Backup (Export) Entire Set of Notebooks / Notes

[david_woznyorg 8]

Hello,

I've just moved from the legacy version to v10.22.3 and am content that it's an improved product, my only challenge is getting familiar with it all.  I'm determined not to resort to bleating about changes like so many of the users I've read posts from in these forums. 🙂

I used to "backup" (export) my entire Evernote set of 2500+ notes in one go, which generated .enex files in the region of 2GB.  I'm looking into doing a similar "full backup" on the new platform, and it only seems to allow me to select 50 notes at a time.  Is there a method in Evernote to achieve a full backup of all of my notes?

Thanks, David

[gazumped 11,664]

Hi.  If you were exporting your entire database to an enex file,  you were to some extent wasting the effort - enex files don't retain notebook information so at best you would have restored all your notes to a single notebook.  The correct way to backup notes is to export each individual notebook to separate enex files,  which is still possible from the 'notebooks' page in your new app.  Export all notes via the three dots menu  for each notebook (or possibly by right-clicking the notebook name).

There's some options and more here - https://blog.cloudhq.net/how-and-why-you-should-backup-evernote/

[david_woznyorg 8]

Thanks for that information, I now understand that my approach was flawed, I'm happy to do the backups on a notebook level. However, I have about ten notebook stacks, each with about ten notebooks within them. Is there a programmatic way of instructing Evernote to backup all of my notebooks?

[gazumped 11,664]

Hi.  Evernote won't do that for you,  but it is theoretically possible using automation software to set something up that works.  I've stuck with the legacy app and use an external third-party app Backupery to deal with my 300 (or so) notebooks.  It's easier with legacy,  because the database is right there in the local hard drive.

[DTLow 5,736]

35 minutes ago, david_woznyorg said:

Is there a programmatic way of instructing Evernote to backup all of my notebooks?

I use the Legacy product on a Mac   
My "programmatic way" for weekly data backups is scripting with Applescript    
It triggers the backup function for each notebook

A Windows solution is documented here    

 

[PinkElephant 8,103]

A more radical approach is to rethink the necessity of backing up everything. EN is more secure in handling and storing than any of us can do. 

If you concentrate the important stuff you can’t do without in one or a few notebooks, you could backup these manually without much effort. And with the rest simply use the cloud storage, and be done.

Workaround: Install the legacy client, run a backup of all content of the EN database and folder. This can be done using a standard backup tool, like for example Acronis True Image (which is what I use). Keep a copy of the legacy installer, just in case. A restore would happen by loading the saved backup data back into the location where the client holds the own database. By going offline before doing so, the new data will not be overwritten. Now use legacy to create notebook exports, ready to be imported into a live EN version later.

Advantage: You can run the backup automatically. What gets more complicated is a restore - if you ever need it.

[DTLow 5,736]

14 minutes ago, PinkElephant said:

A more radical approach is to rethink the necessity of backing up everything.

How about incremental backups    
I do daily backups for changed notes; identified by modification date   
That's also the approach for Evernote's Note History backups

[david_woznyorg 8]

To everyone,

Thanks for all the kind and thoughtful responses. The scripting suggestions are wonderful to read, as are the various backup options. It appears that there's no perfect solution, so I'm beginning to think my 'requirement' is due to paranoia rather than a genuine use case.  I was visualising accidentally deleting a random notebook when using Evernote on my mobile phone, while not wearing my reading glasses and not realising that my deletion had synched around all of my other platforms until it was too late.

 

I've just come up with a new solution which I recognise is far from elegant, but I think I can live with it 🙂

1. I create a dedicated login (for EverNote purposes) on my Windows 10 laptop
2. I routinely login and do an Evernote synch while all is good

If I recognise an accidental deletion of some kind on my regular Windows login or mobile devices, I could disconnect the network on my Windows laptop, then login and do "something" with the Evernote I'd synched up before my deletion.  I'd class this a half-baked resolution - but it'll do the job for me.

