How to do a backup of my Evernotes

[RiverMorel 0]

Hi,

I want to create a backup of all my Evernotes. I read some discussion questions and found basically different descriptions directing me to :
"Double click "Notebooks", right click on the notebook you want, select export." I don't have the option to back up when I right click on a notebook OR an individual note. I've tried on both PC and Mac. What am I missing?

 

Thanks.

[PinkElephant 6,786]

If you only want a backup (you don’t say on which system …) IMHO the easiest way is to simply save a copy of the EN data folder.

No notebook export, no special file formats etc. Just use a backup software of your choice. On Macs it is even simpler: TimeMachine will take care of it, when activated.

[PinkElephant 6,786]

To export a notebook: Select the notebook in the left panel. A list of notes in that notebook will show in the middle panel.

Click on the 3 dots above the notes list (middle panel). The last option in the dropdown menu is export notebook.

[DTLow 5,728]

3 hours ago, RiverMorel said:

I don't have the option to back up when I right click on a notebook OR an individual note. I've tried on both PC and Mac. What am I missing?

Please post a screenshot of what you see when right clicking

This screenshot is from my Mac

[RiverMorel 0]

Here's a screenshot from my PC and I will upload one from a mac as well ASAP. I'm working from evernote.com. I don't have a subscription so I can't use the windows app.

[DTLow 5,728]

6 minutes ago, RiverMorel said:

I'm working from evernote.com.

You are using the web platform, with the web client software   
The export feature is only supported on the Mac/Windows platforms, with the client software   

[RiverMorel 0]

When I download the app, it says I need to subscribe to continue. So is the export feature only available when I pay?

[DTLow 5,728]

15 minutes ago, RiverMorel said:

When I download the app, it says I need to subscribe to continue. So is the export feature only available when I pay?

The free account allows access on two devices   
The web counts as one device   
You can use the downloaded software on one other device

Using the web, access the device list in your user settings    
You can revoke access to any unnecessary devices

[PinkElephant 6,786]

Have you read the thread ?

Every question was answered !

You need to use a desktop client, because only this will create a local database. No export from web client or mobile.

You can use a backup software to simply draw a backup of the EN data folder. Else you can export every notebook to an ENEX-file individually.

[RiverMorel 0]

Thank you everyone! I didn't know that I needed to revoke access from one of the devices. That's worked and I did the ENEX backup.

I read that with the ENEX backup, when you import the files the 'date created' is lost. If I use a backup software, will it keep intact the date created? And what backup software is recommended for windows?

[PinkElephant 6,786]

1) Try it

2) Personally I use Acronis for my Windows backups - it costs as much as an EN subscription. You can search for free backup software.

3) Again: Try it. The backup is only complete after you have tested a recovery.

[LucaBen 16]

@PinkElephant Export in evernote has become a problem, no way to select all notes in one go, and export them. There is a maximum of 50 atm. 

Could you please share where is the EN data folder located on a Mac? 

[donquotee 0]

where is the EN folder located in windows 10/11?  thanks

[DTLow 5,728]

8 hours ago, LucaBen said:

Could you please share where is the EN data folder located on a Mac? 

 

53 minutes ago, donquotee said:

where is the EN folder located in windows 10/11?  thanks

 

Local database storage

Try    
Windows          C:/users/<youraccount>/appdata/roaming /evernote
Mac                     /Users/<youraccount>/Library/Application Support/Evernote

 

[donquotee 0]

i can find the appdata folder but not  roaming/evernote segment.  is there another name where data is saved?  i tried looking in local storage folder as well and found nothing.  thanks

[agsteele 2,579]

2 hours ago, donquotee said:

i can find the appdata folder but not  roaming/evernote segment.  is there another name where data is saved?  i tried looking in local storage folder as well and found nothing.  thanks

You may need to select the setting to show system and/or hidden files in Windows Explorer.

[PinkElephant 6,786]

11 hours ago, LucaBen said:

@PinkElephant Export in evernote has become a problem, no way to select all notes in one go, and export them. There is a maximum of 50 atm. 

Could you please share where is the EN data folder located on a Mac? 

You can select any notebook for export: Click on a notebook in the left panel, then on the 3 dots above the notes listing in the middle panel. Export notebook is in the dropdown menu. It offers ENEX and 2 HTML variations as options.

It works independently from the number of notes in a notebook - which is better working with few notebooks, by organizing the notes with tags.

The place of the data folder was posted above by @DTLow . If you run TimeMachine on your Mac (highly recommended), it is automatically included in the backup.

[eric99 836]

2 hours ago, PinkElephant said:

The place of the data folder was posted above by @DTLow . If you run TimeMachine on your Mac (highly recommended), it is automatically included in the backup.

Please note that the saved data folder may become incompatible with future EN versions since it is an internal implementation specific format. This is different from the ENEX or HTML format which stays compatible between versions.

