk 368]

@toao great write up on DevonThink... thanks for sharing.  While I am one of the few long-time Evernote users who it appears is happy with the new v10 (I really like the new editor and consistency across platforms), DevonThink is probably the one app that keeps me intrigued.  I actually used DevonThink for a short time before switching to Evernote in 2009.  I am not really looking to switch, but thanks for sharing.

[TonyLim 50]

On 1/2/2021 at 8:15 PM, toao said:

have been in a similar situation to yours and have migrated to devonthink in october - only regret not having done so earlier. for me and my use cases / my setup devonthink is truly an upgrade in comparison to any version of EN.

I have summarized my experience with the migration over at their forums. here's the link, if you are interested: https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/moving-from-evernote-to-devonthink-in-2020/59211

Thanks for the good writeup. It certainly has made me more confident to spend time and effort to move to DevonThink.  I have spend too much time on Evernote v10 and spend too much evaluating other app that couldn't make it a good replacement.

I have some use cases as you.  So, I am hopeful that I can make the switch soon.

 

[PinkElephant 8,799]

DT is a good, longstanding software. I would not regard it as a 1:1 replacement for EN. I think for some users it works, for most others not.

First Apple devices only, and explicitly no plans to change it.

Second it is self hosted software. It runs locally, a Mac needs to be active. You can make segments of your data available through iCloud, but in general you are the keeper of your data (backups, availability etc.)

Third it IMHO takes much more learning to really use it than EN. The desktop is more complex than EN, the iOS client does much less, more like a viewer.

Fourth you need to purchase it. 30 day trial, when you stick to it you fall below the subscription price of EN after appr. 3 years. No free version. Thus no sharing to others that are on a free „plan“.

The importer is pretty good, they have a nice forum and an active customer support.

Edit: Removed „no free trial“

[DTLow 5,744]

1 hour ago, PinkElephant said:

...no free trial ... AFAIK just giving it a free try is not possible.

Actually, Devonthink has a generous free trial for 30 days or 150 run hours (can be extended)   
There's no free account level like Evernote's Basic account

As noted; both Evernote and Devonthink have a full featured desktop platform (Mac),    
with the IOS platform being supplemental
Evernote also supports a web platform.  There's no cloud/web platform in Devonthink

Another feature is scripting; well supported in Devonthink via Applescript
Scripting is supported in the the Evernote Legacy product, but not in the v10 product   
Personally, I consider scripting a must-have feature; I will not switch to a product that lacks scripting integration

Another must-have feature is not being locked in   
Both Evernote and Devonthink support easy export of our data

[TonyLim 50]

You might have not looked at DT for a while. 
1. valid. Apply only. 
2. you can make all in iCloud. 
3. The moment I run it. I feel so at ease. Not really difficult to use. Of course, I haven’t explore all features. Take a look at the new iOS client. It does more than a viewer. 
4. Of course there is trial. 1 month or 15 hours, whichever is later. I always believe paying the developer for good product. Not looking for free plan. 

[toao 148]

to me DT

9 hours ago, PinkElephant said:

Third it IMHO takes much more learning to really use it than EN. The desktop is more complex than EN, the iOS client does much less, more like a viewer.

to me this is a repeatedly stated yet somewhat odd misconception...DT is much more powerful and feature rich than EN (on the mac), however after migrating one can simply use it as one has used EN before as mostly EN is a feature subset of DT (again: on the mac).

whether or not one gradually starts to explore and use the multitude of additional features is entirely up to each individual user, but not a requirement for using it. in fact one can just as well absolutely ignore those features without them ever intruding your workflow. at least this is my experience since having moved over last october in the aftermath of the (for me) EN V10 debacle...

[Yiannis 4]

On 7/3/2021 at 10:20 AM, PinkElephant said:

DT is a good, longstanding software. I would not regard it as a 1:1 replacement for EN. I think for some users it works, for most others not.

