HELP - How do I revert to a previous version of my note before a sync?

[otnos 0]

I use Evernote to write notes on my laptop and on my tablet. I started composing a note on my tablet, and then finished it on my laptop. But I made the mistake of not closing Evernote on my tablet after using it, so when I turned on my tablet, evernote was still running and started its sync, it assumed that the note that I was writing on the tablet was the latest version based on the date & time. However, the version on the tablet was old and the one on the server was new. Anyway, the result is an old version got sync as a new version, and now I have lost all my work. Is there any way to revert back to a previous version before the sync???

[jbenson2 2,147]

If you closed down both running versions of Evernote, I would have expected a conflict note to be generated in the Conflicting Changes notebook.

Do you have an earlier copy of the .exb file?

I try to make a copy every 2 to 3 days.

>Tools

>Options

>Open Database folder

If you are a Premium user, the note history (updated every 8 hours or so) might be helpful in restoring the specific note.

If no to both options, I think your best solution will be to contact Evernote Support.

[otnos 0]

Thanks for your reply. Its look like there is no solution for me since I don't have any of the things you suggested.

[jbenson2 2,147]

Thanks for your reply. Its look like there is no solution for me since I don't have any of the things you suggested.

Did you see my last suggestion?

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

I use Evernote to write notes on my laptop and on my tablet. I started composing a note on my tablet, and then finished it on my laptop. But I made the mistake of not closing Evernote on my tablet after using it, so when I turned on my tablet, evernote was still running and started its sync, it assumed that the note that I was writing on the tablet was the latest version based on the date & time. However, the version on the tablet was old and the one on the server was new. Anyway, the result is an old version got sync as a new version, and now I have lost all my work. Is there any way to revert back to a previous version before the sync???

IMO, it sounds like you left something out of this scenario b/c this is not the way Evernote works. If you'd started the note on your tablet & sync'd, then sync'd your laptop (to get the partial note onto your laptop) & finished the note on your laptop & sync'd (the completed note to the EN servers), when you started your tablet again, the sync'ing would download the note (from the EN servers) as it was on the laptop.

The other scenario is if you'd started the note on your tablet but not sync'd, then finished the note on your laptop (by starting a new note). In this case, both notes would have different GUIDs & you'd end up with two notes - the one from the laptop & the one from the tablet.

What it sounds like you did is start the note on the tablet, then sync. Then you started the laptop, sync'd the partial note down, finished it & then sync'd it up to the EN servers. THEN...it sounds like you returned to the tablet & somehow modified the original, partial note there, before it sync'd, even if all you did was add a space or line feed...then the tablet sync'd. In this case, EN did exactly what it was supposed to do. This is further substantiated when you say "it assumed that the note that I was writing on the tablet was the latest version based on the date & time", which indicates the "date updated" time stamp on the tablet had been modified after the laptop version. (Otherwise, the "date updated" time stamp of the note on the tablet would have been prior to even touching the note on the laptop.) There was no "assuming" going on. And if the tablet note was not the full note when you modified it (IE added a space or line feed), that indicates the note had been modified on the tablet before it had sync'd the full note down from the EN servers. If you'd not touched the note until after the tablet had sync'd, everything would have been fine. After all, this is one of the prime draws of Evernote - keeping your notes in sync across a multitude of platforms/devices. It's crucial, when switching between devices to sync all changes UP before leaving one device/computer and syncing changes DOWN to the next device/computer you're using before making any changes. (Just FYI, creating new notes is not of a concern, since as I said above, they are all given different GUIDs. But if you're modifying existing notes between devices, if you don't fully understand how EN works, you're eventually going to lose something.)

If you have a premium account, you may be able to get the correct note from note history. Note history is only taken once every ~eight hours. So if the correct note lived on the EN servers for that long, there should be a good copy. Otherwise, it depends upon the status of the note when the note history was taken. If the note history was taken when only the partial note was on the EN servers, then there won't be a copy of the full note in note history.

