(Archived) HOWTO: Download Google Docs and then upload them into Evernote?

[mkraft77 7]

I understand that there's a way to download one's Google Docs documents and get all of them into Evernote.

Is there a guide (help page, etc.) here that explains how to do that?

Thanks.

[peterfmartin 221]

I don't know of any one-step way to do this. If you download the Google Drive for Mac application, all your Google Docs will be on your hard drive. You can them upload them to Evernote as you would any other file.

[heather 604]

If you install the Evernote Dropbox from Veritrope, you should be able to point it to the location where the Google Drive files are downloaded to.

http://veritrope.com/tech/evernote-desktop-folder/

That should make it one-step.

[mkraft77 7]

I don't know of any one-step way to do this. If you download the Google Drive for Mac application, all your Google Docs will be on your hard drive. You can them upload them to Evernote as you would any other file.

Thanks. I had already done that (the downloading) using Google Takeout. But if docs have to be transferred one-by-one, is there any advantage to uploading them into Evernote over copying-&-pasting them directly from Google Docs?

[mkraft77 7]

If you install the Evernote Dropbox from Veritrope, you should be able to point it to the location where the Google Drive files are downloaded to.

http://veritrope.com...desktop-folder/

That should make it one-step.

Thanks. It seems a bit complex but I'll look into it. I noticed that it deletes the original documents when it sends them to the Dropbox. Is there a way to prevent that (i.e., to keep the originals)?

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

I understand that there's a way to download one's Google Docs documents and get all of them into Evernote.

Is there a guide (help page, etc.) here that explains how to do that?

Thanks.

hi. i think you'll eventually figure this out, but i am wondering why you want to do this. evernote will not index the content of these documents for searches (as far as i know), every time you make a change to one you'll have to re-upload the entire thing (eating into your upload allowance), and when you edit them you'll have to open them in google docs , word, or some other program anyhow. what benefits are there to putting it in evernote?

of course, i am not discouraging you from using evernote! i am just saying that google docs, google drive, and dropbox are quite different than evernote. they have overlap, to be sure, but they are not the same.

in my workflow, i have current projects in dropbox and completed projects in evernote. i attach one copy of the original (word, excel, etc.) and one copy in pdf form to a note in evernote when i am done. this way, i only upload the files once, they get indexed for searches by evernote, and they are safely stored just in case i need them in the future.

this isn't the only way to do things, but i think that evernote is set up best to handle the storage of memories.

[mkraft77 7]

hi. i think you'll eventually figure this out, but i am wondering why you want to do this. evernote will not index the content of these documents for searches (as far as i know), every time you make a change to one you'll have to re-upload the entire thing (eating into your upload allowance), and when you edit them you'll have to open them in google docs , word, or some other program anyhow. what benefits are there to putting it in evernote?

Thanks, maybe I should scale down my plans for Evernote. I'm so new to it that I still know very little about it. And I did not, for example, consider the storage limits.

I had seen the following posted in the Google Docs forum:

"You may find that a "non-technical" solution to backing up G docs of interest. Evernote.com has a platform that will back up virtually anything.

One of the things I like best about Evernote is that the the service scans all content so that you can find the content desired by using tags instead of a complex master file plan."

By "platform that will back up virtually anything" I thought the poster was referring to some kind of automated backup I could make use of.

Re: what I want to do with my Google Docs documents:

I'm looking for an alternative to Google Docs. (I noticed that in reply to another post you mentioned Google's "long history of less than stellar support" and that has more than a little to do with it.) I've downloaded my GDocs documents via Google Takeout. I haven't yet been migrated to Google Drive and haven't elected to move to it on my own. The downloaded GDocs docs (via Takeout) are in an older format, one that I prefer to that of the new Google Docs. There is no longer any possibility of keeping them in Google Docs/Google Drive in the format I prefer. Google provided no option for that in its recent 'forced upgrade.' So I want a new home for those GDocs docs where I have control over them, rather than being perpetually at the mercy of Google's decisions.