So that means that you can not use the saved data folder for history or archive purposes unless you save the corresponding EN version as well.

[PinkElephant 6,786]

True, it is for a current backup, not for long time storage or archiving. Since TM is running on most Macs, the message is very simple: If you run EN on a Mac, and you have TimeMachine running, you don’t need to worry about a backup - you already have it.

It includes versioning, so you can even go back in time. But true, it may be the format changes from time to time.

Personally I don’t really see the need for a backup (the EN server already holds copies, in different data centers), but it is always nice to know there already is one.

Works on Windows as well, you just need to set it up.

[donquotee 0]

i changed the setting to show hidden files and still did not see the segment 'roaming\evernote'.  other ideas?  thank you.

[agsteele 2,579]

1 hour ago, donquotee said:

i changed the setting to show hidden files and still did not see the segment 'roaming\evernote'.  other ideas?  thank you.

Please confirm your operating system...

[donquotee 0]

it is windows 11.  Thanks

[agsteele 2,579]

I haven't had the privilege of an upgrade to Win11 so can't be sure. 

However, there's no indication that the directory structure has changed since Win10.

Try opening Windows Explorer and typing the following in the address bar at the top of the window: %AppData% This should take you to c:\Users\<your account>\AppData\Roaming

..\Roaming and ..\Local are essential parts of the Windows 10 installation

[LucaBen 16]

@PinkElephant Thanks, I still prefer backing up things manually, time machine is not a reliable option for me. Unfortunately it's still impossible to select more than 50 notes at a time,s o for my list of 300+ notes, I have to export in batches. The folder structure indicated by @DTLow doesn't exist on my mac, no Evernote folder there. 

[eric99 836]

2 minutes ago, LucaBen said:

@PinkElephant  Unfortunately it's still impossible to select more than 50 notes at a time,s o for my list of 300+ notes, I have to export in batches.

Individual notebooks can be exported at once, no need for batches of 50 notes

[LucaBen 16]

Thanks @eric99, that would still take me longer than the batch export, though, as I have 15-20 notebooks in total.

 

[agsteele 2,579]

37 minutes ago, LucaBen said:

The folder structure indicated by @DTLow doesn't exist on my mac, no Evernote folder there. 

The directory HAS to exist somewhere on your device.  If it isn't in the default location then search for directories called Evernote.  You will no doubt find more than one.  The data directory you want includes the config.json and a file called lastVersion.txt

Back up that directory and all the sub-directories.

This isn't, though, the way to capture your data for a complete offline restore. The primary store is in the cloud so reinstalling the application and reconnecting your account is the way to go.  If you want a copy of the data for the safety of restoring to a different program in the event of the failure of Evernote as a company then you should use the .ENEX export of each notebook

[LucaBen 16]

Thanks @agsteele, that was very helpful. For those on a mac with Catalina installed, attached is the path that worked for me. I will create a copy of this folder and its content, even though  the export feature is really what I am looking for: something that I can, in the future, move to another product, if unhappy with Evernote. 

 

[PinkElephant 6,786]

Backing up is a permanent issue, exporting is a one timer. There is no need to use a method util for an export use case for permanently backing up.

There is a way to lift the limit of 50 notes - I think EN mainly introduced it to protect against runaway jobs to hit the server.

Letting TimeMachine do the backup is IMHO the safest method - it is  developed and maintained by Apple, it will work no matter what OS and hardware changes take place.

[donquotee 0]

That works @agsteele.  Thank you .  Now i looked in that directory and there are 29 files so i am not sure which file may hold the data.  i opened a few and didnt see anything large enough to be the data file and not sure of the file format it would be in.  Getting closer.  thanks again.

[PinkElephant 6,786]

Personally I don’t care - I backup the whole folder. Not really a sweat - even a large number of notes will usually fit on a USB stick.

[DTLow 5,728]

4 hours ago, PinkElephant said:

Letting TimeMachine do the backup is IMHO the safest method

Another vote for Mac Time Machine; in Apple terms..."It just works" 
As a backup mechanism, it includes versioning; your database can be restored from a specific date

An example is corrupted notes that go unnoticed for a few weeks   
Can your backup method restore an un-corrupted version of the note

Evernote's Note History backup does versioning    
A flaw is that if the note is deleted, we have no method of accessing the backup versions

[donquotee 0]

THanks @pinkelephant.   if EN for some reason went out of business, what would you do to access your files even though you had the folder? 

[DTLow 5,728]

4 minutes ago, donquotee said:

if EN for some reason went out of business, what would you do to access your files even though you had the folder? 

That's a different question than data backups   
I would use Evernote's export feature to move my data out of Evernote   
Using the .html format, I have access to my notes using any browser app    
Using the .enex format, many alternate apps can import my notes

[donquotee 0]

Thanks @dtlow.  50 notes at a time would be real laborious but you all have answered my question.   thank you!