[otnos 0]

Thank you for your precise explanation. I had to simplified my story so as to get to my question for help. My mistake when I started my note on the tablet was that I did not exit out of the edit mode, but just turn off the tablet. I then finished the note on my laptop. The next morning I turn on my tablet and saw that I was still in edit mode and my note was partially written. I knew right away that this was the partially written copy on the tablet. I remember from a previous time that I can exit out of edit mode and not save it, but did not recall how. The 2 button option were the * and Done. I thought * was save so if I chose Done I would exit out without saving. However when I chose Done, it auto save and exit. Therefore it time stamped this copy as the newest copy. My second mistake was when I turned to my laptop. I should have disconected the internet before starting up Evernote on the laptop because the completed version is still on the laptop. But my foolish rush got ahead of me. I opened Evernote, saw my note, and about 5 sec. later Evernote finished the sync and my completed note was replaced with the unfinished copy that my tablet has sync up earlier.

So that is my complete story. I learned a valuable lesson from it and will not make this same mistake again. Live and learn, right? Hopefully those who read this will learn from my mistake also. I posted my question here hoping there was a simple way to go retreive my note history in the free version of Evernote. The note I lost was not that important, I can re-write it. Thank you everyone for helping.

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

Thank you for your precise explanation. I had to simplified my story so as to get to my question for help.

In my many years (decades!) of dealing with troubleshooting, that's not always a good idea. I know it's s tough call b/c you don't want to impart non-essential info & "waste" time, but most of the time, it's better to deluge the support person with what you did b/c they will be helping you based upon what you say you've done. In this case, it's apparent that EN performed perfectly, rather than a bug, once the entire scenario is described.

The next morning I turn on my tablet and saw that I was still in edit mode and my note was partially written. I knew right away that this was the partially written copy on the tablet. I remember from a previous time that I can exit out of edit mode and not save it, but did not recall how. The 2 button option were the * and Done. I thought * was save so if I chose Done I would exit out without saving. However when I chose Done, it auto save and exit. Therefore it time stamped this copy as the newest copy. My second mistake was when I turned to my laptop. I should have disconected the internet before starting up Evernote on the laptop because the completed version is still on the laptop. But my foolish rush got ahead of me. I opened Evernote, saw my note, and about 5 sec. later Evernote finished the sync and my completed note was replaced with the unfinished copy that my tablet has sync up earlier.

So that is my complete story. I learned a valuable lesson from it and will not make this same mistake again. Live and learn, right? Hopefully those who read this will learn from my mistake also. I posted my question here hoping there was a simple way to go retreive my note history in the free version of Evernote. The note I lost was not that important, I can re-write it. Thank you everyone for helping.

Yes, this makes sense. And yes, if you'd prevented your laptop from syncing after reverting to the laptop (once you realized the note on the EN servers was incomplete), you could have moved that note to a local/non-sync'd notebook, then sync'd.). After sync'ing everything, you could then move the complete note from a local/non-sync'd notebook on your laptop to a sync'd notebook & a new GUID would be generated. But as you say, live & learn. (I don't inherently know this stuff...I've also learned the hard way over many years!) Anyway, this is also a good reason to make your own backups of your Windows database. It may not have helped in this case, since the time frame seems to have been relatively short. But IMO, it's always better to have backups you don't need rather than need a backup you don't have.

[TomasDV 0]

I did this same thing 

[Praxiteles 4]

This is a broken feature in Evernote - a bug. 

 

If you start editing an existing note on a tablet and don't close it - then edit the note on a PC - then go back to your tablet's unclosed note and close it - all your edits on the PC are overwritten. 

 

What should happen is that a conflict note should be created. 

 

Otherwise, you invisibly lose edits. This just happened to me today. I reviewed the note history and sure enough discovered that the previous note was overwritten - even though there would be a date discrepancy on the edits. 

 

This is a foundational sync issue. Evernote needs to track the date/time of the edits. This should be fixable as Microsoft's OneNote does it. 

 

Evernote, can you fix this?

[sfaggam 2]

This is a broken feature in Evernote - a bug. 

 

If you start editing an existing note on a tablet and don't close it - then edit the note on a PC - then go back to your tablet's unclosed note and close it - all your edits on the PC are overwritten. 

 

What should happen is that a conflict note should be created. 

 

Otherwise, you invisibly lose edits. This just happened to me today. I reviewed the note history and sure enough discovered that the previous note was overwritten - even though there would be a date discrepancy on the edits. 

 

This is a foundational sync issue. Evernote needs to track the date/time of the edits. This should be fixable as Microsoft's OneNote does it. 

 

Evernote, can you fix this?

You are right as for the diagnosis. There are other bugs related to synchronisation and note history management. Unfortunately, IMO there's no chance that the bug will be fixed... Unless Evernote introduces SuperPremium accounts ;-)