If Evernote isn't an ideal alternative to Google Docs, can you recommend one?

I can still see many other uses for Evernote , so I won't be abandoning it.

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

hi. i think you'll eventually figure this out, but i am wondering why you want to do this. evernote will not index the content of these documents for searches (as far as i know), every time you make a change to one you'll have to re-upload the entire thing (eating into your upload allowance), and when you edit them you'll have to open them in google docs , word, or some other program anyhow. what benefits are there to putting it in evernote?

Thanks, maybe I should scale down my plans for Evernote. I'm so new to it that I still know very little about it. And I did not, for example, consider the storage limits.

I had seen the following posted in the Google Docs forum:

"You may find that a "non-technical" solution to backing up G docs of interest. Evernote.com has a platform that will back up virtually anything.

One of the things I like best about Evernote is that the the service scans all content so that you can find the content desired by using tags instead of a complex master file plan."

By "platform that will back up virtually anything" I thought the poster was referring to some kind of automated backup I could make use of.

Re: what I want to do with my Google Docs documents:

I'm looking for an alternative to Google Docs. (I noticed that in reply to another post you mentioned Google's "long history of less than stellar support" and that has more than a little to do with it.) I've downloaded my GDocs documents via Google Takeout. I haven't yet been migrated to Google Drive and haven't elected to move to it on my own. The downloaded GDocs docs (via Takeout) are in an older format, one that I prefer to that of the new Google Docs. There is no longer any possibility of keeping them in Google Docs/Google Drive in the format I prefer. Google provided no option for that in its recent 'forced upgrade.' So I want a new home for those GDocs docs where I have control over them, rather than being perpetually at the mercy of Google's decisions.

If Evernote isn't an ideal alternative to Google Docs, can you recommend one?

I can still see many other uses for Evernote , so I won't be abandoning it.

PLAIN TEXT

hi. i see a few issues here. the one that seems to be driving your search involves technological incompatibility. you want x, but everything has moved to y. the answer for me has been plain text. i do everything in plain text, and only apply formatting in the final stage (separation of content and style seen on the internet with the widespread adoption of css). i strongly recommend plain text whenever possible. as an added bonus, if you can do your work in plain text, you'll find the ipad to be a tremendous content creation device.

unfortunately, evernote does not (yet?) provide a true plain text option. it is a little frustrating, but the pros outweigh the cons for me. if evernote were to provide plain text support, then it would be a huge step forward in my opinion. as it stands now, i cannot do my writing in evernote (formatting issues creep into it and there is no persistent save / "save and continue" option on the ipad). so, i tend to use evernote for notetaking (not insubstantial -- 7,000+ notes) and storage.

STORAGE

so, now we come to storage. g-drive, dropbox, and others provide you x amount of space to put stuff. you can move things in and out as you please. for anything substantial, you'll probably need to pay, and keep paying to keep the space. these are great for storing things you need to access and modify on a regular basis. if your gdocs files are like this, then you may want to consider dropbox instead of g-drive. if you work on the ipad, dropbox has fabulous integration, and g-drive isn't yet a viable option.

evernote is a little different. it provides you x amount of upload amount per month. it is cumulative, so it increases over time, and you do not lose it. you pay to increase your upload allowance. it is great for notetaking (text takes an insignificant amount of your upload allowance) and for storing files like the ones you have. its strength is that you can easily browse through your stuff in a way that is not yet possible in g-drive of dropbox. i routinely come across material from years ago that i had forgotten about. evernote is really well-suited for organizing and accessing your stuff.

evernote also has great customer support. if you don't like the answer you get, chat with someone, send a message to the staff that regularly visit this forum, etc. i have never had a response back from google... maybe things have improved, but i gave up on customer service with them a long time ago. google is a great company, and i use a lot of its services, but right now i don't see g-drive as part of my workflow. in particular, i am not terribly keen on letting google go through all of my stuff and store it in their servers. i know. you probably think i need to take off my tin-foil hat. but, i am not convinced that google will respect my rights. i feel like evernote is more straightforward about this kind of thing. they don't read through my stuff to target me with ads, and i enjoy the extra privacy.

