Where is the local copy of my Evernote notes on my computer?

[Ken Nielsen 2]

I am a new Evernote user and thrilled about this excellent app. My only question now is that I've been told that Evernote keeps a local copy of my notes on my computer which I can and should include in my overall back up strategy. My question is: Where do I find the local copy of my Evernote notes?

 

TIA,

 

Ken

[Metrodon 2,188]

If you downloaded directly it's in user/library/application support/evernote

If you downloaded from the app store it's here ~/Library/Containers/com.evernote.Evernote

And, if you have an iMac with a fusion drive, it might be here

/Library/Containers/com.evernote.Evernote/Data/Library/Application Support/Evernote/account/<your username>/ 

[megsaint 441]

I told you there were helpful people here, Ken!

[GrumpyMonkey 4,320]

I am a new Evernote user and thrilled about this excellent app. My only question now is that I've been told that Evernote keeps a local copy of my notes on my computer which I can and should include in my overall back up strategy. My question is: Where do I find the local copy of my Evernote notes?

 

TIA,

 

Ken

Hi Ken. I think Metrodon has covered all of the bases. I would add that I recommend the direct download of any app rather than the hobbled app store versions that have to conform to Apple's rules. Here are directions on how to do that if you are interested.

http://www.christopher-mayo.com/?p=135

In addition, Time Machine ought to take care of your backup automatically. Just plug in an external drive and turn on Time Machine. That is all there is to it.

[JMichaelTX 4,118]

 

In addition, Time Machine ought to take care of your backup automatically. Just plug in an external drive and turn on Time Machine. That is all there is to it.

 

Backup  using Time Machine is easy.

But RESTORE is a challenge, regardless of how you have backed it.

 

Rarely does Evernote or anyone bother to explain that it is NOT as simple as you would think as doing a normal Time Machine Restore of Evernote.  Furthermore, there is no easy way to restore only one Note or one Notebook.

 

At one time the EN Mac Backup/Restore process was documented in the Evernote KB, although there were some errors in the process.  I have not checked it recently, so I don't know the current status.

 

Perhaps an Evernote employee can speak to the restore process.

[GrumpyMonkey 4,320]

In addition, Time Machine ought to take care of your backup automatically. Just plug in an external drive and turn on Time Machine. That is all there is to it.

 

Backup  using Time Machine is easy.

But RESTORE is a challenge, regardless of how you have backed it.

 

Rarely does Evernote or anyone bother to explain that it is NOT as simple as you would think as doing a normal Time Machine Restore of Evernote.  Furthermore, there is no easy way to restore only one Note or one Notebook.

 

At one time the EN Mac Backup/Restore process was documented in the Evernote KB, although there were some errors in the process.  I have not checked it recently, so I don't know the current status.

 

Perhaps an Evernote employee can speak to the restore process.

I know there is a Windows article, but I have not seen a Mac one.

http://evernote.com/contact/support/kb/#/article/23186097

Restoring a note from the online note history is easy, and from Time Machine I might copy the folder onto my hard drive, search for the note using Spotlight, and copy/paste the content from there if I wanted to restore a single note.

Easy? Not really, especially since (as I recall) they changed the note titles on your disk from the recognizable names to "content + number." Ideally (in my opinion) this kind of functionality would be built into the app, because I consider this process rather important.

I have done it several times in the past, though mainly with especially problematic notes (long story) that I already knew well. If you had to go in and find a needle in a haystack, it could be done by someone who is tech savvy with some patience, but I think the system could be better. In short, the more diagnostic tools we have, the better.

[evita 0]

Ok, so I may not be the swift-ist, but I'm certainly not the slowest at figuring out tech stuff for a non-techie.  I just replaced my own solid state drive and reinstalled pretty much everything without problems last week after my original 2011 MBP hard drive crashed.  The only exception to the "no problem" has been restoring Evernote local notebooks.

 

I've had a heck of a time trying to figure out how to restore my local notebooks.  I'm talking hours and hours.  I've searched through forums, google posts, other sites, everything.  I may not have been searching for the right terms.  I don't know.

 

In any case, I'm posting this comment in case it saves someone else the same level of frustration in finding a "how-to set of directions" on restoring local (non-synced) notebooks from a time machine back up.  I'm not saying it's the best way or the right way (so follow at your own risk), but it is a way and it worked for me.  The key for me is that I had a time machine back up of my hard drive.

 

Ultimately, I ended up following the directions for a Windows machine since I figured it had to be close: https://evernote.com/contact/support/kb/#!/article/23186097

 

The Nitty Gritty Lesson?

It's really a lot simpler if you just make every notebook a "sync-able" notebook.  If you're waffling, make it sync-able.  In the event you really can't make it sync-able, for legal, hipaa (not that such information should be here...but that's another discussion), or other reasons, make sure that you back up each local notebook separately to a safe place via .enex files.  I will explain how I did it below.