First Apple devices only, and explicitly no plans to change it.

Second it is self hosted software. It runs locally, a Mac needs to be active. You can make segments of your data available through iCloud, but in general you are the keeper of your data (backups, availability etc.)

Third it IMHO takes much more learning to really use it than EN. The desktop is more complex than EN, the iOS client does much less, more like a viewer.

Fourth you need to purchase it. 30 day trial, when you stick to it you fall below the subscription price of EN after appr. 3 years. No free version. Thus no sharing to others that are on a free „plan“.

The importer is pretty good, they have a nice forum and an active customer support.

Edit: Removed „no free trial“

You have always been very well informed and helpful Pink Elephant, I thought I should say this.

On the points that you mention another member has already answered to you above. I have also made the step away from EN (although my subscription is still active till end of the year) and towards Devonthink Pro.

I  verify that the backup can be done in iCloud for DT also.

Learning curve is indeed steeper than EN, becoming a "pro" user will for sure require more time in DT.

Regarding price, given the new pricing of EN and the fact that it takes 6-7 years for DT to change version, the later is definitely cheaper in the long term.

Main issues that made me change:

1. Speed. I had noticed that EN was starting to lagging to the point I was getting annoyed, especially in iOS (even in brand new devices)

2. Privacy. I wouldn't trust EN (or any such cloud service) to store valuable documents (IDs, Passports, Health documents, financial statements). With DT everything is encrypted in my device, easy to find but also safe

3. Locked in. I know that many will say that you can take your data, but in reality this is not the case anymore with Evernote. Exporting in pdfs is just NOT an option and bulk export was made impossible with v.10 (I know read they bring it back). In any case, trusting them with thousands of notes only to lose them some day if they go down it's just not an option for me. With DT i can just drag and drop a note somewhere and voila!

4. Lack of markdown

Reasons 1,2,3 are the ones I also left Notion after trying it for almost a year.

Problems of DT:

1. Search function, although powerful in DT gives less often what I am looking for as the first choice. I usually have to go down the list of the results to see what I was searching for. In EN, with some magical way it was always one of the first 2 or 3 results, even if i had mistyped something!

2. The mobile version of EN rocks while in DT it (almost) sucks. It's fast alright, but there stop the advantages of it

and also,

3. Difficulty sharing notes with others. If this is a priority for you, then clearly DT is not an option

4. Doesn't work with anything other than MacOS, iOS, PadOS.

The last two are not issues for me but maybe for some others.

Last but not least: the support team of DT just rocks!!! It's really incredible, like these people are 24/7 in the forum answering issues/problems. They listen to the customers and plan implementing new features. Also others users are really active and responsive to any questions you may have. I have  honestly been impressed, only among Linux users I have seen such devotion to a product in the past. 

[DTLow 5,744]

5 minutes ago, Yiannis said:

The mobile version of EN rocks

I disagree with "rocks"
I've always considered EN mobile to be a supplement to the desktop app

[Yiannis 4]

3 hours ago, DTLow said:

I disagree with "rocks"
I've always considered EN mobile to be a supplement to the desktop app

Well, ok, but in comparison to DT it’s far superior

[PinkElephant 8,799]

DEVONThink IMHO is quite different: Self hosted vs. cloud based; Apple platforms only vs. Multi-OS; complex and tunable vs. simple to use, but restricted.

If you have use for DT, go for it - it for sure is one of the top runners in the note apps field.

[DTLow 5,744]

11 minutes ago, PinkElephant said:

complex and tunable

Quite "tunable" via scripting (applescript)   
Evernote dropped scripting support for the v10 product

[PinkElephant 8,799]

I am talking about v10, not legacy.

If you remember, the two of us had a discussion here about scripting support when v10 launched. I am still thinking it will not return, because the new framework on which EN was build does not support scripting in any other app build on that framework.

But that they dropped scripting is AFAIK still not officially declared, opposite to other deprecated features.