Location of the local (offline) Evernote database

[Danni P. 22]

Hi all, I'm new here. I’ve been testing out lots and lots of note apps over the last few days. Evernote came out #1 for me 🙂

A had a few questions, maybe you guys know..

I’m thinking about building a file cabinet (using a stack of notebooks) with each note containing 1 file/document. Then, when adding files to new personal or work notes, I will reference/backlink to that particular note. This is to optimize upload/storage, and to utilize backlinks in a meaningful way when creating my “second brain”. Also, Google Drive attachments are currently not included in Evernote search; so using Google Drive as the reference point would be stupid.

Therefore, I looked for the location of the local Evernote database. I’m on Windows 11, and I found a part of my local database stored under C:\PC-NAME\OneDrive\Documents\Evernote\########. Here, there are only .docx files and PDFs. However, this is quite amazing since my Onedrive keeps them synced up.

My questions:

Where is the rest of the local Evernote database stored? The Notes and images?

I’m guessing those would be dangerous to move or sync with Onedrive?

[gazumped 11,706]

Hi.  I've no clue how some of your Evernote notes got into a OneDrive folder*.  The program files are at C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Programs\Evernote but anything to do with note content is not likely to be user- (or search-) friendly.  It's possible to use Evernote as an index for external files (Google or any other cloud drive) by simply adding an 'executive summary' to each stored link.  You could export notebooks to HTML to generate a searchable database.

It's possible to use other notes as potential 'folders' for themes - there's such a thing as a Table of Contents note containing links to child-notes,  some or all of which could also be ToC notes so your hierarchy can be as comprehensive as necessary.  But don't forget that you can use evernote's comprehensive search features to track things down.  I have actually found that I had more information on some topics than I thought,  because a search rounded up clips from web pages that I had collected at some stage for reasons other than my current searches.

You can find lots of useful information here - https://help.evernote.com/hc/en-us

*Windows 11 does,  thoughtfully,  save your desktop to OneDrive by default...??

[Danni P. 22]

Thanks @gazumped They were installed there by default. In terms of search, I meant inside Evernote.

Hmm, I'm seeing three Evernote folders:

 C:\PC-NAME\OneDrive\Documents\Evernote - In here I find locally stored Evernote .docx and .pdf

C:\Program Files (x86)\Evernote - System files, but no images or Evernote Notes (.png, .jpeg, .enex, or .html files)

C:\Users\USER\AppData\Roaming\Evernote - Cached files, but no images or Evernote Notes (.png, .jpeg, .enex, or .html files)

And yes, you could add a summary to your Gdrive files inside Evernote, however, that would be an extra step disturbing my workflow. After my testing, it seems to work well having them stored inside Evernote with the local file connected to Evernote synced with my Onedrive. Simply opening the file from Evernote, and making edits from Micr. Word or Acr. Reader - and saving them again all syncs up beautifully! Though,  I have not tested this from a team's perspective (i.e. working on a synced Onedrive .docx multiple people at the same time). I can imagine that would create some problems?

Thanks, I'll def look into ToC feature!

[PinkElephant 8,181]

EN uses its own proprietary file format to store the attachments. To organize content for the database file names are changed to a cryptic denomination.

Many of them can be read with a standard reader, when the file extension is changed.

[agsteele 2,955]

Evernote data for v10 is stored in %AppData%\Evernote. Program files are in %LocalAppData%\Programs\Evernote

Other directories - especially in Program Files (x86) - are likely to be left over from a Legacy installation 

[Danni P. 22]

Thanks, both! If notes and images are encrypted in the location C:\Users\USER\AppData\Roaming\Evernote ; any ideas of which folders contains the Notes data and which ones contain the images? I have a feeling that images are not stored locally. Does anyone know? 

[PinkElephant 8,181]

On all desktop apps, there is a full set of local data, including all attachments. The only exception is when you logged out, and told the client not to keep a copy of your data locally. As described, they are not stored as jpg or pdf, they are stored in a massive array of folders, under control of the apps database.

Why are you interested in where is what stored ? Simply go to the locations posted above, and look it up yourself. There is nothing hiding (ok, on a Mac I needed to enable „Show hidden folders“ first, but that was not only EN stored in that path). And how it works to retrieve and store is the job of the app.

[Danni P. 22]

@PinkElephant Thanks again for your assistance!

In my case, the attachments of documents and PDFs are in fact stored as .docx and .pdf on my local drive C:\PC-NAME\OneDrive\Documents\Evernote - and yes, they are stored in a massive array of folders within that location 🙂 To me, this is important to know because this folder is synced with my Onedrive. Should I lose files in the Evernote cloud, access to my Evernote account - or, god forbid, Evernote shut down from one day to another - I would know my Notes and attachments can be found locally but also in my Onedrive cloud.

Now, since I'm able to locate the embedded .docx and .pdf files on my local drive, I'm curious to find out where Evernote is storing all the Evernote Notes and my embedded images (and in what file format) on my local drive - for the above reason 🤓  

 

[agsteele 2,955]

I hope that this isn't a false promise. I have no such One Drive folder full of attachments. It may be a coincidence 

Note content is not stored on a device in an immediately readable format.

As mentioned above, you can explore the various directories in %AppData%\Evernote to review what is held and where.

🥴

[gazumped 11,706]

I created a note and attached a PDF both of which included a unique string - searched my hard drive later for any trace of that string and came up zero.  I don't know how you came to have a OneDrive backup,  but that (IMHO) is a complete red herring.  I'd suggest you check with Support to verify details (we're all users here) but beware depending on OneDrive as part of your system.  Please let us know if you figure out the connection!

[Danni P. 22]

@agsteele @gazumped 

Which version are you using? I'm on 10.56.8 using Windows 11. I've been testing it a bit now. Follow the journey below.  
- I've installed the system file from Evernote's website "Evernote-10.56.8-win-ddl-ga-4069-8d752afa50-setup"

- I have made no customization or moved any folders

- When embedding a .pdf or .docx to a note a new directory is created locally on my device within C:\PC-NAME\OneDrive\Documents\Evernote

- Here the file(s) will appear and sync immediately with my Onedrive

Limitations:
- When opening an embedded .docx or .pdf from Evernote it will create a new directory and duplicate of the file locally C:\PC-NAME\OneDrive\Documents\Evernote , Every time.

- If making edits or embedding a .pdf or .docx to a note from my phone, this will create a new directory and create a new file or duplicate of the edited file on my desktop/backed-up device (only after opening the file from my desktop).

- When opening a synced Evernote .docx or .pdf file directly from Windows File Explorer on my desktop (C:\PC-NAME\OneDrive\Documents\Evernote) and making edits to the file, this will indeed transfer to Evernote when opening the file from there (whether that be my phone or another device). However, make sure to have Evernote open and to only make edits to the latest created file since this would be the file that syncs with Evernote - not the old duplicates from previous directories. All syncs happen almost instantly - try to have a window with Evernote open on the side with the Note containing the file, and see how the window refreshes when saving the file from Windows File Explorer. Watch out, if you rename the file from Windows File Explorer; it will NOT sync up with Evernote.

- If working in teams and opening up the same file from Evernote it could cause problems (however, if individuals are opening up the file directly from the shared Onedrive location, it will sync)

[gazumped 11,706]

Likewise Win 11 on a new(ish) Dell desktop.  Was on 10.56.8,  since today on 10.56.9 - I do use OneDrive for general storage,  but have no magic folder there with my Evernote files.  Some unknown connection on your device appears to be maintaining the link - I really do think you should raise this with support so that you know for certain what is being backed up and what is not.