 

**I would also back up via Time Machine regularly** since you can create .enex files from those backups if, for some reason, the .enex files don't restore properly with tags, etc.  It's just more of a pain to do it from a Time Machine Backup. But it's insurance, and well worth doing.  I don't have much experience with .enex files - but I've hopefully just saved you numerous hours now that you know what I know, and know what I wish I knew before my hard drive crashed.

 

First Issue:

you have to know where to find your Evernote data.  As stated in several other posts, it depends on where you downloaded Evernote - the apple store, or directly from Evernote:  see http://www.christopher-mayo.com/?p=135 under step 1 it explains where to find the right folder: "com.evernote.Evernote"

 

for example, (i must've downloaded from apple store, but i can't remember):

 

ExternalHardDrive/Backups.backupdb/myMacBookPro/BackupFile/MacHardDrive/Users/Username/Library/Containers/

com.evernote.Evernote

 

Library is a Hidden File

You may have trouble finding the "Library" folder no matter which way you downloaded Evernote.  This is an apple issue, not Evernote.  Apple is protecting us from ourselves evidently.  In any case, you have to show hidden files.  It was maddening because I could show hidden files on my hard drive by hitting "control + Go" (in Finder) and selecting "Library."  But on the external hard drive, it wouldn't show my hidden files.

 

To see Library Folder on your external drive (backup):

I had to go into terminal as described here:  http://osxdaily.com/2011/07/04/show-library-directory-in-mac-os-x-lion/ in order to unhide the "Library" folder.

 

I just found, however, this article for Mavericks users that is much easier and I wish I'd found sooner - "Command + J" in Finder and you can select to view Library as a default at very bottom of pane that shows:  http://thesweetsetup.com/quick-tip-show-user-library-folder-os-x-mavericks/

 

Now that you know where the key folder is:

again, this is what worked for me, please do at your own risk.  If you continue, make sure you go all the way through to the end of what I did, otherwise you may also risk syncing a mistake to your account and losing data.

 

 

1.  Quit Evernote (Before I quit, I went into preferences/sync and changed sync to manual - just in case it might prevent syncing a mistake).  Also, I went offline for further insurance that I wouldn't sync a mistake.

 

2. Go into my hard drive folder for Evernote and look for "com.evernote.Evernote" in

/Users/username/Library/Containers

 

3.  Rename hard drive folder for Evernote to something like "com.evernote.Evernote-8-31-2014"

 

4.  Go into Time Machine Backup and look for "com.evernote.Evernote" file

 

4.  Copy backup "com.evernote.Evernote" file

 

5.  Paste backup copy into hard drive /Users/username/Library/Containers

 

6.  Open Evernote.

 

7.  If you do not see your local notebooks, then I don't recommend continuing, as I did see them and cannot make suggestions as to how to continue.  I would delete the backup Evernote file you copied into the hard drive and rename the original hard drive file back to it's original name of "com.evernote.Evernote".  Ask for other support...

 

8.  If you do see your local notebooks, you can now create the .enex files from which to restore your local notebooks.

 

a. Highlight (click on) a specific notebook

 

b.  Go to File -> Export Notes (it should say the name of the notebook you selected)

 

c.  Save your file.  I start every file with the current date so that I can find a file easily - 2014-08-31 - x notebook.  I saved mine to my desktop to make it easy, but create a folder where you can regularly back up these notebooks. (Again, from what I've read, it's important to do each separately, otherwise all notes get mixed into one import notebook and you have to manually sort them out into different notebooks after import.)

 

d. Save each notebook you want to restore.

 

e.  Go to File -> Import Notes.

 

f.  Make sure you have "Import Tags" selected if you want notes to maintain their tags

 

g. Answer whether or not you want to make this note sync-able (again, my recommendation is "yes" - unless you have a good reason not to make it sync-able.

 

h.  voila!  You have restored your time machine back up of your local (non-synced) notebooks back to Evernote.  But you're not done.

 

9.    Close Evernote.

 

10.  Go back into your hard drive and delete the back up copy of "com.evernote.Evernote"

 

11.  Rename "com.evernote.Evernote-8-31-2014" back to its original of "com.evernote.Evernote"

 

12.  Now you can reconnect to the internet and sync your files in Evernote.

 

Please, other more tech savvy people, correct anything I might have done/written up incorrectly for future readers:)  I just wanted to at least get something down to pay it forward since I tend to get a lot of help from reading the forum posts from users with issues who came before.  Thank you.

Eva

[PBANERJEE_ACE 2]

MAC OS - OSX. Local Notebook Solution (May apply to Online notebook also). Main purpose is to recover the notes. This applies to all lost notes.

 

None of the paths of Chris or other paths of the member replies applied in my case. This is how I resolved it & I felt to share my experience.

