Import folder functionality periodically freaks out, importing hundreds of copies of the same note.

[Jefe99 1]

Does this happen for anyone else? I use the import folder functionality every day, like a watch folder. I drop .pdf files into the designated folder and they are imported as notes. Very handy, until Evernote freaks out and starts creating hundreds of copies of a note. I mean hundreds. Multiple hundreds. And since you can only delete 50 notes at a time (???) it is a massive waste of time to go through the list and delete the unnecessary copies. I have no idea why one pdf does this versus another .I see no pattern, but if you don't watch out very carefully, you can look up and find that Evernote has been creating the same duplicate note for hours. I have to keep the UI open and visible for the entire time I am using it, just to watch for this anomaly and catch it before the app floods my notebooks with extraneous duplicates.

Of course, there is virtually no support to get a fix. Anyone else encounter this and have you found a solution? It makes the app almost unusable.

[gazumped 12,039]

1 hour ago, Jefe99 said:

Of course, there is virtually no support to get a fix.

? These Forums are mainly user 2 user - subscribers can raise support queries here - https://help.evernote.com/hc/requests/new and Free users here - https://twitter.com/evernotehelps (or use the feedback option in the mobile client). 

You really need to raise this with support,  because I've not seen any similar reports in the Forums,  and they could hopefully examine your system logs to help work out what's happening here.  When you drag/ drop files into the folder,  have they recently been created by another process?  Is it possible yet to delete the files once they've been imported?

The only suggestion I can offer for the moment is to install the Legacy client alongside your v10 app,  and to use that for the import process.  If it goes wrong,  at least you don't have the 50-note limit to worry about...

 

[PinkElephant 8,728]

Probably has to do with syncing - a new note is created, then the file is importing. This means a change to the note just created. So it tries to sync the change, when maybe the initial sync has not terminated.

Under unknown circumstances it can now enter a duplication loop - this is at least how I read this.

Fortunately I have never encountered anything like this.

I think the best way is to contact support, from the client where it happens, and with an activity log attached.

For the time being I would feed the import folder with only one file. Maybe it runs more robust then.

[Jefe99 1]

Thank you for the responses. I originally posted in the forum because it looked like I wasn't getting support. Finally got a response and was told that this is a "known issue." I wonder why a known issue is not in the knowledge base. Or in a support created forum post as a heads up for users. Meanwhile, I am still deleting 1000s and 1000s of duplicate notes from one .pdf import.

Fed. Up.

[gazumped 12,039]

On 3/7/2022 at 1:50 AM, gazumped said:

I've not seen any similar reports in the Forums, 

On 3/7/2022 at 5:15 PM, PinkElephant said:

I have never encountered anything like this.

1 hour ago, Jefe99 said:

I am still deleting 1000s and 1000s of duplicate notes from one .pdf import.

Did support give you any indication of what this 'known issue' actually was?  Because a lot of people are using import folders,  and if any significant number had problems like yours,  we'd be inundated with comments here.  It sounds like something you're doing could actually be triggering the duplications...

[Jefe99 1]

I do the same thing every time...drag and drop publicity .pdfs into the import folder, usually one at a time, sometimes 2-3 depending on the project. Most actions get the expected result but a small but significant anomalous number freak out the app and start generating endless duplicates. The only way to stop is to close the app and empty the import folder. Unfortunately if I don't monitor EN at all times as I import, the duplicates can go completely off the chain. Most recently it had over an hour to generate duplicates before I noticed. If I could simply delete the duplicates I wouldn't be here, but at 50 a pop the deletion is still not complete several days later.

I have analyzed the problematic .pdfs and see nothing that would seem to cause the problem. They come from different sources, have different layouts, different content. No apparent "issue" that should cause this.

Data point: I just dragged and dropped the "problem" pdf that caused the most recent issue into import folder again. One copy of the note was generated as would normally be expected. No duplicates. That would seem to indicate the .pdf doc is not the issue. I didn't do anything differently. Of course, there have been at least 2 EN updates since the recent incident. Maybe 3.

[PinkElephant 8,728]

When it happens next time, it would make sense to issue a support ticket, and attach the activity log from the device where the import folder is running. The import folder is a local interaction between an OS object (the folder) and the EN app supervising the folder and taking action when something is dropped there.

I think support needs to look whether there is a local problem (importing the same file again and again), or the problem being the sync of the new note with the server. I think it is rather the sync running wild than the local import from the folder. But support should be able to take a deeper look.

[rwpritchett 6]

The same thing happens to me, @Jefe99. It doesn't happen with PDF files, though, only Microsoft Office-created files (Word docs and Excel spreadsheets). And yes, it does make the import folders useless. And this is the only discussion I've seen about it online.

[rwpritchett 6]

Oh, and I am using the Legacy version, so it happens in that version, too.

[PinkElephant 8,728]

Mac legacy had no import folders. With legacy this was a Windows only feature.

As you can see from the „intensity“ of this thread, this is a pretty rare problem.

If you want, involve support.

Else delete the extra notes, delete and reestablish the Import Folder, and life goes on.