SUGGESTIONS

what would i do if i were you? if possible, turn all of your documents into plain text and free yourself from the constraints of proprietary formats. you'll get rid of a lot of stress this way, and be able to edit your documents anytime, anywhere. when it is time to format something use multi-markdown (if it fits into your work) or simply paste it into whatever word processor you have on hand. make sure to save that project as a pdf when you are done and stick it into evernote.

if you cannot do this, then i guess i would probably just let google drag you into update after update. they are no different than any other company in doing this.

[mkraft77 7]

if possible, turn all of your documents into plain text and free yourself from the constraints of proprietary formats

Thanks. I use 'plain text.' It works for general notes and similar writing, but I also use 'tables' a lot. As of its last revision, the tables feature in Google Docs hasn't (in my view) been improved; rather, it's been downgraded (more useful features dropped than new ones added). Although Evernote does support tables in 'notes,' they don't appear to offer more than 'the bare basics,' less in fact than GDocs tables do.

So, storage and backup options (e.g., Dropbox) aside, what I really am looking for is an alternative (to GDocs) web app 'writing tool' -- a 'word/document processor' or advanced 'text editor.' It can be missing many advanced wp features (e.g., Table of Contents, macros, etc.), but it does have to include support for 'tables' with fairly sophisticated options (e.g., 'cell merging,' 'column sorting,' 'ability to move and/or copy rows and columns' -- all still lacking in GDocs).

Zoho Writer is one option. But although I've seen good reviews, I'm not inclined to move to a product that isn't well-known, has uncertain longevity and, as far as I know, doesn't provide an 'escape plan' for users who want to leave (and take their documents with them).

In the next few days, I hope to have a chance to try the Office Web Apps versions of Word and/or Notepad. I know they're scaled down from their desktop versions, but maybe they'll be good enough.

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

if possible, turn all of your documents into plain text and free yourself from the constraints of proprietary formats

Thanks. I use 'plain text.' It works for general notes and similar writing, but I also use 'tables' a lot. As of its last revision, the tables feature in Google Docs hasn't (in my view) been improved; rather, it's been downgraded (more useful features dropped than new ones added). Although Evernote does support tables in 'notes,' they don't appear to offer more than 'the bare basics,' less in fact than GDocs tables do.

So, storage and backup options (e.g., Dropbox) aside, what I really am looking for is an alternative (to GDocs) web app 'writing tool' -- a 'word/document processor' or advanced 'text editor.' It can be missing many advanced wp features (e.g., Table of Contents, macros, etc.), but it does have to include support for 'tables' with fairly sophisticated options (e.g., 'cell merging,' 'column sorting,' 'ability to move and/or copy rows and columns' -- all still lacking in GDocs).

Zoho Writer is one option. But although I've seen good reviews, I'm not inclined to move to a product that isn't well-known, has uncertain longevity and, as far as I know, doesn't provide an 'escape plan' for users who want to leave (and take their documents with them).

In the next few days, I hope to have a chance to try the Office Web Apps versions of Word and/or Notepad. I know they're scaled down from their desktop versions, but maybe they'll be good enough.

if it's tables you want, then plain text will not cut it. i'd get excel (or use the web version). you can be pretty confident that it will survive for the next decade or so in pretty much the same format. microsoft is generally slow and deliberate about changes to office products.

[mkraft77 7]

if it's tables you want, then plain text will not cut it. i'd get excel (or use the web version). you can be pretty confident that it will survive for the next decade or so in pretty much the same format. microsoft is generally slow and deliberate about changes to office products.

Word for the Web will probably serve me better than Excel. I like tables in documents, not documents that are only tables.

By the way, a 'plain text' "web app" that's actually very effective is the not-very-well-known Yahoo! Notepad. I use it every day to strip text (including web clippings) of all formatting. It serves the purpose quite well, and if 'plain text' notes are all one needs, I'm not sure what, if anything, it lacks.