 

Given all of the positive vibes I've had from this forum, in the spirit of cooperation I thought it worthwhile to post a link to my "passwords for dummies" type offering. http://www.ineededtobeneeded.com/passwords.html  If you've a mum / dad / aunt / uncle / nan / grandad, etc. who are struggling with their password burden, the video I've produced might just be of help - as a minimum, I'm certain it's better than nothing!

 

Kind regards, David

[PinkElephant 8,103]

@DTLow My question was not about how to setup a better backup in terms of completeness, incremental or else, optimizing the last bit of it. Quite the contrary:

My observation is that a classical backup - like everybody should run on its locally stored data - probably does not really make much sense with a cloud service like EN.

EN already keeps different copies in distributed data centers, runs a versioning, has powerful exporting options etc. So we are IMHO only talking about an „backup of last resort“, type of a „sleep well“ backup.

Here a „stupid“ automatic, frequent copy of the legacy database and data does the job.

Frankly I am not expecting to ever need it. But as good practice I run it anyhow.

[PinkElephant 8,103]

@david_woznyorg Even if you accidentally delete a notebook, all content (not the notebook itself) goes to the trash. You can create a new notebook, select the notes from the deleted one in the trash and move them into the new notebook.

Just don’t empty the trash !

[david_woznyorg 8]

PinkElephant, you are quite right about the trash.  I recognise that it's a perfect and simple solution to my requirements, I simply needed to be told - thanks.

I need to change my annoying obsessive / compulsive behaviour of always wanting to empty the trash can ASAP - often without even looking inside!!!

[PinkElephant 8,103]

Just leave it there, it won’t show up in searches (unless you search explicitly in the trash itself).

You can use 2 strategies to control yourself:

• Set a fixed date on which you take time to review and then empty it - EN tasks can do a great job to remind you about this (would be even better with recurring tasks …). Mentally this means „I have a task, don’t touch it on other occasions“.
• If you want to delete an individual note for sure, go after it to the trash, select it and delete this single note. This can be done independently from the general trash’s content.

[gazumped 11,664]

45 minutes ago, david_woznyorg said:

I thought it worthwhile to post a link to my "passwords for dummies"

Thanks for that system - it's an ingenious and simple solution;  though I use a password manager add-on to my browser which remembers all my individual page and app passwords,  creates new (full random hierglyphic) ones like "4Wuc*NiHtg" on demand,  and automatically inserts them where necessary (no typing required).  I can use that on my mobile, tablet and laptop.  The password vault is protected by one long password/ pass phrase (in my case, a line from a favourite poem) which is easy to remember.

Password Managers include LastPass, Nordpass, Dashlane, Keeper, 1Password...  there are lots.

On the general topic of backing up - I know that Evernote is already backing up my data securely on the server,  and that there is protection in depth with the Note History feature,  plus the Trash notebook and a few 'are you sure' warnings in the system. 

However I'm a firm believer in O'Toole's Corollary of Finagle's Law: "The perversity of the universe tends towards a maximum" - and it's my data anyways,  so I'm going to keep my own special copy of it locally on my system. 

My precious...  

[Metrodon 2,184]

I think it's a dreadful idea to depend on a third party for the safety and recoverability of my data.

Yes Evernote does very well now, but what if they have a disaster that they can't recover from or recover from quickly.

It's my data, I'm responsible for it. I back up the stuff I can't do without.

[David Bent 2]

On 10/1/2021 at 5:44 PM, PinkElephant said:

@david_woznyorg Even if you accidentally delete a notebook, all content (not the notebook itself) goes to the trash. You can create a new notebook, select the notes from the deleted one in the trash and move them into the new notebook.

Just don’t empty the trash !

Thank you @PinkElephant.  I, too, didn't realise about the trash!  Now I'm banging my head against the table because that was so obvious.  Right, I think I may now be secure enough in my feelings towards "new Evernote" to actually give v10 a good shot.

[PinkElephant 8,103]

☺️