[PinkElephant 6,786]

5 hours ago, donquotee said:

THanks @pinkelephant.   if EN for some reason went out of business, what would you do to access your files even though you had the folder? 

No company goes out of business just like that. I don’t know where this „fear of Armageddon“ comes from.

Even if a company with the size and user base like EN would run into problems, I am pretty sure they would be taken over and restructured.

But worst case: As long as I can start the client (works offline, without an EN server connection) I can restore from the folder. It is that simple.

If I want to create a bunch of ENEX files, I can do it then, one time.

[DTLow 5,728]

14 hours ago, donquotee said:

50 notes at a time would be real laborious but you all have answered my question. 

I use the Evernote Legacy product; there's no note limit     
The v10 product supports export by notebook without a note limit

[eric99 836]

9 hours ago, PinkElephant said:

But worst case: As long as I can start the client (works offline, without an EN server connection) I can restore from the folder. It is that simple.

If I want to create a bunch of ENEX files, I can do it then, one time.

Unfortunately,  although all my notes are in the local database, V10 refuses export without internet connection !  🙄

[PinkElephant 6,786]

My way of doing a backup is not to export ENEX while offline. It is to backup the whole folder on the drive without using EN at all. This doesn’t care if EN is on- or offline.

Same the restore: You copy the original folder into a renamed folder. Then you put the restored folder from the backup into its place. No use of EN, EN needs to be stopped before you can exchange the local database.

About importing: Just tried ENEX import while offline - no problem. An ENEX file was imported without any problem after I started EN while offline. After going online it synced to the server, and from there to other clients.

What is important: Don’t log out before going offline. You can only access your data offline when you were logged in before quitting EN and go offline. 

[eric99 836]

38 minutes ago, PinkElephant said:

My way of doing a backup is not to export ENEX while offline. It is to backup the whole folder on the drive without using EN at all. This doesn’t care if EN is on- or offline.

I understand, but we were discussing the worst case when EN stays down forever: in that case you won't have the chance anymore to create an ENEX file from your datafolder since export is only possible while connected (which should be perfectly possible since all data is in the local database  (= BUG) )

[PinkElephant 6,786]

Simple solution, if this bugs you:

Go offline. 

Open the EN client (any desktop version).

Case 1: Export everything (Notebook by notebook) as ENEX, import to a choice of other note taking programs that accept ENEX as input. Being a Mac user, I would probably choose DEVONthink as new host app.

Case 2: Export everything (again better done by notebook) as HTML, readable by any browser, attachments as original files saved in the HTML folder structure.

You don’t even need a backup, because in this case you work off the existing local data structure !

[PinkElephant 6,786]

But away from the technical side: It is IMHO not only implausible that EN would go „off the air“ just like that. It is (sorry for that) plainly a complete waste of time to plan for that situation.

The user base of EN holds its value in itself - if the original company folds, there would be many investors (out of the industry, but finance investors as well) to snap it up and keep it going. Maybe not where WE want to continue, but there is an easy enough exit route.

And if a stone big enough to demolish all Google data centers where EN is hosted falls on our heads, keeping EN going is probably our least concern.

[eric99 836]

34 minutes ago, PinkElephant said:

Simple solution, if this bugs you:

Go offline. 

Open the EN client.

Case 1: Export everything (Notebook by notebook) as ENEX, import to a choice of other note taking programs that accept ENEX as input. Being a Mac user, I would probably choose DEVONthink as new host app.

 

Please try this yourself (take a notebook that contains notes with attachments ).  I did the experiment myself and I can NOT export as ENEX in offline mode:  I get a dialog telling me that it refuses to proceed when disconnected because there are attachments in the note (which are fully visible in my offline note since all my data is in my local database!)  This is nothing else but a bug!

[PinkElephant 6,786]

In fact I don’t care at all (see above). For me as a user this subject has run its course.

If you are afraid EN falls off the grid, hurry to ask support what to do about it.

[eric99 836]

22 minutes ago, PinkElephant said:

In fact I don’t care at all (see above). For me as a user this subject has run its course.

If you are afraid EN falls off the grid, hurry to ask support what to do about it.

I'm not afraid for that scenario,  I just tried to explain why your advice for offline Export doesn't work due to a bug in the Enex export.

[PinkElephant 6,786]

We can meet in the middle: It will export, but only the notes, without the attachments.

 

[timothylawrence 0]

On 11/19/2021 at 2:13 AM, RiverMorel said:

Hi,

I want to create a backup of all my Evernotes. I read some discussion questions and found basically different descriptions directing me to :
"Double click "Notebooks", right click on the notebook you want, select export." I don't have the option to back up when I right click on a notebook OR an individual note. I've tried on both PC and Mac. What am I missing?

 

Thanks.

best goalkeepers of all time

I am exactly having the same question.

[PinkElephant 6,786]

It is the wrong question.

If you read through this thread, you find all the answers. And I am not going to write it again, it is all there to read and understand.