What will sync?

[windpower 16]

In recent months I have been using the web clipper to send many articles directly to Evernote online.

 

Meanwhile I have deleted lots of old notes from my Windows desktop version of Evernote.

 

Essentially I have been using the online and offline versions in different ways -- and I have not synced them automatically.

 

But now I wonder what exactly will sync -- and where will it sync to?

 

In other words:

• will my online collection of clipped articles sync to my desktop version? OR
• will the online version after the sync only include the items I currently have in the desktop version (and discard the rest)?

Essentially I want to be able to 'download' (sync) the articles I saved online.

 

 

[jefito 5,589]

Everything syncs through the Evernote servers, with one exception: local notebooks on desktop clients (these are by definition notebooks that are not synced). Other than that, you can add content directly to your local client (Windows, iOS, Android, whatever) and it syncs to the Evernote servers, and then out to your other devices. So if you clipped an article, it should sync down to whatever clients you have. Note that in the case of mobile clients (iOS, Android, etc.), the full content of notes are not synced unless you access them in your note list - you need to be online for that, again, with one exception: offline notebooks (a premium feature); these are notebooks whose notes are synced wholly to the mobile device.

 

Not sure that this answers your questions exactly, but it's the basis of how syncing works in Evernote. But if what I wrote didn't quite do it for you, feel free to ask again...

[windpower 16]

Hi Jeff, yes I do have the premium version -- and I do need to ask follow-up questions.

 

Say I've got 10 unique notes in my local client, and 100 unique notes in the online version.

 

I think that when I sync those notes I will end up with 110 notes both local and online.

 

Now: what if I delete 1 note in the local version.  At the next sync, will that note's online copy also be deleted?

 

Or, in a different scenario: if I somehow lose my local database (e.g. laptop stolen and no backup), install a fresh copy of the local client, and then sync: will I end up with all the online notes copied to the new local client, or will everything online be deleted because my local clients has an empty database?

 

(Note: assume that none of the notes I talk about are in local, no-sync notebooks)

[jefito 5,589]

With the exception of notes that reside in a local notebook, there are no such things as notes that reside wholly in a local client or an online client. If it's the same account, then they all will exist in both places, provided that syncing is working correctly. So yes, you should end up with 100 notes on both local and online accounts.

 

If you then delete a note from the local copy, then that change will be synced to the server's version as well: you now have 109 notes (the one you deleted is in the trash, so you can get it back if you need to).

 

If you lose or delete the local database, then yes, a sync operation will copy the notes that the server knows about back onto the fresh installation.

[windpower 16]

Got it.

 

Thanks Jeff!