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Can I move all my PDFs in ibooks on my iPad to my evernote account?


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I have several PDFs that I've downloaded to iBooks on my iPad for some classes I'm taking.  When I sync my iPad with my iMac, I'm told it will not take files from the iPad that are not already in iBooks on the iMac.  recently I downloaded several for a class and need to sync and update the IOS on my iPad.  I am nervous about what might happen to my PDFs when I do this so I'm thinking about switching where i keep them to Evernote.  So I'd like to know how I can move the ones I have now in ibooks on my iPad to my account in Evernote?  Can I?

 

Michelle

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1. Could you not just download them on your Mac from wherever you originally downloaded the files?

2. If this is not possible, you can open each PDF in iBooks, click the little share icon in the top left (box with upward pointing arrow), and email the PDF to your Evernote email address. This will create a new note with that PDF attached in Evernote.

It's a drag to have to do to one at a time, but that's all I can think of unless you can just re-download them.

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Can't you address iBooks files through iTunes? I don't have my computer with me at the moment to check, and I don't know iBooks enough to say, but this isn't really an Evernote question. You can put PDFs into Evernote easily -- the trick will be getting them out of iBooks. Have you tried iTunes?

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Grumpy - 

iTunes file transfer to iBooks no longer is an option. Here is the file transfer interface for iTunes and my iPad with iBooks installed:

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s25/sh/be49869a-9f04-4bf3-b49a-d7b0f509778f/f2f213c084820d928ca02026260475c2

 

iBooks does not appear. Other potential facilities in iTunes also do not allow for such a transfer to take place based on my cursory tests just now. 

 

I interpreted her issue as being that the OP downloaded these PDFs while using their iPad and opened them into iBooks instead of into Evernote or any other, more flexible, application that has an "open in.." function. So unless they can access the files at their original source, they're "trapped" in iBooks. 

 

Perhaps the OP can provide us with more information so we can get the story straight!

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Grumpy -

iTunes file transfer to iBooks no longer is an option. Here is the file transfer interface for iTunes and my iPad with iBooks installed:

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s25/sh/be49869a-9f04-4bf3-b49a-d7b0f509778f/f2f213c084820d928ca02026260475c2

iBooks does not appear. Other potential facilities in iTunes also do not allow for such a transfer to take place based on my cursory tests just now.

I interpreted her issue as being that the OP downloaded these PDFs while using their iPad and opened them into iBooks instead of into Evernote or any other, more flexible, application that has an "open in.." function. So unless they can access the files at their original source, they're "trapped" in iBooks.

Perhaps the OP can provide us with more information so we can get the story straight!

Yeah, but can't you go to your books (a separate window in iTunes and move files in and out? From there, I'd drag them into the Evermore interface on my desktop.

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Grumpy, I can tell you're on one of your iOS devices by virtue of the hilarious "evermore" autocorrect!

I tried as you had suggested using both the (now largely deprecated) Books tab for the device in iTunes and this does not offer that ability. Likewise, the "on this iPad" tab lists the books/PDFs, but doesn't allow any drag/drop (you can drag, but dropping does nothing...)

Quite possibly I have overlooked something though.

In reality I don't see why our OP can't simply re-download them!

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I'm sorry if this comes through twice, I typed it up and hit post and then it made me log back in.  So ....

 

I posted here because I thought there might be other mac users here who are as frustrated as I am with the change to iBooks and our ability to rename items on the iMac and if we download them on an iPad, getting them to the iMac for back up and having the name not get changed.  I decided to stop using iBooks and since I have an Evernote account and use it for other things, I thought it might be a good replacement for my PDF collection.  

 

I assumed iBooks would work seamlessly between my devices (who doesn't ??) and now that we have lost some control and flexibility with recent updates, I am looking to stop using it.  Hence, I posted here to see what other mac users who are on the forums might be able to tell me.

 

And I cannot go and re download them as they came from several sites and I no longer have the original list to start over.  I saw that I can email them one by one and while I am grateful that is an option, I remain hopeful another mac user, or any user, might know a way to export them all or select all, etc.

 

Thank you for your time Scott and grumpy monkey

 

Michelle

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There might be an easy way to dig them out ofyour library. as Scott noticed, I'm out of town so mac-less atm, so can't check.

by the way, i'm not a huge fan of apple software that tends to lock you into it...

