feature request: add notebook info to .enex file

[sershe 1]

Hi.

All the Evernote export options currently export notes in a flat list.

Is it possible to add notebook structure to export? E.g. in the form of "notebook" string tag for each note in .enex (if backward compat is not an issue then hierarchy of notebook tags could contain en-note tags)

[gazumped 11,652]

Hi.  If you want to export the structure,  you may as well just copy the EXB file from the databases folder (or to be safe just grab the whole folder). 

[JMichaelTX 4,117]

Hi.  If you want to export the structure,  you may as well just copy the EXB file from the databases folder (or to be safe just grab the whole folder). 

 

Gaz, I'm not sure how this would help.  Maybe you can edify us.

 

In the event of a loss of data (partial or total), if one restores the local EXB file, what good would it do?

AFAIK, there is no way to tell Evernote to use the local data as the MASTER set of Notes.  After a restore, Evernote would simply update the local data based on the Evernote Cloud Service data.

 

Or, am I missing something (I hope)?

[gazumped 11,652]

The OP didn't specify a backup as the reason for the export.  It might be nice to hear the use case here.

 

The request could be about setting up a new computer,  or sharing an account across more than one machine.  In both cases a database copy would work fine.  Not sure about the loss of data angle - but if it was an issue,  it woiuld be possible to reinstate the copy database (with the network connection OFF) and export those contents to ENEX if necessary.  Didn't suggest that this is the best option,  but IF the OP wants to preserve structure and make a backup,  THEN this is the only curent way to do that...

[JMichaelTX 4,117]

@Gaz:  Even if you do what you say, it will NOT preserve the structure of the Evernote account for Stacks, Notebooks, and Tag hierarchies for use in restoring the structure.  IOW, if these structures are lost, then they will have to be recreated manually.

 

This is a fundamental problem with Evernote.  Evernote does NOT offer a true restore from backup.  Using ENEX files is NOT a restore, but a creating of NEW Notes (with NEW GUIDs) that have the same content, but NOT metadata.

[sershe 1]

I need it for backup, including platform-agnostic backup (i.e. if Evernote goes out of business) for which import tools can be written... I don't use tags or stars though so notebook hierarchy is the only thing I need.

It is actually pretty weird that tag/notebook structure is not preserved.

[jefito 5,589]

I need it for backup, including platform-agnostic backup (i.e. if Evernote goes out of business) for which import tools can be written... I don't use tags or stars though so notebook hierarchy is the only thing I need.

It is actually pretty weird that tag/notebook structure is not preserved.

Yeah, while metadata like tags, date information, OCR information, and the like is preserved in the Evernote format, notebook is not (stack would need to be separate, as that's a property of notebooks). I back up Evernote to Evernote format on a notebook-by-notebook basis, so I can replicate notebook structure (stacks are no big thing since I have so few notebooks). That's about the best you can do with the external format, I think. Beyond that, you'd need to go into the API.

[gazumped 11,652]

The folder backup option (and I speak from recent experience here) will copy across stacks,  notebooks and unsynced/ local notes as a complete operation.  I used that to clone my account onto a new computer a few weeks ago. 

 

In the event of a total loss of data you could recreate your account as it stood at the time of the backup.  You'd need not to allow the account to sync with the server,  as JM pointed out - more recent,  maybe corrupted notes might replace your backed up archive copies.  But provided you had access to a Windows machine with Evernote installed it should be possible to see and do -something- with the content.

[sershe 1]

I have a few dozen notebooks so folder-by-folder is not feasible... I see the database file is SQLite format, will take a look later to see if it's usable enough to extract data. I might just use the API to write a tool otherwise...

But it seems like having this feature is dead simple and useful.

[jbenson2 2,147]

I have a few dozen notebooks so folder-by-folder is not feasible... I see the database file is SQLite format, will take a look later to see if it's usable enough to extract data. I might just use the API to write a tool otherwise...

But it seems like having this feature is dead simple and useful.

 

I understand your concern about backing up all your notebooks individually using the .enex method. It is very tedious.

 

Here is my preference which includes backup of tags and notebooks:

Because I have no local (non-sync'd) notebooks, I take a much easier approach and do a quick full-back up of my .exb file. I keep several past backups - daily, weekly, monthly and last quarter. 

 

From Evernote's Knowlegebase:

If you choose to backup the Evernote data directly, the data that must be backed up lives in theC:\Users\[Your Username]\AppData\Local\Evernote\Evernote\Databases directory, so you'll want to make sure it's included in your backups. Most "set it and forget it" backup applications will back up your home directory by default, but confirming that the Evernote data directory is included would be a prudent move.

 

https://evernote.com/contact/support/kb/#!/article/23186097

 

I also use a free program called revert.io which does nightly backups of Evernote changes. 

[jefito 5,589]

I use the provided Windows command-line ENScript program to drive backups so that I can get one ENEX file per notebook, so the number of notebooks isn't that critical. See my PowerShell backup script: https://discussion.evernote.com/topic/53536-how-to-backing-up-evernote-using-powershell/. For Mac folks, you can use AppleScript to do something similar; you should be able to find samples on the web.