I have organised it into steps

 

Oki I have gone through this hassle & the below are my steps. Downloaded Evernote from APPLE. My TM Backup & Current OS are OSX so this is not a post for different OS Backup & Restore

 

Make sure you have installed fresh evernote from Apple on your laptop. If not backup all your notes via export.

 

First goto terminal & fire the below 2 commands in sequence (this will unhide the folders & files & you wont have the hassle of the option key)

1) defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES

2) killall Finder /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app

 

Dont open Evernote application or ensure it is closed & not running

 

On you MBP open finder Go to View -> "Show Path Bar" (if its done good if not enable it, a small bar will appear on the finder below showing the path)

On your laptop i.e. MBP

Then goto

1) Machintosh HD/Users/<Username> - You should find Library Folder there in a greyed out state i.e. hidden

2) Click on Library folder (Double clicking will not let you access the folder, atleast it didnt for me)

3) You should see Library Folder appearing on the path bar below -> Double click on that Library (again on the path bar not on the window icon)

4) You should have entered the Hidden Library folder

5) You should see "Containers" folder there - Double click & go inside

6) You should see the com.Evernote.Evernote Folder (Backup this folder)

7) Delete/drag to trash the folder com.Evernote.Evernote (after you have backed it up)

7) Keep this finder window open

 

On you TM Backup repeat the above steps

1) "TM Backup - Latest Backup (I am not writing the whole name i.e. backup blah blah) "/Users/<Username> - You should find Library Folder there in a greyed out state i.e. hidden

2) Click on Library folder (Double clicking will not let you access the folder, atleast it didnt for me)

3) You should see Library Folder appearing on the path bar below -> Double click on that Library (again on the path bar not on the window icon)

4) You should have entered the Hidden Library folder

5) You should see "Containers" folder there - Double click & go inside

6) You should see the com.Evernote.Evernote Folder

7) Just copy that entire folder "com.Evernote.Evernote" onto the desktop

8) Copy the folder onto the above open finder window from the desktop

 

Open Evernote from Application

Login with the account where your notes are stored

Fingers crossed if everything goes well then you notes should show in the Evernote

Select all the notes & export it, save it, back it up whatever.

Done

 

Post steps which I did to ensure nothing is corrupted

 

Removed the Evernote app from my MBP

Did a fresh install/download from Apple

Imported the notes back

 

Open terminal again

1) defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles NO

2) killall Finder /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app

 

Hope this helps

PB

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ToBeFrank 1]

Wow, so if anyone else stumbles upon this, it is much simpler than the above steps. Here is all I did for the direct download (NON-App Store) version with a Time Machine backup:

 

1. If Evernote is running, quit it
2. If Evernote Helper (should be in your menu bar) is running, quit it
3. Type command-space -> this will bring up spotlight
4. In spotlight, type terminal and hit enter -> this will bring up a terminal
5. In the terminal, type open ~/Library/Application\ Support and hit enter -> this will open your Application Support folder
6. Move the com.evernote.Evernote and com.evernote.EvernoteHelper folders to the trash. If those folders don't exist, perfect.
7. Enter Time Machine and restore both the com.evernote.Evernote and com.evernote.EvernoteHelper folders
8. Open Evernote, all of your synced notebooks/notes and local notebooks/notes should be there

[JMichaelTX 4,118]

To find the Evernote database folder for the current account you are logged in to:

Evernote Mac > About Evernote > Hold down the OPTION key

 

This will reveal a link to the "Open Database Folder" for the current account.

 

[jsrnephdoc 4]

To find the Evernote database folder for the current account you are logged in to:

Evernote Mac > About Evernote > Hold down the OPTION key

 

This will reveal a link to the "Open Database Folder" for the current account.

 

Thanks for that.

 

I'd found my database by Finder searches in ~/Library/Application Support, then opening every Folder containing "Evernote" until I found one that was quite large. Looks as though the Database isn't composed of one monolithic file, so it shouldn't engorge my Time Machine database with hourly multi-gigabyte backups. Am I correct on that? I was considering excluding the Evernote database from Time Machine backups if it's easy to do so, but my conclusion from poking around in the ~/Library folder is that there's no reason to do so.

 

I'm on Yosemite, fully updated.

Thanks so much,

 

Jim Robertson

[JMichaelTX 4,118]

@jsrnephdoc:  Time Machine should work fine for you.  I have my TM set to BU several times a day, and it's always a small, incremental BU.

[PostItNote 0]

Thanks to your help, I found the Evernote Content folder on my Mac.  Now... how do I search it?  Every note is a separate folder with a title that is a string of letters and numbers, which do not appear to correlate to any specific date. It will take forever to open every single folder, searching for a  note that disappeared from my Evernote account. Any help greatly appreciated!