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Grumpy Monkey, I also don't care for this new 'controlling' aspect of ibooks and iTunes.  I did update my software and did a sync and it did ***** up all my pdfs.  I do have them correctly listed in a folder so I will look for some ways to re add them to ibooks.  I did load some of them into evernote but I hit the limit for the Month.  wish I'd started this yesterday!  LOL

 

Michelle

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Grumpy Monkey, I also don't care for this new 'controlling' aspect of ibooks and iTunes.  I did update my software and did a sync and it did ***** up all my pdfs.  I do have them correctly listed in a folder so I will look for some ways to re add them to ibooks.  I did load some of them into evernote but I hit the limit for the Month.  wish I'd started this yesterday!  LOL

 

Michelle

Hi Michelle,

iTunes and other i-stuff can be frustrating at times. I believe Apple's emphasis is on ease of use for users, and they assume the easiest hing will be to use their stuff! If you disagree, you may well find it quite laborious to remove data, and "easier" to just stay with their stuff. A self-fulfilling prophecy! On the iPad, I use iAnnotate and PDF Expert a lot for PDFs. These can be synced with Dropbox. I would strongly recommend a copy of all data (including Evernote) be kept independently on external drives. You can read more about this at my website (see link in my signature).

If you are moving pdfs into Evernote on the desktop, don't forget hat monthly upload allowances are unaffected by local notebooks. You can move your PDFs first into here and slowly migrate them into synced notebooks whenever you have upload allowance to spare.

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Yes I cannot speak highly enough about PDF Expert for iPad. In my opinion, iBooks is for ePub books only, PDFs never go to the mysterious world of iBooks. Anything PDF is in Dropbox and managed by PDF expert where they are also backed up in Dropbox and on my local computer (which is then, also backed up). Safety.

I agree the way iBooks has evolved has made it very hostile to any content that isn't purchased from the iBookstore.. Though this isn't too different than say, the Kindle app which is just as bad for handling your own non-amazon purchased content across machines...

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Thank you GM and Scott,

 

Both of your responses have helped me.  I will check out your website GM and PDF expert.  I am guessing it is an app in the app store so I'll look there and then google it if needed.  

From what I've read on the apple discussions, and what you said Scott about Kindle, etc., helps keep it in context.  If apple originally made this for their purchases, as the Amazon Kindle has, I can see any of them not wanting to put a lot of tech time into making it work for items/documents whose design and/or interaction style is out of their control.  they'd end up having to fix issues that may be outside of their original design... or so my mind is surmising this morning.

 

I've been frustrated with how ibooks keeps PDFs for some time as, I have several that are very different categories and I've long wished I could categorize them in folders, etc.  So Evernote does allow me that option.  I am quite new to Evernote so I do need to spend some time looking for some tutorials to better understand my options and better use the resource and my time.  

 

Just an FYI, I cannot post again until after 9:30 tonight, must be a limit on new users to make sure we are not maniacs ;-)  Probably a good plan.  I just mention it as, if either of you reply and ask me something, I won't be able to reply till tonight or tomorrow.  You've been so kind to help, I just want to say this so it did not appear as if I was not grateful and not going to reply.  Online forums, basically email, can be easily misunderstood stood.  I am guessing we've all seen a thread go 'hot' and in reading the thread, thought it was mostly as a result of the insular nature of email.

 

Have a good Sunday.

 

Michelle

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Michelle,

I am pleased that we have helped you find a solution, clumsy as it may be.

Indeed from the outset iBooks has not been good at PDFs, even Dropbox's or Safari's native PDF viewer is superior!

PDF expert is available from the App Store, but you might want to go with Documents 5 from the same developer (Readdle), which is free (and contains NO ads). Documents 5 has fewer annotation options (you can still do all the usual highlighting and note making). You can always bump up to the $10 PDF expert if you find yourself needing The advanced PDF features (free-hand annotations, secure signatures, etc).

And don't worry, at no point did you come across as ungrateful!

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I just wanted to second the recommendation for PDF Expert. It's been my primary PDF app on my iPads since, well, I don't remember. It's ability to fill in forms and sign documents has been invaluable. The only PDFs I put in iBooks (and only if I remember) are manuals to things like my camera. iBooks has a simpler interface that is useful for PDFs I just need to read. But I've usually got them in Evernote, too. Just in case. 

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Scott and Meg,  

 

I've downloaded the Document 5 App to try it out.  Can you tell me is you use it to store your PDFs, or just to edit them and then store them in Evernote?  Since I've been using iBooks for so long, I've got a steep learning curve.

 

Scott, you mentioned I can upload or save PDFs into my notebook via the web version and sync with my iMac version when I have more storage available to me.  I have some PDFs saved in a folder on my iMac desktop.  How do I get them into the folder?  I dragged one and when the note opens, it is a link to see it.  Other PDFs I've loaded previous to Evernote, open with the document visible.  Is this a feature of how they are loaded?  If they've been synced?  Just wanting to sort out the best way to manage the new process.

 

And you mentioned Dropbox.  Do you use Dropbox as a back up to what you have stored in Evernote?  Again, asking to learn this new avenue as I move off of iBooks.  This may all be a nice learning opportunity.

 

Michelle

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I do not use Dropbox as a backup for Evernote. Dropbox and Evernote are two completely distinct ecosystems in my workflow. Notes (and a small number of files) go in Evernote. Files go in Dropbox (or Box). 

 

 

 

Scott, you mentioned I can upload or save PDFs into my notebook via the web version and sync with my iMac version when I have more storage available to me.  I have some PDFs saved in a folder on my iMac desktop.  How do I get them into the folder?  I dragged one and when the note opens, it is a link to see it.  Other PDFs I've loaded previous to Evernote, open with the document visible.  Is this a feature of how they are loaded?  If they've been synced?  Just wanting to sort out the best way to manage the new process.

 

Hmm I think I may have confused you or perhaps been unclear. You can attach files of any kind go notes in Evernote on the Desktop, the web, or your mobile device. These notes are synced just like any other note so there's nothing new to get acquainted with here. I don't find Evernote to be effective way of storing lots of actively used PDFs (some will disagree). 

 

That being said, you should just be able to drag and drop any PDF to evernote in your Mac's dock, or to the body of any note in Evernote, and it will make a little pill-shaped thing with the PDF title in it, or it will show a preview of the PDF, depending on your settings. See the two different styles here:

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s25/sh/8d890bfd-6c9d-4cdf-b1b6-02c6cabe57ae/4a0cb2118e198a36bd6d951aeea8dc45

 

Again, that being said, I rarely store PDFs in Evernote. Primarily I store PDFs (Mostly academic journal articles and ebooks) in Dropbox and Box. The reasons I do this:

1) They are immediately synced to my two computers and the "cloud", so exist in three places all the time (each computer is also backed up to a backup drive, so this actually extends the duplication to 5 places). - This isn't too different from Evernote, except that Dropbox/Box do this (more or less) immediately when the file is modified, Evernote does not update the server copy of a file until it syncs (every 5+ minutes, or whenever you tell it to). 

2) Saving and syncing files is faster in these services compared to Evernote where sync only occurs every 5 or more minutes (or whenever you tell it to).

3) Files in Dropbox or Box are more easily accessed in other applications, such as Documents 5 or PDF Expert! 

 

Documents and PDF Expert do NOT directly integrate with Evernote. (You can tell evernote to open a PDF in Documents using the "Open In..." feature, but that is really not anything at all like "integration", and remember, this creates a duplicate of the file, one exists in Evernote as it always has, and a new one now exists in Documents).

 

In what follows I may refer to either PDF Expert of Documents, but the process is almost identical in either.

Documents allows you to actually do two-way, real-time sync with Dropbox or Box (and a few other services). Whatever folders contain the files I need access to I set up to sync to my iPad. This way the files are 1) available offline (changes pushed to the dropbox/box server as soon as a connection is available); 2) changes made are pushed nearly immediately to the server. 

Because I have a LOT of files and not a lot of space on my iPad, I sync only those folders I need for what I am currently working on, usually a small subset. So with what I am currently syncing, it looks like:

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s25/sh/f56ec867-3c04-4adc-aecb-a4d37e58e826/10672a3e30c72246a4911b1c4a145447 (this is PDF Expert so it may look slightly different from Documents 5)

 

Now, this is all completely outside of and unrelated to Evernote. Usually I read in PDF Expert/Documents 5 and take notes on what I read in Evernote. If I needed to add something from here to Evernote, I would use the "Open In..." feature from PDF Expert/Documents 5 and tell it to "Open In Evernote". – Though I almost never do this. 

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Good Morning Scott,

 

Thanks for a great, detailed reply.  This helps.  Can I ask a few clarifying questions?

 

I have not heard of 'box' only dropbox and in looking at your sample it appears to another app/program for a cloud back up?  

 

So you use Document 5/PDF Expert to edit, mark up, work with a PDF while they live on Dropbox or box?  Or do they also live in Documents 5?  

 

I think since you have Evernote Premium, you are able to choose how to attach a PDF.  I do see where I can choose anything for PDFs.

 

I am going to reread your email and then reply with a question.  I am still trying to sort out the uses of each and how they interact.

 

Thank you so much for your help!

 

michelle

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Box and Dropbox offer the same basic service, I use both to avoid having to buy more storage with Dropbox. Both are fine services though I prefer Dropbox (for no major reason in particular), and use box periodically out of necessity.

I sync select folders between PDF expert and Dropbox. So, just like on the desktop, the files exist locally on the iPad and copies also exist on the Dropbox server. Any changes you make in documents 5 or PDF Expert are immediately pushed to the Dropbox server and any other devices associated with that Dropbox account. This is identical to what happens on your desktop when modifying a file stored in Dropbox.

Premium should have no impact on being able to choose to view PDFs "inline" or not. This setiting is found in Evernote's preferences.

Dropbox and Documents/PDF expert directly integrate and work together. Evernote does not figure into the equation at all and does not integrate directly with either of these services.

I hope this clears some things up

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